KEY POINTS:
For a century, Argentina and Uruguay have duelled over who invented tango, the sultry music and dance synonymous with Latin passion.
Argentines insist it was born in Buenos Aires and blossomed as the country came of age in the first half of the 20th century.
Uruguay says tango
originated on the other side of the River Plate in Montevideo, and that its best song and singer were Uruguayan. The use of contested tunes at international cultural and sporting events, including the Olympics, snagged diplomatic relations and prompted accusations of cultural piracy.
At last, however, a truce has been declared.
The respective Culture Ministries of Montevideo and Buenos Aires set aside their rivalry jointly to petition Unesco, the United Nations' cultural agency, to grant tango world heritage status.
It takes two, apparently, to get on to the coveted list of "cultural heritage of humanity".
"The candidacy is being examined and the final decision will be made by the intergovernmental committee in September in Dubai," a Unesco spokeswoman said last week.
If approved, both cities plan to build a tango museum with permanent exhibits on each side of the Plate. Its primary goal will be to catalogue the estimated 50,000 tango recordings.
Other joint plans include a dance institute to teach the intricacies of one of South America's most famous - and most complex - dance forms. A joint orchestra is also on the cards.
The impetus for collaboration stems from tango's explosion in popularity. As it swells into a global phenomenon, Argentina and Uruguay want to keep its roots intact.
"While it's good that tango is spreading around the world, alterations invariably begin to creep in. There are certain original elements that need to be preserved," said Eduardo Leon Duter, director of culture for Montevideo's city government. The UN's imprimatur would help protect tango's historic purity.
"Obtaining Unesco status implies a determination by both countries to implement preservation policies, such as training, diffusion and cataloguing."
Last year's world tango championships in Buenos Aires drew 140 couples from overseas, up from just 30 in the first championship.
Tango represents Argentina around the world like few other national art forms, it says. That claim steps on Uruguayan toes.
The sniping will go on, but if Unesco enshrines tango as a cultural jewel the rivals will be forced into each other's arms. It will be long overdue, said Leon Duter: "The dominant factor is that tango is something we share."
THE NATIONS' DANCE
The origins:
Its exact origins are murky but the music, a blend of Spanish, African and central European rhythm, is believed to have emerged from European immigrants who populated the slums and bordellos of Buenos Aires in the 1880s. Lyrics that sang of nostalgia, loneliness, lust and betrayal were matched by a dance that was simultaneously sensual and aggressive.
To and fro:
The world's most popular tango song, La Cumparsita, was composed by a Uruguayan, Gerardo Matos Rodrigues, 90 years ago. It has inspired more than 2500 variations and in 1998 became the country's national hymn by presidential decree. Argentines respond that the best known version of the song has lyrics written by an Argentine, Pascual Contursi, and that the tune really took off only after Carlos Gardel, a prominent tango singer and an Argentine hero, recorded his own version in 1924.
- OBSERVER
