Why not listen to great tango music, at an unusual venue, The Planetarium of Buenos Aires in Palermo, reclining in a nearly horizontal position in a comfortable upholstered seat, watching an illusion of sky, moon and the universe pulsating to the music in the ample dome of the Planetarium?? Ergo - I go! As and additional benefit, the performance is gratis - albeit I made a two hour 'paseo' there and back earlier in the afternoon, to pick up a free ticket at the 'boleteria' of the planetarium
 |
| The Planetarium, it is located within a series of parks, which include the famous RoseGarden of Palermo. A wonderful Friday afternoon for a 'paseo', not too hot under a brilliantly clear azure sky.... |
 |
| The nearest Intersection, guarded by yet another Argentinian Hero... |
 |
| The 'estrellas' (stars) may be illusory, however, one may imagine oneself travelling through space soaring on a satellite.... |
The Program of the day:
Viernes 20 de noviembre: Orquesta de Nicolás Ledesma
Nicolás Ledesma comenzó su actividad musical de muy joven, siempre dentro del género ciudadano. Estudió con maestros como Horacio Salgán, Manolo Juárez, Guillermo Iscla y Juan Carlos Cirigliano, Participó en infinidad de grabaciones, entre ellas: la "Gran Orquesta Tango Vía Buenos Aires", el "Café de los Maestros" y "Libertango”. El integrante de la "Selección Nacional de Tango , la Orquesta de Leopoldo Federico, el Trío de Julio Pane y el quinteto de Fernando Suárez Paz, se presentará junto con su orquesta en la Sala de Espectáculos del Planetario el viernes 20 de noviembre a las 20.30. ¡Un show imperdible!
 |
| One walks past the Zoo. Inside the fence, a paper sign on a lemon tree asking 'not to pick the lemons, as they are part of my'salary'... |
 |
| The zoo flamingos (real ones, not theplastic version) don't care.. |
 |
| ....neither do the local carriage horses, awaiting their turn to clip clop around the streets of the parks |
 |
| ..a bored and sleepy miniature pony awaits younger zoo visitors... |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
May the Show begin.....
Being a planetarium the idea is to keep everything pretty well in the dark, to enable the audience to better appreciate the show projected on the dome. The musicians had tiny lamps attached to their music stands, barely enough light to figure out what they were playing. To makes sure they all looked at the same piece of music, they called out the title to each other before striking off.
 |
| Add caption |
|
 |
Unfortunately the opportunities to capture band or background on camera were scarce, mainly due to the fact that ambient light was even more scarce. The spectacular display of moving images of space, projected to the beat and according to the 'emotional content' of the piece, could not be eternalized in photos. Apart from treating us to fantastic journeys through the universe, images of tango dancers, scenes of Buenos Aires, abstract designs, mandalas...all pulsated with almost vertiginous movements above one's head. It was difficult to maintain focus: are we observing sound accompanied by images, or images accompanies by sound?
For one and a half hour the great orchestra kept the audience enthralled. With the next to last piece it brought the audience to tears (as much as one could detect in the dark) with a version of Adios Nonino full of emotion and sadness.
How else could a performance closely connected to the music of Piazolla end, but with a rousing rendition of Libertango....before we all filed out into the pleasantly warm nigh of Buenos Aires.
Out into the night, heading towards the nearest stop of a 'collectivo' (public bus)
that takes me back to Plaza Italia and a short walk home.
|
