Women in tango’s first century
Who sang, led, wrote and danced in tango’s first century, as the sources name them: 27 women among the 25,605 credits we hold from 1900 to 1979. A woman counts only where a cited source says she is one (each “source” link says which); where none does yet, the credit stays unknown. Press play to hear her, or a record of her work; her name opens her page.
- Singers
Women on 61 of 5,347 sung records · 484 not yet known
- Names on the label
Women on 75 of 13,104 records under a person’s name · 1,897 not yet known
- Composers
Women on 18 of 4,421 works composed · 961 not yet known
- Lyricists
Women on 21 of 2,733 lyrics written · 312 not yet known
The century, woman by woman
- Singers
- Names on the label
- Composers
- Lyricists
- a landmark, as the sources date it
1920s · 9 of 4,415 credits by women, 789 not yet known
- 11923 Rosita Quiroga makes her first records, for Victor. source
- 21924 Rosita Quiroga is the first woman to sing tango on LOX Radio Cultura. source
- 31926 Rosita Quiroga makes Argentina’s first electrical recordings, for Victor. source
- 41927 María Luisa Carnelli writes the words of Julio De Caro’s El malevo, signed “Mario Castro”. source
- María Luisa Carnelli1927–43source
- Rosita Melo1927–52source
- Azucena Maizani1928–62source
- Elena A. Osilich1929source
- Herminia Velich1929source
- Tita Merello1929–69source
1930s · 43 of 4,992 credits by women, 854 not yet known
- 51930 Sofía Bozán records Yira yira, which she premiered. source
- Libertad Lamarque1930–56source
- Mercedes Simone1931–66source
- 61933 Carmencita Calderón dances in the film Tango. source
- Amanda Ledesma1937–40source
- Lita Morales1937–56source
- Tania1937–59source
- 71938 Ignacio Corsini records Maruja Pacheco Huergo’s El adiós. source
- Maruja Pacheco Huergo1938–59source
1940s · 62 of 6,686 credits by women, 797 not yet known
- Sabina Olmos1940source
- Carmen Duval1940–47source
- Dorita Zárate1941–46source
- Nelly Omar1946–47source
- Maria de la Fuente1946–57source
- Natty Paredes1949source
1950s · 33 of 5,697 credits by women, 732 not yet known
- Nina Miranda1952source
- Olga Lamas1954–56source
- Elsa Rivas1956–57source
- Elba Berón1957–62source
- Blanca Mooney1959source
1960s · 25 of 2,777 credits by women, 333 not yet known
- Olga Delgrossi1960source
- Isabel de Grana1961source
- Eladia Blázquez1961–70source
- Nelly Vázquez1964–77source
- 81969 Eladia Blázquez writes Por qué amo a Buenos Aires. source
Also in the sources
Women a source names in tango’s first century who hold no credit we can count yet: a bandoneonist, a dancer. The line in quotes is the source’s own words, and links to it.
- Rosita Quiroga“Cancionista, letrista y compositora”1896–1984source
- Paquita Bernardo“Bandoneonista y compositora”1900–1925source
- Sofía Bozán“Cancionista y actriz”1904–1958source
- Carmencita Calderón“Bailarina”1905–2005source
- Beba Bidart“Bailarina, actriz, cantante y empresaria”1924–1994source
- Ginamaría Hidalgo“Cancionista”1927–2004source
- Virginia Luque“Cancionista”1927–2014source
- Martha Anton“Bailarina”1939–2015source
- Amelita Baltar“Cancionista”1940source
What we can’t tell yet. 3,654 of the 25,605 credits belong to people no cited source in our records calls a woman or a man yet (1,146 to no person at all). They stay unknown here until a source is linked. The most credited of them: Roberto Firpo (534), Alberto Castillo (153), Juan Maglio (96), Alberto Podestá (70), Horacio Sanguinetti (49), Pedro Maffia (44). Dancers and instrumentalists of the first century are too thinly dated to count by decade; they are in the roll.
How we know: a person counts as a woman or a man only where Wikidata says so, or where the source’s own word for their trade does (“Compositora”, “Bailarina”, “Cancionista y actriz” on todotango). A word that is the same for both, like “cancionista” alone or “pianista”, says nothing, and a name is never read. Credits are tango, vals and milonga only: a record a cited fact says she sang, a record under a person’s name (an orchestra’s leader or a soloist), and a work’s music or words, dated by its year or its first record.