sami: right on. [crowd singing in spanish] sami: what would a trip to argentina be without a decent game of football? in this country, football is a way of life, a function as important as eating, drinking, and making love. outside the stadium, there are hundreds of riot police. the fans of the home team are kept on the terraces an hour after the end of the game so the fans of the visitors won't get clubbed to death on the way home. football is a very macho culture, no doubt, so why is

everybody waving these pink phallic symbols around? [all singing in spanish] sami: i feel like i'm caught cheating on my girlfriend. independiente's main rival has always been the infamous racing club, which is also the team most closely affiliated with tango. the stadiums of these two clubs are located only a few hundred yards from each other. the animosity between the fans is legendary and runs deep. actor rodrigo cardenas is a lifelong fan of racing. i'm meeting him to better understand the connection between tango and football. [both speaking spanish]

[crowd singing in spanish] sami: does punk belong to tango? what about the theatrical side and the aggression? orquesta tipica fernandez fierro started their career on the streets in the st. elmo district of buenos aires. they played for the tourists, amassing money to realize their dream, the dream of their own performance space, a tango theater where they could play the classics and their own compositions infused with the energy of punk and rock and roll. [singing in spanish]

walter: we are the new tango. sami: yeah. exactly. walter: the last 10 years, we are traveling around the world. no tango festival. sami: right. walter: [indistinct] [singing in spanish] sami: i met this guy in moscow, like 5 years ago or something. how did you end up in this thing? walter: he fell from the sky. alexey: yeah, i fell from the sky. sami: cosmonaut. alexey: someone recommended me. you know, you have to see this band. and i was like, wow, this is amazing. this is exactly what i really wanted to do, because i was always a fan of rock music, but also i had a passion for violin. walter: [singing in spanish]

sami: the musical instrument called the bandoneon is essential to argentinean tango. the greatest living master of this close cousin of the accordion is ernesto baffa. throughout his long career, ernesto has been part of

the most important tango artists' orchestras. we meet at his favorite drinking hole, la banderin, which is like a temple dedicated to football. the 81-year-old brought along his instrument, the same one he has played since childhood. [all speaking spanish]

[playing tango music] [all speaking spanish]

ernesto: [vocalizing]

[all speaking spanish] [playing bandoneon]

sami: he just lost his wife a month ago. so that's pretty hardcore that, uh, that song. wow. heavy guy. same age as my dad. [applause]

muchas gracias. otra vez. muchas gracias. [both speaking spanish] [guitar playing] sami: on the cab drive, i rehearse a song i'm supposed to play later in the evening with ruth and angelo in a place called la catedral. the gig will happen somewhere between 2:00 and 3:00 am because the nightlife in buenos aires only truly begins after midnight, continuing all the way until dawn. [dog barking] before the gig, the band has organized a traditional argentinean barbecue, a pecada. we are going to eat, drink, and rehearse. [playing guitars] [woman singing] musica publico. [laughs] [speaking spanish]

ok. ok, fine. yeah, yeah. [speaking spanish] [singing in spanish]

sami: if you're a tango musician, is it hard to get work over here or is it--can you make a living playing here or? ruth: he's a dentist. he's a teacher, i'm a teacher. he's a chef in a restaurant. hello. sami: so, yeah. yeah. yeah. no, it's the same in new york with most of the musicians i know. over there, they have at least one or two, you know, jobs. ruth: you could live on playing

tango, but in them houses, in them tango houses. and for us, it's like-- sami: right, it's kind of selling yourself for. ruth: you can't play what you like to play. sami: right. ruth: you can't make any progress. you just have to play what--every night the same. you're kind of slave--you can't send someone in your place. you work from monday to monday, you earn a salary. sami: yeah, yeah, yeah. ruth: and, well, there's some point where you have to decide, if you live on tango, then you're not free to do what you want. you know--you know what [bleep] things, the turning point? first turning point, the arrival of television. that was the end--the beginning of the end of orchestras, live orchestras. and the second thing that [bleep] things was the military dictatorship. milongas were banned. more than 3 men was-- sami: was a crime. ruth: and so imagine milongas.

that's why milongas was a free territory, because everyone is against the military because they couldn't dance. and so it was a whole decade where people didn't dance, didn't play, did nothing. sami: and it's almost disappeared, the whole thing. ruth: right. sami: salud. [speaking spanish] sami: it went to finland in the 1920s, tango, because of some sailors. you know about this thing? ruth: i know there's finnish somewhere, i don't know what it sounds like. sami: it's the biggest selling music in finland still today. ruth: no. sami: it oversells all the-- ruth: let's go to finland. [speaks spanish] sing the finnish tango. come on. sami: [singing in spanish] there's a lot of songs from carlos gardel and [indistinct] that got translated into finnish in the beginning. every year, still this year, they have a competition for the tango king

and the tango queen. and it's the biggest festival there is. >> [speaki spanish] sami: and of course, the band decided at the last minute that we won't be playing the song i'd been rehearsing all day long. instead, we would be playing a tune i've never heard of. but i'm used to these kind of shenanigans. it happens all the time. well, nothing to it. let's play. [all singing in spanish]

[chee and applause] sami: very cool. what a place. no microphones, nothing. i have this one here. see that?

>> mi amigo, sami rikkijnen. [laughter] sami: you're the best. that was the best introduction i ever had. sami rikkijnen. it was like, what? from the what? that was that little bass player? [bleep] that's amazing. [laughter] my last day in buenos aires. the chacarita cemetery is the last resting ace of the father of tango, carlos gardel. i need to visit and show my respects. the time i got to spend in argentina and uruguay was simply magnificent. i got to hang out wi exceptional musicians. i heard stories, i told stories, i nursed hangovers, and i felt the magic of music. i met legends and future legends, each treating

tango in their own way, just like the rebels the legends did back in the day. i came here to see if tango is still breathing. even if senor gardehas been dead and gone for decades, it's nice to see that tan is alive and kicking and as strong as ever thanks to the new generation. viva tango. morelli: ha ha ha!

sage caswell: why do you go out at night to go to a party? you know, what is compelling about a night? maybe it's just this optimistic thing inside me thinking, like, "maybe tonight'the night that everybody st comes together and we just all experience nirvana." you know, maybe it's as simple as that. [house music playing] black coffee: any kind of problem i have i can throw into the music. damian romero: i always said that it's a very colorful palette that came from house.