Tango in Finland

Tango in Finland is the history of tango music in Finland, from its reported arrival in the 1910s to a locally composed repertoire and a festival tradition ^[1]. According to one source, tango was first performed in Finland in 1913, and the first Finnish tango was written by Emil Kauppi in 1914 ^[1]. This dating comes from a single source and has not been confirmed by other sources in the material available ^[1].

The same source states that Finns were writing their own tangos by the 1930s ^[1]. It also states that about half of chart entries in Finland in the 1940s were tangos, and that Finnish tango reached its peak between the late 1950s and the early 1960s ^[1]. In 1985 the Tangomarkkinat festival began in Seinäjoki ^[1]. Among performers, Olavi Virta (1915-1972) has been described as the 'King' of Finnish tango ^[2].

One source dates the first tango performance in Finland to 1913 ^[1]. The same source credits Emil Kauppi with the first Finnish tango, dated 1914 ^[1]. Both dates rest on that single source ^[1].

By the 1930s, Finns were reported to be writing their own tangos rather than relying only on imported material ^[1]. In the 1940s, about half of chart entries in Finland were reported to be tangos ^[1]. The source places the peak of Finnish tango in the late 1950s and early 1960s ^[1].

In 1985 the Tangomarkkinat began in Seinäjoki ^[1].

Olavi Virta, whose life dates are given as 1915-1972, has been called the 'King' of Finnish tango ^[2].