When I said how sad I was that my time here is coming to an end, a tanguero friend tried to comfort me, saying:
Es como las tandas de tango en las milongas.... termina una tanda y al rato empieza otra...termina una etapa y empieza otra...pero siempre hay que empezarla con renovadas energías.
(It is similar to dance sets in tango: one set finishes and in a short while another one starts...one stage in life comes to and end and another one starts....but one always has to begin it with renewed energies.)
Very wise advice....
Brings the message home that 'La Vida es una Milonga' (Life is a Tango Dance) and sometimes it seems, that the parallel universe of the tango world here, is like a mirror of the real world outside.
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| On a less 'serious note' last weekend's milonga at Club Gricel completed the trio of complications one may encounter at a milonga: a few weeks ago, it rained through the ceiling and we had to dance around strategically placed water buckets; at another dance the lights went out for a while, and we danced in the dark (music kept playing). This time around, the DJ did not turn up - no music for almost 2 hours. Good opportunity to chat with people with whom one dances dozens of tangos and hardly exchanges more than a few mundane sentences. No one left, a few took to the outside to indulge in various packs of cigarettes, the rest of us took the 'we survived the tango silence' photo. Julia Pugliese organized a replacement DJ, and once he turned up playing a couple of triumphant Cumparsitas to get things going, the place filled up in minutes. A bailar a bailar, que la vida se va... |
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| Where is the Music???? |
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| A little side trip to the cafeteria of the Teatro Colon offers a visual treat. Alicia Besada is exhibiting a collection of her oil paintings, most of them depicting ballerinas of classical ballet. However, there is one nod to Argentinian Tango with this painting of dancing under the full moon (how I would have liked to experience that!) |
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| Painting of a Ballerina of Classical Ballet |
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| I liked her portraits more than the ballerinas, she has a wonderful talent to capture what her subjects appear to feel |
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| Alicia Besada's painting 'Y el amor se fue' (And Love went away), which captures the pain and sadness of finding oneself alone - again. |
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| Cooler now, only 30 degrees, and the Confiteria Ideal is almost bearable. I had already changed into my 'clonkers' and missed out on the obligatory Chacarera... |
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| Confiteria Ideal, such a classic place - one just wishes, management would spend a few dollar to invest in some strategically placed ventilation fans - the place is a furnace. |
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| I regret missing this event at La Rural, the historic exhibition grounds of Buenos Aires, where Criollo Horses, accompanied by boina wearing gauchos, offer experiences of 'The Country visiting the City'...and the doggie show makes sure that the 'cute' factor is covered. |
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| Definitely Fall in the air..... |
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| ...but a sea of roses in El Rosedal, a beautiful park in walking distance of my apartment, still blooms in abundance. |
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| This lady sits amidst all these beautiful roses; she looks as if she has just taken of her tango shoes after several hours of dancing. |
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| There are quite anumber of birds living in the extensive park..here is one of them taking a quick drink at a 'people fountain'. |
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| Forecast - Rain.....Reality - Sunshine |
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| Pergola in El Rosedal, the Rosegarden |
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| He almost seems to be ready to emerge from his stone background, and join the strollers in the park... |
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| Selva Tropical - Tropical Forest in Palermo, El Rosedal |
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| Still blooming and shedding pink rain.... |
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| El Rosedal, part of a much larger park system adjoin the rose garden. All of them are said to make for the 'Lungs of the City' |
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| Andalusian Garden within El Rosedal. Beautifully tiled fountains (not functioning), benches, walls and stairs. Some of the tile work has survived the unfortunately commom vandalism, which appears to not only consist of graffiti in the city - but extends as far as robbing bronze grave plaques from the local cemeteries (including iconic Recoleta) |
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| Each tile is uniquely hand painted with little scenes of daily life in Andalucia |
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| As always, the City provides entertainment gratis - and a 'rockeo' band was playing on the closed roads of the Park. I don't know how the resident birds felt, but the loudspeakers played at a volume which makes your bones vibrate a mile off!! |
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My amigos y amigas de 'Folklorico' in Los Cardones. I made so many wonderful friends (like the people here on the stage) by joining classes with Carol Retamoso, a professional dancer and recreational painter of the Province of Salta. Watching their performance at Los Cardones this last Friday, convinced me to continue to learn more about this rich cultural part of Argentina's music and dance. Why not dance Zamba, Chacarera, Gatito, Escondido, Bailecito and some of the many dances which are the dancing bread and butter of all the Argentinians outside of the City of Buenos Aires.
Of course the whole thing does not start until close to midnight, and then one hangs around for the various folkloric bands, who play until the early hours of the morning. |
One more day....and one more milonga! Then comes the loooong flight home.
