Finland's new tango king crowned
Pekka Mikkola won the tango singing contest at Finland's annual Seinäjoki Tango Festival late Saturday evening. An estimated one million viewers followed the final competition and coronation of the tango king on television.
President Sauli Niinistö, accompanied by his wife, attended the event in the western Finnish town. The Seinäjoki Tango Festival attracts up to 100,000 visitors annually and remains a reflection of Finns’ love for their Argentinean-inspired version of the dance. The festival was first staged in 1985.
The festival presents a cavalcade of Finnish tango artists old and new. Tango dancing courses were also organized for young and old alike. This year visitors were treated to a sample of original Argentinean tango music courtesy of the Omar Mollo Trio. Mollo is from Buenos Aires and came to fame as a rock star but took up the tango a decade ago.
Finns adopted the dance enthusiastically in the 1930’s and began to write their own songs almost all of which are in a minor key. Love, sorrow and nature are among the themes of Finnish tangos.
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