Seems like yesterday I arrived at BA´s airport to begin my trip to the origin of tango. I´ve gone to a milonga every day; one day going to TWO milongas.
Soon I´ll be in the States where the milongas are NOTHING like the traditional milongas here. The room will have less light than a sunrise; the entrada will be $10 DOLLARS instead of $10 PESOS, and there won´t be any cabeceo. If you´re serious about tango, come here and experience it for yourself. I recommend coming alone or in a very small group. You´re not going to learn much riding around town in a bus, hopping on and off to take photos. If you want to dance with the Argentines, don´t go to tourist milongas. I´m not sure anything can prepare you for the milonga culture. Leave complicated figures at home, especially high boleos. Daniel Trenner said at Tango Locura in Montreal years ago "When you come to the milonga, be prepared to dance." I modify that to "When you come to BA, know how to dance." You´ll adapt to the Argentine style. Learn some Spanish to learn the culture. I bought a painted sign at the San Telmo market last Sunday. The message is worth much more than the $35 pesos ($9.50 US) I paid: No Sueñes tu vida Vive tus sueños Don´t dream your life Live your dreams Reporting from Buenos Aires for the last time Michael Ditkoff Washington, DC I AM dancing Argentine Tango- - with the Argentines _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
