Men are very important in tango communities… When women want to feel feminine in a dance, they need men. Men have an enormous power to give women pleasure. That means they hold power which can be misused and abused…
--Nina
Sarah may have been “Santiago’s woman” but she wasn’t the only one. In fact, after their one night at the transitorio, he was more or less “bought” by another American woman. At least that’s the way Sarah explained it to herself, as he no longer danced with her in the tango salons. He danced only with a large middle-aged woman who couldn’t dance very well, but probably paid for everything. And they sat together, something which is not done unless a man and a woman are a “couple.”
So Sarah figured he just went to a higher bidder, even though she hadn't bid, or he had had her and therefore lost interest. Or maybe he had really understood that she wasn’t rich. Or the woman from Atlanta had made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
On her last day in Buenos Aires, when she sadly told him Adios, he excitedly said he'd be leaving himself to go to the U.S. in a couple of weeks, traveling to teach tango in Atlanta, the fat lady's hometown. He wanted Sarah's email address and she imagined him crossing the world with his files of American cities and the women he had met who lived in them.Ciao, Santiago.
...to be continued.
No comments:
Post a Comment