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NA-W: There should be no confusion about Los Altos Milongas
THIS MATERIAL IS VERY LONG. IF THE TOPIC DOESN'T INTEREST YOU, USE YOUR
DELETE KEY.
About the Los Altos milongas, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry at
the commentary about the alleged "confusion" with milongas located in Los
Altos. Someone should do a sociological study or write a psychodrama
screenplay based on the paranoia, rumor-mongering, misinformation, and
emotional pathology around these milongas, or perhaps I should say, the
people who resent others starting a new milonga.
Let's get some things straight.
The following essay was written about 5 days ago. I felt no need to
publish it then. But, after the recent totally off-base material coming
out... I might as well:
--------------------------------------------------------
Due to the outpouring of concern and alarm (from three persons)<then, Ed.>,
over the announcement of the new Milonga sponsored by the Peninsula Tango
Society, the mysterious organizers have decided to surface, in order to
keep fear and loathing from spreading over the land.
A concerned ex-tango dancer who doesn't attend milongas wrote to the
Tango-A list, on March 22:
-----------------
... "The people behind this new milonga are not forthcoming about who they
are, or if they are (or are not) affiliated with Ruddy and Judith's ...If
one does not pay close attention, one might believe ...that it is perhaps
the same milonga ...I can't get anyone associated with the group to TELL
who is involved! I get sideways answers instead of straight forward ones.
This is not comforting..."
... "my research indicates that Steve isn't the person who is putting on
the milonga! ....Does he want to lead folks to make our own inaccurate
assumptions about the group?....This new milonga is put on by a group (of
mostly unknown members, (except for Steve) that call themselves a
"society". What is a society?
{Writer provides 100-word definition of "Society" from an online dictionary}
... "They do not appear to be "an organization or association of persons
engaged in a common profession, activity, or interest" since no
organization exists, there is no way to "join". Nor are they the
established "socially dominant members of a community" or they would have
no reason to create confusion about their group, their identities and their
purpose - we would already know them all and their express intent because
they would be members of the established San Francisco Bay Area Tango
Community to which we all already belong. Their apparent need or desire
for secrecy makes me worry that there is some untoward objective that the
group wishes to disguise. This leaves me with a very unsettled feeling
about this group and their milonga...."
"....Until I know a lot more about the members of this group, the structure
of this group, and their goals, I will not be supporting this new milonga."
------------
Whew, this is pretty serious stuff. I guess the organizers had best
'fess-up! The Tango Police are nearly on our tail! Where did it all
begin, this grim tale of extraordinary drama and secrecy???
Why, it began right here, on the Tango-A list, no more than 4 or 5 days
ago!! <this is now about 10 days ago, Ed.> Let look at the first clue,
the only internet announcement ever made about this event:
***
Subject: NA-W: New Milonga on the S.F. Peninsula - Every 4th Friday
_______________________________________________________
Good news for Tango Lovers on the San Francisco Peninsula !!
The Peninsual Tango Society announces a NEW MILONGA.
For those who have been afflicted with an acute withdrawal syndrome due to
the recent loss of some of the regular Friday night gigs, The Peninsula
Tango Society offers you a new, friendly, and entertaining Milonga, every
4th Friday of the month!
Place: American Legion Hall, 347 First St., Los Altos (just several
minutes from Hwy 280 in downtown Los Altos, plenty of parking and local
restaurants.)
Times:
7:00 - 8:30 - Class by Leslie Gordon
8:30 - 9:00 - Practica
9:00 - 12:00 - Milonga (DJ - Emilio)
Cost: Milonga: $10; Class plus Milonga: $12
***
In retrospect, we can see, now, how extraordinarily obtuse and secretive
was the nature of this announcement. How could anyone be expected to
notice the words, "The Peninsula Tango Society announces a NEW MILONGA.",
and: "recent loss of some of the regular Friday night gigs" ... and:
"Class by Leslie Gordon", and "DJ - Emilio"?
(This is "confusion"?? In whose mind? Did Ruddy metamorphosize into...
Emilio???)
If only Ruddy had mailed every single tango dancer in the Bay Area a
personal letter with the news that he and Judith decided to terminate their
2nd and 4th Friday milongas! - instead of just making announcement after
annoucement at their milongas, and at other people's milongas, over a
period of a month, and the detailed internet announcement Ruddy made,
telling every member of the tango-lists that they were going to end the 2nd
and 4th Friday milongas, as of March.
And if only our little group of friends had had more than the 1 week
available to us, to decide to utilize the (unused) Legion Hall on the 4th
Friday, and put on our first milonga... then we could have announced it at
more milongas, and not just at the the Verdi Club where it was announced
during the previous week by a member of the group (the ONLY milonga where
it could have been announced, since we only got it together in mid-week.)
How could we have been so stupid???
Well, after the extraordinary concerns (expressed by the writer, above), we
have decided that our idea of having a fun, and casual, and
"do-it-yourself" milonga for all the people and friends who no longer have
a place to dance on the Peninsula or in the South Bay/Santa Cruz areas on
the 4th Friday... is so intense, so incredibly unnerving to certain
citizens, so Against the Tango Way, mother and apple pie, that we are going
to have to identify ourselves.
Certainly every American in tango should know that NO ONE should have fun,
or create something spontaneous and friendly and casual, if it has to do
with tango, without informing the Tango Police!! Certainly, anyone in
Argentina would know (or would they?) that you NEVER dare put on tango
music in a bar, or rent an empty hall for one day a month, or dance with
your friends, or tell everybody you can, to "Come and enjoy your favorite
addiction....Bring a friend...All welcome!" (as we did), without getting
permission from the Tango Police!!!
I should have known, when I got an abrupt, querulous, demanding e-mail from
the Chief of the State-Your-Business-and-Define-Yourself Division of the
Tango Police (above) insisting that I reveal... "who are the members of
this group", and "what are the criteria for joining?"
So, if it may please the Court, I will enter into evidence, therefore, my
single solitary communication with the Tango Policewoman in question, my
response to the E-mail Of Enquiry:
I wrote:
"Here are the 'criteria': One comes to the milonga, and while there, is a
kind, warm, and friendly person. One enjoys oneself, in a spirit of
generosity, humor, and lightheartedness. There are no other criteria.
Rules, eliteism, cliques, experience... these don't interest us."
On now, in retrospect, is it obvious that an answer like this was
unavoidably destined to create a firestorm of fear, a tidal wave of
anxiety. WHAT COULD BE MORE SUBVERSIVE ???? Imagine!!!, suggesting that
the "criteria" demanded by the writer were simply to ..."come to the
milonga", and (gasp!!) ... be "friendly", "warm", "lighthearted".
Imagine!!!, suggesting that "rules, eliteism, cliques, experience" are not
important when you come to our milonga. CAN YOU THINK OF ANYTHING MORE
SUSPICIOUS THAN THAT???
*** No wonder the writer is so paranoid about our motives !!!!!! ***
And so, with no further ado, we will reveal in full view of the Court of
Tango Police, our identities:
Carsten, Michael, Terri, Steve, Donna, Emily, Stan, Victor, Rich, and
forgive me if I've forgotten any others from our group of pals on the
peninsula, because there are LOTS of suppporters.
In conclusion, before the Judge, Jury and Executioner of the Tango Police
meets with herself to seal our verdict, we want to thank everyone who came
to our first milonga last night, all the way from San Francisco to Santa
Cruz. It was good to see all of you. We hope everyone had fun. Thanks to
Emilio for the fine tunes.
Hope to see you all next 4th Friday... at the Peninsula Tango Society
Milonga !!!!
---------------
------------------
Today, Feb. 28th, five days later, the above light-hearted essay above
seems too good for the likes of the idiots that are ranting and raving,
knowing nothing, and needing to know nothing, about our group's milonga.
What a pathetic bunch of people, who have to spread innuendo, and their
paranoic "won't support this milonga", and their concerns about the legal
definition of a society. What an idictment of the sad, wierd hearts of
these people.
Let's be really straight about this total lie of... "confusion", no matter
from where it comes originally:
!. Ruddy and Judith flat out QUIT putting on their 2nd and 4th Friday
milongas, last month. I heard complete and detailed totally assured
explanations from each of them personally, several times, how having 4
milongas a month was terrible, and absolutely killing them, and they were
OUT of there, now!!
2. They made announcement after announcement, in literally booming tones,
in all their milongas, for a month -- and in MANY other milongas the same
announcement was made. Ruddy made at least one DETAILED and explicit
internet announcement that they were QUITTING the 2nd and 4th Fridays.
3. During the same period, Becky had to stop her regular class and
practica on Sundays. Suddenly, the mid-Peninsulans lost 50% of their
Friday night tango, and 100% of our Sunday options too. We all had about a
month, to consider our greatly cut-back,dancing options....
4. A group of people (listed above), who have known each other for at
least 5 years, who are real friends, who spend time together for birthdays,
holidays, who have had many many parties together in people's homes,
carpools to Broadway, etc.. (is it ok to call this..."society"???) decided
to just simply, modestly, put on a milonga of their own. Many had been
talking about doing that for months. We have looked all over the
mid-peninsula. We were not interested in flashy stuff, or hot teachers.
We talked about making a milonga for a much more diverse level of dancers
and backgrounds (such as the Stanford tango students), as compared to some
of the jazzier milongas. We didn't care about reputation, or "experience",
and especially not the snobbery that too often is mentioned with certain
"more elite" milongas, where half the people won't talk or dance with less
experienced dancers. We were interested in perhaps more experimental
music, etc. Things like this.
4. The American Legion was EMPTY, UNRENTED, for the 4th and 5th Fridays
of the month. We rented it. (Big crime, huh.)
5. We put on a nice little, informal, milonga last Friday. We said, in
the one internet announcement we had time for: "Come and enjoy your
favorite addiction. Bring a friend. All welcome!"
You show up, you're a member of the "society".
From the several lines in the e-mail announcement, it is absolutely clear
that this is not "THE Los Altos Milonga" of Ruddy and Judiths, as she puts
it.
The people who have been spreading rumors, and putting people up to making
rash, unfounded, and just plain stupid claims of conspiracy... you should
be ashamed of yourselves. Those of you with psychiatric problems involving
severe paranoia, the obsessive-compulsive (and controlling) personality
disorder, lying, etc. should make some additional appointments to see your
therapists, and start taking your medications again right away.
To think that people in this country have to EXPLAIN who they are... to
play recorded tango music in a musty old meeting hall! To think people
have to meet some nut case's definition of a "society" to be able to
advertise a milonga! - it's sick and pathetic. But so characteristic of
certain elements in tango, as in American society. "No, Madam, it's true,
we are not the established "socially dominant members of a community."
People, get a grip, grow up. Quit the paranoic concerns about whether
other human beings are allowed to put on milongas. Music is music, dance
is dance. Who cares what it's called? Who cares if a milonga has a name.
Why does it have to have a name? But, in fairness and courtesy, we chose
the expression Peninsula Tango Society so as to clearly not infringe on the
only connection between our milonga which, one night per month, happens to
use the same room as Ruddy and Judiths. It was explicit in the annoucement
that this was new milonga, by different people. Did anyone happen to READ
the first three lines of my annoucement?
Subject: NA-W: New Milonga on the S.F. Peninsula - Every 4th Friday
_______________________________________________________
Good news for Tango Lovers on the San Francisco Peninsula !!
The Peninsual Tango Society announces a NEW MILONGA.
Let's put this "confusion" lie to rest.
Steve Hoffman