Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil
Buenos Aires, Tango Show
After spending a few days in Argentina (and Uruguay!) on my own, I joined my travel group, Sail with Seth. I had avoided exploring Buenos Aires up until that point, because I knew SwS had arranged some activities in the city. First up was a visit to a tango show.
I don't claim to know much about tango, but it was clear to me that tango is a BIG DEAL in Buenos Aires. To visit Buenos Aires without experiencing a tango show is just not done. So off I went, along with a couple dozen of my Sail with Seth travel companions, to the Familia Tango Show.
Here are some photos:
At the tango show venue, we were led down a staircase to the basement and into a large room with a stage at one end and four rows of three long tables placed end-to-end perpendicular to the stage. We sat shoulder-to-shoulder, on either side of the table, each of us in front of a leather placemat.
The show included dinner, and, somehow, waiters managed to squeeze through behind us and take our orders. The food arrived in a well coordinated dance in the close quarters, and the challenge for us was to eat with our elbows pinned to our sides. I admit I did bump into my dinner mates on both sides—but I think everyone did, it was pretty much unavoidable!
Finally, the empty dishes were swept away in yet another feat of precise movements, and the music started. It was tango time!
The traditional tango band, made up of two bandoleóns (a type of concertina that is the iconic instrument of a tango band), two violins, a bass, and a piano, filled the room with sound (sometimes a bit too much sound for my tastes!), and then out came the dancers. This couple wowed the crowd with their moves!
And more moves!
And even more moves!
And finished with this wild and exciting pose!
This silver-haired gentleman was no crooner, he was a belter in the best Broadway style. He regaled us with what I would guess were Argentinian classics, appropriately enough all in Spanish, that much of the crowd seemed to recognize. He also interacted a bit with the audience, again in Spanish (only maybe half of which I sorta understood), and then encouraged the crowd in a sing-along of a tune that I'm guessing was a Spanish-language standard (he seemed to expect that we would recognize it). Part of it was a simple melody where the "words" were "La-la-la-la-la". I sang along with that!
The show also included a songstress who in this photo was delivering a moving rendition of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"—actually "No Llores Por Mi Argentina".
Unexpectedly—because it has nothing to do with tango—these indigenous Andean folk musicians played several traditional Andean songs, one of which—"El Condor Pasa"—is a tune I recognized (Paul Simon borrowed the tune for a hit Simon and Garfunkel song in 1970). The band played traditional Andean folk instruments, a panflute called a "quena", a small guitar-like instrument called a "charango", and a deep-toned drum called a "bombo", and supplemented those instruments with a Spanish guitar. I was surprised, but very pleased, that this band was included in the show—I've always like the sound of Andean music, especially the wistful sound of the quena.
The show almost over, the tango dancers had another chance to spin and swirl, this time accompanied by the Andean folk band.