Utrop: Making drag tango – We want to challenge and provoke

Published on May 2020 in Utrop.no. Read the original interview in Norwegian.

The story takes place in Berlin and follows two dancers from Buenos Aires, Juampy Ramirez and Daniel Arroyo, while exploring Berlin’s streets and backyards.

During the video, a transformation takes place where they put on makeup and dress in extravagant drag clothes.

The video is a personal and unconventional portrait of the two young artists playing with boundaries in an otherwise rather conservative tango environment, set to music by composer Osvaldo Pugliese. Behind the film is the Norwegian cinematographer Åsmund Hasli.

– The concept is to combine tango with androgyny and elements from drag shows, says band member Karl Espegard.

Art influenced by surroundings

Juan Pablo De Lucca, who is also a band member, comes from a well-known tango family in Buenos Aires. Currently, he lives in Berlin, a city with a lot of alternative culture.

– For us it was about artistic influence, and the willingness to explore the boundaries of the genre we play, says de Lucca.

– We heard the dancers were in Berlin, and listened to the idea. Then we saw the opportunity to make a video that could inspire thought and really challenge artistic boundaries, Espegard says.

El Muro Tango has made the music into a video that addresses gender expressions.

El Muro Tango has made the music to a video that addresses gender expressions. Photo: Iveta Rysava

Challenges artistic consensus

Espegard considers it important to break away from boundaries within the genre.

– Tango is a classic genre with a traditional formula that gives commercial success. We see that new bands are copying the same formula from the 30s and 40s. That in itself is fine, while we also believe it is important to bring in new impulses. In El Muro Tango, we think that tango is live music, not just something static.

– By making this video we have reached an audience that does not usually listen to tango. We envision tango going out to the people, says De Lucca.

People should be themselves

– Do you want to create something new in tango?

– Not really. It is about sending a message, that it is important to challenge oneself and one’s own boundaries. And not least, to be allowed to be oneself.

In Argentina, the home of tango, expressions related to gender expression and alternative sexuality are practically absent in the tango tradition.

– Such aesthetics are thus not very common, although there are also social changes. We would like to provoke, preferably with some humor in making such a video. If one cannot challenge one’s own genre, you tie yourself up as an artist.