El Tango Buenos Aires

Did you really think I was going to have a blog about Buenos Aires and not have a post about the TANGO??? Come on now....I was just saving some of the really fun stuff for the end.


Where do you even begin to talk about the tango? I'm honestly a little overwhelmed because there is just so much that I can and should say. Let me start with a little background history lesson. I know some people really hate this, but I don't really know how else to start. So per usual if you are one of my anti-history folks just skip down to the row of yellow asterisks. 


Let's start with the basics. First and foremost the tango was invented here in Buenos Aires. In an earlier post I had talked about the Lunfardo language and how and where it developed. For those of you who don't remember no worries here is a little refresher. The lower classes in Buenos Aires who lived right on the port developed a lot of their own culture separate from that of the wealthier part of the city. Because of the nature of  poverty, all of the prostíbulos (brothels), were located in the lower class areas of Buenos Aires. Many of the younger rich males would venture into the prostíbulos and have themselves a fun night that would often include some time in a local milonga. Naturally, people in poverty like to develop their own spin on some classic things so they can take ownership and this dance of seduction, passion, teasing began to develop in the Milongas. 


Eventually, French visitors and immigrants to Buenos Aires, like their porteño counterparts, visited the prostibulas and discovered this new twist on the classic dance. They then brought the dance back to France where it really took off. The tango proceeded to make its way through Europe and became a very different version of what it was in Buenos Aires. The dance was no longer a gritty passionate dance that was sort of foreplay for some of the prostitutes but was fancy and given all sorts of bells and whistles.


Now tango is not only the dance, although most people only think of it that way. Tango is truly a whole culture. Music, language, style, and the dance all come together to make this truly unique experience. 


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Throughout Buenos Aires it is not uncommon to see tango dancers. Sometimes, in very touristy areas, they are professionals who are dressed appropriately and trying to earn money from the tourists who abound in certain areas. Then there are the local Porteños who in certain areas, very non-touristy and hard to find, will simply have a band playing some tango music and break out into a tango. It is AMAZING!! Some of the best tango dances I have seen were actually just along the street in Puerto Madero. Fortunately I have had my camera with me a couple times so you can see what exactly some of those dances might look like in the streets.

Clearly this is the couple that isn't "professional", but I'm telling you not different from the professionals at all.

This is a tango band....pretty cool.

So those are the pictures of just random tango dancers and bands that I have seen throughout Buenos Aires, but I was determined to see a real Tango show while here in Buenos Aires. Finally this week I did it. There was a show called Evita Vive! The show basically told the story of Evita through tango. I thought it combined the two pinnacles of what you think of when you think of Buenos Aires, Eva herself and the dance that has made the city famous. The show was actually really small, a cast of 10, and in the really classically Porteño/Lunfardo neighborhood of San Telmo. Plus you got a free bottle of Mendoza wine with the show. Is there really any question as to why I wanted to go??


Let me start by saying I have NEVER seen tango like this in my entire life. The show had modern tango twists, very classic tango between a male and female and some tango with two males and two females. In addition to some of the BEST dancers I have ever seen there was also one guy who actually sang in the show and his voice was so classic tango that I couldn't believe it. 


Now in typical fashion I went planning to simply watch a 3 hour show, enjoy a bottle wine, and just relax. But before the show even started my plans went awry. The small theater was very small. Including myself, I would say there were probably a total of 20 people there. Of this 20 there was a group of Brazilian soccer players, a small group of what looked like spouses of people in the show, an Asian couple, me, and a girl from Poland. Before the show began the Asian stood up after having half of their bottle of wine and began to walk to different seats so they would be able to see the show better. As the man was walking in front of his wife she went down. I'm not talking she like....she fell almost headfirst at my feet. Sometimes I think God thinks its funny to throw these situations my way just to see how I'll react. Without even thinking I jumped up and sat the woman up and checked to see if she was breathing and if she was bleeding anywhere. She was breathing and sat up pretty easily with me. It was at this point I realized that she didn't speak English or Spanish so me trying to talk to her was really useless. Luckily I was not left alone with the woman though. Rather the trainer for the soccer team came over and sort of took over....me wanting to relax more than willingly gave up my position as lead care taker. I got the Asian woman a seat, some water, and left her in the care of her husband and the athletic trainer. The woman ended up being okay which is good. 


I ended up being even better. The show was fantastic. Everything I had been waiting for in a Tango show. The cast was young, but Eva and Juan were played by two people who clearly had amazing chemistry and had been dancing as long as they had been able to walk. I definitely recommend it if you ever get the chance to come here and only have time to see one Tango show. Here is a little clip....