Dream Partners?

Ruben y Cherie, Finalists in 2006

We are almost at the end of the Tango Championship Season (or the World Cup of Tango as they now call it). It's controversial every year, but getting less so as everyone in Buenos Aires is just a bit tired of it...well the real tango lovers in the city and dancers who live the tango all year round.

The Argentina Independent, a fun and informative online newspaper recently gone to paper as well, published an article that tries to show the various points of view, that of yours truly tangocherie included. Check out Tourism and Tango: Dream Partners or Four Left Feet?

The Only Champion is the Tango!

Ruben and I Dancing Final Round at La Rural in 2006

Two days ago the World Champions of Salon Tango 2011 were chosen at the huge venue of Luna Park in Buenos Aires.

The premier five winners are:

1st Place: Diego Julian Nenavidez Hernandez and Natasha Agudelo Arboleda -- Colombia

2nd Place : John Erban and Clarissa Sanchez -- Venezuela

3rd Place : Brian Nguyen and Yuliana Basmajyan -- USA

4th Place: Mauro Zompa and Sara Masi -- Italia

5th Place: Cristian Andres Lopez and Naoko Tsutsumizaki -- Japon

Unprecedentedly a tie between first and second place caused an exciting Dance-Off to pick the Champions. Here the two couples from Colombia and Venezuela dance three extra tangos at the end of the competition:



Also for the first time in the history of the Campeonato Mundial del Tango del Salon, no Argentine was among the first five.

The judges for the Tango Salon Finals were Maria Nieves, Miguel Angel Zotto, Eduardo Arquimbau, Julio Duplaa (organizer of the milonga Sin Rumbo), Carlos Borquez, Guillermina Quiroga and Jorge Torres. All but Julio Duplaa are known for performing on stage, choreographing, and touring. In fact, Eduardo Arquimbau was in the first tango show I ever saw, Tango Argentino, in the Pantages Theater in Hollywood in the '80s. And then on my first trip here in '97, I saw him perform at the Michelangelo in San Telmo with his wife, Gloria, and also took group classes with them at La Ideal. Maria Nieves, ex-wife and partner of Juan Carlos Copes, is a tango superstar. Guillermina is famous for her work on stage and in film.

The tango championships were created in 2002 to bring more attention to the art form and to bring money and business and more tango to Buenos Aires. It was only in 2001 that the country suffered a debilitating and traumatic economic crisis. "What shall we do to get the country out of the doldrums? I know, we'll have a big fiesta about what we know and do best--along with beef and red wine (and sometimes football.)" An influx of business and tango tourism could only help. And it did.

It began small and standards were lower and fewer. Dance rules were posted but not insisted on. Fewer pesos were awarded. Winners were older.

Then Argentine associations in several countries began to sponsor competitions on their home ground, the winners to get free travel to Buenos Aires to compete in the Mundial. Competitors figured out that it was "good" for them to come early and study with the judges on the panel. Beautiful young women figured out that flirting with the judges while wearing scanty clothing couldn't hurt either. Judges awarded prizes to students, favorites, and sometimes even family members (Maxi Copello the year we competed in the Metropolitano.) Everyone knew that the judging was prejudiced.

Soon the government realized what a great marketing and PR jewel they had in the tango contests, and advertized for participants around the world to come to Buenos Aires to compete. A Tango Festival was added, with free concerts, milongas, lectures, and classes to sweeten the pot. Venders paid to show their wares. It was a win-win situation for everyone. Tango tourism bloomed in August, and local citizens got free entertainment.

This year the pot turned a little sour for some. There was a big fracas in May over whether or not foreigners could compete in the Metropolitano, previously only open to residents of Buenos Aires, a law suit was brought by disgruntled Americans, and the whole city championship nullified. I didn't understand the problem as anyone could compete in the World's in August no matter where they came from.

And then out of 40 finalistas, of which 18 were Argentine, no Argentines finished in the first five of the traditional Tango Salon championship! While all the finalists were beautiful dancers and did a great job on the stage at Luna Park, it's very hard to believe that none of the competing Argentine dancers couldn't do as well. Salon tango has to be improvised, but certainly the three tangos danced in the above video--to popular recordings of famous tangos by Di Sarli, Fresedo, and Rodriguez--were practiced and choreographed, not led. Sorry. Take a closer look.

Diego Hernandez, the Colombian First Place winner, was overheard in an interview saying (smugly) it's as if an Argentine won the Cumbia Competition in Colombia. "Like there's no way in hell that's ever going to happen."

Some of the tangueros and milongueros of Buenos Aires felt like he gave them the finger. (Colombia is famous for its variety of musical styles and high-quality of dancing. Colombia music genres)

And many Argentine dancers feel that the government is giving away their tango. Or rather, selling it.

If Buenos Aires becomes no longer the Mecca of tango, if people can study in Bogota or Los Angeles or Tokyo with world tango champions, why should tango tourism continue to rise along with the high inflation?

From my point of view, Argentina never thinks or plans long-term; get it while you can seems to be the prevailing philosophy of everyone from the lowest to the highest. Planning and saving has never helped them in the past. So they go for the gusto.

'The good news is that this is growing fantastically year after year," a delighted Mayor Mauricio Macri said. Maybe he should think ahead a few more years?

In 2009, tango was declared by UNESCO to be a World's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations.

From the Huff Post:

The 24 members of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage granted the tango dance and its music protected cultural status at its meeting in Abu Dhabi.

The designation may make Argentina and Uruguay, which both claim to be tango's birthplace, eligible to receive financial assistance from a specialized fund for safeguarding cultural traditions. It will also help both governments justify using public funds to preserve their most famous export after beef.

This article is illustrated by this one photo only--stage tango, or Tango Gringo. Is this the dance and music (Gotan Project, Piazzolla) that UNESCO aims to preserve as the cultural heritage of Uruguay and Argentina?

I'm wondering what "protected status" means. Here's what Tito Palumbo thinks.

He writes about the UNESCO designation in Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial, in B.A.Tango, November 2009:   

Money seems to be the reason.

It was considered that Tango is seen as extravagant and exotic
The Minister of touristic culture of the City of Buenos Aires must have lobbied.
A Tango Dance School is mixed up with the milongas.

 The tango phenomenon is very widespread. Luckily, its extinction is not expected in the short or medium term. What appears in this declaration is an interweaving of interests among politicians, individuals with privileges and tango merchants with the intention of increasing their power and filling their pockets at the expense of not only local tax payers but also the entire world's population. The following step will be asking the United Nations for funds. It's none of our business; tango exists and remains despite their ploys to live on its fame!

In a wrap-up article today, La Nacion wrote, that the only champion is the tango:

...the final feeling was that, judging by the criteria of the jury, no 

Argentine fell short of the most important category of this competition,

the Salon Tango category, which is the style (along with the "milonguero")

that locals dance with passion, frequency, and some skill in the vernacular milongas. 

How is it that no one has won anything?, Ask the most outraged... and... no.
 
Of course, the Colombians deserve the prize, but that does not mean that

 the level of local dance has declined or that we are losing the throne.

 What hurts a bit, I think, is that two strangers will see the world

 with "our" flag, because, tango, despite of being a world heritage

 possession, Argentines still feel entitled to maintain custody of

 this beautiful creature which is leaving large dividends for those

 involved, directly and indirectly with it.

As a friend told me, perhaps it is a feeling a bit childish, but

 is something like an "I lend it to you, but do not break it." 

As for my personal opinion, I quote these Argentine sources because I'm a little uneasy to criticize the country of which I am a guest, and the field in which I and my milonguero partner make our living. I am an outsider in Argentina but after so many years and so much attention paid, I must offer my point of view on this huge endeavor, the Campeonato Mundial. ( This post only refers to salon tango. Tango to me is about improvisation, emotion, connection, the embrace--ingredients of traditional social tango de salon, or tango milonguero.)


Money does seem to be the reason. But in the long run, yes, the only champion is the tango!

Twenty-four Long and Exciting Hours

A couple of weeks ago we left the Milonga de los Consagrados to go out to a club in Banfield to perform a vals, tango, and milonga at a private fiesta. Ruben was wearing his beige suit for the occasion. Then we drove back in the opposite direction to milonga Los Bohemios in La Boca where Ruben was to act as a judge in a tango contest.

The tango club has indoor parking because La Boca is not the best place to be late at night wandering the streets. However when we left at 4:00 a.m., we had a flat tire. Ruben wanted to change it at a service station where there was more light and security, so we drove on the rim to one a few blocks away. He changed it, not doing the beige suit any good, and we made it home, just a couple of hours before we were to take a tourist group to the Feria de Mataderos, where we all had a great day. And we got back in time to teach a class at 8:00 p.m.

Whew.

P.S. Last week Ruben's car was stolen at twelve noon while we were at the supermarket buying fixins for Thanksgiving. I hope the thief got a flat; Ruben thinks he probably ran out of gas!

Tito Palumbo Speaks Out About the Championships

SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE TANGO BUENOS AIRES 2010 FESTIVAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP. By Tito Palumbo

The following are some thoughts that come to mind about these events produced by the Ministry of Culture of Buenos Aires.

Something was previously mentioned in the News Updates No. 204 / 1 where I wrote about a venue named Meeting Point.

I assume that tango lives in our city's 365 days a year and the month of August has always had a stream of tourists from the northern hemisphere, where it's summer and holiday time.

The city government has organized the offer of these events over this stream of visitors (1).

A great deal of shows, classes, milongas, conferences, was featured in several venues, private and belonging to the city government, which culminated in the finals of Salon Tango and Stage Tango at Luna Park. And all is well that ends well.

I attended the night where tribute was paid to Maestro Horacio Salgán and the Quinteto Real performed. It was a night full of joy for all those who attended; with excellent music played by the ensemble’s new members and listening to the maestro (94 years) who told the history of the group continuing with a semblance of his teammate Ubaldo De Lio whom he personally handed a memory plate.

The following Sunday singer Ariel Ardit, a prominent artist, performed at the Theatre 25 de Mayo. A tango orchestra conducted by pianist Andrés Linetzky accompanied him. Due to a vocal problem derived from a performance he had earlier that day in the province of San Juan, he had to shorten his show that lasted just an hour.

I responded to a question about the World Tango Championships in an interview with the magazine Tango in Rome (Italy) last June:  “I agree that there are many ways of answering your question on the championships: a) they award a diploma to winners who may begin working as professionals, b) it is a business for some officials involved in the organization, c) they provide audio-visual materials to business owners without paying the dancers, and d) they generate tourism to the city.  In the meantime I've change my opinion on the last point as indicated in preceding paragraphs.

The winning couples in both categories, Salon Tango and Stage Tango were:

Salon Tango

1º)  Sebastián Ariel Jiménez y María Inés Bogado (Buenos Aires)

2º)  Diego Ezequiel Pérez y María Soledad Cantarini (Rosario, Prov. of Santa Fe)

3º)  Cristian Andrés López y Naoko Tsutsumizaki ( Tokyo, Japan)

4º)  Ariel Manzanares y Daniela Sol Cerquides (Buenos Aires)

5º)  Frank Obregón y Jenny Gil (Caracas, Venezuela)

Stage Tango

1º)  Diego Ortega y Chizuko Kuwamoto (Colón, Prov. of Buenos Aires)

2º)  Cristian Correa y Manuela Rossi (Buenos Aires)

3º)  Cristian Andrés López y Naoko Tsutsumizaki ( Tokyo, Japan)

4º)  Leonardo Luizaga y Paola Giselle Luizaga ( Zárate, Prov. of Buenos Aires)

5º)  Eber Alejandro Burger y Yésica Lorena Lozano (Lanús, Prov. of Buenos Aires)

My idea on Stage Tango as it was seen -especially in the semifinals- is that there was a lot of choreography reminiscent of the classical dance, with a male dancer holding a female dancer that was doing pirouettes and jumps. Tango, nothing at all! In an interview with Claudio Segovia, creator of the show Tango Argentino, which in the 80s revived the desire to dance, he said, "The knowledge of Tango dance was born with Tango Argentino; it created the tango-dancing that did not existed before. As spectacle aroused the interest and desire to learn to dance. Those with passion for dance began to learn to dance tango." (2)

Surely seeing young couples today doing Stage Tango, agile, with plenty of tricks, no spectators over 25 years will run out of the theater to find a tango teacher and take dance lessons.

The Dance Championship Finals involved this year a notary to certify the vote of the judges. This should now be completed with the installation of an electronic board that will allow the public to see the ratings made by each one of the judges on each one of the participating couples.

About the participation of singer and composer Ruben Blades I found in it another measure to promote Tango abroad. An Argentine singer can be known within the limits of our country and, at most, Uruguay and Chile. However, this Panamanian has a presence in many more countries. He had enough tact not to choose to sing tangos because then the comparison would not favor him, that's why he sang his own songs with music composed and arranged by outstanding maestro Carlos Franzetti, based on tangos and milongas rhythmic. But the combination proved to be self-defeating, the metric of the verses that goes very well with salsa does not match at all with the music of the River Plate.

Her female dance companions paid an emotive well-deserved tribute to Maria Nieves (Rego). As one of them told me: "She is the last milonguera, we just are dancers." She danced with "Pancho" Martínez Pey showing that she is a remarkable artist with great mastery of the stage.

Susana Rinaldi, admirable actress and singer, closed the Stage Tango finals. Now, she doesn’t belong to the milonga, her songs are not played in the dance halls. It turned out that her performance took place after having released the winners of the competition, so being on the stage she found that half the attendants was gone, including the city authorities.

There were mistakes in bulk. By instance, it was announced that Omar Viola would be the master of ceremonies in the Grand Closing Milonga to be held on Sunday 29. Well, he never knew it before, the organizers did not inform him; he just knew about it after the date when an acquaintance asked him why he had not been there.

The accreditation of journalists was in the hands of incompetent staff. Personally, I had to complain to the Press Chief because I didn’t receive the confirmation being the application  sent in time and order. Milton Saldanha. a colleague in San Pablo (Brazil), has written a highly critical editorial for his magazine Jornal Dance. I had difficulties taking pictures on the Salgán’s Night; I was making some shots from a box, without using flash, without  bothering anyone, when a security employee came to warn me that I could not take pictures. Staff of the Press Festival had to intervene to tell this employee that I was authorized. All privileges were to the television and mass media in Luna Park; BA Tango - Buenos Aires Tango was relegated at the last moment, when almost all participants, very tired, had withdrawn.

(1) It is recalled that the Iº Tango World Championship took place in March 2003 and moved to August from the following year on. The first two Buenos Aires Tango Festivals took place in December, the following  from 2001 to 2007, inclusive, in February and March, and from 2008 on, in August. One can see a clear political opportunism tourist oriented business for which the Tango is a cultural phenomenon used to take advantage.

(2) B.A. TANGO – Buenos Aires Tango Nº 23, second fortnight of February 1996, p. 1.

TITO PALUMBO está en / is on FACEBOOK

* * *

5º CAMPEONATO DE BAILE – TANGO SALÓN - “LA MARSHÀLL”

5th “La Marshàll” Tango Salón Dance Championship

Durante los miércoles de septiembre tendrá lugar la 5ª edición del Campeonato de Baile de Tango, categoría Tango Salón, sin distinción de sexos en los roles, organizado por La Marshàll. En Plaza Bohemia, Maipú 444. Informes a los tels. 43 00-34 87/15-54 58-34 23. Más info en www.lamarshall.com.ar

Las próximas fechas son:

Día 15 – Ronda eliminatoria;

Día 22 – Semifinal;

Día 29 – Final.

Premio a la pareja ganadora: $ 1.000.

- - -

The 5th edition of the Tango Dance Championship, Salon Tango category, regardless of gender roles will take place during the Wednesdays of September. It is organized by La Marshall. At Plaza Bohemia, 444 Maipú St. For information phone 43 00-34 87/15-54 58-34 23. More info on www.lamarshall.com.ar
The next dates are:
09/15 - Qualifying Round;
09/22 - Semifinal;
09/29 - Final.
Prize to the winning couple: $a 1,000.

* * *

El Campeonato Mundial

Okay, it's all over except for the PR, photos, and marketing.
If you were interested, you've already seen all the blog reports, the videos, news of the Finals and who won them. I'm not going to be redundant here.

I have only this question:  do you really think that an 18 year old couple who've been dancing tango for two years can be the very best tango salon dancers in the world? IN THE WORLD?

I would love to know your opinion. Please leave me a comment. If only to orient tangocherie in the real world.

Week of Campeonatos!

Marcelo Castelo y Ruben

The beginning of Championship Week in Buenos Aires (especially the Campeonato Mundial de Tango) included a Milonga Contest on Sunday in Mi Club, a milonga organized by Marcelo Castelo in Banfield (Province of Buenos Aires).

The Trophies

The Winners

Fifteen couples competed in two rounds of two milongas each--first a slow then a fast one. The club was packed with good dancers and it was so fun to be there and be a part of an event outside of El Centro! (Ruben and I also did a little milonga demo.)

A great evening! Congratulations to all who participated!

Ruben with old friends

Your Judges

The Campeonato de Tango 2010 Begins

Last night in El Arranque was the first round of preliminary qualifications for the annual Campeonato. The name keeps changing, but it's still the Buenos Aires city tango Championships, so the contestants must be residents.

You can read more about it here (in English.) This year the first prize is up to 18,000 pesos!

And to answer any questions about our own intentions, we did great in 2006 and once was enough. That's us on stage above in La Rural in the final round of the The Finals.

Campeonato Intercontinental 2009

There's still time to be a Tango Champion in 2009!


On the heels (as it were) of the Mundial and the InterMilonga, here's a week-long tango championship that anyone may enter if they are over 15 years of age. Whatever your nationality and tango status--professional or amateur--you are eligible to compete.

Started last night and goes until next Saturday night, October 17, at
El Social Buenos Aires
Alsina 2764, Balvanera

The first prize is $6000 pesos AR, and a tour.
Read all about it here.

There will be live orchestras and performances every night:





Go on, grab your partner and go for it!

Campeonato Video

Qualifying at Los Consagrados

Last night the qualifying round in one of the three milongas participating in the Campeonato InterMilonga was held at "our" milonga, Los Consagrados. (See previous post for more information on the contest.)


Five couples competed, all but one are Saturday night regulars. There was a flap about the winning couple, not habitues, because they are "professionals." So I don't know how it ended. But we were so thankful that we hadn't accepted the honor of being on the jury! Judging between our friends? I don't think so. And just sitting on the stage like that would have embarrassed me.

Judges were, left to right, Ivone, Horacio, Mimi.




Anyway, here are some more photos of the contestants for you.

Gran Campeonato de Tango / INTERMILONGAS

The Mundial's over but you're now in Buenos Aires and you still want to compete in tango? You can do it this week!

Here's the info:

Organiza: Círculo Apolo "Milonga Entre Amigos"
Colabora: Revista Diostango /
Categoría Mayores de 40 años / Modalidad Tango Salón

Premios:
1er. Premio: $ 1000,- en efectivo
2do. Premio: $ 500,- en efectivo
3er. Premio: $ 300,- en orden de compra

Comienza el Viernes 18 de Septiembre de 2009

Informes e inscripción en Círculo Apolo "Milonga Entre Amigos"
Machaín 3517 tel: 4541-1652 / 15-6123-4601
e-mail: apolo.entreamigos@hotmail.com

Milongas Participantes:

Milonga del Centenario (Viejo Correo), Av. Díaz Vélez 4820
Jueves 17-09-2009
Círculo Apolo, Machaín 3517 Viernes 18-09-2009
Milonga de los Consagrados, Humberto Primo 1462

So if you are 40 or over and dance salon style, you can concursar and perhaps win 1000 pesos! No matter if you are local or tourist. There is no fee to enter, just to the milonga, as usual. In any event, it will be fun to watch.

So hie thee this THURSDAY to Viejo Correo after 8 p.m., or Los Consagrados on Saturday between 7-10 p.m., or after 8 p.m. to Circulo Apolo this FRIDAY.

Note: Ruben and I were asked to be judges, but we declined based on our numerous friends at Los Consagrados. We could never judge between our friends.

Tango Salon Winners in the Mundial 2009

We just saw this on television from Luna Park and the winners are a Japanese couple, Hiroyi Yamao & Kyoko Yamao (photo by Daniel Carreira.) This couple placed third in the Tango Escenario competition in 2007.

Many congratulations to them; I'm sure they've worked long and hard to win this honor.

I just have three questions:

1. How do the Argentines feel that a Japanese couple won the world prize in tango?

2. Why was there no one in the final 45 couples over 43-45? There were old milongueros competing, but none made it to the Finals. Don't they dance well enough?

3. None of the finalists used the standard embrace of the lady's arm around the man's neck; is this now over, out of style, dead?

Pleae comment if you can answer my questions. Thanks.

Monday we are invited to Luna Park to see the Finals of the Tango Escenario competition, but I'm not sure I want to go.
Especially as I will be spending the day in Inmigraciones with a Guillotine over my head. And it may fall that afternoon.

7th Campeonato 2009

The immediate change of note about the 2009 Buenos Aires tango championships is the name difference -- the first six years the tango championships were called Campeonato Metropolitano de Tango de Buenos Aires; this year it was Campeonato de la Ciudad.

The second big difference is the reduction of money spent on the championships. Previously there were colorful brochures plastering the city and all the milongas. There was lots of buzz and PR far in advance. The event was spread out over months in the autumn, culminating in August with the big finals in La Rural, where thousands of people waited in line for the free tickets to watch the judging, the dancing, and the live orchestras that performed. The Metropolitano was tied in with the Mundial as well as the Tango Festival making it a huge event drawing tango tourists from all over the world.

This year was definitely very low key. Very little publicity, and the whole thing was rushed through in a few weeks, with the finals and the semifinals directly following the qualifying heats in local milongas. Last night was a special event, billed as the Baile de los Campeones, in Salon Canning of performances by the winners. It was supposed to be a celebration. But it was dull and just a little sad.

I had planned to take pictures last night and write a nice article, but you know what? I just can't. So sparsely attended, the dancing so very unimpressive, the atmosphere so opposite of festive, that I will settle for just posting the photo of the winners (the couple on the right are the "Seniors") and the video of the Finals last Saturday. (Taken from the 2xTango website.)







To read about Ruben's and my participation in 2006, go here.

One Tango Moment

One Tango Moment, a one-hour documentary film by Australian Carla Thackrah, follows the Australian stage tango champions to Buenos Aires to compete in the Campeonateo Mundial. Carla was inspired to show the clash between international commercial tango and what is danced by Argentines socially. The couple find that their tango changed once they were in Buenos Aires and dancing in the milongas, and the new realizations threw them off their game.

The stars are the 2007 stage tango champions of Australia, Federico and Hosanna, but Ruben and I figure in it too, dancing in a milonga, and speaking about the passion of tango, the embrace, music, and the future of tango. We were very proud to be part of this thought-provoking project.

Carla has made other film documentaries, she is a tango dancer herself, a composer, and the flutist in Tango Paradiso ensemble, along with her husband, violinist Moshlo.



A still from the film shows my friends Flo Woodruff and Carlos Costes dancing at Club Espanol.

Another Campeonato--This Time Intercontinental!!

A great marketing tool and stimulating for tourism, tango championships stir the waters and bring in people and pesos.

This new one seems to dwarf all the rest.
Campeonato Intercontinental de Tango 2008, October 26-November 1, coincides perfectly with the spring tourist season in Buenos Aires.

Anyone can enter, and the first prize is $6000 AR with an all-expense paid tour to other countries.

Different orchestras will be playing for the 7 days and nights of the event.
And it's all at Viejo Correo! Which seems a little small for orchestras and crowds, but good for them. I hope it's a fantastic success.

So if you're planning on being in Buenos Aires at that time, enter the championship and have something to write home about!

Judging the Jury

Ruben and I went to Glorias Argentinas last night with friends to watch the next-to-last night of the qualifying heats for the Campeonato Metropolitano 2008.

Twelve couples competed in the Tango category, seven or eight in Milonga. Most were old milonguero-types, along with two or three young couples.

Among the judges were Eduardo Arquimbau, a stage dancer and choreographer for many, many years and who was in fact the first dancer, along with his wife Gloria, of tango that I ever saw--in the show, Tango Argentino when it came to Los Angeles in 1988.

The other two judges were young girls in their twenties.

Now I ask you, how can a stage dancer and youngsters less than half the ages of the competitors, fairly judge social dancing in a milonga?

I dunno, to us there was something very wrong with that picture. And it was true, that a very young couple qualified in both tango and milonga, a couple that had no connection, passion, musicality (especially in Milonga), and what is more, a terrible embrace. But they had tricky footwork. And so they qualified.

This year is the first for the very intelligent idea of separating the contestants into two age groups, under 40 and over. But so far, since the rondas include everyone, and the jury is of mixed ages and backgrounds as well, this fair division hasn't been put into practice. I'm hoping it will be more clear in the Semi-Finals and Finals.

Like our old milonguero friend who was with us and decided not to compete when he saw the jury, said, How can these people judge the way I dance? I've been dancing since before those girls were born!

A very good question.

The "Queen" of Buenos Aires Tango

Qualifying couples at La Milonguita June 13, 2008


The VI Campeonato de Tango de Buenos Aires began this month, with qualifying heats almost nightly in local milongas. Tonight we watched the eliminations in La Milonguita. (As most readers know, we finished in the Final Fifteen of more than five hundred couples in the 2006 competition. Here's the 2006 post.)

There is an American living here who shall remain nameless in this post, but who is not unknown in the world of Tango-L. She is the self-appointed arbiter of who is a "good dancer" or, her favorite word, "milonguero," and who is not. She criticizes everyone under 80 years old who dances tango. OK, fine, whatever. I just stay away from her.

After not being in touch for many years, she recently sent me a personal letter out of the blue criticizing me and Ruben! Ruben is not a milonguero because he doesn't wear a suit?! Who cares? And why does she?

And she capped off her diatribe with this gem about Ruben and me making the final cut of the Campeonato:

My campeonato commentaries have been read by the judges of the association. Anyone I mentioned in my postings has placed in the competition. It's their way of making concessions for running fixed competitions. Do you really believe you and Ruben danced well enough
to make the finals? I named you in my report as the only "foreigner," and you were designated for the finals no matter how you danced.
Please don't let it go to your head.

Oh right, from the lips of a foreign woman to the ears of the judges, she's the power behind the jurado?! Where do people like this get off?


The world of tango is big enough for everyone; live and let live, dance and let dance.

Why am I posting this? To vent, of course, but also to warn: Be careful of what you read on the Internet. And if this woman attacks you personally on the Tango-L, your blog, or by email, just consider the source.





Ruben and me qualifying in Club Espanol, May 2006.

Campeonato 2007--The Triumph of Youth

(At left, winners in the V Campeonato Metropolitano; below right, winners Mundial del Tango Salon, Dante Sánchez y Inés Muzzotatta of Buenos Aires, 19 & 20 years old.)

Probably all those interested already know by now, a week later, that it was a full Argentine sweep for the four divisions: Metropolitano tango de salon and milonga, Mundial stage and salon. Each couple's ages added up to about 40.

Argentina's Natalia Tonelli Attori (20) and Fernando Gracia (21) won the fifth edition of the Tango World Championship in Stage Tango by dancing to the tango Quejas de Bandoneon (at right). The pair had competed against 16 other couples in the Stage Tango section to win a 7,000 pesos (2,250 U.S. dollar) prize.

Chile's Paloma Berrios and Alvarado Maximiliano, took second place. Hiroshi and Kyoko Yamao, a Japanese couple that moved to Buenos Aires to train full-time, were in third place in the Mundial del Escenario. The two told media they had met six years ago at a dance class, got married and decided to follow the tango to its birthplace. Two Japanese couples had made the finals of the Mundial competition, which featured 479 couples, only 90 from outside Argentina.

Foreign dancers favor the showier version of the dance: stage tango. Salon tango is more popular in Argentina.

The jury of the campeonato was composed of María Nieves, Pancho Martínez Pey, Graciela González, Elina Roldán, Raúl Bravo, Gabriel Missé y Sergio Cortazzo.

These facts leave lots of room for me to editorialize about age and culture and what is tango, but I'll leave that for another day--or to someone else.

The Campeonato Mundial 2007 As Seen By The World Press

Here are some excerpts of articles appearing in foreign newspapers about the Campeonato Mundial (I put in the bold and italics.)

World Tango Championship opens in Buenos Aires
By Jeannette Neumann (AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Kicking and dipping in rakish suits and slinky dresses, dancers from as far away as Japan and New Zealand launched the fifth World Tango Championship on Friday in Buenos Aires.

The 10-day showcase of Argentina's famously mournful dance features 479 pairs – nearly double the number that took part in the first competition in 2003.

Aleida and her dance partner, 27-year-old Daniel Martinez, banged out sharp, staccato dance steps and leaped across an exhibition center floor in the Stage Tango category, which is characterized by balletic, acrobatic choreography.

Diego Ortega, 18, slicked his hair back with gel and donned a black suit for a look that evoked the era of Carlos Gardel ...

... pairs from more than 150 world cities are competing as the dance gains popularity overseas...


Here's an article from Japan Today (ABS&CBN News), that also appeared in France Presse, in Australia and around the world. Probably created by Buenos Aires government press agents:

BUENOS AIRES — Tango enthusiasts from Japan, Australia, Russia and beyond are polishing their dancing shoes for the world championship in the sexy dance that they say knows no boundaries.

In all, 149 couples from 154 cities around the world have entered the contest with the hope of wooing the judges with a combination of steamy sensuality and swaying dance moves.
Around 90 couples from abroad and 30 from Colombia have signed up for the Salon Tango contest, the most common form of Argentine tango which arose from the"milongas," or traditional ballrooms.

Fifty couples have signed up for the Stage Tango category, which uses more complex choreography, sophisticated make-up and is better known on the dance floors of Europe, the United States and Japan.

Competitors will also lead free tango classes for those who want to learn more during the 10-day tournament...

As I previous posted here, here, and here what's all this youth and international influence going to do to social tango here in Buenos Aires?

The BBC posted a video on their site and, while castanets were playing, the announcer talked about a Global Tango Boom.

Now what I want to know is, is that a good thing?
I would have to say the more people who dance tango, the better. But I feel a little protective about milonguero style here in Buenos Aires. I guess I don't want a plethora of foreign stage dancers teaching free classes to locals during the Campeonato. I don't want half of my favorite milongas full of foreigners doing ganchos and volcadas. I don't want future milongueros thinking that high boleos, sentadas, and trabadas in crowded milongas are welcome. I guess I don't want my beloved tango to change. And it almost seems inevitable.

2003 World Tango Champions

Gisela Galeassi and Gaspar Godoy are from Cordoba, and won the Campeonato Mundial when they were only 18 and 19 years old.


Since then they've toured the world dancing and teaching and are working on their second instructional DVD.

Now I ask you, how can any teenager
1) Be a world champion of a dance that takes years to perfect and understand;
2) Teach it to normal people who want to dance socially?

Am I missing something here?

Winning the Campeonato Mundial in Buenos Aires in 2003 jump-started their career and suddenly they were all over the international tango festival map. They've made eight teaching tours to Japan alone. They are also the "official image" and tango teachers of the Abasto Plaza Hotel, which is marketing itself to tourists as "The Tango Experience."

You can read all about it in the August issue of La Milonga Argentina magazine.

They are beautiful and young and in love (they married last year). It's a great story. But what does it say about the future of tango? about the international tango present when people want to learn to dance like they do? Will these folks go to Maipu and Gricel expecting to dance like that?

Ruben and I have a private Argentine student (middle-aged) who came to us after taking a class at a large Buenos Aires tango school. Alberto has danced in the milongas for many years but the time had come when he wanted to improve his tango and make it more satisfying and interesting to himself and his partners. So he went to this big group class, and he walked out afterwards, frustrated and angry, never to return. Still in shock about how the class was taught, he told us, "What can a 20 year old kid possibly have to teach me?"

With the whole world dreaming to be stage dancers, what will happen to the embrace? And what will happen to the music? --the soul of tango.

P.S. Nancy just commented that she thought from my post that they won the Salon division. No, that might be even worse; yet though they won the Stage division, they are teaching salon!!! So I'm not sure which is worse, actually. What do you think?