We just came across this video on Youtube of Alberto and Paulina with the rest of the cast of "Milonguisimo" (that's Oscar Hector Malagrino and Teresita Brandon, Jorge Uzunian and Haydee Malagrino, Juan Esquivel and Susy Tilbe - all our favourites and frequently mentioned here in our blog) performing to Poema during one of the events of the mundial competitions:
What can we say? Sheer happiness and pure bliss.....we should all be so lucky to be able to dance like this someday!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Buenos Aires 2008 - Part 3
Saturday
(Day)
One great thing about staying at Hotel Wilton is the breakfast buffet. Now, it's nothing fancy - no omelets done to order or eggs hollandaise - but it's got the good basics. Bread, pastries, fresh fruit, fruit salad, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, cream cheese, deli slices, juice, tea and coffee - nutritious and simple and a great way to start a new day. Because every day we spend in Buenos Aires is long and exhausting, and god forbid that we run out of steam by 3:00 p.m.!
Since Friday was a complete shoe shopping write-off - the first item on our list on Saturday was Comme Il Faut (I insisted). The boutique is about 1.2 km from the hotel. It's lovely to walk there, through peaceful streets lined with tall leafy trees and turn of the century continental architecture. Although Arenales (where Comme Il Faut is located) is not a major throughfare like Callao or Santa Fe, there are many high-end stores (gourmet, fashion, home furnishings) on the street with impeccable and charming window displays. If it were any other similar sized street in Toronto there would be nothing on the street except residences and at most a convenience store.
The dog-walkers were out in full force, so we had the opportunity to enjoy the sights of the delightful groomed dogs in all different shapes and sizes. They are such well-behaved cuties - the dog walkers would loosely tie a whole bunch of them by the side of the road while dropping off each dog at their homes, but none of the dogs would run into the road or sniff and bark at strangers who passed by!
We were on a tight schedule, so we got to Comme Il Faut moments after it opened its doors. Shopping for shoes with Man Yung is the BEST. People can't believe that I'm so lucky to have a husband who could double for a very competent fashion consultant. Some of the salesladies recognized us from the previous year - and they were inclined to be even more friendly and helpful when they saw how quickly Man Yung looked at the shoes. He would go through the boxes incredibly quickly - what we liked we put to one side and what we didn't we put to the other side without that strange, agonizing, constipated indecision that plagues a lot of the other patrons. What we went through we made sure were returned to their boxes and stacked back neatly. We gave enough information about heel height, shoe type and colour preference to the salesladies so that they were able to decide accurately what we wanted to look at, without having to bring us every shoe in the store. Within fifteen minutes we had four perfect pairs for me - two blue pairs and two red pairs. "Why don't you have men's shoes?" Man Yung asked. The salesladies looked horrified. "NO! NONE for the men! NEVER!" they exclaimed.
The ladies of Comme Il Faut are great - professional, classy, (Man Yung would also like to add: "Very beautiful!") and proud of the shoes that they sell. That's one thing we notice time and time again whenever we shop in Buenos Aires - people are proud of what they do and what they make. And when you show them respect and appreciate their product or services - they are all smiles and they treat you like long lost friends. I had a problem with one of my Comme Il Fauts that I bought back in 2007 and Comme Il Faut was able to resolve the problem very quickly for me after I emailed them. I wanted to thank the lady who helped me in person - but unfortunately, she was not in the store that day. However, just by expressing that I wanted to thank one person for something that happened a year ago, all the other people became even nicer to us!
After dropping off the brand new shoes at the hotel (you can bet that the rest of the day I was thinking incessantly about my beautiful new Comme Il Fauts), we went to the Galerias Pacifico, where La Escuela Argentina de Tango's central location is located, and where we were going to meet up with Martha and Manolo at their canyengue class at 1 p.m. We deliberately arrived early so we can have a nice lunch at the food court.
The Galerias Pacifico has a really, really nice food court - if a mall in Toronto had the same kind of food court it would be considered a gourmet food court and a tourist attraction. There's so much delicious choices I could hardly decide - and I have to decide for the both of us since I'm the only one who could read Spanish and actually have some idea about what we were ordering.
Apart from pasta, pizza, salad, fast food like burgers and the like, there's also several different kind of barbeque available - Argentinian and American styles - and we ended up ordering a small parrilla (you can see it being cooked on the big horizontal grill behind the counter and everything) which Man Yung washed down with some beer. There was soccer playing on the tv screen while we ate - perfect! Except that Man Yung was so engrossed in the game he set his plastic cup down wrong and spilled the beer all over the table - luckily my lightning fast kung fu reflexes kicked in and I was able to jump out of the way at the last second.
The way to the Centro Cultural Borges on the third floor where the school is located is always a bit of a maze. There's elevators, and then stairs, and then passageways, and more stairs - wait, there's a security guard, better ask him how to get there. Anyway, we made it. There were lots of people waiting outside the classroom for the previous class to end. We were pleasantly surprised to see many people from the previous year's Camicando festival - either attending the class that was ending or waiting to attend Martha and Manolo's class - and meeting them again, it was like we just saw them yesterday.
Finally Martha and Manolo arrived - and much hugging and crying ensued (especially by Man Yung) with the other students looking at us rather strangely. Martha and Manolo looked well - Manolo was in good health this year so he looked much better than the previous March, when he was suffering from a cold. We were overjoyed at seeing each other.
After the class we went together to a nearby cafe. We were the only patrons there as it was the awkward time in the afternoon - to late for lunch and too early for dinner. There was only a narrow sidewalk in front of the cafe, so there weren't any people sitting outside people-watching - in fact, in the congested streets next to the mall, who would want to sit outside and breathe in all the traffic fumes? But inside the quiet comfort of the small cafe - with its old world decor and efficient, polite waiters - we could talk and catch up.
Martha and Manolo did not have good news. Osvaldo Cartery had quit smoking and he was not adjusting well to the change. He couldn't even finish an entire tango, he got so out of breath. Now, we were really looking forward to learning from Osvaldo and Coca this year at Camicando - Man Yung had been studying his style all year - so we were really concerned when we heard this. Martha and Manolo were worried and stressed out themselves - as they said, they had been sleeping poorly, eating poorly and thinking too much. There was the big Camicando festival (which starts on the following Monday) that they had to organize and they had relatives who were in poor health, so they were constantly shuttling back and forth trying to take care of everything and everyone. I don't know whether it was the life of tango that they lived or whether it was some innate quality that suited them to dance tango - but no matter what their troubles or their worries, Martha and Manolo handled everything with incredible poise, tranquility, love, care and acceptance. Anyone else in the same situation (including myself) would probably be having a nervous breakdown and calling attention to themselves with all the drama.
We only had a brief hour together before Martha and Manolo had to leave and attend to their busy schedule - so we were on our own for the rest of the afternoon. It was so hot and tiring taking just one class of Canyengue, I seriously doubted whether I would be able to survive the festival. However, Man Yung was still full of energy after the class (and the very light dancing at La Milonguita the previous night meant that he was hankering for more dancing) - so off we went to El Arranque after a quick shower at the hotel.
El Arranque is about eight blocks from our hotel along Callao. It looks like a cinema from the outside, with lots of black, black, black. But inside - I always get the impression that the place is a grey green, moldy colour - was it the lights, or the floor, or the walls? We had been warned by some of our teachers about the nature of El Arranque: arrive at the right time and it's alright, come at the wrong time and it is a meat market/pick-up joint. As they would say emphatically: "MUY FEO".
We might have arrived during a "Muy Feo" time..... it wasn't crowded at all, but there were some very odd looking people sitting in the singles section, staring hungrily at one another. It seemed that the thousands upon thousands they had spent on plastic surgery did nothing to turn the clock back - rather, it had accelerated their descent into FREAK LAND.
Anyway, we arrived, got a table at the sparsely occupied "couples section" on the right side of the stage, and started dancing... but noticed that the level of dancing at the milonga was kind of low. "Hey, I'm the best dancer here!" said Man Yung, kind of surprised. Which was promptly confirmed - the older local couple at the next table deliberately started to talk to us to let us know that we were dancing very very well. The regular dancers in the milongas are generous in that way - if you dance well, they'll let you know.
However, at El Arranque that afternoon, it really was not that big a deal. We were in a place where hugging lasciviously was more important than actual dancing!
(Day)
One great thing about staying at Hotel Wilton is the breakfast buffet. Now, it's nothing fancy - no omelets done to order or eggs hollandaise - but it's got the good basics. Bread, pastries, fresh fruit, fruit salad, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, cream cheese, deli slices, juice, tea and coffee - nutritious and simple and a great way to start a new day. Because every day we spend in Buenos Aires is long and exhausting, and god forbid that we run out of steam by 3:00 p.m.!
Since Friday was a complete shoe shopping write-off - the first item on our list on Saturday was Comme Il Faut (I insisted). The boutique is about 1.2 km from the hotel. It's lovely to walk there, through peaceful streets lined with tall leafy trees and turn of the century continental architecture. Although Arenales (where Comme Il Faut is located) is not a major throughfare like Callao or Santa Fe, there are many high-end stores (gourmet, fashion, home furnishings) on the street with impeccable and charming window displays. If it were any other similar sized street in Toronto there would be nothing on the street except residences and at most a convenience store.
The dog-walkers were out in full force, so we had the opportunity to enjoy the sights of the delightful groomed dogs in all different shapes and sizes. They are such well-behaved cuties - the dog walkers would loosely tie a whole bunch of them by the side of the road while dropping off each dog at their homes, but none of the dogs would run into the road or sniff and bark at strangers who passed by!
We were on a tight schedule, so we got to Comme Il Faut moments after it opened its doors. Shopping for shoes with Man Yung is the BEST. People can't believe that I'm so lucky to have a husband who could double for a very competent fashion consultant. Some of the salesladies recognized us from the previous year - and they were inclined to be even more friendly and helpful when they saw how quickly Man Yung looked at the shoes. He would go through the boxes incredibly quickly - what we liked we put to one side and what we didn't we put to the other side without that strange, agonizing, constipated indecision that plagues a lot of the other patrons. What we went through we made sure were returned to their boxes and stacked back neatly. We gave enough information about heel height, shoe type and colour preference to the salesladies so that they were able to decide accurately what we wanted to look at, without having to bring us every shoe in the store. Within fifteen minutes we had four perfect pairs for me - two blue pairs and two red pairs. "Why don't you have men's shoes?" Man Yung asked. The salesladies looked horrified. "NO! NONE for the men! NEVER!" they exclaimed.
The ladies of Comme Il Faut are great - professional, classy, (Man Yung would also like to add: "Very beautiful!") and proud of the shoes that they sell. That's one thing we notice time and time again whenever we shop in Buenos Aires - people are proud of what they do and what they make. And when you show them respect and appreciate their product or services - they are all smiles and they treat you like long lost friends. I had a problem with one of my Comme Il Fauts that I bought back in 2007 and Comme Il Faut was able to resolve the problem very quickly for me after I emailed them. I wanted to thank the lady who helped me in person - but unfortunately, she was not in the store that day. However, just by expressing that I wanted to thank one person for something that happened a year ago, all the other people became even nicer to us!
After dropping off the brand new shoes at the hotel (you can bet that the rest of the day I was thinking incessantly about my beautiful new Comme Il Fauts), we went to the Galerias Pacifico, where La Escuela Argentina de Tango's central location is located, and where we were going to meet up with Martha and Manolo at their canyengue class at 1 p.m. We deliberately arrived early so we can have a nice lunch at the food court.
The Galerias Pacifico has a really, really nice food court - if a mall in Toronto had the same kind of food court it would be considered a gourmet food court and a tourist attraction. There's so much delicious choices I could hardly decide - and I have to decide for the both of us since I'm the only one who could read Spanish and actually have some idea about what we were ordering.
Apart from pasta, pizza, salad, fast food like burgers and the like, there's also several different kind of barbeque available - Argentinian and American styles - and we ended up ordering a small parrilla (you can see it being cooked on the big horizontal grill behind the counter and everything) which Man Yung washed down with some beer. There was soccer playing on the tv screen while we ate - perfect! Except that Man Yung was so engrossed in the game he set his plastic cup down wrong and spilled the beer all over the table - luckily my lightning fast kung fu reflexes kicked in and I was able to jump out of the way at the last second.
The way to the Centro Cultural Borges on the third floor where the school is located is always a bit of a maze. There's elevators, and then stairs, and then passageways, and more stairs - wait, there's a security guard, better ask him how to get there. Anyway, we made it. There were lots of people waiting outside the classroom for the previous class to end. We were pleasantly surprised to see many people from the previous year's Camicando festival - either attending the class that was ending or waiting to attend Martha and Manolo's class - and meeting them again, it was like we just saw them yesterday.
Finally Martha and Manolo arrived - and much hugging and crying ensued (especially by Man Yung) with the other students looking at us rather strangely. Martha and Manolo looked well - Manolo was in good health this year so he looked much better than the previous March, when he was suffering from a cold. We were overjoyed at seeing each other.
After the class we went together to a nearby cafe. We were the only patrons there as it was the awkward time in the afternoon - to late for lunch and too early for dinner. There was only a narrow sidewalk in front of the cafe, so there weren't any people sitting outside people-watching - in fact, in the congested streets next to the mall, who would want to sit outside and breathe in all the traffic fumes? But inside the quiet comfort of the small cafe - with its old world decor and efficient, polite waiters - we could talk and catch up.
Martha and Manolo did not have good news. Osvaldo Cartery had quit smoking and he was not adjusting well to the change. He couldn't even finish an entire tango, he got so out of breath. Now, we were really looking forward to learning from Osvaldo and Coca this year at Camicando - Man Yung had been studying his style all year - so we were really concerned when we heard this. Martha and Manolo were worried and stressed out themselves - as they said, they had been sleeping poorly, eating poorly and thinking too much. There was the big Camicando festival (which starts on the following Monday) that they had to organize and they had relatives who were in poor health, so they were constantly shuttling back and forth trying to take care of everything and everyone. I don't know whether it was the life of tango that they lived or whether it was some innate quality that suited them to dance tango - but no matter what their troubles or their worries, Martha and Manolo handled everything with incredible poise, tranquility, love, care and acceptance. Anyone else in the same situation (including myself) would probably be having a nervous breakdown and calling attention to themselves with all the drama.
We only had a brief hour together before Martha and Manolo had to leave and attend to their busy schedule - so we were on our own for the rest of the afternoon. It was so hot and tiring taking just one class of Canyengue, I seriously doubted whether I would be able to survive the festival. However, Man Yung was still full of energy after the class (and the very light dancing at La Milonguita the previous night meant that he was hankering for more dancing) - so off we went to El Arranque after a quick shower at the hotel.
El Arranque is about eight blocks from our hotel along Callao. It looks like a cinema from the outside, with lots of black, black, black. But inside - I always get the impression that the place is a grey green, moldy colour - was it the lights, or the floor, or the walls? We had been warned by some of our teachers about the nature of El Arranque: arrive at the right time and it's alright, come at the wrong time and it is a meat market/pick-up joint. As they would say emphatically: "MUY FEO".
We might have arrived during a "Muy Feo" time..... it wasn't crowded at all, but there were some very odd looking people sitting in the singles section, staring hungrily at one another. It seemed that the thousands upon thousands they had spent on plastic surgery did nothing to turn the clock back - rather, it had accelerated their descent into FREAK LAND.
Anyway, we arrived, got a table at the sparsely occupied "couples section" on the right side of the stage, and started dancing... but noticed that the level of dancing at the milonga was kind of low. "Hey, I'm the best dancer here!" said Man Yung, kind of surprised. Which was promptly confirmed - the older local couple at the next table deliberately started to talk to us to let us know that we were dancing very very well. The regular dancers in the milongas are generous in that way - if you dance well, they'll let you know.
However, at El Arranque that afternoon, it really was not that big a deal. We were in a place where hugging lasciviously was more important than actual dancing!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Buenos Aires 2008 - Part 2
The first entry "Part 1" for our 2008 Buenos Aires trip could be found here. Sorry for the big delay!
Friday
Dear V,
No first day in Buenos Aires can be complete for chinese people without a trip to Chinatown. Not only is it important for a chinese person to connect with chinese food (A hot, late lunch with a large Quilmes beer at Todo Contento yet again - although walking down the block we were almost tempted to try "old marinated style duck necks and chicken feet" at one of the smaller restaurant/take-out places - seems that there are quite a few very very chinese establishments that have no inclination to cater to non-chinese in Buenos Aires), it was crucial for us to buy as many packages of cup noodles as possible to last for the rest of our trip. At 4 a.m. in the morning after an exhausting day, a mere twenty metre walk (more like a mutual limpy drag - I'm dragging Man Yung and Man Yung is dragging me) to the twenty-four hour La Madeleine for food is beyond contemplation - therefore, a trusty pava electrica (electric kettle) and cup noodles are a must.
The food at Todo Contento was good, although to our sophisticated Scarborough "protein lovers" tastes rather basic - more carbs like rice and noodles than anything. We noticed that more non-chinese are being hired in the restaurant as well as the supermarket though compared to 2007. Was it a change in the law? Or a change in the clientele? The proprietress let us know that it is mandatory that all the chinese stores hire at least a minimum number of Argentinos. Which means that many of the chinese here are not yet "Argentinos", but may be there either illegally or temporarily.
It was still mid-afternoon when we completed our shopping in Chinatown, so we hailed a cab and went back to the hotel - and immediately headed back out to buy Lacoste polo shirts at the Santa Fe Lacoste location. That's how it is for us for the first 24 hours in Buenos Aires - a mini shopping frenzy involving Instant Noodles, Lacoste shirts (Man Yung can sweat through about four or five during a milonga - disgusting!) and Comme Il Fauts. The staff at Lacoste recognized us from last year (I've discovered that if one exhibits the same kind of good fashion taste and quick, decisive skills of selection as Man Yung, one would always be remembered) - however, the handsome english-speaking manager was not around ("Que lastima!!" we all exclaimed in unison) because he had gone on vacation.
Unfortunately, the sun, the heat and yes, the very long flight had contributed to us feeling extremely tired and cranky - so no shoe shopping but a nap instead was in order.
Alberto and Paulina came to pick us up in the evening. We had been exchanging emails with Alberto and Paulina throughout the year since our last trip but Man Yung and I are such lowly insignificant tango dancers, what if all that wonderful friendship was only a dream? How could we even imagine Alberto and Paulina treating us so well and taking around all the milongas and introducing us to there friends even though we dance so poorly? And how would Alberto react seeing our yucky dancing after putting so much of his heart and energy into teaching us how to dance well just the year before? Would it drive him to an early grave? I was a bundle of nerves.
But when they arrived in their car - all the anxieties melted away. Alberto and Paulina aren't just two wonderful dancers on Youtube, or world-famous milongueros and teachers of tango. The way they greeted us showed us what was really important - and that we were friends, and that mattered more than anything.
Alberto and Paulina took us to La Milonguita, a milonga run by Blas Catrenau and Graciela Lopez that had recently moved to a nice new location at the Centro Montanes, right at the edge of Palermo. During the drive there, I was eager to hear more news from them, and to give them a preview of the horrible dancing from us ahead so that they wouldn't be too disappointed ;) .
Alberto told us about his performance with his assistant Ms. E at Susana Miller's festival this year - she was under immense pressure as her mother just passed away, the funeral was just on the morning of the performance. However, dancing and teaching tango was E's dream - and to complete the performance was something she had promised to do not only for herself, but for her mother who supported her with her whole heart. It was a performance to remember, a tango that encompassed all of love beyond life and death.
We also talked about Alberto's other performances - a recent memorable one with a trendy new live orchestra that played in the style of one of the good old ones (I'm not saying which one because then you will be able to guess!) How was it? Just plain awful - the music that is. The music was brassy and loud, oddly accented and would bust your eardrums apart. It just shows that no matter how you try to recreate it, some methods of playing the tango have been lost and it would take years of trial and error and experience to get the playing back to the sophistication of the golden age. Alberto had heard the lovely playing from the original orchestras and to hear the modern equivalent was too much of a contrast. Anyway, at least they are playing tango - it would take time, but eventually they will get there.
We arrived at La Milonguita early so we could have dinner there - we peeked into the milonga hall so that Alberto and Paulina could say hello to their friends Blas and Graciela. There was a tango class going on and we were curious too, after watching Blas and Graciela dance in a video on Rick McGarrey's website! (However, it would not be nice to run away and take classes with Blas when we were out on the town with Alberto, right?)
Alberto, like most of the Argentinians we have become friends with during our trips, knows all the good places to eat - and this one was no exception. There's a spanish restaurant next to the milonga hall right in the same building - I believe the place is a club and many come to eat there whether or not they had planned to go to the milonga afterwards - and being early, we had our choice of tables. Alberto picked a table in the corner next to open doors leading out to the concrete courtyard outside. There was a nice mellow breeze coming in from the open doors, and the twilight was settling in. We were with our good friends and teachers, about to share a hearty dinner. It was a moment of harmonious tranquility. Sensing the moment, Alberto ordered the perfect red wine - "Rincon de los Amigos". It was delicious with the torta and the seafood paella.
We did more catching up with Alberto and Paulina over dinner. We had missed Alberto and Paulina when they travelled to New York the previous summer - but they had plans to visit North America again in the fall of 2008, if, that is, their plans with an organizer from Montreal worked out. We hoped that this would come to fruition for Alberto - we knew how difficult it was for good teachers from the older generation to be able to teach overseas when everyone wanted to learn the newest trendiest tricks from the most shameless self-promoters with the biggest brand names. While we were talking and eating, Blas Catrenau came over to say hello to Alberto and Paulina, and we were introduced. Blas is a very charming gentleman - and an incredible dancer who won the first metropolitano competition with his partner Graciela, back when people actually won for dancing fabulously in their own idiosyncratic way and not for parroting some "sure-win" style.
La Milonguita Fridays was not very crowded (it is more crowded on Sundays) and because of Alberto and Paulina we got to sit at a very nice table right on the edge of the dance floor. The floor must be marble or white tile, it was glossy and smooth, and there was plenty of space to dance! Man Yung was able to cabeceo with success - a plump young portena adornista was intrigued by the way he danced - but one tanda and 300,000 molinetes later, it was quite enough for the poor thing (Nothing new here!)
And as for our dancing? Being one of our teachers, of course Alberto would be concerned. However, it was not so excruciatingly bad after all - Alberto did raise an eyebrow and suggested to Man Yung that there was one "minor thing" that he would like to take the opportunity to correct (was it the continuous molinetes, or the dancing on the toes, or the strange posture, or perhaps the speeding around the dance floor without even a thought of pausing? Or all of the above?) Phew! He didn't disown us. What a relief.
We didn't stay so late, and Paulina and Alberto were not party animals either. We left after enjoying some nice tandas together. It was a wonderful evening - and it certainly would not do to tire ourselves out on the very first day when so much was lying ahead!
Friday
Dear V,
No first day in Buenos Aires can be complete for chinese people without a trip to Chinatown. Not only is it important for a chinese person to connect with chinese food (A hot, late lunch with a large Quilmes beer at Todo Contento yet again - although walking down the block we were almost tempted to try "old marinated style duck necks and chicken feet" at one of the smaller restaurant/take-out places - seems that there are quite a few very very chinese establishments that have no inclination to cater to non-chinese in Buenos Aires), it was crucial for us to buy as many packages of cup noodles as possible to last for the rest of our trip. At 4 a.m. in the morning after an exhausting day, a mere twenty metre walk (more like a mutual limpy drag - I'm dragging Man Yung and Man Yung is dragging me) to the twenty-four hour La Madeleine for food is beyond contemplation - therefore, a trusty pava electrica (electric kettle) and cup noodles are a must.
The food at Todo Contento was good, although to our sophisticated Scarborough "protein lovers" tastes rather basic - more carbs like rice and noodles than anything. We noticed that more non-chinese are being hired in the restaurant as well as the supermarket though compared to 2007. Was it a change in the law? Or a change in the clientele? The proprietress let us know that it is mandatory that all the chinese stores hire at least a minimum number of Argentinos. Which means that many of the chinese here are not yet "Argentinos", but may be there either illegally or temporarily.
It was still mid-afternoon when we completed our shopping in Chinatown, so we hailed a cab and went back to the hotel - and immediately headed back out to buy Lacoste polo shirts at the Santa Fe Lacoste location. That's how it is for us for the first 24 hours in Buenos Aires - a mini shopping frenzy involving Instant Noodles, Lacoste shirts (Man Yung can sweat through about four or five during a milonga - disgusting!) and Comme Il Fauts. The staff at Lacoste recognized us from last year (I've discovered that if one exhibits the same kind of good fashion taste and quick, decisive skills of selection as Man Yung, one would always be remembered) - however, the handsome english-speaking manager was not around ("Que lastima!!" we all exclaimed in unison) because he had gone on vacation.
Unfortunately, the sun, the heat and yes, the very long flight had contributed to us feeling extremely tired and cranky - so no shoe shopping but a nap instead was in order.
Alberto and Paulina came to pick us up in the evening. We had been exchanging emails with Alberto and Paulina throughout the year since our last trip but Man Yung and I are such lowly insignificant tango dancers, what if all that wonderful friendship was only a dream? How could we even imagine Alberto and Paulina treating us so well and taking around all the milongas and introducing us to there friends even though we dance so poorly? And how would Alberto react seeing our yucky dancing after putting so much of his heart and energy into teaching us how to dance well just the year before? Would it drive him to an early grave? I was a bundle of nerves.
But when they arrived in their car - all the anxieties melted away. Alberto and Paulina aren't just two wonderful dancers on Youtube, or world-famous milongueros and teachers of tango. The way they greeted us showed us what was really important - and that we were friends, and that mattered more than anything.
Alberto and Paulina took us to La Milonguita, a milonga run by Blas Catrenau and Graciela Lopez that had recently moved to a nice new location at the Centro Montanes, right at the edge of Palermo. During the drive there, I was eager to hear more news from them, and to give them a preview of the horrible dancing from us ahead so that they wouldn't be too disappointed ;) .
Alberto told us about his performance with his assistant Ms. E at Susana Miller's festival this year - she was under immense pressure as her mother just passed away, the funeral was just on the morning of the performance. However, dancing and teaching tango was E's dream - and to complete the performance was something she had promised to do not only for herself, but for her mother who supported her with her whole heart. It was a performance to remember, a tango that encompassed all of love beyond life and death.
We also talked about Alberto's other performances - a recent memorable one with a trendy new live orchestra that played in the style of one of the good old ones (I'm not saying which one because then you will be able to guess!) How was it? Just plain awful - the music that is. The music was brassy and loud, oddly accented and would bust your eardrums apart. It just shows that no matter how you try to recreate it, some methods of playing the tango have been lost and it would take years of trial and error and experience to get the playing back to the sophistication of the golden age. Alberto had heard the lovely playing from the original orchestras and to hear the modern equivalent was too much of a contrast. Anyway, at least they are playing tango - it would take time, but eventually they will get there.
We arrived at La Milonguita early so we could have dinner there - we peeked into the milonga hall so that Alberto and Paulina could say hello to their friends Blas and Graciela. There was a tango class going on and we were curious too, after watching Blas and Graciela dance in a video on Rick McGarrey's website! (However, it would not be nice to run away and take classes with Blas when we were out on the town with Alberto, right?)
Alberto, like most of the Argentinians we have become friends with during our trips, knows all the good places to eat - and this one was no exception. There's a spanish restaurant next to the milonga hall right in the same building - I believe the place is a club and many come to eat there whether or not they had planned to go to the milonga afterwards - and being early, we had our choice of tables. Alberto picked a table in the corner next to open doors leading out to the concrete courtyard outside. There was a nice mellow breeze coming in from the open doors, and the twilight was settling in. We were with our good friends and teachers, about to share a hearty dinner. It was a moment of harmonious tranquility. Sensing the moment, Alberto ordered the perfect red wine - "Rincon de los Amigos". It was delicious with the torta and the seafood paella.
We did more catching up with Alberto and Paulina over dinner. We had missed Alberto and Paulina when they travelled to New York the previous summer - but they had plans to visit North America again in the fall of 2008, if, that is, their plans with an organizer from Montreal worked out. We hoped that this would come to fruition for Alberto - we knew how difficult it was for good teachers from the older generation to be able to teach overseas when everyone wanted to learn the newest trendiest tricks from the most shameless self-promoters with the biggest brand names. While we were talking and eating, Blas Catrenau came over to say hello to Alberto and Paulina, and we were introduced. Blas is a very charming gentleman - and an incredible dancer who won the first metropolitano competition with his partner Graciela, back when people actually won for dancing fabulously in their own idiosyncratic way and not for parroting some "sure-win" style.
La Milonguita Fridays was not very crowded (it is more crowded on Sundays) and because of Alberto and Paulina we got to sit at a very nice table right on the edge of the dance floor. The floor must be marble or white tile, it was glossy and smooth, and there was plenty of space to dance! Man Yung was able to cabeceo with success - a plump young portena adornista was intrigued by the way he danced - but one tanda and 300,000 molinetes later, it was quite enough for the poor thing (Nothing new here!)
And as for our dancing? Being one of our teachers, of course Alberto would be concerned. However, it was not so excruciatingly bad after all - Alberto did raise an eyebrow and suggested to Man Yung that there was one "minor thing" that he would like to take the opportunity to correct (was it the continuous molinetes, or the dancing on the toes, or the strange posture, or perhaps the speeding around the dance floor without even a thought of pausing? Or all of the above?) Phew! He didn't disown us. What a relief.
We didn't stay so late, and Paulina and Alberto were not party animals either. We left after enjoying some nice tandas together. It was a wonderful evening - and it certainly would not do to tire ourselves out on the very first day when so much was lying ahead!
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