Great Argentine Tango Orchestra Leaders of the Golden Age
This was a personal project, since I'm rather involved in dancing tango (as well as playing in a tango orchestra at one time, and a trio). I play bandoneon, an accordion-like instrument that's pretty much only found in tango music now. And of course, I adore the music from the golden age.
When I wanted the equivalent of a "concert t-shirt" to wear to informal dances or lessons, I found there were none to be found outside Argentina. So I set out to rectify the situation!
First, I drew portraits of the famous orchestra leaders. This is Rodolfo Biagi:
Then I made a frame, which would include the instrument they played. I only had to make versions with piano, bandoneon, and violin. Biagi played piano, so I put the keyboard on top. The decorative border is in the 'filedeado' style typical of that era. I made a simple line version, so I could have the option to print in single color, or in full color.
Here are some others, with their names, in full color. I started selling them on Redbubble, and of course they were stolen within a year. I have to keep swatting down copyright infringers... who are sometimes modern tango orchestras in Argentina! Not cool.
Here's a link to where you can buy the color versions.
And, a link to the black and white version.
I would get requests for people I had forgotten, so the series keeps expanding...
I've sold a bunch of t-shirts and mugs over the years, and I'm always delighted to hear reports from people who've spotted them as far away as Moscow... and of course, Argentina!
