This is very interesting and finally tandas make sense. We of course had taxi dancers and taxi dance halls here in the US from the 20's to the 50's -- but the men got only one dance per ticket.
Sergio Vandekier wrote: > > There was a time, very early in tango history (1880 - 1920) when tango was > danced in "pirigundines" also called "academias". These places were > situated in the periphery of the city and required special permits from the > City hall to function. Pirigundines continued to function till not too long > ago although with different characteristics from the original ones. > > Those places, where music was played and hired women were available to dance > with, were patronized by lonely males in search of fun and perhaps some > romance. > > They normally were required to buy a ticket called "lata" (tin), because they > were made of tin. Those tichets allowed the male to dance a set number of > tangos, milongas or valses, or a mixture of them. For example: three tangos, > one milonga and one vals. The male client gave the "ticket" to the female > dancer and started dancing with her. > > The "Cortina" a music different from tango, announced the end of the set or > "tanda". Couples separated. > > To dance another tanda another ticket had to be given to the lady. This > sequence continued during the evening till two or three in the morning. > > There are expresions in our coloquial language of Buenos Aires that refer to > certain elements of those days. > > "Tener la lata" (to hold the tin) : It means to wait a long time. " Fui al > medico y tuve una lata the una hora " (I went to the doctor and had to wait > for one hour). > > This is a reference to the time when a man had to wait for the lady , tin in > hand, till she became available to dance with him. He would say then "tuve > la lata" for a long time till I could dance with her. > > Best Wishes, Sergio > > > Mar del Plata - Argentina > > -- Carol Ruth Shepherd Arborlaw PLC Ann Arbor MI USA 734 668 4646 v 734 786 1241 f Arborlaw - a legal blog for entrepreneurs and small business http://arborlaw.com _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
