Tango feroz: Teaching a History of Politics and Economics of Argentina through Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll

This article directly resulted from the teacher/researcher experience, describing new analyses resulting from subtitling a film for curriculum incorporation: Tango feroz, la leyenda de Tanguito (1993). Set in Argentina in the sixties and loosely based on the life of José Alberto Iglesias Correa, also known as Tanguito, this film portrays an early exponent of rock nacional argentino. This article contrasts how this film has become known as a film that promotes women’s liberation, transgression of traditional race and class boundaries, and criticism of authoritarian neoliberal regimes, yet an analysis of the film’s dialogue and aesthetics reveals a double-register pregnant with ambiguity, in particular regarding the role of neoliberalism in Argentina’s national economy.