[TANGO-L] adios 1940

[sarah La Rocca <danzisima @YAHOO.COM>]

on June 22 Linda Allred wrote:

"...Americans think of themselves as so progressive &
liberal, so where does this male-in-charge-hold over
come from? makes no sense to me!"

Makes no sense to you? The answer is obvious:
Milongas everywhere, to some degree, are modeled after
the culture of Buenos Aires in general and retain mid
20th century milonga ettiquette in particular. The
"Golden Age of Tango" is the inspiration and that
means the men are in charge. It has nothing to do with
whether North Americans are conservative or not. And
IMHO, North America is by and large a conservative
place.

Whereas Buenos Aires is our model and continued
inspiration, it is important for tango to redefine
itself in each new land and reflect the local way of
life.

Where I live in NYC, I hope to see a greater of mix of
people in the milongas-more people of color and more
gay people. Tango is by and large a very white,
straight, upper middle class activity. That is ok, but
it is so limited. Wouldnt it be nice for the milongas
to be a greater reflection of the population?

Why dont more people come to tango? Because people
want to do things they can relate to and make friends
at. They want to feel welcomed and comfortable in the
mix.  A friend of mine who is male and a follower
seldom comes to the milongas because no one will dance
with him. So when we speak of encouraging new people
to the tango, we have to be open to ALL people. We
cannot proceed into the 21st century using the 1940
mind set or this thing is just going to die out.

Sarah La Rocca
NYC










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