El Bandoneon
Bandoneons near extinction – August 2008
Information from the Civil Association La Casa del Bandoneon
www.lacasadelbandoneon.com.ar
There are fewer instruments in Argentina every year. More than a century has passed since the bandoneon’s arrival in the Rio de la Plata. Over the past ten years the exportation of bandoneons has increased to a serious level due to a growing interest by collectors and musicians. In addition, our 2001 economic crisis pushed prices upward thereby benefiting stronger markets. As a consequence, more bandoneons are being stolen from musicians.
Sales are out of control. Usually there are two routes: Either a local salesman acquires excellent bandoneons in the Argentine provinces and sells them directly to clients abroad or local music shops deal in stolen instruments.
The best instruments were built over 60 years ago. There are not enough instruments available in Argentina to meet the needs of professional musicians and students.
There is no law in existence controlling the situation. In order to preserve the emblematic instrument of tango, which is also tied to folklore music of Argentina, it is important to spread the word of this problem and to demand urgent and basic measures for its protection: to declare the bandoneon part of the cultural patrimony of Argentina; to restrict its export; to spread word of the National Registry of the Bandoneon; and to stimulate local enterprises for its construction.
To foreigners: When purchasing a bandoneon, the national problem of instrument shortage arises, and prices remain inaccessible for the internal market in Argentina. Please take into consideration that you may be buying a stolen instrument, no matter if your purchase takes place in one of the more important instrument shops. The bandoneon cannot afford to be an object of collection or a souvenir. They are a necessary tool of musicians, the survival and evolution of tango, and the strengthening of our cultural identity.
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A proposed law was presented to establish protection for the bandoneon that the instruments may not leave the country other than on a temporary basis. The proposed law has the objective to protect the existing instruments in the country, those owned by renowned musicians and those instruments more than 40 years old. In this sense, it would be prohibited to leave the country with bandoneons with the exception of those who are leaving the country for temporary travel. The authority of this situation will be with the Secretary of Culture of the Nation, a consulting authority to the National Academy of Tango. The Secretary will create a National Registry of the Bandoneon and procedures for registering all existing bandoneones in the country.
You can read the June 26, 2009 article by La Nación with bandoneonista Carlos Pazo.
Update on legislation to protect the bandoneon in Argentina.
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I was walking along Sarmiento one day in the area where there are several musical instrument shops. I couldn’t help but notice a lineup of at least six bandoneons in the window. I wondered if they are good, working instruments that are useful to local musicians or just on display for foreigners who have the money to collect them as souvenirs.
Vendoma at Sarmiento 1459 advertises sales and repair of bandoneons and yet their website at www.vendoma.com.ar does not mention bandoneons. If they are aware of the registration requirements, they can’t sell bandoneons to foreigners who will remove them from the country. The Vendoma ad in the monthly La Porteña Tango is written in English–obviously to attract English-speakers interested in buying bandoneons; all other ads are completely written in Spanish. The Vendoma ad doesn’t mention all the other instruments they have for sale.
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Two films about the bandoneón:
El ultimó bandoneón – a documentary that premiered in October 2006 in Buenos Aires movie theaters. It’s tells the story of a young female musician with a bad instrument who auditions for Rodolfo Mederos and eventually plays in his orchestra. She has to find a good instrument and buys one at an auction. The DVD was released on February 4, 2009, subtitled in English, Portugese, Italian, and French with the original language Castellano Argentino. www.elultimobandoneon.com.ar details the film with English text. I happened to view it on public television on April 25, and I recommend it to all tangueros. See the trailer on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIgEb_nxPdk
The film demonstrates how difficult it is to acquire a good instrument because so many have been bought by foreign collectors. The future of tango depends on these instruments, especially those made by Alfred Arnold in Germany called Doble AA, staying in Argentina.
The film is for everyone who loves tango–musicians and dancers alike. You will see Pedro Sanchez talking about the milonguero codes, Lito and Lydia Filippini, Ricardo Maceiras (El Pibe Sarandi) teaching a class, Geraldine Rojas and Javier Rodriguez dancing an exhibition in Nino Bien. The final scene ends at the milonga Nino Bien in Centro Region Leonesa with the orchestra of Rodolfo Mederos performing on stage.
El ultimó bandoneón is available at Musimundo music stores for $24.90 AP. Be aware that independent music stores inflate prices to whatever they want. Zivals is selling it for $51 AP.
A Different Way: Tango with Rodolfo Mederos
A Film & Arts presentation made in 2007 and broadcast on Art Files. If one is going to help tango’s future, young musicians need to be trained. Mederos is doing just that. He is one of the most distinguished personalities in tango. Bandoneonista, composer, and arranger, he is a constant inspiracion for the new generation of musicians. He was born in Buenos Aires, where he has lived all his life and which has always been his muse. This is reflected each time that Mederos plays the bandoneon, whether in a musical ensemble or as soloist. Directed and edited by Gabriel Szollosy. The DVD is available at Musimundo music stores for $44.90AP.
An interesting article about the bandoneon by Oscar del Priore.
Astor Piazzolla talks about the history of the bandoneon, when it was incorporated into tango, and the complexity of the instrument.
Interesting blog post by Simba on the history of the bandoneon derived from several internet sources.
Si sos brujo: una historia de tango is the documentary film by Caroline Neal that tells the story of the Orquesta Escuela del Tango for young musicians to be trained in the styles of the great tango orchestras by the living legends themselves. It is sold separately on DVD in Musimundo stores for $19.90 AP and in a limited edition double feature with Tango: Un Giro Extraño for $29.90. The latter is a musical documentary that focuses on the new generation of tango composers, musicians and dancers with a different outlook who incorporate instruments never used before in tango.
