Store front sidewalk, which defines property limits. Note the benches and chairs where customers may rest from their exhausting shopping sprees.
A colourful designer umbrella, all embroidered in vibrant shades.
Mural in Abasto, another historic tango district (Gardel's hang out), and a gold mine for tango gear.
Insterad of imprints of hands and feet of movie stars, one finds the lyrics of tango poems on the sidewalks of Abasto.
"What we had is finished, you told me in a Good Bye of sweetness and ice....".
Try to dance to the words of that sad story!
Somewhat more 'gritty' in Abasto, but nevertheless people sit in front of their houses watching their kids play. The idea of 'play dates', and organized entertainment seems to be foreign in these parts. Kids, however, seem to be able to 'play' imaginatively without a book of instruction to tell them how.
Abasto - filete sign over a boutique hotel entrance
Lady's bano at the Canning Club, one of the venues for tango classes and practice sessions. It is said that anyone, venturing out into the city where facilities are indeed rare, MUST carry toilet paper, which is an even rarer treasure.
I braved my first Tango Group Class and Practica at the Canning Club yesterday. This time - tango salon style - wonderful. Being a lesson, there are plenty of partners, which one changes ever so often. I danced with pony-tailed youngsters, an 8 foot tall British citizen, a Portuguese, and a whole lot of other Argentinian dancers of different level of expertese. Needless to say, the Anglosaxon was the most challenging partner.
The lesson was given in Spanish, Buenos Aires accent...That added another level of difficulty to the lesson - linguistic maneuvring through the dance related vocabulary.
Soon I will be able to 'caress the floor' with a new pair (made-to- measure) of tango shoes with a fine heel, colour plata..definitely an improvement over my 'flamenco shoes' (as per shoe maker) or 'Salvation Army shoes' (as per less kind American female aquaintance). Best of all, they will FIT my duck feet and will be a lot more affordable than ready-made footwear sold in Canada.
No wonder, there is so much dog poop around, who would want to clean up after this pack of beauties, certainly not the paseo perro (dogwalker). Dogwalking seems to be a common Buenos Aires profession.
