The origins of tango may be traced back to 18th century Argentina, where a mix of influences from European immigration, South American locals, and former African slaves' candombe rites gave rise to a new sort of partner dance that was virtually exclusively practiced by the poor and lower classes. The popularity of this dance rose steadily, particularly in lower-class neighborhoods of cities like Buenos Aires and Montevideo (Uruguay). It's worth noting that there were various styles of tango dancing at the time, with just one of them gaining widespread appeal outside of the lower classes (in a dance that is today referred to as tango criollo or authentic tango).

The name "tango" stems from the words tango/Tambo, which were used to denote slave musical gatherings in the region around the River Plata's basin. As the name began to be used for a wider range of musical events, it became synonymous with the popular tango dance. The name tango was first written down in 1789, in a colonial government edict that intended to outlaw these musical gatherings.

Tango music's rise became inexorable once it reached Argentina's middle class. Tango dance becomes prevalent in Argentinian theatres, dancing halls, and street performances in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, allowing it to swiftly become one of the favorite dances of newly arriving European immigrants living in Argentina. Many of those immigrants and other Argentinians organized entertainment organizations in the early twentieth century to promote their newly popular partner dance in Europe. Tango first gained popularity in the early 1900s in Paris, the City of Light, and swiftly spread to London, Berlin, and other European capitals.

Between 1911 and late 1913, American dancers became enamored with Tango dance, contributing so much to the development of new kinds of tango that the term "North American tango" was coined. This new sort of tango is characterized by faster tempos and the usage of 2/4 or 4/4 rhythms such as one-step, and it was frequently danced to other popular music styles from the United States rather than classic tango music. Traditional Argentinian tango and North American tango had settled into their correct forms by 1914, allowing US dancers to enjoy any sort of tango dance they wanted.

In Argentina, the popularity of Tango dance has risen and fallen countless times. While the dance grows in popularity around the world, it becomes increasingly difficult to dance in Argentina during periods of economic, government, and civil instability, such as the Great Depression, the overthrow of the Hipólito Yrigoyen administration, and post-1950s military dictatorships. Amid these sad occurrences, however, tango thrived and was resurrected multiple times as a source of natural pride.