"São Tango" (2023) for string quartet. Alejandro Drago.

Описание: Quarteto da Cidade de São Paulo (São Paulo City String Quartet)
Betina Stegmann and Nelson Rios, Violins
Marcelo Jaffé, Viola
Rafael Cesario, Violoncello

Live recording. April 3, 2025. Praça das Artes - Sala do Conservatório, São Paulo, Brazil.

About "São Tango"

The creation of the string quartet «São Tango» (“Holy Tango” or “Saint Tango”), dedicated to the São Paulo City String Quartet (Quarteto de Cordas da Cidade de São Paulo), began with what seemed a random convergence of circumstances—if anything in life is random at all. In July 2023, after a four-year hiatus caused by economic constraints and the pandemic, I returned to Brazil as teacher and performer. Reuniting with dear colleagues, including members of the Quartet, was deeply emotional. We spent long hours in animated discussions about Latin American culture and tango—the kind of intense, joyful exchange that nourishes artistic life.

At that time, Dr. Sthaneshwar Timalsina, a Nepali scholar of religious studies and Indian tantric iconography, delivered lectures in Brazil at the University of São Paulo. He clarified the relationship between ritual, iconography, and philosophical inquiry in Indian thought. Among the most puzzling images for Western audiences are deities with multiple arms holding objects or forming gestures. These are symbolic devices supporting meditation and mantra practice. One familiar example is Śiva Naṭarāja, the Lord of the Dance, with four arms performing the Tāṇḍava—the dance of cosmic creation and destruction.

It was easy to imagine that, within an Afro-Latin or Latin American syncretic context, Śiva Naṭarāja might become a popular patron of dance. «São Tango» is a musical portrayal of what the meditative worship (sādhanā) of such a saint might resemble in that imagined cross-cultural space. His four arms—and the suggestive similarity between Tāṇḍava and tango—made this icon an ideal framework for a string quartet.

The work opens with a mantric salutation to the Teachers (Los grandes maestros del tango) and to Gaṇeśa, remover of obstacles, traditionally invoked at the beginning of worship. Here he is identified with Osvaldo Pugliese, whom tangueros affectionately invoke as San Pugliese, believed to dispel misfortune. A C major section recalls his style.

The dhyānam (meditation) of São Tango’s four arms follows. The lower right hand, in the gesture of abhaya (dispelling fear and inviting to join the friendly community of tango dancers), is presented by the first violin. The upper right hand, which in Śiva holds a ḍamaru (symbol of universal pulsation), here holds a bandoneón—the emblem of tango—voiced by the viola.

For musical reasons, the last two arms appear in altered order. The lower left arm becomes the Tango Embrace, intimate and inward, expressed in a sensuous cello motive. The upper left hand holds the Fire of Passion, introduced by the second violin over first mysterious, then intense accompaniment.

After the meditation comes the mantra: Oṃ Taṅgave Namaḥª (Salutations to São Tango), during which the four symbolic motives reappear. A meditative transition recalls the homage to San Pugliese. A spiritual realization then emerges in the style of a yumba—a march-like tango cadence with sharp rhythmic contrasts characteristic of Pugliese and later used apotheotically by Piazzolla. The separation between worshiper and worshiped dissolves: I am Tango, and Tango is me (Yo soy el tango, y el tango soy yo). The four motives converge into a single repeated note, echoing the mantra one final time before fading into silence.

Alejandro Drago
October 31, 2023