The Connecticut Tango Festivalwraps up this weekend. Since its beginnings in the working class neighborhoods of Buenos Aires in the 1890s, the evocative art form continues to fascinate people around the world.
Now in its seventh year, the Connecticut Tango Festival concludes with a series of events, including a tango show on Friday night in Milford, featuring Argentinean tango partners Pablo Nievas and Valeria Zunino, and world-renowned bandoneonist Juan Pablo Jofre.
The accordion-like bandoneon is an essential instrument in tango music. "The player can adjust the speed of the wind by squeezing slower or faster, they can create a sort of crying effect," said Gem Duras, a tango dancer, teacher and organizer of the Connecticut Tango Festival. "The bandoneon became the main instrument of tango, but not at the beginning. Actually, the tango started with more simple instruments, like guitar and flute."
Also happening this weekend is a formal Red and Black Tango Milonga on Saturday night in Milford, and workshops Saturday and Sunday, with Nievas and Zunino. For more information, go to cttangofest.org.
