Emblematic instrument of the tango makes a comeback in Uruguay
2 minutes read
By Alejandro Prieto
Montevideo, May 26 (EFE).- Regarded by some as a sort of musical panda in danger of extinction, the bandoneon – a German version of the concertina responsible for the trademark sound of the tango – is making a comeback in Uruguay thanks to a new teaching method that makes mastery of the instrument accessible.
“For me, to play tango without bandoneon is like making a stew without potatoes,” 69-year-old artisan Ricardo Matteo tells Efe at the Montevideo workshop where he repairs and refurbishes bandoneons.
The instrument, invented in the mid-1800s to serve as a substitute for the organ in religious processions, has “something of magic” about it, he says.