March 2001 El Firulete 1

Volume 8 Issue 1 THE ARGENTINE TANGO MAGAZINE March 2001

PLUS Una noche de garufa A view from behind the music stand Throw me an ocho sistah and much more... $5.00 U.S.A. 2 El Firulete March 2001

TANGO TRIP IN ABSTRACT (a chance meeting at an open air milonga)

Under the moon We want you to sound off, whether it's to complain or to compliment. Or even if it's to elaborate on an article in our Don’t speak too soon publication. Here are the rules: (1) You must tell us your full name, but we won't print it if you so request; (2) you must give your Quiet, as we dance this dance complete address - even though we'll identify you only by the city and state- and your telephone number; and (3) we reserve As we walk this circumspect walk the right to edit letters for length and clarity or to withhold their publication. And talk this silent talk Maria. We even had the opportunity to watch Our bodies in a single trance them perform along with the other teachers of the Anticipation fills our passionate heart event. Rodolfo and Maria are excellent dancers As we journey to a distant far and professors of tango, they presented them- Two travelers meeting on a road called chance selves as a passionate and loving couple on the Not knowing where we are going or where we will stage. Everyone in the theater enjoyed their tango end and canyengue which they presented with Simply we begin precision and style! As our two week journey came to a close, we took with us a wealth of Soon, however, as we compare as to where knowledge about the life-styles, cultures and The same destination is indeed a fact history encompassed with the tango! We were Because stamped on the ticket of our heart are the An Argentine moment in New Orleans: deeply saddened and will always remember him words Alberto, Marcelo and Julio. from previous classes and on the stage. Our Destination: Tango Trip In Abstarct condolences go out to Maria and her family. HOOKED ON NOLA We enjoyed and really grasped your article ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Dear Alberto and Valorie, “Waiting for the Deejay.” I have attended (A woman’s perspective) Thank you for the wonderful time we had at your milongas in different parts of Florida and I have home and the warm welcome you gave us during heard “the music sucks” at a few of them. the time we spent in New Orleans. Usually, each milonga gets better as feedback Follow his subtle lead We really enjoyed the city a lot, and we owe from milongueros are of great value and help Walk though the open door a great deal of that to you. Valesa and I send you provide better dancing music. I do agree with you No doors without locks our love and we hope to meet again somewhere on the education process, a lot of it is taking the Rooms of possibilities in the wide world of the Tango. time to listen and study the different orchestras Rooms with many doors Please extend our regards to Julio Canosa and their music. Still a need for his lead and his mother Nelly. Un abrazo, You wrote in “A Music Primer,” “I wonder sometimes why friends don’t take advantage of a In a mansion with many floors Marcelo y Valesa Solis wealth of experience and knowledge that is And rooms with many, many doors available to them just for the asking.” I would Dear Marcelo and Valesa, like to take advantage of your experience and TANGO REFLECTIONS knowledge and ask if you have CD’s available to Congratulations are in order because of I go, You go play at our milongas and also to assist me with your surprise engagement in our city, for your You go, I go learning as well. I would like to continue my kindness in sharing the happy occasion at our subscription to El Firulete, the information you Tango. home and for letting us know that as we go to publish is a learning experience in itself and I The Gancho, The Boleo press with this issue, you just got married! keep your publication in our studio for our The Parada, The Molinetta (sic) students to learn and prosper as well. Melina and Tango. WARMTH FROM ALASKA I both love to share the tango as much as we can The Bass, The Piano with our students in Central Florida. Dear Valorie and Alberto, The Violin, The Bandoneon Wishing you many passionate tangos, Greetings from Anchorage. Joan and I miss Tango. your expertise - we hope to journey to New La cumparsita with a senorita Orleans in the future and perhaps take some Richard and Melina Lucia Tango. lessons. Best regards and Happy New Year. Orlando, FL Norm Hori Adios Aster (sic) the Master Farewell, Gardel Anchorage, AK IND AMES M G Tango. Dear Valorie and Alberto, PASSIONATE READERS I ain’t no pro and by my own admission not ASTER Dear Alberto and Valorie, even an amateur but I put out some poetry don’t be so blue don’t be so high We received your complimentary December together for fun, and on a whim. lost in thought no thoughts are lost issue of El Firulete, thank you for thinking of us! David Capitano two paths that happen to cross We read through much of this issue and found it Tampa Bay, FL very saddening about Rodolfo Cieri’s passing. in this dance what is to gain what is lost Melina and I went to Buenos Aires in March of two actors on a stage dancing to an unwritten Dear David, 1999 for the Congreso Internacional de Tango script not even a page two hearts are one burning Argentino and we took classes with Rodolfo and Slow night at the milonga, eh? Thank you for sharing. as the dun turning as planets turn - perfect. March 2001 El Firulete 3 Tangazos

The Argentine Tango Magazine Vol 8 Issue 1 March 2001 Four crazy days

Publisher ack a few decades ago, in the city of Buenos Planet Tango Aires at carnaval time, we used to sing along Joint Editors Bwith a catchy tune that reflected the spirit and the Alberto Paz & Valorie Hart purpose of the celebration we were all engaged in just before the period of Lent, a mandatory time of fasting and Contributing Writers Alberto Paz abstinence for a devoted Catholic population. Valorie Hart For four crazy days you're going to live, for four crazy Alberto Paz Eva del Cid days you're going to have some fun. The four days included Joan Singer the Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the official day that initiates a religious ritual that ends on Easter Sunday. Growing up in the streets of the Photos and Image Processing Silver Queen, we looked forward to the four days of carnaval.. Valorie Hart Alberto Paz The celebration of carnaval was a time of the year when we let go of inhibitions Julio Canosa and took to the streets to dance, parade and become part of a masked crowd that moved Gary Breaux about the city engulfed in a cacophony of drums, chants and popular tunes. It was all Cheryl Credio Gerry Miller about coming out. As it happened for our parents' and grandparents' generations, all the popular Graphic Design and Production social clubs offered the possibility to dance to the greatest orchestras of that time. The Alberto Paz announcements filled full pages in the newspapers. Posters, flyers and hand bills were Editorial, Advertising, Inquiries, all over the city walls and sidewalks. In retrospect, the choices were overwhelming. Comments, Questions and Suggestions Anibal Troilo in Avellaneda at the Racing Club. Osvaldo Pugliese in Atlanta at Villa Planet Tango Crespo. Juan D’Arienzo at Club Atletico Boca Juniors. Carlos Di Sarli at Velez 1000 Bourbon St., #202 New Orleans, LA 70116 Sarfield. Francisco Canaro at the Luna Park. Or was it the other way around? It really doesn’t matter, because at the time, all of that was part of a natural cycle of our life. It E-mail to: just happened. Carnaval was the time to venture out and it was the greatest time to be [email protected] young and bold at the end of summer in Buenos Aires. [email protected] For it was not just the appeal of the orchestra which led many to the gigantic dance floors, but the call of nature for men and women to openly seek each other out, Website http://www.planet-tango.com free of the traditional codes of conduct otherwise imposed by a zealous society. Carnaval was the time when eyes were the first contact to acknowledge each other's The information published is intended for presence, to encourage the shy to be daring, to reassure the undecided to take a entertainment purposes only and it is as chance, to openly express the feeling of attraction. For four crazy days, codes and accurate as possible. All correspondence and protocols were set aside. Four crazy days that invited one to live. It was time for fun, manuscripts are submitted at owner’s risk. All joy and romance to the sounds of the Tango. become property of the publisher. All rights reserved throughout the world. The same Tango we dance and love today, thousands of miles away from the Printed in the United States of America. No part source, in our adopted American homeland. The same Tango that, because of early of this publication may be transmitted or Hollywood types like Rudolph Valentino, symbols like the rose between the teeth, and reproduced in any form or by any means without the staged choreographies of Tango shows for export, seems to be muffled by a chatter the express written consent of the publishers. The opinions and advertising printed in El of false pretenses and corny cliches. Firulete are the sole responsibility of the So, I never dreamed that in the first carnaval of the twenty-first century, our authors, and they are not necessarily the journey through the Tango life would lead us to a city where the spirit of carnaval, opinions of the publishers therefore we can not be held liable for their opinions and their according to spotty records, seems to date back to 1781. actions. That New Orleans, the Crescent City, is part of the United States baffles a visitor's Cover price $5.00 mind. Long after the city was acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase, traces of 12 issues subscription nobility, aristocracy and the diversity of races, languages and cultural traits seem to preserve the rituals of celebration of the greatest free show on earth. They call it Mardi $30 in the US, $40 in Canada, Gras, but it is carnaval minus Tango. Or so it was until now. $50 international 4 El Firulete March 2001 On Our Cover histories go, was only known as El lecherito (the milk boy), had a reputa- tion of being one of the best dancers of Faithful To a Tradition of Old Tango con corte in nearby Villa Crespo. He discovered that his young son had a The growth of Tango dancing around the world continues to natural vocation for dancing, going as far as pronouncing that he was born to raise the demand for qualified instruction and authentic repre- dance. sentation of the traditions that form the solid foundation of this So, Jose Maria spent his childhood artistic form. The proliferation of "legendary teachers" with less days consumed by the learning aspects than five years of dancing experience, overshadows the living of Tango dancing, listening to every presence of dancers who keep the spirit of the Old Guard alive orchestra on the radio, practicing and adapting steps to the distinctive sounds, and well. styles and rhythms of each one of the hen Miguel Angel Zotto popular band leaders of the time. He and Milena Plebs began was still a young teenager, but already Wthe production of their capable of dancing wearing embroidered successful show Una Noche de Tango, tennis shoes, a carnation in his ear and a they went out looking for a famous black sash; dressed up in black jacket, dancer who had been in retirement for white embroidered scarf and gray almost twenty years. It was the second fedora, checkered slacks with a black time in so many years that opportunity stripe along the side of the legs and was knocking at Jose Maria Braña's Cuban heels; wearing aristocratic tails door. In 1975, the producers of Tango and black tie. Argentino invited him to join the soon to be sensational musical revue, but The kid from Palermo grew up with pressed by family obligations, Braña a reverent respect for the elder, admiring declined, and shortly after that he left their past but not being afraid to look the stage, retired after almost forty years into the future. By the time he started to of a professional career as a Tango attend the famous Academia Nelson, dancer. there were great dancers with names like El Tarila, El Mendez, and El Cachafaz. This time around, El Pibe Palermo, One of the professors at the academy as Braña is better known, joined the predicted that if this kid finds a suitable Tango x 2 company with his wife and partner, he can go up against anybody, partner Norma, and brought to the stage anytime. the legacy of a glorious past for the enjoyment of future generations of Around he went as every conceiv- Palermo and Norma on the stage of able dance hall in the district of Palermo dancers. For those who remember, the Tango x 2 in the late 1990's. elderly couple was billed as Palermo began to notice the ability and unique and Norma. Palermo, in a recreation of Palermo, another neighborhood where style that first earned him the nickname El Cachafaz, tops off Zotto's Tango and Milonga were part of the of Tango Argentino, later El dividido, Valentino's Hollywood brand of tangou everyday life for the dancers of the time. and finally The Palermo Kid. The first with a vintage exhibition of the way it While La Boca has kept its picturesque and last monikers are self-explanatory, used to be when Tango was only danced painted tin tenements as a symbol of its but the use of a dictionary will translate by those who knew how. most illustrious tenants, the great artists the second one as “the divided.” Indeed, Benito Quinquela Martin and Juan de from the waist up, the Palermo Kid was In 1997 the Argentine Dance a symbol of the new Tango times to Council presented an award to Palermo Dios Filiberto, Palermo flourished among lavish fountains, ponds, lakes come; from the waist down he was in a ceremony held at the Teatro Colon vintage turn of the century. in Buenos Aires. Prior to that, in 1981 and parks surrounded by high-rises and he received the Golden Gardel Award crisscrossed by wide arteries connecting At times, the public at the Palermo presented by the Argentine Tango the blue collar southern part of the city Palace would stop dancing, overtaken Cultural Center. with the posh northern habitat of the by the emotion triggered by his exhibi- well-to-do. tions of brilliance, speed and personal- Jose Maria Braña was born in the ity. Soon he caught the attention of the port district of La Boca but grew up in His father, who as these Tango March 2001 El Firulete 5 night after night the public flocked to be entertained by this dancer that knew everything. In fact, he danced the Old Guard, the canyengue, the milonga with Tango variations, and the Tango with milonga variations. When the frenzied audiences asked for more, he would pay homage to his dad and dance a Tango with medio corte, ending with a silky Tango Salon, La cumparsita. It was here when he earned yet another nickname, El Rey del Tango. The king. Throughout the 1940's, the Palermo Kid toured the province of Buenos Aires including a successful presentation at the prestigious Bristol Theater in the resort area of Mar del Plata. Eventually he went out on his own, dancing on and off with Carmencita Calderon. He danced at every dance hall in the city of Pibe Palermo with unidentified partner at a 1943 Tango academy. Buenos Aires during the Golden Era of the Tango. In the 1950's, Angel Vargas owners who hired him along with can die in peace, with this kid there is invited him and Carmencita to dance at Carmencita Calderon to dance with the another sixty years of Old Guard. the Maipu Pigall, a renowned Buenos orchestra of Angel D’Agostino. The Soon the old timer retired and the Aires night club. year was 1942 and El Cachafaz had just Palermo Kid became the star of the Further, he toured the northern passed away at the age of fifty-seven. show. Around this time he and provinces of Argentina, and made His first professional engagement was Carmencita Calderon parted ways. He appearances in several films with Tito such a great success that many times continued to dazzle the audiences at Lusiardo, Alfredo Alcon and Virginia they would announce his presence even every theater in Buenos Aires, where Luque. These were renowned movie when he was not scheduled to perform. stars of the fifties. But fate was saving a greater surprise for him. He was one of the first stage performers to be invited to the new There was a party on the patio of his Tango Festival in La Falda, a resort house featuring live music by a four- city in the province of Cordoba. There, some of the Old Guard: bandoneon, he was accompanied by the trio Los flute, violin and guitar, and the dancing muchachos de antes led by jazz clari- of a renowned professional. The netist Francisco Panchito Cao and Palermo Kid was a fervent admirer of guitar player Horacio Malvicino. the Old Guard, but out of deference and respect for the elder, he refused invita- Until he went into retirement, Pibe tions to dance in spite of the insistent Palermo kept busy dancing with the requests of all present. Finally his father orchestras of Pugliese, De Angelis, gave him the green light, go ahead. That D'Arienzo and just about every other night he earned the praise of the musi- orchestra during TV, theater, and night cians and the professional dancer, who club presentations.Today, he continues could not believe that a kid as young as studying and dancing, faithful to the he was could interpret the style of the spirit of the tanguero tradition of old Old Guard as well as he did. This led to Buenos Aires, and the life lessons that an audition with the orchestra of his father taught him. Manuel Pizzarro for La cabalgata del tango, a musical review that premiered We wish to give special thanks to Sergio Cortazzo, with such a smashing success that the who provided photos and copies of an article on Pibe Palermo written by Jorge Riva for Tango XXI in Old Guard dancer proclaimed, Now I Palermo with Carmencita Calderon at the Maipu Pigall in 1942. the March 1999 issue 6 El Firulete March 2001 For immediate release of D.C.), most people come to QuinTango concerts because they are curious what the tango buzz is all about A View from Behind the Music Stand or because they have heard our music on the radio or because they loved Al Like many of you, I was suddenly and completely seduced by Pacino in Scent of a Woman. They come to us as ‘tango virgins,’ a serious tango. Unlike most of you, it was not the ochos and ganchos that responsibility. We carefully seduce took my breath away – it was the heart-wrenching harmonies, them with a variety of classic and new the violin melodiesviolins, and the powerful lunges and retreats tangos, poetic lyrics recited in Spanish, of the rhythm. With no thought for the future, I offered little resis- and historic anecdotes about Carlos Gardel and Buenos Aires. By the end tance as tango set up a natural resonance in my life. of the evening, most of the tango virgins By Joan Singer have become tango lovers. The music of Anibal Troilo, Anselmo Aieta, Hora- teeped in classical violin training, cio Salgán, Astor Piazzolla and Julián I immediately identified with Plaza has worked its magic. As they Stango's instrumental virtuosity, line up for CDs and autographs, these harmonic sophistication and emotional new tango converts are bursting with intimacy. This common vocabulary – questions about how to get more tango shared by tango and classical music – into their lives. Where to take dance has encouraged is musical crossovers in lessons? Where to hear music in Buenos both directions. The most famous Aires? What Piazzolla album to buy? example, of course, is Astor Piazzolla, When is QuinTango’s next concert? I who moved from his role as leave the concert hall deliciously bandoneonist in Anibal Troilo’s tango exhausted, knowing that we have orchestra to his role as classical compo- enriched many lives and brought a new sition student of Alberto Ginastera and group of enthusiasts to the tango com- Nadia Boulanger, and finally to the role The author with Osvaldo Berlingieri munity, including dance classes. which made him at once the most loved in Buenos Aires. I get a similar feeling of satisfaction and hated tango musician in Argentina, That was six years ago. QuinTango from our annual twenty-plus perfor- that of inventor and prime practitioner is, now an internationally recognized mances of The Story of Tango in Title of the New Tango. Other tango musi- tango orchestra, with has produced two One elementary schools. Immigrant and cians – Atilio Stampone, Mariano CDs and concert performances, given a low income children – tomorrow’s Mores and Raúl Garello – have crossed command performance at the White audiences and dancers – as well as the into classical territory by creating House (for President and Mrs. Clinton teachers and custodial staff are spell- symphonic tangos arrangements. More and President Menem of Argentina), bound by the story and music of the recently, classical musicians including and appeared in concert at venues poor immigrant Rio Platense neighbor- cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Daniel including the Kennedy Center, the hood that gave the precious gift of the Barenboim, and violinist Gidon Embassy of Argentina, the Organiza- tango to the rest of the world. Kremer have issued crossover tango tion of American States, the Interna- CDs, complete with liner notes confess- tional Music Festival of Costa Rica My greatest labor of love is the ing longtime addictions to tango. and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in spring Tango Festival in Washington, D.C. Each May the National Building I went public with my love of tango Charleston, S.C. Museum and QuinTango collaborate in by creating the music group QuinTango Although many of our fans are bringing to Washington tango lovers – two violins, cello, bass and piano. tango dancers, our performances take international and visiting tourists a first- Longing to play this music myself, I place in concert settings. QuinTango rate afternoon of music and dance, sought out the most passionate and has three target audiences: the concert- featuring QuinTango and such guest personal performers I knew, cajoled going public with little or no knowledge artists as Raúl Jaurena, Marga them with tango sheet music for their of tango, students from kindergarten Mitchell, Carolina Zokalski and Diego music stands and put cassette tapes in through college young people, and the Di Falco. The event concludes with their car tape players (musicians spend wonderful international community of refreshments and dancing in the 19th- most of their time in their cars) and tango lovers and dancers. Outside century splendor of the Building waited for the spark to ignite. cosmopolitan areas (like our home base Museum’s Great Hall. It is magical. March 2001 El Firulete 7 QuinTango The DJ Report QuinTango - SECRET PLACES Total playing time 47:29 Produced by Joan Singer and Bruce Stegg Contact: 703.548.9148 www.quintango.com

Few in the world of Tango in Argen- tina would consider the music of Buenos Aires as being seductive with promises of intimacy, passion and truth, except the producers and publicists of Tango shows for export. For this, they have been chastised, criticized and ridiculed by those who know that the Tango is playful and arrogant, irreverent and sentimental, nostalgic or dramatic. As a reflection of the people who created it, the Tango expresses the collective moods of a city that grew from a ten square block village to a megalopolis which combines aspects of New York, Libby Blatt, Irma Field Cripe, Bruce Steeg, Joan Singer and Rachel Schenker. Paris and Moscow. A unique living we were doing for tango in the USA and environment where the music of Tango This spring’s festival, Tango Then is the score for the plot of seduction and Now, will highlight tangos by some was moved to write a new piece. With- being played on the dance floor between of the remarkable composers working in out doubt, this is the most remarkable men and women. Buenos Aires today – Horacio and supportive gift I know of from a When we listen to La cumparsita, Salgán, Julián Plaza, Mariano Mores tango legend to the new kid on the Taquito militar, Nueve de Julio or block. Like tango itself, it is an extrava- Caminito, we expect images of bygone – and will feature the world premiere of days of street celebration, nights at the a new tango by the tango master gant gesture straight from the heart. theatre, patriotic parades or leisure Osvaldo Berlingieri. This premiere is The premiere of QuinTango will walks hand in hand through a dirt alley the result of my pilgrimage in August behind the railroad tracks in some take place at Tango Festival 2001, May humble neighborhood. That is, if the (along with my husband and two other 20th at 5:30 PM at the National Build- interpretation is done by musicians who QuinTango members) to the live music ing Museum in Washington, D.C. Also can understand and communicate in venues of Buenos Aires, a city which on the program will be Chris Vasquez’ the lingo of the streets, and do it with overwhelmed me with its generous the accent and phrasing that speaks recreation of the character and songs of directly to the heart and soul of the hospitality. Julián Plaza, Atilio Carlos Gardel, the bandoneón and Tango aficionado. Stampone, and Amilcar Tolosa invited guitar duo of Tito Castro and Pancho QuinTango's newest CD has come us for a cafecito. Emilio Balcarce Navarro, world class tango dancer closer than any other foreign group to invited us to his rehearsals. Osvaldo Pablo Veron, and of course, express the Tango with its proper Berlingieri invited us to a concert I was QuinTango. If you can be in the D.C. sound, pulse, accent and emotions. Out of thirteen selections, only two carry the unable to attend. area, please join us for an afternoon signature of Astor Piazzolla, arguably Maestro Berlingieri’s generosity is honoring Carlos Gardel and the tangos the composer of choice for most classi- legendary I was told – and now believe. of today in Buenos Aires. You’ll be cal musicians turned Tango players, but hardly capable of speaking the language Since I could not attend the concert, I right at home among all those musi- of Anselmo Aieta, Osvaldo Pugliese, was invited to a dinner with him and his cians, dancers, and tango lovers. Muy Osvaldo Berlingieri, Horacio Salgan or lovely wife. We had a great time chat- buena gente. Don’t forget your tango Anibal Troilo. ting and exchanged CDS. After several shoes! We highly recommend this CD for months of correspondence through a Violinist Joan Singer wrote this article your dancing and listening enjoyment. Buy extra copies and give them to your third party (the maestro does not have especially for El Firulete. She is founder local "tango band" as an example of how email), I received out of the blue, and director of QuinTango, a tango quintet Tango can be played with respect and Berlingieri’s brand new tango, a based in the Washington, D.C. area. consideration of its sound, accent and manuscript of a new tango composition pulse, even when, as it is in the case of She is married to tango dancer (and QuinTango, there is no bandoneon, but dedicated to us and entitled QuinTango. daytime physicist) Irwin Singer. Updates two talented expressive violins, a The maestro, I was told by our common on QuinTango and the Tango Festival can confident cello, a commanding double bass and a pianist with two hands. friend, had been thinking of us and what be found at www.quintango.com. TMan 8 El Firulete March 2001

The city of New Orleans shares an uncanny resemblance to another port city colonized by the Spaniards, culturally influenced by Michelle and Julio the French, and originally created to serve as a human dumping ground for the most undesirable Mary Anne on a bread characters from the Old Continent. Settled on the pudding break. banks of a mighty river, the blueprints Alberto and Valorie called for a Cathe- SHOWTIME dral and the Cabildo circling the central square. Today, New Orleans is without a doubt the most authentic European city in the United States. Buenos Aires continues to be the most European city in South America. From the late nineteenth century settlements of Buenos Aires, the Tango emerged as the dance and music of the disen- franchised lower class and in a little over one century it has become an international ambassador for the cult of the human em- brace. We first visited the Crescent City in October 1999 invited by Casa Argentina of New Orleans to teach a four day Argentine Tango workshop to about twenty couples. Actually it was Sabina_Nola (an e-mail handle at the time) who had originally asked the proverbial question, "when are you coming to New Orleans," after she had missed us in San Francisco while visiting Four tables like this California. Barely a couple of years old, occupied the four corners Tango in New Orleans had been quietly of the dance floor. practiced in a downtown cabaret and at a quiet suburban studio fifteen minutes away. We remember getting the impression that this was a group separated by a common passion (and a stretch of Interstate 10). March 2001 El Firulete 9

Miss Valorie, the hostess Fine moments of after dinner chat

Sabina and Joe. He plays sax and flute for a local Latin band. On December 29, 2000, six months after we con- summated our love affair for the Crescent City and moved in, we wanted to share with our new Tango friends a taste of the good Tango Gary life that lies ahead. So, we gathered in the heart of the French Quarter for a night of "garufa," a night of partying the Tango way, a night to thank and be thankful for the renovated spirit of friendship, camaraderie and unselfish love of the Tango. The location was the second floor room of a nearly two-hundred year old restaurant, which was smartly decorated with garlands, Christmas lights, multicol- ored ribbons, votive candles and freshly cut flowers. Four round tables were set around the dance floor, each one with Linda (also her name) centerpieces topped with candelabrums and individual flower vases. The open bar began serving the first arrivals at 9 PM as they gathered to greet each other, their lively conversation leading to a delicious dinner which included paella, salmon, shrimp pasta, Caesar salad and a delicious bread pudding for dessert. The evening stretched into the first hours of the morning when the last couple literally dragged their happily tired feet off the floor and marched, with the reverbera- tion of the sounds of legendary orchestras in their hearts, into the misty gray halo that Exhibition by Valorie & wraps around the colonial street lamps. Alberto with Gary & Phyllis. Photos by Julio Canosa

Don Antonio

For all New Orleans Tango Activities, http://www.neworleanstango.net 10 El Firulete March 2001 2001 Mardi Gras Tango Odd-E-ssay Throw me an ocho Sistah The year was 1718, the occasion a one way cruise; the skipper was Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville, his mate, brother Jean- Baptiste, Sieur of Bienville. The passengers included French and Canadian immigrants; whores, beggars, Indian slaves, thieves and cutthroats on leave from Parisian jails. The destination, a below sea level collection of swamps in a miserable steamy, sticky and TANGUS 2001, Lord of Franela and suffocating heated bend of the Mississippi river. Starvation and Firuletes toasting Miz Valorie, queen of the Krewe of the Mistickal Nights of deadly disease were a threat. Bienville pulled into the quay, un- theTango. loaded the passengers, threw their belongings overboard and proclaimed: Welcome to the Crescent City, enjoy the Mardi Gras. Chanel #5, and where waitresses at the local sandwich shop tell customers that couple of hundred years later, a fried oyster po-boy "dressed" is after being ruled by the French, healthier than a Caesar salad. The major the Spaniards, and finally topics of conversation when you go out A to eat are: restaurant meals you have had purchased by the United States, the state of Louisiana has earned a reputa- in the past, and restaurant meals you tion that some call European and others plan to have in the future. People don't Third World. In particular, the city of learn until high school that Mardi Gras New Orleans is recognized as the is not a national holiday. birthplace of jazz, its culinary variety For visitors, New Orleans is and Mardi Gras. Bourbon Street, and Mardi Gras a It is said that the celebration of time for housewives and coeds to carnaval was imported from France as expose their breasts in exchange for a ritual that begins on the twelfth day plastic beads. It is actually the outsiders, after Christmas and ends at midnight who for fourteen days, filling the city the day before Ash Wednesday. These dates are very familiar to those of

Krewe of the Mistickal Nights of the Tango on parade on Royal Street.

Catholic persuasion although there is very little religious about Mardi Gras. Some say that the Church gave up trying to fight the decadent pagan tones of the celebrations by its faithful, and looked the other way while people went out indulging in food, drinks and other carnal excesses, so their bodies would be strong enough to endure the Lenten period of fasting and abstinence. Heels on Wheels, a Tango theme float at This is a city where the smell of the 2001 Mardi Gras. crawfish boil turns more people on than Miz V. arriving at the Purple Party. March 2001 El Firulete 11 "roll" through the streets of the Vieux Carre, and neighboring Fauburg Marigny and the Bywater. The Krewe de Vieux and the Krewe of St. Ann are for humans. The Krewe of Barkus is for all the dogs of the city (the four legged variety) and parades exclusively in the French Quarter.

Miss Natalia, Miss Mary Anne and Miss Phyllis, debutantes at the Mardi Gras Milonga.

TANGUS hitching a ride to the milonga. flowing with lights. They sport giant coffers with a cool billion dollars, litter theme figures, from mythology to Star the streets with a tonnage of garbage Trek, to political satire. They are and convert Bourbon Street into the manned by masked riders wearing greatest loitering place in America. elaborate customs and donning titles Major Mardi Gras parades have long such as kings, queens, captains, pages, abandoned the French Quarter because marshals and throwers. the growing size of the floats and crowds began to pose a major fire For a first time participant, as a hazard. However three walking parades parade slowly rolls through streets lined with enraptured spectators, who seem Mounted page taking a break to greet visitor from Phoenix. capable of pushing little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras throws. The super krewes and the big One wonders if some will leave the parades now roll through the streets of surrounding neighborhoods, continuing a tradition that began just before the Civil War, when a secret society of well bred white supremacist aristocrats founded the Mistick Krewe of Comus for the purpose of saving the spirit of Mardi Gras, which they felt had been condemned to extinction by the idle and feckless Creole of colonial and Catholic heritage. The old line formula has not changed a lot: a host of black men lead the parade with propane gas tanks on their backs waving flambeaux; high school marching bands; masked horse- back riders and police squad cars march One of Two Well-Known Gentlemen of the Miss Behaving at the Purple party in between tractor-pulled floats over- Tango with a British subject in hand. 12 El Firulete March 2001

The New Orleans We-Can-Tango-to- Anything Club on parade. parade with footprints on their hands. In Big Easy Chapter members of the Followers-Who-Lead Society. reality, one quickly learns how to avoid Mr. Nick of the Bywater Tango Club catching beads with the nose, how to caught recruiting on Royal St. Further, breaking all old line rules, befriend fellow catchers, and how to go shoulders catch a glimpse of flesh. the Krewe would not require a member- home with the booty of trinkets caught During the ensuing months, late ship fee, would welcome people regard- from the floats hanging around the neck. after midnight in the heartland of less of gender, race or sexual preference, Although the plastic beads from America, infomercials will peddle and would adopt the motto: Pro bono Taiwan which have replaced the original Mardi Gras' Wild Housewives and tango, be nice or leave. glass beads from Czechoslovakia, have Coeds videos on TV with an assortment And so it happened that the Krewe no other value than that charged at the of revellers exposing their breasts. They of the Mistickal Nights of the Tango French Market or other stores along will most certainly be followed by was seen second lining at the Krewe de lunatic preachers who Vieux parade through the French will inspire other freaks Quarter on their way to the Mardi to come on down to New Gras Milonga at Pierre Maspero's Orleans and second line Restaurant. Further, masked and their way into the unmasked members of the Krewe parades waving flags continued their carnival celebration with slogans that read Satan Rules and Jesus Judges. Anticipating a dry season for Tango danc- ing while everybody else was having fun, a Morgan, Ed, Nick, Miss Mary Anne and Warren meeting was called at a demonstrate the effect of Hurricanes on balance. secret location some- where in the Warehouse Royal and Bourbon Streets, the whole District on Tchoupitoulas St. for a unjustifiable idea is to run beside the purpose soon explained as follows: floats, waving hands, jumping up and WHEREAS, Mardi Gras has cast down, yelling throw me something, its fun over our passionate Tango mistah, and catching the colored beads nights and care usurped the place before they hit the ground. where a milonga is wont to hold its On Bourbon Street, after midnight way. Now, therefore, do I deeply and a couple of cocktails with names sympathizing with the general anxiety, like hand grenades, hurricanes and deem it proper to join the Annual goodies, young All American coeds bare Festival in this goodly Crescent City their breasts in exchange for fake and by this proclamation do command jewelry to the chants of go, go, go assemblage of the Krewe of the descending from the festooned balconies Mistickal Nights of the Tango. Given of the Vieux Carre. The lenses of video under my hand this, the 1st day of TANGUS refuses to show anything but cameras propped high above heads and February, A.D. 2001. TANGUS. attitude to bead trader. March 2001 El Firulete 13 through the streets of New Orleans, some having been spotted at the Krewe of Barkus parade holding the leash of at least two of the eighteen hundred canines that joined that parade. Two well known tangueros who own a self-described former flop house and bordello provided a first rate balcony party during one of the major Miss Phyllis, Miss Valorie, Mr. Gary parades. Petite tangueras with Ph.D. (the Cajun Valentino), Miss Eva degrees were seen in the street shame- and Mr. Ed (the Creole Traspie). lessly screaming we need more beads! Soon they became unrecognizable under the weight of the tonnage of worthless and hard won baubles. Six weeks of king cakes, Purple, Bunch and countless other balls, lots of street dancing, masking and bead collecting, finally came to an end at midnight on Shrove Tuesday, as State Julio, the photographer of the stars Miss Mary Anne, Miss Phyllis trooper cruisers begun to clear Bourbon with Miss Phyllis. and Mr. Warren. Street followed by the Krewe of the Sanitation Department. Everybody has gone into fasting and abstinence to shed the extra pounds of king cake from their waistlines. There are only 50 weeks until Mardi Gras 2002 and the next meeting of the Krewe of the Mistickal Nights of the Tango.

Miss Natalia and Miss Eva. The King Cake Leg Wrap.

GLOSSARY Second line: An informal parade performing impromptu dances that follows the brass bands and floats.

Crawfish: One of the year's four sea- sons. The rest are, Shrimp, Crab and King Cake.

Tchopitulas: A word New Orleanians can pronounce, but can't spell.

Po-boy: A sandwich judged by the One of Two Well-Known Gentlemen He leads, he follows - these boys number of napkins used. of the Tango squeezing the charm just wanna have fun. from Miss Eva. 14 El Firulete March 2001 Turning Around dance. It had three parts especially arranged for dancing. Two classic examples of Vals Criollo are found on the only CD available of the group Los A Waltz by Another Name Tubatango: Santiago del Estero, and Long before the Tango became the target of society's scorn be- Pabellon de las rosas. cause of its provocative choreography and the character of its By the first decade of the twentieth century, composers in both Argentina practitioners, the puritanical arrows of disdain were aimed at and Uruguay wrote numerous valses another dance with similar uncertain origins that caught the which became part of the repertoire of imagination of European society. the first Tango orchestras. Buenos Aires was becoming a city with its own BY ALBERTO PAZ personality, and the valses composed ost experts agree that the show the influence of the waltz. during that period were acquiring that origin of the word waltz refers It was in the nineteenth century that personality as well. The rapid growth of Mto the action of turning around a new type of waltz was created in the the city and an environment heavily while dancing. The origin of the Waltz city of Boston, the Boston Waltz. Its influenced by the cadence of the Tango as a dance itself is uncertain, but histori- characteristic was a change in the role of added an authentic Buenos Aires ans agree that it first appeared around the piano, or rather the pianist. Instead melodic tone to the music of the Vals two centuries ago. of using the left hand to mark the 1-2-3 Criollo. While the “forbidden” Tango There are certain musical forms of rhythm of the waltz, the left hand only was being played by guitars, flutes, popular nature that originate as dances marks the first beat of the rhythm while violins, pianos and bandoneons for the and later follow a transformation into the right hand combines rhythm and worst element of society, the same songs. Of interest to us, the Waltz and melody. instruments played the Vals Porteño for the Tango, a couple of centuries apart, the decent families, at the weekly The Vals Boston conquered Buenos neighborhood social dances. represent a typical example of the fusion Aires at the beginning of the twentieth of dance and song into internationally century. Prior to that, the waltz had been The preference of the Buenos Aires acclaimed musical expressions. the darling of the aristocracy in the musicians for the waltz over the other Records show that the Waltz was in 1800’s and gradually had gained accep- dances of the time, i.e. polkas, mazur- vogue in Vienna around 1773. In spite tance among pianists and musical kas, is due in part to the expression and of being a genre of popular origins, it groups in Buenos Aires. nuances of its melody, which on a larger seduced composers such as Mozart, scale are elements intrinsic to the The immigrant invasion that started Argentine Tango. Erroneously many who wrote many waltzes for the dancers in the 1870’s brought songs and dances of Vienna. From this romantic period refer to the resulting rhythm as Tango from their native lands. The waltz was waltz. Outstanding musicians who made originated the most classic compositions among their favorites. Their descen- of the Viennese waltz by Schubert, the Vals an integral part of their reper- dants, the first Creole generation grew toire included Roberto Firpo, Juan Chopin and Brahms which still are up to the popular sounds of the waltz, played today. Maglio “Pacho,” Francisco Canaro enjoying the old tunes while beginning and Francisco Lomuto. When it begun to appear in Europe to modify the songs and dances of their it was considered an indecorous dance. parents under the influence of the new The Vals began to loose its dance appeal around 1917 when the first wave France is credited with the transfor- customs and the new environment of the country where they were born and of American dances (Fox-Trot, One- mation of the uniform and lively Step, Two-Step and Shimmy) begun to danceable rhythm of the Viennese where they lived. Thus was born the Argentine folklore, a collection of be heavily promoted to the Argentine Waltz into a more insinuating and youth. Ten years later the Charleston romantic melody which allowed the use regional dances and rhythms that make up a very rich musical heritage. finished off the appeal of the Vals, at of lyrics and the creation of the waltz- least until the 1940’s when it returned to song. The new Creole generation added a the dance floors with the renaissance of On the American continent, the telluric feeling to the traditional waltz, the Tango in the Golden Era. waltz arrived to the salons of high and gave birth to the Vals Criollo. The Creole Waltzes, composed by Latin The most popular valses that remain society around 1840. It quickly became as the classic of classics today are Desde the favorite dance conquering new fans American musicians preserved the characteristic and style of the Viennese el alma (Boston Waltz style) and at the lower levels of society as well. Palomita blanca (classic style). Many folklore dances from Argentina waltz. It continued to be mainly a March 2001 El Firulete 15 Budding Teenage Romance Sparked by Tango's First Lesson

On Saturday January 20th, fourteen Argentine students and their New Orleans host ”brothers and sisters” took their first ever Tango lesson from New Orleans resident Argentine Tango masters Alberto and Valorie at the Original Pierre Maspero’s restaurant in the French Quarter. Not only were both groups of teenagers willing to put their best tango foot forward that afternoon, but a delightful, budding teenage romance began that day between two local high schoolers and all because of this tango class! For the past 38 years, a non-profit organization in New Orleans, the For- eign Relations Association of New Orleans, has coordinated an exchange program for high school students from CADIE (Consejo Argentino de Intercambio Estudiantil), an Argentine group dedicated to bringing students from Argentina to the U.S. during school vacation time. Under this program, students from New Orleans area high schools travel to Argentina for one month during summer and students from Argentina come to New Orleans for a month in winter. The program is designed to provide both groups with social and educational opportunities to better understand the cultural fabric of the host country while students live with local families during their visits. By Eva del Cid MARIA TANGO WHERE TO LIVE IN BUENOS AIRES CLOSE TO MILONGAS! Stay with us in Mariatango's home Tel/Fax 00541-1-4-902-5059 [email protected] 16 El Firulete March 2001

MUSICAL COMPILATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL El Firulete PURPOSES AND PERSONAL ENJOYMENT Carefully selected and smartly compiled classics of the The Argentine Tango Magazine Argentine Tango by its foremost musicians. A suscription for yourself or a gift to a friend 12 issues for $30 in the USA, $40 in Canada, $50 international OSVALDO PUGLIESE, The Legacy, vol 1 CANARO by CANARO Name: ______CARLOS DISARLI, THE LORD OF THE TANGO TANGOS WITH HARMONICA - PERO YO SE Address: ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 1 ______ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 2 ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 3 City: ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 4 ______ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 5 ARGENTINE TANGO TANDAS 6 State: ______Zip: ______Each CD is $15 and includes First Class mailing. Phone: ______Send check or moneyE-mail: order to: Send your check to, ______Planet Tango Planet Tango 1000 Bourbon St., #202 1000 Bourbon St., #202 New Orleans, LA 70116 New Orleans, LA 70116 For details, visit http://www.planet-tango.com/music.htm March 2001 El Firulete 17

August 31 - September 3, 2001 RENO HILTON Casino and Resort

Planet Tango is pleased to announce its Fifth Annual Labor Day Weekend Tango Five minutes from Reno, NV airport Getaway once again to be held at the wonderful Reno Hilton in Reno, Nevada. As many by courtesy shuttle of you know, this is a great and unique Argentine Tango weekend combining classes and socializing at its best. Everything under one roof Two professional couples to be announced shortly will join your hosts and Master teachers Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart for your learning and enjoyment experience. Large Guest Rooms Friday, August 31 is check in and the traditional Welcome Milonga. It’s a good idea to Five Restaurants, Cafe book your bargain airfare and rooms now. The farther ahead you book, the better the room Fast Food, Elegant Casino rate. In year's past early birds got $59. per day for either single or double occupancy. So it Three Showrooms pays to book early and on your own. Use whatever discounts you have - AAA, AARP, American Express, etc. The rooms are large and generous for sharing. Call 1 800.648.5080. Shopping Mall, Bowling Alley Saturday, September 1, morning and afternoon are for classes. The classes are suitable for Cinema, Health Spa, Pool any and all levels of dancers, whether this is your first experience or you’re a seasoned dancer. We make a concerted effort to maintain a balanced number of men and women, All levels welcome couples and singles. Class size is kept to a level that allows everyone to get individual Singles - Couples attention. On Saturday night, we will host the Reno Tango Ball with dinner and a show Even ratio of men and women produced by the teachers. Sunday, September 2 offers the same schedule and amenities. However, at the Sunday Tango Boutique night milonga/dinner, the students are invited to do the show in what has become a legend- Clothing, CDs, Shoes ary evening of great performances. It’s great fun! There is also a certificate presentation Videos, Art work from the teachers to the students. Monday, September 3 offers the last set of group classes, as well as some extra time to schedule those precious private hours with your teachers. So when you reserve your hotel Spacious wood dance floors room, make sure to specify that you want a late check-out on Monday, September 3. Reasonable class size A fabulous Tango Boutique will be set up as well. Clothing, shoes, CD’s, videos will all be available Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Private classes and mini-workshops available at extra cost. You are welcome to bring your video camera to record a video notebook of the class All classes conducted in English material and the performances solely for your own personal use.

Please sign me up for the Fifth Annual Labor Day Weekend Tango Getaway, Aug 31 - Sep 3, 2001 at the special tuition rate of $225 offered only to readers of El Firulete until April 15, 2001 Please mail payments to Print Name(s) ______Planet Tango Mailing Address ______1000 Bourbon St., #202 New Orleans, LA 70116 City ______State ______Zip ______For information please contact, 504.592.8256 Phone ______E-mail [email protected] For updates, I'm attending [_____] as an individual, [______] with a partner http://www.planet-tango.com/reno2001.htm Amount enclosed $ ______for ______person(s) 18 El Firulete March 2001 direction indicated by the motion of the man you are dancing with. Favoring either leg on your axis grounds the hip on which your weight is resting in such a way that the only Chapter 22 Copyright (c) 2001 Planet Tango possible motion for that hip is circular. Riders of the best mark trust, embrace and move to the rhythm What produces the circular motion is the and melody of the music executing the result of your upper body rotating It seems that Argentine Tango most simple and the most complex enough that eventually makes the hip dancing is the most talked about pastime patterns without loosing connection to turn, which in turn forces the foot on because of its free form nature and the each other; without disturbing the path which you are standing to pivot. Pivot- many opportunities to dance that are of others on the dance floor, and hope- ing has the main purpose of pointing the now available everywhere we go. fully enjoying the moments shared grounded hip into a different direction. Unfortunately those doing most of the together. This is very important to understand talking are the ones who are socially since the embrace does not allow the The first step in the learning process challenged, tend to be mechanical upper body to fully turn. Therefore, the for women is to find and recognize their dancers, and find in their eloquence a connection between the upper body and axis and to manage their weight changes way to justify their frustrations on the the hips must be fluid so the plane of and center of gravity, in order to have dance floor. both parts of the body can be broken - their bodies ready for the motions that thus the commonly used term of The predictable target of these the man creates. The underlying corol- quebrada, which literally means "bro- talking heads are women who follow all lary here is to accept from the word go, ken" as in the line between the upper kinds of advice, most often contradic- that in Tango the man drives and the body and the hips is broken. tory. Facing the "addiction" of Tango woman rides. The analogy does not do and the "seduction and passion" that it justice to the actual experience of A training exercise that helps promises, many women accept situa- dancing, because the implied passive develop a good sense of axis is to stand tions which they would not tolerate in role of riding, as in a car, adds a sense of up straight, feet together, weight on the the course of their daily lives. In the unfairness to women accustomed to ball of the feet. Gradually begin to shift process they develop bad habits and being discriminated against in every your body weight to the right as you attitudes that makes the progress to- other order of life. take a deep breath. Tighten the hip wards total fulfillment of their desires muscles so there is solid support for the To the contrary, riding the Tango is difficult, painful and frustrating. weight of your upper body and elongate a luxury that presents women with the upwards as if standing on top of a The Luxury of Letting Go egalitarian challenge of having to pedestal. Feel the other hip relax, and There is a method for learning to assume responsibility, making decisions the other leg literally hanging relaxed as dance Tango for both men and women. that count and accepting the conse- its heel almost gets off the ground. It is part of a process of work and quences of their actions. Crediting or improvement by emulation and recogni- blaming partners for their dancing is not Next, shift your weight to the left tion of excellence in dancing. an accepted option for the woman who hip while exhaling and repeat the As communities grow, there is the wants to become a Tango dancer. tightening of the hip muscles. Inhale and elongate your torso at this time on your potential for excellence as men and First Find Your Axis women take a more discriminating left leg. Do this swaying motion that We define axis as the vertical line results from weight changes in place approach to learning, understanding the formed by the head, shoulder, hip, knee concepts and as a result of their work, while listening to Tango music. Gradu- and foot, which means that the axis can ally, synchronize your breathing and they begin to stand out on the dance be on the right or the left side of the floor. It is a time proven fact that what axis shifting with the beat of the music body, as the weight is transferred to so you shift on a beat, elongate on the drives aspiring Tango dancers to excel is either side. In other words, when you the incentive to learn the techniques and next and shift again on a beat and find your axis, you’ll be standing with elongate on the next. Two weight understand the concepts of Tango your full body weight favoring either dancing in order to better themselves changes should equate to four beats. leg. In order to improve the equilibrium You are already dancing Tango. without the rhetoric and the pitch for the while balanced on one leg, the upper latest fad, the phony claims of new body must elongate upwards, and the Once you make it clear to your secrets discovered, or the promises of other hip must be relaxed in order to partner that you are on the axis he instant gratification. have the leg attached to it hanging loose placed you on, you will be in a position Tango dancing requires that people and ready to swing from the hip in any of dynamic balance where you can wait March 2001 El Firulete 19 as long as it takes for your partner to forward displacing the woman with his when he moves her to his right or left initiate the next movement. This is what upper body so her free leg extends into while rotating only his upper body. it's meant when a talking head tells a the new space behind her. In other words, when the man woman, without actually knowing what It is possible that in sending the accompanies with a step in the same they are saying, “wait,” “don’t think,” or woman away, the man may choose to direction the motion he created for the the classic “shut up and follow.” move into the woman's right or left woman, the resulting figures fall under Things change dramatically when a shoulder with a slight counter body the general category of WALKS. When woman on her axis confidently waits for rotation of his upper body so as to keep the man doesn't move or move into the the mark to continue. This is the mo- their hips facing each other. This is part space where the woman was, the ment when you can tell the men from of a previous chapter on the man's role. resulting patterns fall under one of three the boys, and the time to become The man moves the women towards categories, FORWARD OCHOS, discriminating about who you accept to his chest by gently stepping backwards BACK OCHOS or GIROS. dance with, and why. and bringing the women with his upper Learn Well and Dance Better In summary, find your axis, allow body so her free leg extends forward Tango dancing is no different than your partner to shift your weight from into the new space. anything else requiring knowledge, axis to axis, understand how your The man moves the woman towards understanding and application. grounded hip can only rotate, and be his right side by rotating his upper body The history of the Tango seems to ready to have the ride of your life. to the right thus opening the space show peaks and valleys that occur every Changing from Axis to Axis where he wants the woman to go. forty years, that is the span of two When clearly standing on her axis, Whether the resulting step is a lateral generations. The earliest heyday dates the woman can now be moved in any opening, a forward step or a back step, it back to 1870 as documented by the direction. It is the man's responsibility, is important for the woman to see the chronicles of Viejo Tanguero in 1913. to the degree of his own skills, to clearly opening, to understand the mark and to About this time, during the centennial mark the direction and extent of the allow her whole body to go deep into celebrations in Buenos Aires (1910), movement required from the woman. the right side of the man, and NOT just the second wave of Tango dancing took It is very important and fundamental her leg. place fed by the furor that had taken for a woman to understand the process The man moves the woman towards Europe by storm, with the appearance in which her movements are marked, his left side by rotating his upper body of the first European-style cabarets in created, dictated, suggested, whatever to the left thus opening the space where the city. Then, in 1950 we had the most makes it clear to her that a man is he wants the woman to go. Whether the documented period of renaissance of required to know how to move her from resulting step is a lateral opening, a Tango dancing, the so called Golden position to position on the dance floor. forward step or a back step, it is impor- Era. Many who lived through the forties and fifties are still alive and some of the Standing in front of the man, with tant for the woman to see the opening, details of the times trickle down colored her weight on either leg, the woman to understand the mark and to allow her by the characteristic trait of the habitant should only be aware that she can be whole body to go deep into the left side of Buenos Aires to embellish the facts moved away from the man's chest (back of the man, and NOT just her leg. with their biased opinions on any step), towards the man's chest (forward It is the responsibility of the man to subject that reaches wide attention. step), to the right shoulder of the man finish all the woman's motions by (lateral opening if standing on the right clearly placing her vertical on the leg We are now at the peak of another leg or forward or back step if standing she used to move, thus establishing her wave that started around 1990. If history on the left leg), or to the left shoulder of new axis. repeats, we are in for another decade or two of great dancing and indescribable the man (lateral opening if standing on Rotating at the Hip enjoyment. the left leg or forward or back step if Allowing her body to be moved standing on the right leg). from axis to axis keeps the woman's What has not changed is the The man moves the woman's body center of gravity vertical over either hip anatomy of men and women. We each to the new position. At the new position, facilitating her ability to pivot. Pivoting have two legs, two arms, one brain and the woman must again stay on her axis has the main purpose of pointing the one heart, along with the humility to with the weight on the leg used to move hips in such a way that the motion of the accept the nature of a timeless dance to the new position, and the other leg trailing free leg is natural, relaxed and and the rules and codes that have kept hanging relaxed next to it. follows the direction of the body. its purity in spite of many attempts to corrupt it, deface it, or morph it into The man moves the woman away Generally the woman will pivot fads that eventually disappear. from his chest by gently stepping when the man moves to her right or left side while holding her on her axis, or Alberto and Valorie 20 El Firulete March 2001

LIVE! From Uruguay Exclusive New Orleans Performance

ALBERTO and VALORIE TANGO QUARTET Private, semiprivate and group lessons Exhibitions and performances Lectures and conferences MALA JUNTA Publishers of El Firulete Special events Rock 'N' Bowl Cafe 4135 S. Carrollton Ave., New Orleans, LA 8:30 PM - 12 AM Free parking on premises Floor show: Alberto & Valorie's 504.592.8256 NOLA Dance Troupe Los Che Planet Tango Showcasing some of the best New Orleans dancers Your complete connection to the world of Argentine Tango Admission $15 1000 Bourbon St., #202 - New Orleans, LA 70116 e-mail to: [email protected] Tickets on sale now! http://www.planet-tango.com/party.htm

Planet Tango 1000 Bourbon St., #202 New Orleans, LA 70116

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