The Tango-L mailing list archive

Digest from 18 May 2000 to 19 May 2000

Reply-To: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango          <TANGO-L  @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Date:     Fri, 19 May 2000 03:00:28 -0400
Sender: Discussion of Any Aspect of the Argentine Tango          <TANGO-L  @MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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Subject:  TANGO-L Digest - 18 May 2000 to 19 May 2000 (#2000-136)
There are 3 messages totalling 129 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. Why go? (to BA)
  2. Why go? (2)





Date:    Thu, 18 May 2000 08:21:38 +0200
From:    Hangleiter Ralph <Ralph.Hangleiter  @HYGIENE.SCA.SE>
Subject: Why go? (to BA)

I agree with you that the probability of experiencing "Tango Heaven"
is bigger in BA. But that does not mean everything else is beside
the point. I have quite some friends who don't like to go dancing
if they don't like the atmosphere of the place even if there are
very good dancers to dance with. And I myself have problems with
too much smoke - I loose concentration and no matter with whom
I dance, that's that.

So I guess it is o.k. to mention not everything in the milongas
of BA is of 5-star quality.

By the way, just having returned from BA I found it quite suprising
that the number of foreign dancers is so high in the milongas. In
some (hello nino bien) it is about 50% - so you have to really look
for the argentine dancers ;)

Ralph
Gothenburg





Date:    Thu, 18 May 2000 09:32:51 +0100
From:    white95r <white95r  @HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Why go?

Larry,

I guess you have your tongue in cheek as you posted this. Sweeping
generalizations are not too useful and might give some people the wrong
impression. While what you wrote has truth in it, it is not the whole truth.
There is nothing in the world to compare with the BA tango scene. It really
is something to experience. What I believe the last few weeks of postings
represent is a sort of backlash to the overly enthusiastic and overly
optimistic portraits of BA and what a tango tourist might expect. I believe
it is useful to have a balanced perspective so one's expectations are not
too unrealistic.

I think that most tango people go to BA to experience the tango scene in the
place where it all originated and where the tango is still alive today. I do
think that a certain naivete is part of the new tango tourist to BA. Better
that he or she knows that some things might be not as easy or pleasant as
they would like and that there are some negative sides to it all than to be
rudely disenchanted.

For the record, I've not found all "Argentine men are too cowardly to ask
women to dance", "wome are too stuckup to dance with a stranger" or that
"Argentines are unimversally mercenary!" and "The dance floors are
terrible".  In my travels there I've seen a bit of all the above and
generally too much second hand smoke, but by no means is this true for
everyplace and everyone. There is also a lot of charm, politeness,
authenticity, great tango dancing, etc, etc.

By all means, BA is an experience that all tango dancers should have the
opportunity to have. I would never suggest that anybody should stay away
from BA. Quite the contrary, I say if you can, go there and enjoy! Just be
aware of all the possibilities and know what to expect.

Saludos a todos,

Manuel





 Original Message -----
From: Larry Carroll <larrydla  @JUNO.COM>
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2000 3:01 AM
Subject: Why go?


> My goodness! To judge from the last couple of weeks' messages,
> Argentine men are too cowardly to ask women to dance, women
> are too stuckup to dance with a stranger, & Argentines are
> unimversally mercenary! The dance floors are terrible, there's
> no air conditioning, & people are such chain smokers that you
> will succumb to lung cancer after a night out on the town!
>
> So why do tango dancers go to BA anyway? Are they all naive?
> Or looking for sex in a strange land? Or some other even
> worse reason?





Date:    Thu, 18 May 2000 14:07:32 +0100
From:    white95r <white95r  @HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Why go?



 Original Message -----
From: Cherie Magnus <MACFroggy  @AOL.COM>
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2000 3:31 AM
Subject: Re: Why go?


> I think most people who have been to Buenos Aires will agree that the
> reason we go is because of the dancing.

snip

> The level of skill and experience is without equal.
> Anything else is beside the point.
>

Cherie, actually I find the whole of Buenos Aires scene quite attractive and
entertaining. I can't speak for anybody else but although I first went for
the tango, I have come to appreciate a whole lot more about BA. Tango is by
no means *everything*. It is just a facet of *everything*. I would
respectfully suggest that before one can understand tango and what it
*really* is, one must understand the portenios and Buenos Aires itself. It's
culture, its flavor, its politics and people.
Actually, it would not be outlandish to say that tango is a big part of the
"soul" of BA. To love it and understand it one should know it and experience
it, better yet, live it. There is a lot more to tango and BA than a dozen
trips to any number of milongas there can possibly represent.

Manuel





End of TANGO-L Digest - 18 May 2000 to 19 May 2000 (#2000-136)
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