Distancia by Solidaridad Tango

Tango is the poetry of a city: the music of one, or many, caught in the surprise of passionate fate.

DISTANCIA begins with the poem “Winter’s Coming”, reflecting the solace of music to help us cope with isolation as Toronto shut down in March 2020. “Deriva” reminds us of the tidal drift of fear that measured our hours during the pandemic, and “Pompeya” is a riot of murga dancers sweeping through the streets of Buenos Aires, breaking through the malaise. The brooding obsession and violence of “Variación” leads to the poem “And I Have Been Looking”, a meditation on the deaths of Indigenous women Joyce Echaquan, Barbara Kentner, and Tina Fontaine. As Toronto brought out the police to force the city’s homeless into unsafe shelters, “The Corner” was born. A brief and tender reprieve from the present is offered to us in “Fuimos”, one of the greatest tango love songs, answered by “If Not Today”, a story of love in the face of disaster. Written as the world finally began to open up, “YYZ” is a tongue-in-cheek homage to Canadian rock idols Rush, Toronto, and the folk drums and songs of Aparna Halpé’s childhood in Sri Lanka. The classic tango, “El Adiós” (1936), brings back a great tango written by an overlooked woman composer, in a rare arrangement by a woman for a woman’s voice. “Charrúa” rocks out with candombe rhythms signaling the African and Indigenous roots of tango from the Rio de la Plata region. Our album ends with a poetic land acknowledgement to the Mississaugas of the Credit and all diverse First Nations, Inuít and Métis, on whose traditional lands we settlers bring this work of art into being. The music and poetry of DISTANCIA are an expression of the connection and relationships that we built in the face of an apocalypse: of the eternal celebrations of life, and death, of our ongoing struggles, and of the inspiration that arrives at 3 AM…wherever you are in the world.

Solidaridad was founded in early 2021 by Aparna Halpé to create a new space for women tango musicians. We are North America’s first and only all-woman, diversity-affirming tango ensemble.

Valeria Matzner VOCALS
Aparna Halpé VIOLIN
Suhashini Arulanandam VIOLIN
Esme Allen-Creighton VIOLA
Sybil Shanahan CELLO
Shannon Wojewoda DOUBLE BASS
Elizabeth Acker PIANO
Eva Wolff BANDONEON

Our heartfelt thanks to…
The Ontario Arts Council, for crucial funding.
Composers and arrangers: Julián Peralta, Pétalo Selser, and Eva Wolff.
Our incredible production team: Michael Wojewoda, João Carvalho & Bryan Lowe, Kim Cooke & Revolution Recording, Michael Fischer & Stream Studio, Nick Austin & Indie Pool, Mark Weston at Annette Studios, and Mo Thunder.
Our greatest allies: Graham Sanders, Sean Mills and Cecile, Mary and Michael, Jerome Beddoe, Doug Wilde, Alex Johnson, Nathan Petitpas, and Michael Wojewoda, Sam, Will, Teddy & Graeme. Our mentors: Charles Gorczynski, Paulina Faín, Exequiel Mantega, Diego Schissi, Ignacio Var-chausky, Guillermo Rubino, Adrián Enriquez, and Ben Thomas.

Solidaridad was created by Aparna Halpé to create performance opportunities for marginalized tango musicians. We are the only all-woman tango orchestra in North America. Solidaridad quickly garnered international recognition with our project “Sos Lo Más”, which brings classic tangos to a virtual world. We are funded by the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

solidaridadtango.ca