Two Tangos: Slawomir Mrözek and Manuel Molins’

This study addresses two plays, both entitled Tango, one by Manuel Molins i Casaña, and the other by Slawomir Mrözek, that is, two interpretations of the tango from outside the cultural environment in which it was invented.2 I shall analyse the extent to which the use of the tango as a musical form and point of reference (be it as a song or a dance) can be perceived as an exotic and external factor (a presence of the familiar other) in the form of hybrid texts including lyrics, for instance, and how in other cases it is unquestionably accepted as an integral part of European culture.