Astor Piazzolla

When Alfonso Padilla arrived in Finland from Chile in 1975, the brand of tango found in his new homeland was for him mainly a source of bemusement. Now, more than 40 years later, he is completing an extensive research project on the Finnish tango.

The tango arrived in Finland during the great European tango fever of 1911—1913. Eventually in the 1930s Finns really started composing tangos themselves, which led to a form of the tango that is only a distant relative of its Argentinean counterpart. These days many composers look back to South America for tango inspiration.