History of Yiddish tango

The story of tango is the story of passion and immigration -- of love and of yearning for one's home. Shtil, Mayn Corazon ("Still, My Heart" in Yiddish and Spanish) captures a stirring chapter in the tango's evolution -- the story of the tango's place in Jewish life and immigration in Eastern Europe and the new world.

Paseo de Julio, the waterfront boulevard of Buenos Aires.

Born in the barrios and bordellos of 1880s Buenos Aires, the tango was first danced and played by indigenous Argentines, African Argentines, and poor immigrant Europeans. A lower class dance until it emigrated to Paris in 1907, the tango's enticing melodies and evocative dance steps became the toast of European society. The tango's popularity also extended throughout the Jewish Diaspora and a new variant of the art form was created -- the Yiddish tango, sung in the language spoken by European Jews since the 15th century.

Soldiers on leave in 1917 dancing tango.

As the tango became interwoven into Jewish cultural life, it evolved to reflect the social and political realities of its time. During the 1920s and 1930s, tango orchestras played extensively throughout Eastern and Central Europe, and Yiddish tangos were incorporated into klezmer and Yiddish theater repertoire. During World War II, those interned in Europe's Jewish ghettos wrote Yiddish tangos, using the musical form to document their lives and experiences amidst the horror of the Holocaust. In Argentina, the thriving Jewish community could hear tangos composed and played by Jewish musicians from the throughout the entire 20th century, and still today.