by TCW | Mar 10, 2023 | Book review, tango
My blog is called History and Books and Dance and Stuff so a historical fiction book about tango ticks pretty well all the boxes. And The Gods of Tango has quite a lot of Stuff too. In fact it’s a vast, sprawling work about tango and Buenos Aires and Italy and sexuality and those old tango perennials, love and death.
I can’t begin to discuss the plot, partly because there are twists and turns and I don’t want to spoil it for you and partly because the 384 packed pages defy synopsification. (Is that a word? It should be.)
What you need to know is that the story starts in 1913 with Leda arriving in Buenos Aires, leaving a narrow life in a village just outside Naples in search of opportunity in the New World. In the first of many shocks in the book, all her plans are thrown into disarray before she has even left the boat and she finds herself struggling to survive in a city that seems to teeter forever on the edge of madness.
It’s a story packed with characters, all so perfectly drawn that you never get lost, but one of the biggest, most important, characters is Buenos Aires itself and particularly San Telmo, a part of the city I feel particularly at home in. The danger, excitement and opportunity of the city is perfectly captured. It is overcrowded and filthy (even more so in 1913 than now). Yet, as today, it holds you. Leda knows that Buenos Aires destroys its children, yet she cannot bring herself to leave. A peaceful life in a small Italian village is no longer something she can settle for.
Leda falls in love with tango. The music, she thinks, can save her. And it does, though it means she must sacrifice everything. (No spoilers, but ‘everything’ isn’t too much of a stretch here.) She carves out a life in the violent world of tango. She is there as tango moves from the bars and the brothels to the dance halls and eventually the grand clubs and cabarets, even achieving an international respectability. But for Leda, it is always about the music of the people, starting with the rhythms brought from Africa with slavery. (The Gods of Tango is unusual in featuring a black bandoneon player whose grandfather was probably a slave. Argentina used to have a substantial black population but no one talks about that now.)
If you are interested in the history of tango (you’ve probably realised I am), then The Gods of Tango is worth reading just for its description of how and why the music developed through the Golden Age. But the book is much, much more than that. I’ve never read a book by a woman which understands so well the reality of being a man. And when she deals with different aspects of sexuality, she writes better than anyone else I have read, or ever expect to read.
De Robertis has won prizes and fellowships and is definitely a ‘literary author’, a label I am generally suspicious of. But this is someone who has earned their reputation through extraordinary hard work as well as an exceptional ability to write. Leda’s life in Italy was researched in Italy. De Robertis reached Italian emigration to Argentina and Afro-Argentinian history (an area which, as I’ve mentioned, is generally overlooked). She studied the violin as well as tango history and learned to dance. She has explored Buenos Aires today and developed a deep understanding of its history. And she writes fantastic prose. (I just said that, but I’m saying it again.)
I’m getting carried away. All I can say is that this is an astonishing book.
Read it.
by TCW | Jun 28, 2019 | Uncategorized
After all the excitement of Waterloo, this week marks the anniversary of another British victory – albeit one that was rapidly followed by an ignominious defeat.
On 27 June 1806, Buenos Aires surrendered to British forces under Sir William Beresford. The British saw Buenos Aires almost as a target of opportunity. They had sent over 6,000 men to the Cape of Good Hope under Commodore Popham, but when the Cape fell unexpectedly easily Popham thought it would be a good idea to attack Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires was Spanish and we were at war with Spain, so it was a perfectly acceptable idea. A rapid conquest seemed possible because he believed, correctly, that the locals were unhappy with their colonial status and unlikely to resist the British effectively. Popham, whose views on cost-effective warfare had a lot in common with those of Donald Rumsfeld, was enthused by the prospect of plunder from the silver-rich province. Popham may have had official authorisation for his plan from the British government, but this was officially denied. There was no trans-Atlantic cable to send a request for permission in those days and senior officers were expected to act on their own initiative. Popham may well have done so.
Popham arrived in the River Plate in June 1806. According to some accounts, he was assisted in navigating the Plate by a British agent. (In my book, Burke in the Land of Silver, the agent was James Burke who we know was active in the area at the time.) The Plate is certainly not an easy river to navigate. Popham was quoted at the time as saying, “It was a bit bumpy,” as his ships nearly grounded on sandbanks.
Popham’s army was commanded by Colonel William Beresford. The illegitimate son of the 2nd Earl of Tyrone, Beresford had served under Wellington and was held by many (though not Wellington himself) to have a less than perfect grasp of military strategy. He landed his troops at Quilmes, fifteen miles from Buenos Aires. The Spanish did not have enough troops to mount an adequate defence and, as Popham had predicted, Beresford had an easy march, brushing aside the meagre forces sent to oppose him. On the 27 June 1806, Buenos Aires surrendered.
The Spanish governor had fled with the treasury, but Popham sent soldiers in pursuit and succeeded in capturing the money – over a million Spanish dollars. The treasure was duly sent to London where it was paraded through the streets in eight large wagons, each carrying five tons of silver pesos. £296,187 3s 2d was distributed as prize-money and Popham and Beresford were both made Freemen of the City of London.
Resolved unanimously, That the Thanks of this Court be given to Major-General Beresford and, Commodore Sir Hope Popham, and the Officers and Men under their respective Commands, for their very gallant Conduct, and the very important Services rendered by them in the capture of Buenos Ayres, at once opening a new Source of Commerce to the Manufactories of Great Britain, and depriving her Enemies one of the richest and extensive Colonies in her Possession.
Resolved unanimously, That the Freedom of this City, and a sword of the value of Two Hundred Guineas, be presented to Major-General Beresford, as the Testimony of the high Esteem which this Court entertains of his very meritorious Services.
Resolved unanimously, That the Freedom of this City, and a sword of the value of Two Hundred Guineas, be presented to Commodore Sir Home Popham, as the Testimony of the high Esteem which this Court entertains of his very meritorious Conduct.
– Chamber of the Guildhall of the city of London Thursday, 2 October 1806
There was some embarrassment when news reached London that by the time Popham and Beresford were being honoured, the Spaniards had already recaptured Buenos Aires. Popham was eventually court-martialed, but was let off with only a censure. It doesn’t seem to have done any damage to his career. He was made a rear admiral in 1814 and awarded a KCB in 1815.
Burke in the Land of Silver
The first of my books about James Burke was inspired by the events surrounding this invasion. James Burke was a real person and much of the story, with its double-dealing, wild women and political intrigue is closely based on fact. A thrilling tale from a time when the world was in turmoil and a few good men (or, I’m afraid, quite often bad men) could change the course of history. Burke in the Land of Silver is available in paperback or as an e-book. You can buy it on Amazon or, in the USA, also through Simon and Schuster. Here’s the link: mybook.to/LandofSilver
Picture credit
‘The Glorious Conquest of Buenos Ayres by the British Forces, 27th June 1806’ Coloured woodcut, published by G Thompson, 1806. Copyright National Army Museum and reproduced with permission.
