Goodbye 2016

...And what a bummer.

Honest Ed's closing its doors forever today.  We pass by this kitschy and beloved Toronto landmark at least once or twice a week on our way to one of the local milongas.  It's all going to be torn down to make way for a swanky new mixed commercial/residential development:

Goodbye Honest Ed's

Le Baron, our favourite camping and fishing store, also closed after 58 years in business.  We don't camp or fish (too busy tangoing) but we do like to wear warm winter parkas.  Can't afford to catch a cold in the middle of winter if we have all those milongas to go to! We got all our Canada Goose parkas there, we've been wearing them since the early 2000's, even before they became super trendy and everyone started wearing them.  We went to visit our friend Lily on the very last day to say goodbye - she sold us every single one of our coats.   So sad. 

 Goodbye Le Baron

We've been practising at Club 300 in Markham ever since Mad for Dance closed a copy of years ago.  It was a really outdated "cosmic bowling" bowling alley with a dance studio space - yeah, strange, but there you have it. Huge parquet floor, drop by anytime (except when there is a line dancing class going on) and just a five minute drive from home!  Some investors bought the building and are planning to turn it into - surprise - mixed residential commercial.  We had a fascinating eight months before the bowling alley closed for good of watching the building slowly crumble and turn derelict before our eyes.  Leaking from the ceiling, flooding, bits of parquet erupting out of the floor, lights being turned off to save energy etc.  Not much we can do except dress to the nines (well, me anyway) and practice among the ruins.  How Tango.

Yeah, yeah... I know, crappy.  But that was back in April!  I guarantee you that now, eight months later, I know 200% more steps, and dance 25% worse!

Also:

Goodbye Habeeba Dance Studios in Toronto.  We always enjoyed the lovely practicas and milongas held by Masha there.  Building already torn down to make way for condos.

And Goodbye Celia Blanco.  Lo de Celia, our favourite milonga in Buenos Aires, is not the same without her.

Adela Galeazzi and Horacio Prestamo - Tango Performance at the reopening of Salon Canning, October 31, 2016

The fabulous milonguera Adela Galeazzi wrote a email to us to let us know about her recent performance at Salon Canning with well-known milonguero Horacio Prestamo.  It was lovely to see the video of her performing with Horacio, and wonderful to see the renovations to the venerable old dance hall too:

As Adela said:

Han re inaugurado el Salon Canning con reformas muy lindas, ya que han sacado la alfombra y colocado piso "damero" y pintando sus paredes, cambiando la barra y reformando baños.....en fin.....ha quedado "hermoso" con esta renovación!!!

 

They have reopened Salon Canning with beautiful renovations, they have removed the carpet and placed "checkerboard" floors, painted the walls, changed the bar and updated the washrooms...and still, kept the dance hall as handsome as before with the renovations!

 

We are always happy to hear from our friends in Buenos Aires and receive good news about them and the milongas we have gone to.  This year we were not able to take a trip to Buenos Aires, as we had to take care of our two very elderly and ailing cats and couldn't travel anywhere.  In fact, our beloved girl cat passed on peacefully a month ago.  We only have our ginger tom left, 18 years old - that's 88 years in cat years!  If our cat danced Tango, he'd dance it salon style with plenty of pauses.  He's a very calm fellow - and being calm (and therapeutic massage every day) is one of the secrets of longevity, I'm sure. 

 

We wish everyone a happy and healthy 2017, with lots of great tangos!