Tango

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I am a few days behind in the blog posting as the website I pose on seemed to have been hacked and was unavailable for a few days. The issue seem to be resolved and now I can post blog entries again, and when my followers get a text that there is a new post, they should be able to just click the link without worry. Initial tests seem to indicate all is good.

If I go from present to past tense it is only because I am writing this entry two days after it happened. It is currently Tuesday, and we are now in Iguazu to see the falls and park. This entry is about the events of Sunday. So, let’s begin.

I started the day by checking work e-mails, thinking Sunday would be a safe day to check reply to those that needed a reply and get out. Well, that did to go as plan, certain of the partners in my firm have no life and work non-stop, so while I thought I was being smart and replying to e-mails that would not be seen until after I was offline, a certain partner, decided he need to make my life hell and knowing I was on vacation needed to engage in an e-mail exchange with me, that was inappropriate for one, and really didn’t even need to happen as I already dealt with the issue before I left. In any event, it started the day on a stressful note which took awhile to work its way out of my mind and body.

Other than that, our day started with the typical breakfast (although I almost did partake in the make it your self mimosa to ease the stress.) After breakfast we were off for the day. Today was museum day, the Belles Artes and the Decorative Arts. We took the Subte to the Belles Artes, three trains, C to D to H. They were not very crowded as it was Sunday, and I think everyone was recovering from the late night of Tango or other bar hopping. One of the nice things, at least for me, is that the museums here tend to be small, so 90 minutes to 2 hours pretty much covers the entire museum.

The Belles Arts is your traditional museum covering many areas of art, from the Renaissance to cubism. I am not much of a fan of modern art, and very much do not enjoy postmodern art at all. There was a special exhibition on Rodin which I enjoyed very much. There was also a nice collection of impressionist. The Usual suspects, and thank god, because once I saw the Monet then the Van Gough, my stress was magically lifted from my body.

The day was quite humid, which meant I was wet most of the day, and interestingly enough the museum was not overly air conditioned, which cannot be good for the art. Jerry always enjoys the museums a bit more than me, unless they are full of nothing but impressionist, then I am in heaven. We were there for about 90 minutes. Lunch for the day was in La Fernetaria, connect to the museum, but not technically in it. We had a pretty simple lunch, Jerry a Caeser Salad and Spaghetti with burrata and red sauce. I had a Burrata, and arugula salad and ravioli stuffed with veal. Yes, this is Italian food, but given the huge population that is of Italian descent, it really has become part of the Argentina cuisine. I also had to classes of Argentinian Rose, to continue the de-stressing process.

Next up was the decorative arts museum. This actually didn’t happen, the address given was not correct and we ended up outside another Museum that was not open as they were having a Spanish Embassy event. And we were not invited.

That being a bust we headed back to the hotel. The walk back to the Subte stop was pretty painful for me. This trip has made one thing very clear, work stress, only serves to make my ankle and back issues worse. I was pretty much limping by the time we got back to the room. Not visiting the second museum made our day much shorter than planned, which was good, as we got a chance to just relax and leisurely get ready for the highlight of the day, Tango.

The Tango Show

To say Tango is important in Argentina is to vastly understate its connection to the heart and soul of the Argentinian people. Tango is to Argentina as Flamenco is to Spain, as Fado is to Portugal as the Waltz is to Vienna. One of the most interesting things about Tango is its actual origin. It was born in La Boca, the port area of Buenos Aires, it was originally danced by two men, sensually danced by two men. Tango is basically sex on the dance floor. The tradition of men dancing the Tango went on for decades, then women began to add their distinct flair to the dance. Now Tango is the dance we all know. In fact, if you are an ice dancing fan, as I am, you know that many of the moves in ice dance are directly from Tango (yeah, there is some rumba in there as well.)

When Tango is danced spontaneously by a couple that is emotionally connected, you can feel the sexual heat. The dancers in our show were excellent, but you could tell it was well rehearsed and there was no emotional bond between them. Tango is more than dance. Just like Flamenco there is a broader part of Tango that involves song and music. The musical instrument of Tango is the accordion. Yes, the accordion, so all of you accordion players out there you could be a sexual icon here in Buenos Aires.

There are so many venues to see Tango, it can just be part of the background as it was when we had lunch in La Boca our first day, it can be a show like we saw, or it could be in any of the countless Tango Bars throughout the city. For a tourist, the best way to get a real feel is to see a show. But you need to be careful, the big Moulin Rouge type show would not be worth your time or money. But a small venue like the one we attended was perfect. Gala Tango, we highly recommend it and do the wine tasting and dinner combo. The nice thing is if your hotel is not in Palermo they will pick you up and drop you off. You can even take a Tango lesson before dinner.

Our evening started with a nice wine tasting. Three wines, Chardonay (in the Oregon tradition), Malbec, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Jerry actually liked the Chardonay the best, I went with the Malbec. Each wine was paired with a different small bite. The best bite was the Blue Cheese with the Cabernet, the salty ness of the cheese totally smoothed out the wine.

While we were tasting wine, there was a group of retired folks, taking a Tango lesson, the men were not thrilled, but the women had a great time. Of course, they did they each got a twirl on the Tango floor with the hot Argentinian Tango Dancer.

After the wine tasting it was down to dinner. Our table was front and center of the stage, so we were going to have an excellent view. Dinner was remarkably good, we typically have very low expectations of the dinner/Show meals, but this one far exceeded expectations. The price of the ticket included a three-course dinner. Jerry had the Carpaccio for the first course; Bife de Chorizo for the second, and flan for dessert. His beef was cooked perfectly and seasoned very simply but it was oh so tasty. I went with the Choripan (a classic street food dish in Argentina) basically a sausage sandwich. It needed mustard or a really good aioli, the sausage was very good and good well, but overall, just needed to be stepped up. My main was beef cheek reduced in a malbec sauce over mashed potatoes, flavorful, but a bit heavy on the salt factor. Dessert was pears poached in Malbec, with vanilla ice cream. Very good. They do just about everything with Malbec here. Dinner also included a very nice bottle of Malbec.

What was nice about the dinner portion was, you were not rushed. Dinner was at 8 and the show did not start until 10. The show itself was fantastic, the dancing, the singing, the music. It was all very well produced. The pictures speak much more than I can say.

Tourist tip: Yes a show such as this is well worth the money. The smaller venues seem much more authentic and less like a tourist trap. Did they try to sell you the pictures with the dancers, etc., of course they did, but your never going to escape that. The who lasted until about 11:30 and then they transported us back to the hotel. It was a delightful Sunday evening, after a bad start to the day.

I am going to take a brief moment here to discuss Eva Paron. We are getting very big mixed messages. The cooking school instructed hated here. This was personal because her great grandmother had words with Evita, and it ruined her singing career. The tango show ended with a huge production of Don’t Cray for Me Argentina, with a video in the background paying tribute to her, they actually had tears in their eyes. So, the question is, was she evil, good or perhaps misunderstood like Marie Antionette? We may never know.

There was not dish of the day, not because the food wasn’t good, it just didn’t rise to the level of dish of the day.

Monday is a day of touring buildings.

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Comments

[Sharon Hughson]

Art and Tango
This sounded like a wonderful day. I laughed at the accordion comment. I can't imagine an accordion being sexy - at all. Even if Tango is very sexy. That is about the moves of the dancers, not the music. I can totally picture Jeff being unexcited by Tango lessons. I'm not much of a dancer either, but I always want to TRY it.