Surprise!

Our favourite waiter came to our table as we were paying the bill after another spectacular meal today.

"So long, this is going to be my last day!" he said.

We looked at him in horror.

And it gets worse.  "By the way, I think the chef is quitting too."

Now, where are we going to eat?

The older we get, the less we appreciate surprises.  Not that we particularly liked surprises when we were younger.  Back then, we were just healthier and less likely to get heart attacks when surprises were unleashed.  So Mom, if you are reading this - the "Secret Santa" reindeer sweater three sizes too big that I received (when everyone else got Cabbage Patch kids and Mr. Men colouring sets) was not the "surprise" I really wanted to experience.

Generally, we suspect that the ratio of "good surprise" to "horrible surprise" is about 1:100, despite all good (or not) intentions of the "surprise-giver".  Yet, people persist in promoting their surprises to us like, as the Cantonese expression says, "It's your lucky day!  Here's advantage for you!"  How about this thought: Saying something is a "Surprise!" is like extravagant gift wrapping - the item lying inside all those bows and sparkly paper is more likely to be a cheap Dollarama bath set that would give you hives - than a brand new Corvette. 

So...please, no more surprises in Tango!  We don't want to go to our favourite traditional milonga and find that the orderly, pleasant and considerate regulars have been replaced by hyperactive Nuevoists hell bent on flipping all the drinks off the tables with their high kicks.  We don't want to settle into a dreamy tanda of Di Sarli with Duran only to find that track 3 and 4 of the tanda are Canyengues, or a contemporary "interpretation" of Di Sarli.  We don't want to look forward to a pleasant night of dancing only to find that the floor is covered in plastic and pivoting on it would wrench the ligaments right out of your knees (yes, that has happened too in Toronto).

And most of all... we don't want surprise DJs, or surprise performances!  TELL US if you are going to have such-and-such a DJ, we have heard most of the DJs in town and some of their music gives us headaches.  Ditto "surprise" performances by dancers we don't want to watch - we don't care if they have been regular attendees of your milonga or if they have selflessly devoted themselves to the promotion of Toronto Tango for decades - all the good words in the world would not justify your taking away our right to choose whether to watch crap, or not watch crap (and have to wash out our eyes afterwards).  If you are going to invite the Crazy Chicken Lady or the Hokey Pokey dancers (or even Fabio) to perform, we think we have the right to know first!  We have to drive an hour downtown to a milonga, look for a parking spot for another fifteen minutes, pay for parking, and then walk ten minutes to the venue in subzero temperatures - the last thing we want is an unpleasant "surprise" sprung on us at the last minute to ruin our entire weekend.  We could have avoided it all and had a better evening at home, you know!*

* "Hey, just received an email from tonight's milonga organizer!  Thank God, ___________________ [very good Toronto Tango instructors and performers] are going to perform tonight.  Why didn't they say so earlier? All that hinting before about "Surprise!" by the organizer was putting us off - NOW, knowing who is going to perform, we can go to tonight's milonga.  If we didn't receive this email - and given the dismal "surprise performer!" track record of this milonga, I shudder to think the last performance we saw there - we would really have stayed at home!"**

** "Please God, we hope that the organizer has abandoned all "Surprises!" and there will, truly, be no surprises tonight!"

Performances in January - Martha and Manolo and Osvaldo and Coca

Here are some wonderful performances by our teachers Martha and Manolo in Gricel in January - their very distinctive and musical Milonga and Canyengue.  Watch them bring down the house!:





We're glad to see that Martha's leg is much better - she had a slip and fall back in October just before we visited them and has luckily recovered fully.  As for Manolo - he's turning 80 this year!  Look, he has the speed and footwork (and the corriditas) to match any twenty year old tanguero.

Another lovely surprise we got from Youtube is this video of our teachers Osvaldo and Coca performing at a benefit held at La Baldosa at the end of January:



Does anyone know the name of this tango and the orchestra?  We tried calling Osvaldo and Coca today to ask them but they didn't pick up the phone (perhaps they are having their siesta?) By the way, from the weather report and the telephone conversations we've had with Martha and Manolo and other friends in Buenos Aires, it's really sweltering hot in Buenos Aires so yes, probably a siesta in the afternoon is a good idea!

Here's Osvaldo and Coca in a recent interview with Junando Milonga - wearing their summer clothes, with the background noise of all the whirring fans.  There's four parts, but all in Spanish:









We haven't had a chance to watch all the parts of this interview yet (it's going to take some time, my Spanish isn't that great!).  Wishing we were in sunny hot Buenos Aires instead of here in wintery Toronto!

How would you know that you have kicked too high during a milonga?

...When your kick has walloped into one of the tables on the side of the dance floor and overturned all the drinks thereon causing torrents of beverage to cascade all over the tablecloth and onto the floor...yes siree, you have indeed kicked too high and probably too hard during a milonga.*

* And you should stop.  Kicking.  IMMEDIATELY. **

** And perhaps even quit.  Dancing.  New Tango.***

*** Or maybe you should keep a running tally:  How many inanimate objects or PEOPLE have you kicked while dancing this year?  Have you broken the record for the previous year?  If you have - Congratulations!