Born in a relatively unknown section of somewhere in the East Pacific, Tango Borracho remains as much an enigma as an anomaly. His music spans a career of very little output, but what has actually has been heard has been well received by both members of his inner circle and his close to outer circle alike.
When asked recently in an interview conducted several years ago, how he would like to be remembered, Tango's interpreter's cryptic response to Tango's alcohol-fueled 10 minute rant was simply, "Not extinct but not fully evolved either..."
Known as a both notorious and mysterious "man of many ladies" and "connoisseur of the gato", his early albums usually consisted of a tequila-powered mixture of reggae, calypso, neo-classical, something actually resembling drunken rap, and otherworldly rants that made The King of Space Pop, Esquivel blush and declare Tango to be "the next Elvis or alien, which ever revealed itself first."
Tango's highest charting single in the 60's was the controversial "causó un gran revuelo" which confused both fans and critics alike with backward masking which reportedly droned "I am the legman" for several minutes over a chorus of bongos and jungle insect noises. John Lennon, an early closet fan, later borrowed the masked lyrics for his own pop group stating "I know Tango won't care, because he's too far out there anyway, man."
Dizzily wandering on the edge between the absurd and the enlightened, Tango Borracho's sound was consistant in it's refusal to change with the times. It devoured and later regurgitated all musical possibilities in a ritual not unlike a bizzare tribal frenzy or conniption.
Some reviews of Tango Borracho's albums
"Bow down and smell the weeping."
-Steven Stamheim - The Boullion (review of Loco Loro)
"Hide your children, 'Bunda Man' is once again, back. In fact tuck the cats and dogs away while you're at it."
-Mabelline Raven - Snark (review of "Tango with Tango!")
"Wearing his many feathered hat of splendour, Tango once again delivers an audible treat that somehow delights and horrifies beyond belief."
-Dennis Filpo - Miami Scene (review of "Tango in your Seat")
"I just finished my 10th glass of champagne and am on my third listen to "Hola Chica!..." It's getting so much better now... Peligroso!"
-Suzette Pesquale - Costa Rican Times (review of "Hola Chica! Mi Nombre es Tango!")
Questions and few answers about Tango's whereabouts recently re-surfaced when a video was uncovered in a remote section of Costa Rica. When questioned under surveilance lights and mild to severe torture, the Costa Rican locals refered to him simply as "Loco Borracho" while others revered him, like a God or a Sasquatch.
If he is indeed out there, God help us if he finds himself before we do -- because something both equally miniature and enormous -- perverse yet wholesome -- all at the same time, will certainly happen to the music industry as we know it.
Dentophobia
