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Grammy Nominee
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El Mexicalo, Grammy Nominee >>
In describing the music that she passionately loves and performs daily, Argentinian singer Sandra Luna quotes the famous lyrics of tango composer Horacio Ferrer; "Cinders that burn again and again ... tango is like life, and has to evolve."
As you read this, Luna has been nominated for a Grammy for the Best Traditional World Music Album and is launching a tour that will bridge her visit to the Grammy ceremony and her show-case at the Folk Alliance/Strictly Mundial conference in Montreal.
On her first international release, "Tango Varon" Times Square Records, Luna turns her ear to the future while keeping one foot firmly in the tango's colorful past. On her Grammy-nominated album she expands tango music, with "Me Llaman Luna," normally associated with dancing, to a broader more expansive song form. Tango Varon features reenergized versions of tango classics from legends like Homero Manzi and Astor Piazzolla, to newly created tango compositions that tell the tale of contemporary life in Buenos Aires.
Bom in the Buenos Aires slaughterhouse district of Mataderos, a neighborhood that first nurtured the rise of tango in the early 1900s, Luna was raised in the new era of modern tango, performing at the tender age of seven in local tango bars like the Boliche de Rotundo and local television and radio shows by age eight. Before her 12th birthday, Luna was already rising tango star in her native Buenos Aires.
"Most people think of tango as a very nostalgic form of music, which in many cases is true, but like life itself, tango is also joy and happiness, a little of everything one encounters in life regard less of a time or era. Tango can be sad, happy, social, or political - simply everything that is happening around you. In the 1970s, the Argentinian government banned many Tango Var6n tangos from the airwaves for their political content, which was feared for its ruthfulness. As a child I remember being told that I couldn't sing certain tangos due to this ban."
When asked why she was inclined to sing tangos as a child over other popular genres of music, she responded: 'Tango chose me as its interpreter in this revitalized era of tango in Argentina. I'm grateful and honored to be a modern spokes woman of this musical movement."
Promoting her first international release Tango Var6n, which debuted on May 25 on Tunes Square Records, Luna visited the North American continent in July, performing on the U.S. east coast, and came out for one night in Los Angeles at the Echo Club, where she delivered a triumphant performance with her trio of musicians. The modest yet enthusiastic audience witnessed a balanced, strong repertoire of traditional tango standards and newly written compositions from L'ana's new CD, including her dieme song "Me Llaman Luna" to the more traditional tango forms of the selections "Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir" and "Carritos Cartoneros." Her accompanying trio is directed by Luna's husband, cellist Daniel Pucci, with Ezequiel Mantega on piano and Daniel Ruggiero on the bandoneon.
Sandra Luna is not afraid to challenge the proud machismo image of traditional tango. Her title track Tango Varon (Male Tango) recalls the origin of "male tango" in Buenos Aires, but her insistent performance injects the track with the unique passion of a confident woman.
02/10/05
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