“Tango must always be interpreted in terms of human emotions. It has a human voice. That is why we must bring forth the sound that accurately expresses those emotions.”
— Osvaldo Pugliese
Latin music, found in Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that typically mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources. A variety of rich musical cultures and different flavors of music unique to each individual Latin American country, however, has been developed during a span of a few hundred years, each with its own ethnic, historical and socio-cultural background.
Among the musical styles of Argentina, the tango is perhaps the most popular, becoming famous all around the world. The Min-On Tango Series, which launched in 1970 with a concert by the internationally acclaimed Orquestra Jose Basso, has been credited with spearheading a tango boom in Japan. The series has featured nationwide Japan tours by leading tango artists, such as the Orquesta Osvaldo Pugliese and the Orquesta Mariano Mores, on an annual basis. The most recent tour was by the Orquesta Color Tango, conducted by the acclaimed bandoneon player Robert Alvarez, in 2011 as the forty-second installment of the Tango series. To date, this series has comprised more than 2,300 performances throughout Japan, bringing the wonder of tango music to more than 3.5 million audience members. Min-On has also brought musicians and artists in other genres of Latin music, such as Brazilian Popular Music and Latin Folk Music, from many different Latin American countries, including performances by Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil of Brazil, Los Indios of Paraguay, Los Laikas of Bolivia, among many others.
Min-On Tango Series: among many others
Osvaldo Pugliese from Argentina in 1979| 1970 | Orchestra Jose Basso |
|---|---|
| 1979 1989 |
Orquestra Osvaldo Pugliese |
| 1984 1988 1992 |
Orquestra Mariano Mores |
| 1992 1994 |
Gloria and Eduardo Tango Ensemble |
| 1997 | Orquestra Osvaldo Piro |
Brazilian Popular Music: among many others
Gilberto Gil from Brazil in 1986| 1980 | Gal Costa |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Gilberto Gil |
| 1995 | Banda Mel |
| 1997 | Cico Cesar |
Latin Folk Music: among many others
Los Laikas from Bolivia in 1984| 1976 | Los Indios |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Ramon Veloz and Grupo “Campo Alegre” |
| 1982 | Condorkanki |
| 1984 | Los Laikas |
| 1994 | Coral Y Esmeralda |
