Time passes so fast - its been an amazing time. I lunched with Monica on Friday, 14th March in San Telmo at a quaint old bar with a collection of dusty old glass bottles that must have dated back a century. Tortillas and Tutti Fruitti - a mixed fresh fruit smoothie - deliciously refreshing. She has an apartment, actually a block 2 stories high with 2 apartments -she rents the top floor out and saves the main apartment for her visits home. It has a tiny patio in the middle open to the sky with old hand-painted decorative tiles on the walls dating back to 1934 when the building was first built - at the same time as the Independence subway station which is adorned with painted tiles from the time it was built in the Seville style; it was built by an architect from Seville. Very interesting. There's also another subway close by (must revisit and note the name) with decorated tiles inspired by Granada - Arabic inscription and design detail. Fascinating! On some of the lines they still use the original train coaches which are made of wood and are almost 100 years old - you actually have to open and shut the doors yourself.
My tango lesson on Friday 14th March was a landmark event - I was surprized at the end of the lesson with a 'revelation' - I was invited to do a demo dance with the teacher for all the students of the school - apparently after having danced with me for a full number for the first time, the teacher was surprized at my abilities! I feel like I have accomplished something. Learning the Tango here is a slow and arduous process - still learning how to walk, yet, I can follow the lead and do most of the basic moves with a good lead. I haven't yet been to a big milonga but should do so somethime this week.
An article in the NY Times of Saturday 15 March describes Buenos Aires as the new discovery for travelers - I am surprized it took them so long to realize what a fabulous place it is - http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/travel/16buenos.html?ref=travel
I made a friend this week - Carol, a French woman from Lyon. Met her at the DNI dance studio - she accompanied me to my next tango lesson at Carlos Copello which she enjoyed thoroughly. She is also here for another 2 months which is a coincidence!
Saturday, 15th March turned out to be exhausting - I walked all the way downtown to attend a dance class at a studio I had never been to but came highly recommended only to find it closed so I decided to spend the day at the San Telmo market again. I ended up walking for over 4 hours. It was interesting meandering amidst the hustle and bustle, listening to tango orchestras enjoying entertaining the passers by. The empanadas, no matter where they're from, taste good - specially when you're hungry. I could have eaten a dozen after all the walking I had done! Thank goodness they're baked! My favorites are the carne (minced beef).
Sunday 16th March - a landmark day. I went for my first real Milonga with Carol. It was in an old-fashioned dance hall - we did a class in the basement where I got to dance with a few of the students who were ALL older locals - most of them over 60! Very polite and helpful. One of the ladies invited me to spend a Sunday in La Boca with her and her friend - both named Liliana. I danced a few Tangos and a few Milongas which is a faster and simpler version of the Tango. Attending Milongs seems to be a regular pastime for some people - they are there dancing most nights with their partners - very few dance with others, normally only if they are single. As a result there are a limited number of people to dance with. The etiquette followed is also very formal - women don't ever ask men to dance. Depending which dance hall you go to, the etiquette varies. At some place you have to look out for eye contact and a gentle nod of the head - you can accept or decline. At others you just sit - men on one side of the hall, women at the other, till someone comes and asks you - you could be sitting there all night if you don't know anyone. There are agencies where you can hire a 'taxi dancer', i.e. you can pay for a partner to go dancing with you. Probably a good way of guaranteeing being on the dance floor all night. Nothing like having your own partner with you, though. Hint, hint, Sharath! Can't wait for you to get here!
Chou, chou.
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