[TANGO-L] National Day Of Tango

[Sergio Vandekier <sergiovandekier990 @HOTMAIL.COM>]

The celebration took place on December 11, the birthday of Carlos Gardel and
Julio de Caro.

At about 6 pm. I took the subway for a short ride to the station 'Carlos
Gardel'. I got off right were the all City Central Market used to be (a
place where Gardel used to hang out as a boy). This Market, its external
architecture preserved  was transformed into a shopping mall.  Gardel's
house is situated about two blocks away. It is a regular house probably
built around the 1920's. French Style. The door to one side and two windows
to the right. The entrance hall, leads to the bedroom of dona Berta
(Gardel's mother) and also to the desk.
A large wall of glass and iron (Puerta Cancel) separates this area from the
patio on which the other bedrooms open . This patio was covered by a
retractable glass ceiling. Then the bathroom and the kitchen. There is a
small room situated at an intermediate floor (mezzanine) and then the stairs
take you to the upper floor which used to be the area to dry clothes on a
line but where there are museum offices today.

The architect in charge of the restoration works took us for a tour of the
house and then of the street . Some of the houses around show traces of
another popular art form of the city of Buenos Aires 'El fileteado'. This
art was born at the same time as Tango.  It seems that an Italian immigrant
that painted carts started to use colorful ornaments around 1980. At the
beginning there were only lines of different colors but later on arabesques,
filigrees, leaves, etc., reproducing the ornaments of the facades of the
houses of that period. Then flowers, the picture of Carlos Gardel, Virgin
Mary and interesting amusing phrases were added. Samples of this almost
extinguished art form can be found at the flee market in San Telmo on
Sundays.

The huge cake was cut and served with a bottle of beer after 'Happy birthday
Carlitos' was sang.

Then I went to a dance in the street two blocks away . There was a show with
improvised singers and great musicians. It was very thrilling to listen to
the lyrics while the couples old and young alike sang along, the man, his
arm around her shoulders or her waist and some of them cheek to cheek.

Then a movie of Tita Merello projected on the obelisk, fire works and the
street dance with some young couples dancing to 'Rave tango'. most people
dancing free style and the older generation complaining that that music and
dance was not tango.

I returned home by two am. It was a beautiful day!

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