Tango

In the words of the Bellamy Brothers "it's just a vertical expression of horizontal desire". It would seem that those who are not Portenos (natives of Buenos Aires) want us to believe that tango started as a men only event initiated on the ranches with the gauchos. Here in Buenos Aires it goes that the tango and modern Buenos Aires were born in the same place: the conventillos (tenement houses) of the port neighbourhood of La Boca in the late 19th century and eventually swept from the brothels and cabarets to the rest of the city. By the 1920s the dance had become respectable enough to fill the salons of the upper class in Argentina and abroad. Carlos Gardel made tango music popular in its own right in the 1930s and it is his legacy that we experienced last night La Esquinas Carlos Gardel. It was a dinner and show and none of us had very high expectations for dinner but we were excited to see the show. It far exceeded our expectations. Dinner was outstanding and we are still shaking our heads over how they managed to have a very good selection for 3 courses for dinner with about 500 people in the theatre. The dinner was as good as any we have had and we've had some great ones! We enjoyed every aspect of the show! The music and its two-four beat beg the body to MOVE and I believe that anyone who can sit quietly through a tango show must not possess a rhythmic gene. Today we will head back up to the Recoleta Artisanal Market in case there is something we have forgotten.....lol.....and head to Tortoni, another tango cafe for a late lunch and some more tango music before having a night at home for the Oscars. We are dismayed to think we have only a few days left for this amazing visit and plan to make the most of it. Trivia for you -- Tango so horrified Kaiser Wilhelm and Pope Pius X that they banned the dance...hmmmmm, maybe not so surprising ......xoxo