Los Consagrados, dance venue at 'El Centro Leonesa' on Calle Humberto Primero in Buenos Aires, is where EVERYBODY meets sooner or later on a Saturday afternoon. The milonga starts at 4:30 p.m., when dancing is still possible as only Early Birds populate the tables spread around the best dance floor in Buenos Aires (no cracks) and take advantage of plenty of room to dance 'expansively'. By about 7 p.m. every table is taken and everybody dances; the dance floor feels like a vertical sardine can, where the art of bailar en la baldosa (dance within the space of a square foot) is the major part of floor craft skills. No room for tango nuevo moves (which would result in multiple collisions and injuries) but good old 'tango salon' or 'tango para la pista' as it is called now. On this particular Saturday the floor happened to be particularly crowded, as the Tanturi Tango Orchestra was providing live music for the dancers.
Women always outnumber men by a large margin at this milonga. The women's section of the milonga seating is in four 'filas' (rows), of which the first one is always reserved for the regular local Portenas who occupy the same seat week after week, and year after year. At times a visitor may be able to occupy a front row seat, if the regular 'owner' is on vacation.
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| Cristina |
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| Noelia |
Ergo, being a visitor (even a frequent one) relegates me to the back forty, which at my height makes me 'invisible' for any 'cabeceos' from the male side of the room. I may just as well bring a matress and go to sleep under my table for the duration of the milonga.
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| Marcela |
But, one is grateful for milonguero friends, who - once they discover one's whereabouts in the back row, come and ask one to dance anyway. In between tandas, lots of time to people watch, which particularly on Los Consagrados milonga is entertaining, educative and revealing.
So without further ado, here is a selection of Faces on the Dance Floor of Los Consagrados.
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| Nelda |
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| Mario |
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| From Japan |
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| From Holland |
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| Nigel |
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| The longest pony tail on the dance floor, adorned with a rose... |
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| Sonia |
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| Rino |
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| From Rumania |
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| From Guadalupe |
