Thinking about milonga musicality

I am a singer who started to dance

I started as a singer and musician, long before I started dancing in college. For me, the musicality of tango/milonga/vals comes from a sung interaction in my head. I don’t count, as I learned about music as a small child. Instead, I feel the music and let myself move. I learned to talk about counting and helping people find the music when I studied dance pedagogy in grad school. For myself, I approach musicality from a singing point of view.

This is especially true for milonga. Unless you want to be precious and play with triplets, or pauses, a good ‘ol milonga for me has tiempo (on the beat) and dobletiempo (double-time) if slow enough. And that’s it. How do you make that feel musical and not monotonous? Especially as adding tons of steps is NOT a way to be in the groove most of the time.

Answer: I SING the milonga in my head.

What milonga looks like inside my head

If a normal step (3) is the middle of the volume/register range of 1-5, then a traspie is almost a whisper (1-2) and something like a cross or a vaiven (5) really shouts out.

  • VAI! VEN! (5!)

  • Walk (3)

  • Traspies (2)

  • Anything that is double-time is even quieter (1) (sorry ran out of ways my website easily showed different words :-)

In practice

So, traveling traspie (traspie lateral L, fd step w/ L, traspie lateral R, fd step w/ R would look like: Traspie Step traspie step

And Vaivens would be: Salida step (vai) change feet in place, step (ven) change feet in place

If you want to do a corrida, it would be: (a bunch of) step, little teeeeeeny steps like a whisper, back to step.

Homework

Next time you do a milonga, think of an opera singer messing around on Sesame Street. Be silly, SING! your dance and find how to make just walking, traspies and maybe a little more — into a lovely little tune that grooves along with the song! Don’t be afraid to exaggerate to explore the idea. Let’s make all of our milongas: 1. fun; 2. musical; 3. Groovy!

Benefit milonga Thursday at Norse Hall

There is no class this Thursday at Shabu Studios (23 May 2024) BECAUSE there is a special event happening. Jerry Wallach has organized a benefit milonga for Blanchet House and I have donated my services to teach the pre-milonga class. Please join me!

  • Location: Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th Ave., Portland, OR

  • 7:30 PM All levels lesson with yours truly

  • 8:30-midnight dancing to DJ Jerry Wallach

  • 9:30-10:30 live music with Alex Krebs Septet

  • Donation: $20 minimum at door

  • Bar open: 8:30-11:30 PM

We used to dance downstairs at Norse Hall on Thursdays weekly before the pandemic, so it will be nice to be back in a space many of us have frequented over many years. For new folks, don’t feel nervous: there is a LOT of room for dancing, and you will not be squeezed in. Please come dance and benefit a good cause at the same time!

Warm weather milonga tips to get more partners

We FINALLY have mild weather here in Portland! Yay! As it warms up, I always like to remind folks about a few things that help to make going to the milonga more fun. I find this to be true this year even more, as I emerge from wearing a face mask on and off for four years.

Air out your summer clothing

If your milonga clothes have been hiding in a closet for the winter, AIR THEM OUT! If your clothing smells musty, people who are sensitive may avoid you. With this sunny weather, you can hang your outfit outside for a few hours, and it will smell wonderful!

Mints do not always work

Brush your teeth and/or use mouthwash before the dance. We try to always have mints available, but sometimes that is not enough. If a friend has bad breath, a good friend mentions it! I know I always appreciate that feedback myself, even if it feels difficult to address the subject.

Limit the cologne

Many people are finding that, after four years of masking, cologne seems more overwhelming than before COVID. Add it to the seasonal allergies lurking with all the blooming flowers, and ACHOO! If you love perfume, a small amount does not affect most people. Some of us are very allergic to smells; so, don’t feel offended if someone declines to dance with you because of the scent.

And then there is body odor . . .

Clean humans smell good to most people. There will always be that one person who smells strange to your nose, but shorter dancers may spend a significant amount of time near taller dancers’ armpits. Make sure their experience of your shirt and you is a pleasant experience.

Adornos party!

Invitation: Adornos, wine, and crafting workshop/party

  • Friday, April 19th

  • @ 7 PM

  • at Elizabeth’s house

  • $15 (and bring a GF snack or a drink to share!)

  • sign up here!

Feel more comfortable and elegant with your feet!

When I first started tango, I felt very awkward and nervous about adornos. I decided to focus on making my dance and feet more elegant, but I felt stupid dancing around, practicing. Then, one day, my feet did adornos without my conscious brain—but it took time playing with the shapes and tango music.

Come work on your balance, musicality, and movement in a supportive, constructive environment—and then have some wine, chocolate, or your go-to reward for challenging work.

Hang out and get to know the other tango women!

On the dance floor, we sometimes end up only knowing the dancers who dance the “other” role from ourselves. We are lucky in Portland to have many people who dance both, but everyone is so busy dancing that they forget to chat. Get to know some of the other great folks who tango! And you won’t miss a tanda doing it.

And if there are guys out there who want to work on adornos for following, like to knit, and want to chat, I won’t kick you out :-)

Bring your knitting!

Most of you know that I am a spinner and knitter. I have seen a lot of great knitted items recently at milongas, and realized many of us are also fiber folks. I had planned to have a craft night and a separate adornos class, but realized I can do both at one time! If you are a crafter, bring your knitting/crochet//weaving/spinning/etc. along, and curl up after class with a drink, a snack, and your hobby while you chat.

If you don’t craft, you can chat and keep the crafters company. We still like you!

Inspired!

Every few years, I read something that makes me think, “Oh! I should have been a . . . (fill in the blank)!” Right now, I am learning about Moishe Feldenkrais. I studied his work in graduate school when doing my master’s in dance, but the information didn’t really stick. It is sticking now, and I am fascinated both by Feldenkrais himself, and by what his work accomplished ahead of science’s embrace of neuroplasticity.

Nerding is my happy place

I have found that I take in information better when moving my body since I am a kinesthetic learner. I take long walks with audiobooks, and what I hear only stays with me this way. Otherwise, I am an “in one ear, out the other” person when it comes to aural learning.

For a fast read and valuable information, I highly recommend both of Norman Doidge’s books on neuroplasticity. I own both but borrowed them from the library to listen to the audiobook version, as that helps me get my exercise AND my learning: double nerding!!

Takeaway for today

Most of what Feldenkrais taught is somewhat of a “duh, I knew that!” and yet I am still amazed at HOW he integrated information and bodies. I am in awe!

So here is what I have for you today:

  • Your best learning happens when you are relaxed, using your parasympathetic nervous system instead of feeling tense.

  • All movements affect the entire body, even minute adjustments you think happen only in one part of yourself.

  • Think “improving” instead of “fixing” or “correcting” yourself.

  • Let your body explore an idea, rather than trying to force your body to repeat exactly the “right” thing: babies learn by experimentation, and so do adult bodies!

Applying Feldenkrais to tango: it’s an exploration!

In my most recent private lesson this morning, we laid on the floor, released the body, and explored twists and contrabody. Then, we danced, experiencing that standing up, without trying to lead or follow any specific moves. We worked on strategies for allowing the body to pivot more easily for turns (as opposed to forcing twists), went back to the floor, and back up to dancing. Suddenly, everything feels great!

Be prepared to play and explore in class tonight!

Valentango: the season of tango love

Stress and festivals

All week long, I have heard people worrying about their dancing: is it good enough? Do other people like dancing with them? Does their technique look ugly? Is their dance boring? Can they please learn another fancy move before the Valentango festival? Why do they struggle with milonga? Or musicality?

This happens whenever folks get ready to attend a festival. Somehow, it feels like a junior high dance all over again: wallflowers, the “in” crowd, and everyone in between. Am I going to be popular? What do I need to do to be acceptable to the “in” crowd? Why do I feel inadequate? It does not help that a lot of tango dancers were NOT the “in” crowd as teenagers. There are a lot of tango dancers who are introverts, but still venture out into huge crowds for festivals because tango pulls them into this situation.

Share the tango love

Take time this week of Valentine’s to tell a favorite partner why you like dancing with them! Encourage a new leader or follower by asking them to dance. Smile at someone, even if you don’t plan to add them to your dance card: don’t pretend you didn’t see them! Dance with a stranger. Compliment a pretty dress or fancy suit. Make one other person feel good, and YOU will feel good. I promise. And: I like dancing with you!!

For Valentine’s Day and Valentango, give the gift of kindness.

Ice and balance around your axis

Ice, Ice, Baby

I spent my extra time during our week of ice (cancelled classes) rereading information about fascia and planning tango/yoga classes about how the body is connected from head to toe. I tried to walk most days, despite the ice. With hiking boots for traction, I would only lose my footing a few times. Although I don’t want to fall, attending college in Minnesota taught me how to fall on ice, so I was less worried than some other folks about ending up on my bottom.

During those moments of trying to catch my balance when I slipped, I found myself experiencing the fascial lines in my own body. I am such a geek….

Very quick fascia primer

There are four lines of fascia in each arm, and three functional lines of fascia that connect the arms into the core and legs. The other main lines extend from the feet all the way up to the skull: deep front, superficial front, superficial back, spiral and lateral lines of fascia exist in the body. Each of these lines has a right and left section, or separate (opposite) side. For each line, you can dissect muscles and connective tissue that have a continuous flow, much like a stretchy band or a ribbon. Your body moves using these opposing and/or helping lines of bungee cord because of their interaction with your bones: the forces pull and push, anchored in the skeletal structure (and interwoven with the bones).

Finding your center

When fighting for balance, whether on ice or on tango heels, you can feel the front, side or back of yourself tighten, working to keep your axis perpendicular to the ground. Your opposite arm and leg connect in crosses through the center line of your body, wrapping around your axis: when you flail your arms to catch your balance, or tighten your toes or knees or hips to maintain equilibrium, other body parts react to help you come back to a neutral axis.

Normal walking and standing are things that we learned as toddlers before we could talk. We don’t think in words about doing these quotidian actions. However, walking on ice, like moving in tango, requires a bit more expertise, and allowing yourself to have a deeper awareness of how your body functions will improve your balance and ability to move efficiently. It will also help you fall less, which becomes an issue for ALL of us as we age.

Explore fascia and balance without the ice :-)

  • Stand on a balance rocker, or just on your bare foot. Can you feel how your foot arch and your toes and ankles subtly adjust constantly? Your brain listens to that interplay (all five main fascial lines start at your feet!), reestablishing your center. Your lateral, front and back lines help hug to the center, while your deep front line does the hard lifting of stabilizing your core up the center.

  • Stand on one foot and move your other leg: tango adornos, leg swings, or randomly drawing designs on the floor with your big toe. Can you feel how your body twists around your spine to maintain your balance? Are you aware of how your hips need to tip a little as the weight of your leg swings front, side or back? Can you feel how your lateral line helps you stay on top of your standing leg, rather than tipping off the side?

  • Walk forward and feel how the right and left sides of the body twist in contrabody movement to balance your skull while you are in motion. Now stop on both feet and feel how steady that neutral position feels.

  • Try a front ocho to experience how the spiral lines of fascia (you have two) help your body pivot and regain neutrality, and then pivot again.

If you don’t like to make yourself do drills and explorations, then meet me in class, where we can all experiment together AND have fun dancing at the same time!

NO CLASS TONIGHT

I just talked to Shannon, and everything still looks icy, so STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE!. See you next week for group class! I will have private lessons today and tomorrow if you feel safe getting to my house :-)

New tango shoes

I left my heart AND my shoes in Buenos Aires

I have started to break in my new tango shoes from Buenos Aires. I like to use them for solo practice first, then take them out dancing later. I did NOT follow my own advice and wore new shoes out in Buenos Aires—and am just healing a huge blister from one night of being stupid!

Look at your old tango shoes. Do you wear them down on the outside or inside of the heel? What are your movement habits, based on what you see from your shoes? I was that kid walking along on the outsides of my shoes, and after years of work, I still tend to roll out onto the outsides of my shoes. I focus on “big toe energy” to balance that tendency, and over time, my shoes have shown an improvement in the wear pattern.

New shoes do not have any of your old postural habits. They are a new canvas and start dancing with you at your current level of expertise. I know it is hard to throw out your old shoes. When you have danced with the support of your new shoes, try your old ones. Do they feel as if they are supporting you, or do they sag? If they are truly worn out, thank them for their service—and throw them out!

My tango word for 2024: Collaboration

When I spend time in Buenos Aires, taking lessons and dancing in the milongas, I always come home with a renewed energy to teach Portland dancers to dance like Buenos Aires dancers. For 2024, there are a few items on my to-do list that I feel benefit all dancers. Number one: collaboration!

Collaboration

I had the most enjoyable time dancing to live music that I have ever had the night Cuarteto Mulenga played at Lo de Celia. A man I did not know had asked me to dance earlier in the evening and asked me again when the live music started. I find many dancers do not dance their best to live music: they feel comfortable dancing to the version of a song they already know, so I was prepared for a second tanda that was not as good as the first.

In this case, I felt as if I had been given the gift of collaboration. We were BOTH dancing to new music, interacting with the music and each other. He listened to what I was doing, made suggestions, and riffed off my energy. His lead was stable and clear, and I could choose to follow it, or suggest other moves because of his stability. That level of collaboration rarely occurs on the dance floor, and I enjoyed every minute. When I sat down to video because I had promised my students to do so, the man sat nearby and waited for me to finish. “Just look at me when you are ready!” he said. More fabulous dancing ensued.

I want to bring more collaboration into the dance for leader and follower. The tango is enhanced with such a high level of play, improvisation and close communication. Let’s ALL dance like that! Join my classes this winter to enhance your collaborative skills in your tango!

Buenos Aires booster shot

Back with an agenda

I come home from Buenos Aires more energized to teach and more devoted than ever to producing dancers who can get off the plane, onto the dance floor, and fit right into Buenos Aires milongas. Dancing in the USA, we can forget minute details of tango that slip away with more distance from Argentina.

I always take time to take at least a few lessons. Anyone who thinks that I don’t need lessons because I have taught tango for 28 years, does not understand that tango is an ongoing exploration! I study with different teachers who do not always follow my preferred style: I try to listen to what they have to say and incorporate it into what I do if I feel I can benefit from the feedback.

Here are a few details that have changed this time in my dance, and they will show up in my teaching, as I try to share everything that I learn.

Embrace

I learned on the dance floor something I should have been able to explain before. 20/20 and hindsight… I danced with three people who took me in their arms, and I immediately felt relaxed, safe, calm—not my regular feeling when running a tour! I felt my pulse slow as I slipped into their arms. One of my new goals is to create dancers who can dance like that!

The other part of my embrace improvement came from lessons with Valencia Batiuk and Jose Garofalo. I have studied with both on and off for years, and I have learned to let the information work its way into my body over time. As my teachers explained their idea of the embrace, I kept saying, “Yes! I agree! That’s what I teach!” “Then DO it,” Valencia said. Oy. How will people understand it if I say to dance more in front of each other, but not toe-to-toe, especially when there are already arguments about what is correct?

I still do not know how to describe the changes to my embrace succinctly, I am attempting to transmit my new feeling in the dance to my students. Briefly, my new embrace feels more energized and solid, but does not pull the follower in. It does not let the follower wander away. There is space inside the embrace for the follower to pivot and move, but it feels more secure.

Arrive!

“You need to arrive!” was another comment from Valencia. I didn’t understand what she was trying to explain in words, but I could feel the difference. I then worked with Jose Garofalo to solidify my technique in my most joyous tango lesson ever. I am grounding my axis better. I can establish a clearer location and better timing for my follower when I do it right, which translates to a freer, more energized follower. I can feel when I DON’T do it correctly. I hope words will follow the understanding! In the interim, I am working with my students on the intention and the feeling, and I see a distinct difference when it works. Yay!

Musicality

It may not be fair to measure a dancer in the USA against a milonguero in Buenos Aires in terms of musicality. Most people here did not grow up with tango music. If you have heard tango your entire life, you will use the music better. However, there is no impediment to improving how we use music. Sheer familiarity does help: start listening more to the music when you aren’t dancing!

We will play musical games that encourage exploration, play, and deep listening.

Day Nine, Buenos Aires 2023: More street art, more dance classes and Gricel

A busy day!

Street art everywhere

I think everyone on the tour has taken part in either a biking or walking street art tour. I have invited them to write about their favorites, and I will add in and update this as I get more from each person.

Dance classes

Monday night classes at El Motivo with Valencia Batiuk

Most of us are taking private lessons from various teachers, mostly Jose Garofalo and Valencia Batiuk. On top of that, some of us took the advanced class at El Motivo Monday; others showed up for the all-levels class.

I enjoy attending a class that makes me pay attention to details! Vale described the class as “Well, we teach an advanced class, but a lot of intermediates come. We don’t slow down for them, and they can do as well as they can.”

The class was huge and loud. I appreciated the help that we received from Valencia’s helper. As Luciana and Dina were out of town, the usual triumvirate was reduced to one person teaching. It felt great to dance moves I have not taught for years because of their difficulty. I am inspired to start teaching my advanced class again!

Part of our group at Gricel

Milonga review: Club Gricel, La Rioja 1180

We arrived in three chunks during the evening. One group misunderstood the reservation process and tried to reserve through the club instead of the organizer and ended up squashed into a corner. I reserved through WhatsApp and got a great seat. Cat and Mel showed up later; I don’t know if they had reservations, but they got a table near the bar. In the end Patrick and Sally coaxed better seating out of the host after waiting for a while as I suggested.

Tips to get better seats

Pro tip#1: Show up early: most organizers keep some tables free for last-minute arrivals. If you show up right at the beginning of an evening, you can often still get a seat.

Pro tip #2: Some people make reservations and then don’t show up. Different organizers have various ways of dealing with this, but usually, there is a cut-off time when unused reservations are then available to dancers who walk in. Wait until that cut-off time, and then ask nicely. You may get a better seat!

Club Gricel has been renovated and the dance floor is fabulous, if still hard to cabeceo down the length

Pro tip #3: Just make a reservation! Now that most organizers have WhatsApp, you can type in your request using Google Translate, and the old nightmare of telephoning in a foreign language is no longer a problem.

The male grapevine

I danced with two men who I already knew, but then the invitations to dance exploded. I had no idea that there is a regular male grapevine; how I didn’t know this is beyond me, since women always share opinions about how a dance went. One guy told me, “Oh I heard you were a really good dancer!” This is another advantage of speaking Spanish, as I only danced with Argentines, who apparently did not feel that foreign men needed to get in on the dance action.

New shoes

I wish I had not worn new shoes! I should have brought two pairs with me, but I felt lazy and packed one. My feet gave out after 2.5 hours of solid tandas. I knew that I would not be able to dance the next night if I continued. A younger me would have ignored that, but the voice of reason won, and I went home with the early risers in our group.






Day Eight, Buenos Aires 2023: Street Fair, El Beso and FIESTA!

The current tango tour group are mostly world travelers, so we have done extraordinarily little in a group of ten. Today was no different.

It rained most of the day: I have never had such a rainy December in Buenos Aires! We split up in the morning. Some visited the street fairs (San Telmo and Recoleta and Palermo). I will add photos here as people send them to me. Others took tango lessons. The valiant late-night (oh, is it after 3 am already? Cat I am looking at you!) were up and about as well.

Milonga review: La Rosa Milonga at El Beso, Riobamba 416

La Rosa is a new organizer. She is young, energetic, organized, and ran the milonga with an iron hand. Every half hour or so, she stopped the DJ and demanded everyone move over to make room for new people, scolding folks for holding onto seats. I have never seen that before!

Denise, Ed, Scott, Sally, Cat, and I went to El Beso. It was crowded with all ages, dancers from a dozen countries, and good music. On the best of days, El Beso is tricky for new leaders, as the room has a column ALMOST in the middle of the dance floor, which creates strange traffic issues. I was proud of the guys for jumping into the fray and holding their own. Everyone is getting better at cabeceo.

Parrilla!

The rain stopped a few hours before the big fiesta, and the weather warmed up enough to eat al fresco outside on the terrace, rather than inside.

Jesus Pietropaulo, a friend of Jose’s, was our chef as we partied on the rooftop of La Maleva. We devoured everything he brought to the table; a few decided the blood sausage was not their thing, but other hungry folk tucked it in between the chinchulines (intestines), chorizo (sausage), bife de lomo (beef tenderloin) and bife de chorizo (sirloin or NY strip steak if I am correct). On top of that, there was bread, potato salad with enough garlic to make my son die of happiness, tossed salad, more wine, and ice cream and champagne punch for dessert.

The food was marvelous, and Jesus quipped, “Look! They are drinking like argentinos!” which I think was a compliment. Twelve hours later, I was not hungry at breakfast, so that is the sign of a feast! For me, this was a highlight of the tour.

You can enjoy the sunset, the meat, and the party atmosphere with us in the pictures below:











Day Seven, Buenos Aires 2023: Chacarita, Fine Arts, Candombe

Chacarita and Carlos Gardel’s grave

Saturday started with a visit to Chacarita cemetery. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. There were forays to find Pugliese’s grave and we found a d’Arienzo, but not the right one!

On a somber note, a lot of the plaques were missing from mausoleums. I spoke with a passerby who volunteered the following information: in the past five years or so, thieves have been plundering the cemetery for brass and copper to sell. The only reason Carlos Gardel’s grave is untouched is that there is a full-time guard! They put up cameras to try to figure out what was happening. Slender-armed women could reach through the grates into the mausoleums and steal things from there. When it came to stealing plaques, which would cause a bit of noise, and should have alerted the workers, they found that about 50% of the theft was by employees!

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

The group split up and I shared a taxi to the fine arts museum before wandering off solo; my favorite way to do museums. I will add more photos as others share their visits with me. As usual, I found other people interested in fiber!

17th Festival of Candombe

I saw a flyer on Facebook while looking for the address of an open air milonga and discovered that there was going to be a candombe festival. For those of you who are not familiar with candombe, it is a dance that evolved in the mid-1800s from Afro-Argentine dance styles with Afro-Cuban influences. Milonga grew out of candombe, and tango from milonga (with other elements of course).

I took the bus from Palermo, and when it veered off course, asked two women who were obviously headed for the festival if they were going. We got off the bus together and made our way to the parade (the bus was blocked because of the parade but the driver didn’t tell anyone what was happening!). They were part of a group who were cleaning up after the parade and recycling all the trash! Their costumes were recycled/found objects too: a great idea!

Of course, the parade started about 1.5 hours late, which gave our group time to eat and wander around Parque Lezama. I bought an ice cream, and the store owner said the parade would go until 11 PM! We didn’t last that long, but the drumming had people dancing along with the bands. Each band had to stay at least a block apart because of the sound levels.

A cheerful candombera in the parade

Carlos Gardel’s statue and grave in Chacarita

Nanette at Carlos Gardel’s grave

I find knitters everywhere!

Candombe festival in San Telmo

Restaurant review: Peruvian food: Mamani San Telmo (Defensa 873)

I ate dinner with two other tour members who had found the #1 rated Peruvian restaurant in Buenos Aires. We felt a bit nervous when we found we were the only customers (was this restaurant really good?) but sat down and ordered. By the time we left, it was packed, and for good reason. There was almost no ambiance, but the amount and tastiness of the food made up for that lack.

The ceviche was amazing. And Cat and I drank a ridiculous amount of passion fruit juice. Be aware that when they say portions are to share, they are SERIOUS about it: three hungry people could not finish two entrees. Take a group!

Day Five, Buenos Aires 2023: El Ateneo, Teatro Colon and Recoleta

We accomplished a lot today! I left the house before 10 am and got home around 6 PM.

El Ateneo Gran Splendid

Sally and Tom hit the Gran Splendid for some books.

I grew up with a librarian parent, so I have always loved books and bookstores. We found a guidebook to Buenos Aires in English for Tom, graphic novels for presents, and a trash novel in Spanish for me to read on the plane. The Argentines are serious about their books, and the publishing industry here is strong despite the ubiquity of cell phones and other ways to find information.

Five of us ran into another two of our group entering as we left: a bunch of reading enthusiasts!

Teatro Colon

The main foyer of Teatro Colon with its lofty, sumptuous beauty

Teatro Colon is always a joy. You can see how the upper class around the turn of the 20th century took their European roots seriously. The Argentine-Italian upper class were the movers and shakers for the construction of a world-class opera house. No surprise that Italian (and other European) marble was imported to create this space.

Did you know they went through three architects before the building finished? Two died: would YOU have taken on that job?

La Cuidad Ausente in rehearsal

I took the tour of Teatro Colon a decade ago when the restoration was completed. It was great to be there again, ESPECIALLY because they were rehearsing the opera that most of the group plans to see Tuesday night: La Cuidad Ausente. It was described as a post-apocalyptic sci-fi opera. The stage was littered with scrap metal and garbage, two people were scavenging for items. Huge metal discs hovered above the stage, and the soprano’s eerie, ethereal voice rang out from somewhere. We weren’t allowed to talk, as the rehearsal was in full swing, but WOW!

I changed my mind and tried to get a ticket, but it was sold out.

Recoleta Cemetery

I go to Recoleta every visit to Buenos Aires. I don’t know why I feel so drawn to Recoleta and not as much to Chacarita, but there it is. I try to find new tombs each time and to notice different things, rather than just hitting my favorite spots.

Getting around

After many years of walking, taking the subway and grabbing taxis, I am back to my old ways of taking the bus. Now that the routes are on Google, I no longer need to carry a large spiral map with me to figure out what bus to take!

Day Four, Buenos Aires 2023: Lo de Celia

Mate? Yes! Dulce de leche? Yes! Spices? Yes! All from the cooperative running the stall

Solidarity Market (Bonpland 1660)

Tuesday started with a quick run to the Solidarity Market to get my favorite brand of mate. I also found goat dulce de leche, which my family prefers, and local honey. Wow! I didn’t know this market existed, but it’s been there for 18 years. I met Claudio, who sold me a natural indigo-dyed scarf. I found out he and his wife are SPINNERS! This is my alternate, non-tango world, se we chatted about spinning wheels, natural fibers and natural dyes. I promised to get back to bring my drop spindle.

Next, I trotted back to my neighborhood to begin settling in the three people who arrived in the morning. Two could not get into their BnBs yet, so we stowed luggage at my place, exchanged money and hit a cafe.

Woman standing in front of a market stall in a covered market

Cafe review: Kaldi (Nicaragua 4604)

Kaldi, situated around the corner from my BnB, because our meeting place for the group. The owner was super nice and appreciated all the business, providing a relaxed place for morning coffee and planning.

Kaldi has a variety of sweets as well as an imaginative coffee list. I had an affogato with ice cream in my espresso, a habit I acquired in Portland at Caffe Umbria. They even had one gluten-free option for a sweet. Ask Patrick about his new mate habit (also available at the cafe) when he gets home from Argentina!

Next, I took the bus over to Jose Garofalo’s art studio, and solidified plans for our upcoming parrilla on Sunday. One of his friends, a chef, is going to do the honors.

People divided up today for sightseeing. Some took the on-off doubledecker tour bus. Two opted for the bike ride I took two tours ago, and arrived back eight hours later. Between jet lag and bikes and sun, most folks chose to eat dinner and go to bed. I went to Lo de Celia with the two who remained upright.

Milonga review: El Maipu @ Lo de Celia (Humberto Primo, 1783)

Portland in the house! Maipu at Lo de Celia

I think the last time I went to Lo de Celia was in 1999 or 2000, when I saw Pupy Castello and Graciela Gonzalez dance, so it really was a joy to walk in and see that almost nothing had changed. We made reservations too late to sit in the traditional sides (men on two sides, women on the other two for cabeceo ease), so we sat on the corner of one of the men’s sides in a mixed group.

A few Portland dancers had scared my newbies, warning them that it was hard to get dances in Buenos Aires. Tell that to the empty chairs! Despite not having slept since landing in the morning, I don’t think Cat sat out more than one tanda. Similarly, Mel figured out the cabeceo for real (NOT the Portland cabeceo), and after that, danced whenever he wanted to. I could see the “click” as the understanding slid into place.

Contrary to Saturday, I was awake for this milonga. I danced with everyone I had danced with Saturday, and a bunch of new dancers. I even danced with one of the men I had seen Saturday slumped in his chair: he was more awake today too, cabeceo-ed me from across the dance floor, between weaving couples, and got over to my side of the room at the speed of a man half his age: nice to be recognized, even if he has called me “Sweetie” and other random names for over twenty years.