Are Tango DJs leaders or followers?

Popular demand

A long time ago I wrote about how my taste in music changed over time and how my moving to Frankfurt played a role in that.

Some time ago, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who is dancing in Thessaloniki. He is the one who told me that could not dance to Pugliese. In our conversation, I told him how my experience in Frankfurt influenced my change in taste. Now, when I return back to Greece I often find the music in milongas flat… almost uninteresting.

On such a visit shortly after the covid break, I went to a local milonga and the DJ was mostly playing music from new orchestras, almost neglecting tandas from Troillo, DiSarli, or Pugliese. When I left he was playing DiSarli and I noted to him that he skipped all this amazing music for almost 3 hours. He answered that this is the music that the people liked.

The DJs dilemma

So here is the dilemma DJs face. Should they play what the community likes and wants or should they try to educate them with a variety of different orchestras? How much are the taste and the trends in a specific, mostly closed community influenced by the DJs of the community?

One of the things I liked in Frankfurt is its openness to a diverse set of DJs from all different kinds of backgrounds. It brings you in contact with tastes and trends in other places and opens up the community’s taste to a wider variety. I only hope that organizers and DJs in Thessaloniki open up a bit more regardless of what the community thinks about their music. It’s the only way to influence the community towards a wider taste in music and it is definitely going to challenge people like my friend who find Pugliese difficult to grow and progress their dancing.

Tonight’s Goodnight Tango

Tonight’s Goodnight Tango is about a “Farol”… a kind of street light that used to light poor neighbors’ streets during dark night hours. Much like what the local DJs in a community should do. Light the streets where the community walks.