There was some discussion on this list about amonth ago about the impact of
swine influenza on attendance at Buenos Aires milongas. Susana and I have just
returned from 3 weeks in Buenos Aires and this is what we have learned in our
observations and discussions with people at milongas.
In most of July attendance at most Buenos Aires milongas had taken a hard hit.
We went to the once popular matinee milongas at Plaza Bohemia (Tuesday, Sunday)
and El Beso (Thursday) and although there were a sufficient number a dancers on
the floor to feel like you were dancing in a community of dancers rather than
alone (about 15-20 couples on these small floors), these milongas had been
packed to the rafters last year and in 2007 during July and August. Also, these
matinee milongas that fill the approx. 6 PM - 12 AM time slot were thinning out
noticeably around 10 PM. El Arranque on Tuesday (ending at 10 PM) also thinned
out early (around 8 PM). However even in late July Gricel on Monday and Leonesa
on Friday and Saturday were as packed as they have been in recent years.
Fortunately around August 1, when school vacations ended, attendance improved
substantially and was near normal for this time of year at the milongas we
attended (El Beso, Plaza
Bohemia, Gricel, Leonesa, Lo de Celia). Some of the porten~os we met at the
milongas said they had stayed away during July because of the fear of swine flu.
A significant part of these reduction in attendance was due to a reduced number
of foreigners at these traditional porten~o milongas. Last year during the same
time period there were typically at least 20-25 foreigners at these milongas.
This year attendance by foreigners was half or less. We encountered few
foreigners in our dance invitations. It is not exactly clear why foreigners
have stayed away. Worldwide economic recession has hurt travel in general.
Several people we know who rent apartments in Buenos Aires have reported a
higher vacancy rate this year and some have reported cancellations. Shops in
the downtown area dependent on the tourist trade have reported suffering. We
have never seen so many empty taxis on the streets. It is likely that the fear
of swine flu has caused some, perhaps a significant part of the reduction in
tourist travel to Buenos Aires.
There were several benefits resulting from reduced tourist attendance at
milongas. It became obvious that compared to previous years, there was a lot
less kicking on the dance floor. With few exceptions, porten~as don't lift
their feet off the floor when they dance. Thus, we believe we saw porten~o
tango de salon about as pure as it gets. Also, the porten~os who attended
despite a swine flu scare were the diehards. The quality of dancing was high.
We danced very few disappointing tandas.
Attendance at Buenos Aires milongas will continue to be affected by worldwide
recession, both by reduced tourism and reduced cash availability by Argentines.
Argentina has been hard hit by the recession. The rise in attendance at
milongas in August reflects to some degree a reduced fear of swine flu (more
fear than reality anyway), not an improved economy. Argentina will recover from
recession later than the countries sending tango tourists to Buenos Aires.
Ron
_______________________________________________
Tango-L mailing list
[email protected]
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
