Tango’s Elsewhere: Japan

The article argues that the notion of space is central to the understanding of globalism and globalization since these two terms are, after all, closely related to the diffusion and displacements of economic, political, and cultural forms throughout space. The article discusses the historical development of the tango in Argentina, its movement to Europe first, and Japan later, and the changes these migrations brought about in the dance and the music. These changes are witness to the transformations cultural products undergo when they move from cultural centers to peripheries, from “somewhere” to “elsewhere.” The articles proposes that the tango’s displacements between Argentina and Japan altered the geographic distance between the two territories and contributed to the culture of both nations.