- 34 Puñaladas, April 7 at 8 p.m., Presentation House Theatre. Part of Capilano University's Global Roots Series. Tickets $30/$27 at tickets.capilanou.ca.
TANGO is synonymous with Argentina and one group of Buenos Aires musicians is working to ensure a particularly gritty period in the musical genre's history is never forgotten.
34 Puñaladas consists of guitarists Augusto Macri, Juan Lorenzo, Edgardo González and Lucas Ferrara, and vocalist Alejandro Guyot. The group formed in 1998, intent on resurrecting the tango repertoire of the 1920s and 1930s when immigrants, particularly from Spain and Italy, were streaming into Argentina following the First World War.
Living conditions were miserable for many post-war immigrants and themes of violence, crime, drugs and prostitution are prevalent in much of the tango music of the time.
"When we formed the group, we were fascinated with this history," says guitarist Eduardo González, reached by telephone in Portland where 34 Puñaladas made a tour stop earlier this week.
The group has recorded five albums, the most recent, Bombay Bs.As. (2009), being the first to feature their own compositions. They are currently working on a sixth album and plan to play a selection of unreleased songs, in addition to their older work, at this weekend's show.
Although the band aims to preserve the memory of classical songs, they are far from a traditional tango ensemble. With five members, the quintet is one short of the typical tango sextet. And they do not feature the accordion-like bandoneón, emblematic of many tango groups. Instead, 34 Puñaladas favours the acoustic guitar, which González says better suits the style of music they perform.
"The sound of the guitars and the dark history is a very, very nice combination," he says. And while tango music is designed to accompany tango dancing, that's not the case for 34 Puñaladas. "If someone wants to dance when we play it's alright," González says, "but the intention is to make a concert."
