Abstract

ARMUS, Diego. The Journey from the Barrio to the City Center: Tísicas, Milonguitas and Costureritas in Buenos Aires, 1910-1940. Salud colectiva [online]. 2005, vol.1, n.1, pp.79-96. ISSN 1669-2381.

During the first three decades of the 20th century, and in the midst of the fervor of urban change that transformed Buenos Aires into a metropolis, poetry, cinema, theater and tango lyrics repeatedly portrayed the path of neighborhood young females who, by immersing themselves in the downtown nightlife, placed their stakes on a society where social mobility -limited yet real- was part of the urban experience. For the most part written by men, tango lyrics depicted these journeys in a critical tone, and tuberculosis was cast as a form of punishment for these young women who dared to question their assigned place and role in the domestic and neighborhood worlds. Thus, tango lyrics not only offer a highly moralizing account but also paint an image of an illness that seems to be feminine although in fact it was one that affected male and women alike.

Keywords : Tuberculosis; Tango; Gender; Cultural Representations; Urbanitation.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )