> it otherwise looks like tango milonguero, the tango danced in the milongas of > Buenos Aires.<
After a couple of months now of dancing in Buenos Aires, I'm now finding comments like this to be almost absurd. There is simply so much tango here that almost any variation of style, music, embrace, codigos, etc can be found "in the milongas of Buenos Aires." Even narrowing it down to specifying the "downtown" milongas doesn't limit things that much. I've sometimes noticed that however "it" is done in the speakers "home" milonga, is often how he thinks tango is done, or at least should be done, everywhere. If it is done differently at the milonga down the street, he might say "that is not tango." Yet the better dancers down here don't seem to fret about whether what they do is tango: they just dance, and they dance creatively and musically and well. And if you been here on a 2 week tango tour, I'm sorry, you don't have a clue. There is simply too much going on here to have anything but a taste in such a short time. Two weeks is all many of us can get away for, but at best you are seeing the "Disneyland" version. Two weeks is better than nothing, but don't base your opinions of what BsAs tango is on such a short glimpse of this very diverse culture. After a couple of months, I'm just now beginning to get a feel for the place, and I recognize that there is a lot more going on here than I've had a chance to experience, and I know I don't have a very complete picture either. I'm sad I'm leaving this week. I also recognize that some people have a lot invested in their own personal version of "The Tango Myth." Go ahead and believe what you want to believe, but please don't preach to us about how things are in Buenos Aires, unless of course you live here, even then it might be better to tell us how they do it in "your" milonga, not "how it is done in Buenos Aires." Once again I'd like to thank the list members who live in Buenos Aires who were so kind to introduce me to 3 very different aspects of tango here: Deby Novitz for the introduction at Grisel, Cheri Magnus (and Rubin) for the wonderful hosptility at Los Consagrados, and Dierdre Black for the numerous places we've been. They are are all wonderful people. If you visit here you would do well to contact them. They all offer help to visitors, from lodging and lessons, to simple advice or a seat at a table. Have a great evening everyone, as I am going to, before I have to say "Adios Buenos Aires." _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
