The Tango Addiction

What is Eva up to now?

2008-07-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

As usual, I decided to do this on a whim. The studio so happens to be right next door to my office building. The class starts right when my workday ends. I wanted to find a way to incorporate fitness with fun. And to be quite honest, I've always wondered what it feels like to be one of these sexy divas. Well, It's only been two weeks and I already have a new found respect for them. I have bruises on both of my knees, burns on my wrist, palm and ankle and my body is aching in unusual places. Yes it can be painful but when you are making that first perfect spin.... with controlled speed and multiple rotations .... it's feels like Disney (but only the adult version).

The Seduction Of the Unknown

2008-05-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

Opening night. No high hopes judging by the scarce number of people present. We were determined to have a nice time, dancing or not. As Eva was quickly swept by an unknown dancer, I looked around. I was vaguely aware of a man in a dark suit making his way to our table. A few minutes later, as a new song began, he appeared as if out of nowhere and asked me to dance. I knew it instantly. From his very posture, from the very first sensation of his embrace. Divine. No more, no less. After a few tandas, he walked me back to our table, then disappeared.

We continued having very good dances. It must have been the newness of it all. After the showcase, Eva and I decided to arrange for a private lesson with the chacarera boys that performed (what a better way to learn this enchanting dance). We stepped out of the ballroom to sign up and on the way back we saw the dark suited man carrying a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket into the room. We looked at each other and giggled with regret - how did we not think of that?! Apparently other people agree that champagne is the best companion to a milonga night.

As we were sitting down back at our table, we noticed the chilled champagne and three glassed placed right in front of our seats, as if awaiting our return. Hmmm... Thinking that someone mistakenly took our table for available we continued dancing with a few strangers. Before long we saw the tall man approaching us, then softly addressing us, "Ladies, champagne? It's a night of celebration." Of course it was! Just past midnight, it was already Eva's birthday! But how did he know that?! He asked for permission to sit with us and without delay started pouring champagne. We started talking and we got to learn a little about him. That he was an amazing dancer, we already knew. The bubbles were already making us feel happy and radiant. Eva danced with our lovely stranger in turn. Her eyes were closed, she was in a state of dreamy surrender. At the end of the night, more champagne outdoors by the beach, with the moon shining on us...

He insisted to take us to dinner the next night for Eva's birthday. Everything was planned to perfection. Stunning restaurant with extraordinarily decadent food. Fountains of champagne. Pictures. Slowly we are becoming aware of how all this was coming across. We feel the surrounding glances intrigued by the scene. At our remark that we were probably too crazy for him, he replies with a mysterious smile, "Not crazy enough..." We are beginning to realize what our less of a stranger is after (Funny! Is this every man's fantasy?!)...

Perhaps because of this, perhaps because we had already gotten to know him a little, that night at the milonga the magic was gone. Same dancer, same skill, but with the romance of the unknown gone and with his agenda right on the table, next to yet another bottle of champagne, we felt an empty dance.

It seems the magic in tango is this very special and fragile combination of a multitude of aspects and with even one missing, the magic vanishes, the embrace becomes confinement, the steps just units of movement... Can we define the magic, can we capture the emotion? The closest we got is the realization that the mystery and an anonymous face are key. You don't have expectations, you are at the edge of all possibilities. But after the masks are down and the faces acquire outlines, we come back to reality and disappointment settles as everyone is eager to assume their sharp individuality, vanity, pretenses...

Tango anonymous?

Tango on the Beach

2008-05-15T08:55:00.001-07:00

In exactly 7 days, we will be on a plane heading to Miami, Florida.

Top 5 things on my packing list:

Bikinis
Flip-flops
Sunscreen
Tango wear
3 pairs of CIFs

We were originally planning to go to the Denver festival but, at the very last minute, the visuals of zipping champagne by the pool and tangoing by the beach won us over. So Miami Tango Fantasy 2008 here we come! This will be our first tango festival away from home. Interestingly, it will also be my birthday. I used to spend my birthday in Miami every year with a group of single girlfriends. Our vacation included staying at a fancy hotel, dining at the trendiest restaurant and dancing at the hottest nightclubs. Awww... so much has changed since I started tango. I've had to rack my brain to come up with good excuses why I can't vacation with them anymore. "Ohhh that sounds wonderful but I'm so swamped with work.".... "I would love to but I just don't have the funds right now." or "I wish I could but I think I'm coming down with the flu." It took me a long time but I think I can finally confess to them... "I don't want to go because I'd rather TANGO." To be honest, I've lost touch with a few friends because my idea of fun and relaxation no longer revolves around drinking and dancing with hot men. Well let me rephrase that.... it's more about the dancing.... with much less drinking and there'll almost be room for hot men (if they can dance that is). So I'm going back to Miami and, for the first time, I do not plan leave the confines of my hotel. It'll be all about the beach, the lessons and the milongas.

...and maybe we'll finally get to tango on the beach.

Open Air

2008-05-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

He loves me. I am his hopes, his dreams, his life. He wants us to start a life together. He says he dreams of the time when he will learn to dance. So that I am his in every way. And not dance with anyone else.

Suddenly I am struggling for air. I am terrified. I felt the space rapidly closing in front of me. I can't do it.

I never had to think about this before. I longed to belong. I always thought that my desire for openness was a means to an end and would ultimately lead to a sweet surrender. Now I just need to feel the limitless space around me... Indefinitely. To have any possible tanda I want, any impossible tanda I dream of... Is there a successful union of love and our tango identity?

Is tango an expression of freedom? Does it represent our spirited nature, that side of us that refuses to be tamed??

I want it to be open, so open that the horizon can contain anything... So open that if I set my spirit free, it can go anywhere...

Time for Tango Rehab??

2008-05-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

On the night of my usual milonga I am leaving the house for the airport to pick up friends from out of town coming to visit me. After a few seconds of hesitation, I run back and throw a pair of CiFs in my bag. Just in case.
Ok, wait! In case of what??? The plane having a three hour delay so that I can go dance a little?! I start realizing, for a thousandth time, how irrational this is. Have we gone too far? Is this normal?!

I dream about tango several times a week. I suffer withdrawal if I don't dance for a couple of days. I hear tango music in my head most of the time. I have 30GB of music on my ipod, but end up listening to about a hundred songs 90% of the time (yes, tango). When I hear tango music unexpectedly my heart skips a beat. No, several beats. On the way to a milonga I am more excited with anticipation than when going to a first date. I cross as I stop at a traffic light. I cannot even walk after hours of dancing, but I can surely do another tanda. I would (and do) cancel any other plans to dance. I get by on 5 hours of sleep on a regular basis. I pity people who have not experienced all this.

Even if normal for a beginner who is still in the tango honeymoon bliss, for me this has been reality for about a year and a half. Relentlessly.

Is it time for a Tango Rehab? Or should we just be left to our obsession? Has life ever had more colors...

A Short Film About Love & Tango

2008-04-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this adorable short film by a tango couple today.

The video was shot at the South Street Seaport by Pier 16. It really brought back fond memories of last summer for me. The relaxing atmosphere attracted dancers of all levels and all ages. Most people dressed casually, some wore dance sneakers and I opted for tango shoes with a slightly chunkier heel. No matter how practical it may seem..... I'm just not a sneaker girl. So ladies, please leave your stilletos at home. Your heels will definitely get stuck in the gaps between the old wooden planks.

I think this historic waterfront is the perfect backdrop for a milonga. The old ships... the smell of salty air... and especially when the DJ plays earlier recordings, it can really transport you back in time.

Tango Porteno should start again sometime in May and we'll be checking the schedule on Richard Lipkin's website.

(BTW, you can spot Malena dancing in this video.)

Places we'd like to tango

2008-04-28T18:28:00.001-07:00

The Airport
We thought of this one on our way back from Buenos Aires while waiting for our flight. We just might have to write the (Ezeiza) Ministro Pistarini International Airport and suggest a Tango Lounge. Last tanda in Buenos Aires anyone?

The Grand Central Terminal
Ahh.. the hustle and bustle. Wouldn't it be beautiful to dance to a live tango orchestra playing in that grand space?

Subway platforms
I'm usually listening to tango on my ipod waiting for the train. While trying hard not to let my foot tap too much, I often think to myself... "If only I can find a tanguero right now, I would totally do it right here."

The Yoga Studio
I love yoga but I can't help thinking about tango everytime I see that perfect wooden floor with candles lit in all corners.

Supermarkets
I must admit... I will never look at another shopping cart the same way again... thanks to that italian short film Perdizione.

The Staten Island Ferry
Trip time: Approx. 25 minutes. That should be enough time for a couple of tandas... right?

The Boardwalk at Sunset
Who wouldn't love to tango with the warm ocean breeze?

The Empire State Building Observatory
Imagine tangoing on top of the world.

I need to dance

2008-04-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

I need to dance because I had a stressful day at work.

I need to dance because I'm feeling lonely.

I need to dance because I want to feel the power of zen.

I need to dance because I want to practice what I'd just learned.

I need to dance because I'm feeling rusty.

I need to dance because I just had a fight with my lover.

I need to dance because I want to breath in the different scents of random men.

I need to dance because I want to let my inner diva come alive.

I need to dance because I want to feel sexy.

I need to dance because I want to live in the moment.

I need to dance because I need a hug.

I need to dance because I want to feel the warmth of a stranger's body press against me.

I need to dance because I need to be someone else for a while.

I need to dance because I need to in a room filled with tango music.

I need to dance because I feel like crying.

I need to dance because I just want to forget.

I need to dance because I need to break in a new pair of CIFs.

I need to dance because I want to feel beautiful.

I need to dance because I just bought a new tango dress.

I need to dance because I know he's going to be there.

I need to dance because I want to feel him adjusting his embrace mid-dance so he can hold me closer.

I need to dance because I could use the exercise.

I need to dance because I want to meet "the others".

I need to dance because it makes everything more beauti-full.

I need to dance because this is my life now.

A book, ideas of freedom and tango championships

2008-04-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine mentioned a book that appears to be quite popular, "The Four Hour Workweek" by the guy who wrote the blog post "How to live like a rock star in BsAs". I hadn't heard of it, but I stopped by the bookstore today and picked up a copy. The concept is that if you regroup your views of life and manage to conquer you fears, or unplug and reset as the author defines it, you can escape the 9-5 grind and do anything you want anywhere you want to do it.

At first I thought, oh great, yet another self-help book that offends intelligence more than it achieves anything else. However, was it because the author turns out to be a BsAs Tango World Championship winner, the whole idea started to resonate with me (funny how any life change plan I would consider at this point has to involve the prospect of being able to dance as much as my heart desires...)

As I am reading the first few chapters, it almost sounds doable, until the the necessity to be reasonable and 'realistic', with which we have been programmed, hits. I sure do hope that one day I will have the strength to pause this pseudo-reality and go... And to all of those that have actually challenged themselves and followed their bravest dreams, my admiration!

Inspirational read so far. What I found interesting, however, was that Timothy Ferriss, an American, had only danced tango for a year before he won the competition. Guys, is this possible?? I am not doubting it, but just a year?! Here is a video from the event:

And btw, the whole idea of a tango championship seems odd, doesn't it? Since tango is nothing else more than it is a passion, how do you judge a feeling...

I missed you all and Besos,

Malena

Otros Aires in Canada

2008-04-02T06:13:00.001-07:00

We got an email from our friend Andy Kamienski several weeks ago. He is a teacher specializing in close embrace at El Abrazo (Toronto), DJ and organizer of TangoLoft, a monthly milonga in Toronto, Canada.

We met in Buenos Aires back in Nov and had one of the most beautiful tandas at an alternative milonga at Saloon Canning. This is very exciting news ... he is bringing one of my favorite electronic tango bands Otros Aires to Toronto on April 26th and 27th. Malena and I will try our best to be there.

Here's some info if you're interested in attending.

Otros Aires Concert & Dance
Saturday April 26, 2008 9:00pm
The Dovercourt House
805 Dovercourt Road
Toronto, Canada

Sunday April 27, 2008 8:30pm
Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas St. W
Toronto, Canada

$40.00
$45.00 at the door (if available)

For physical tickets or information please call Andy at (416) 767-0033
or email us at info@tangoloft.ca

To new beginnings...

2008-04-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

"How do you do an ocho again?", I asked Malena. "Oh stop! It’s like riding a bike... you never really forget." she tells me. We hadn't danced for two and a half months. I can hardly recall the warmth of the tango embrace. The excitement and joy I once felt seemed to have abandoned me back in Dec. Dancing tango was always my escape from reality. For the past 16 months, it'd been my way of life. So when I woke up on that cold winter morning and didn’t feel that urge to dance, I was confused and sad.

I tried going to a few milongas but had the most miserable time. I sat most of these evenings with only 2 to 3 invitations. Perhaps it was self manifestation or maybe I was dancing like Elaine from that Seinfeld episode and didn't know it. It brought back bad memories of high school dances; all dressed up and sitting pretty. The boys giving me the "once-look-over" then rejected me for the prettier girl next to me. It didn't seem to make any sense. I hadn't felt this level of rejection before, except for that one bad night with the tan-ego. For the past year, I rarely ever sit for more than a tanda. I've danced with many tangueros, from true beginners to seasoned instructors. What's puzzling to me is that I was asked to dance more often as a beginner than I do now with a little more skills under my belt. Malena and I tried to come up with some explanations. A) We appear to be snotty because we are often engrossed in conversation and may have appeared at times not interested in dancing. B) We danced too many tandas with certain individuals and they may have appeared as our exclusive partners. C) We haven't been going to milongas as much as we use to. It will take some time for people to warm up to us again, the old and new faces.

We decided mid-week to venture out to the Yale Festival for the All Night Milonga. Malena was very excited. The first words out of her mouth were... "OMG we have to try this pizza!!!" Apparently, she had watched a special on the food network about New Haven's two famous pizzerias Sally's and Frank Pepe's. We checked into the hotel around 6pm then set out to find Sally and Frank. We drove by Sally's and there was already a long line outside the restaurant, so we moved onto Frank's, which was two blocks down the road. Line was slightly shorter there. "Frank Pepe it is!" I honestly didn't think I’d ever wait more than 30 minutes for dough, sauce and cheese but the wait proved to be worthwhile. The pizza was delicious, even though our waitress was a bit rude, she demanded to take our order immediately and rolled her eyes a few times when she realized we hadn't picked out our toppings.

On the way back to the hotel, we picked up a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. We had a glass then decided to take a nap before the milonga. When we finally woke up, it was 11:30pm. Still sleepy, we rushed to get ready. We asked the hotel concierge to direct us to the Harkness building (where the milonga was held). She gave us a map then off we went. We didn't realize at the time there were two different Harkness locations. We stumbled into an old building hoping to hear faint sounds of tango music... but nada. When I gently pushed the large wooden front doors and it swung open automatically. The loud sound of the door hinge squeaking echoed in the corridor. Not a soul in sight, it was now midnight. Out of nowhere I see a boy wearing a black hoody rushing out of the adjacent door. As he walked past me, I tried to stop him for directions. "Excuse me..... excuse me!", I hollered. As if he couldn’t hear me at all, he kept walking and disappeared though the door. I looked at Malena, "Hmm... I think we better get out of here!" We rushed back to the car and looked at the directions printed off the Yale Fest's site and realized we were on the other side of the campus.

By the time we arrived at the milonga, it was already 12:30pm. We were really hoping to escape the NYC tango scene but was a little disappointed to see many of the dancers there were from NYC. Not sure why we were surprised, New Haven is not that far away. My first dance was with a student from Yale. We shifted our weights for a few seconds preparing for our first step. He then paused and he said, "let’s start and take a step to the right." Bizarre! Is he planning to give directions throughout our dance?? Everything just went downhill from there... I soon learned after our first song, he's only taken a few classes and this was his very first milonga. He had a sweet round face with large brown eyes, so I decided to suffer through a second song before thanking him for the dance. Our dear TP came to the rescue soon after. It was comforting to see him. He always has a warm smile and his enthusiasm for tango is quite contagious. We chatted a little bit and we shared a few tandas. He inspired us to check airfare first thing this morning for OUR next BsAs pilgrimage.

So Malena and I sat watching the scene for a while. After 30 minutes went by without an invitation, we decided it's probably not going to get better. We left the milonga at 2:30am and tried to find a local bar to have a few drinks but nothing was opened. We went back to the hotel and finished our left-over pizzas and champagne. While watching the history channel, we dozed off to sleep.

During brunch the next morning, we decided to take group classes again to get back into the mix of things; with tango and the people of tango. Perhaps, this is all part of our tango journey and we're just entering into the next phase. A dancer must decide at some point whether to invest in further education and become better dancers or to stop learning because they feel they have sufficient skills to enjoy an evening of social dancing. Well, I am ready for the challenge of becoming a beginner all over again. Bring it on...

Buenos Aires - Day 8 (El Fin)

2008-01-25T21:48:00.000-08:00

Unplanned last lesson with maestro first thing after we woke up. I wore sneakers and sweatpants for the first time in the history of my tango lessons. While one was having a lesson, the other packed. To save that precious time that was already racing... Then ready to go out for a nice lunch and some last minute shopping at the street market in Palermo on Plazoleta Cortazar.

We had caught a glimpse of a charming restaurant with a beautiful chandelier on the way back from Bar Uriarte in Palermo a few days ago and meant to go back, so we figured now might be a good time. But on the way there changed our minds on a whim and decided on Olson, as we never made it for brunch there on the weekend before. Amazing! The place was so nice, modern Scandinavian theme and food. We were seated on a very low and comfy leather couch in front of a Scandinavian open fireplace (not working on such a nice summer day, thankfully), which was perfect, as we were really tired from last night and needed to relax. I then spotted the bartender preparing this very soft green smoothie-looking drink. Since Olsen is known for its over 50 vodka selections, it was not hard to guess what was in it. But we had to have our champagne first and get into our usual giggly mood. Sure enough, we hadn't so much had a few sips each, when it started. We couldn't stop laughing. Again. Our cute waiter (they were ALL cute) tried his best to help with the food selection, but his looks were far better than his English, so we were still in the dark when we ordered - I decided on something with eggs and shrimp, and Eva chose some kind of chicken dish. But when the food came (by which time we were getting progressively merrier and more relaxed and were almost lying on the couch) - it not only had great presentation, but was absolutely delicious! Crispy potatoes, eggs and shrimp bruschetta (who thought this could taste so good?!), chicken milanese, chicken salad with walnuts, and fresh bagels. After this feast, it was time to try the green drink. Some back and forth with the waiter later (I was trying to explain that we want to try the bebida verde!), it came and let's just say it was so strong that it got both Eva and I pretty tipsy in no time! We started on our laughing kick again, and this time there was no stopping us. We let ourselves be in this wondrous oblivion for a while, savoring our last Buenos Aires moments...

We left Olsen and tried to find the market. Not easy. Try to sort out where you are going on a tiny map after champagne and green vodka drink... We couldn't really focus on the task at hand and kept walking in what we thought was the right direction. All of a sudden Spanish was pouring out of Eva, it must be true that everything you learn does come through at some point! She was naming whatever we saw on the way, including a homeless dog - not without a significant sense of revelation she exclaimed "Pero!!". We couldn't really walk, we were laughing so hard. We almost lost one of her flip-flops, twice. Then all of a sudden, we found ourselves in front of the chandelier restaurant - Bardot! Snapped a picture of the cross streets, why bother remember… We will definitely come next time. Wandered about a bit, then finally saw the market. We did pretty well for the 20 minutes we had left before we absolutely had to head back to the apartment to meet Eugenia and leave the keys.

We did the last bit of packing left and Eugenia came. She said “You tried our ice-cream, no?” No. We hadn’t gotten to that, there is only so much time in the day, you know... So she suggested we go get some from Persicco across the street to eat on the way to the airport. We had to! The best ice-cream in town. I ran over there while Eva was taking care of the last details with Eugenia. Little did I know what I was in for. This has got to be the biggest ice-cream shop/cafe I have seen. With countless flavors and unknown to me rituals. Some of which I was just about to learn. The hard way. Somehow I managed to pay for a quarto of helado and was then pointed in the direction of the counter where they prepare yor order. You take a number and wait for it to flash on a screen. Who said that ordering ice-cream would be easy? I patiently waited browsing at all the flavors listed (most of which I was clueless about) but was confident enough as I knew we wanted dulce de leche. Simple enough, you would think. The second I pronounced dulce de leche (I must have said it the Italian way ) the guy who was serving me looked at me with disbelief, then burst out laughing uncontrollably. He had to then go and tell the rest of the guys working there what he had just heard, by which time I was beet red with embarrassment and lost every hope that I will actually walk out of there with what I came for. So they had a good laugh and still giggling he started to ask me a series of progressively harder questions - nuts or no nuts, brownies or no brownies, more flavors, strawberry with cream or strawberry with water, cover or no cover, should he pack it with dry ice if I was going far, spoon, how many spoons? I wanted to scream 'Just give me the damn ice-cream and let me go!', but I couldn't so much as shake my head for a yes or no in response. I must have had the most bewildered look in history. He must have taken pity on me - on my way out I noticed he had actually given me a much bigger box that I had ordered. Lesson learned - I have to learn that language, there is no way around it. If nothing else was a motivation strong enough, that did it. I have got to be able to order some ice cream without being utterly embarrassed! Granted it's a ritual over there, but still!

Eva was already waiting in a cab in front of the building (poor thing had to lug down my enormous suitcase too), wondering what happened to me... Hugged Eugenia good bye and got in the car, holding the precious box of ice cream, starting to feel sadder by the minute. We rode in silence, eating dulce de leche con nueces, strawberry and lemon ice-cream as we were watching neighborhoods change on the way to the airport. Sad. Really.

We got there on time, unfortunately. As we were waiting in the check-in line, I turned to Eva and said, "I wonder why there isn't a milonga at the airport - in some small corner, while waiting for your flight, you could go for a last tanda..." Everyone else would of course have marvelled at how one can come up with something like this, but Eva simply looked at me and whispered, "I was just thinking that."

Buenos Aires - Day 7

2008-01-18T09:21:00.000-08:00

Cafe con leche and a bite for breakfast at our cafe across the street. A bite meaning dulce de leche tarta and a medialuna for me, two sandwiches for Eva. Off to CiF in Recoleta. Exciting. Not really expecting to buy yet more and more pairs of shoes, but we did, of course. Eight in total for the trip for me. This can't be normal. Eva was good, only four. Not counting the first four pairs she got on her previous trip only a few months ago. On the way out of the little alley where Cif is hidden, we decided to take pictures of Eva jumping in the air. Then twirling. We gathered a bit of a crowd from the surrounding shops, but hey, we don't go CiF shopping every day, plus we were in the mood. Happy happy pictures...

Next was Hotel Alvear for afternoon tea, but on the way there a lingerie shop caught our eye. An hour and a half and 6 lingerie sets between the two of us later, we strolled down Avenida Alvear. The hotel was delightfully elegant, with beautiful architecture and decoration. The classic tea service offered in L'Orangerie Restaurant consisted of kir royal (we needed our champagne, how else), followed by an exquisite selection of teas and endless courses of finger sandwiches, scones and miniature desserts. What a lovely afternoon... It was all about what we wanted out of life in that moment - tango shoes, lingerie, champagne and dulce de leche in various forms.

Lesson. We made a dinner reservations for 10pm at another brand new restaurant a block away from our apartment building, Francesca. It was their opening night. And, unfortunately, our last night in BsAs. It had a very modern and spacious look, at the same time the atmosphere was soft and airy. Sirloin and ribeye steaks. The maitre d' wanted to start us with one wine then bring a bottle of another kind, so when we explained we had to be at least somewhat sober to dance later, he introduced us to one of the waiters, who had allegedly been a tango performer in the past. He was known by Mel Gibson, although the resemblance wasn't striking. Cute though. We made tentative plans to see him later.

We had decided on two local milongas and La Viruta in the end. Damian took us to Las Mareados, a small, intimate milonga, thankfully not visited by tourists. The space was beautiful, with open windows letting the warm early summer air in, candles everywhere. A beautiful performance – a tango, then a dance with handkerchiefs called El Gato. Off to Villa Malcom for an hour. More of a practica environment, young people. La Viruta next. We were pretty tired at that point, but stayed for an hour or so, it was our last night after all. Serendipitously, Eva danced her last tanda with the old argentine guy with whom she danced her first tanda in BsAs here at La Viruta while Color Tango was playing 7 days ago. On the way out we bumped into Mel Gibson. Eva asked me if I wanted to stay for a little longer and dance with him, but at that point I was so tired that I had forgotten he was a performer and decided it was probably not going to be worth it, so we left. Ugh! I could have ended the night with a nice tanda. But, as every dedicated dancer is well aware of, if you feel you must call it a night after long hours of dancing, you are trully at the point of collapsing.

Last time to enjoy the early morning bird songs...

Tagging along

2008-01-14T16:04:00.001-08:00

We were tagged by Tango Pilgrim and Dazarin.

I am supposed to share 7 random and/or weird things about myself, tag 7 people at the end of my post (include links to their blogs.) then let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Well, considering we are joining so late in this blogger-tag-game and most of the bloggers have already been tagged 2 or 3 times, I'm going to skip this part.

1) I can moonwalk. (yep... really.)

2) I hate scallops because they remind me of the little round white pencil erasers I had in kindergarden.

3) I can sing and act on the stage but never felt comfortable making an impromptu speech.

4) When I moved a few years ago, I decided not to get cable TV and I still don't miss it.

5) I used to flip my eyelids to scare my sister when we were kids.

(I'll spare you that photo.)

6) After I sang for my college commencement ceremony at Radio City Music Hall, I received a letter from the president of my college, telling me I should consider a career in music instead of fashion. (Till this day, I still wonder if I'd made the right choice.)

7) When I was a teenager, I used to carry a bright red condom in my wallet because it made me feel grown up. That same condom stayed in my wallet for several years until one morning. While I was waiting on line at the subway station during rush hour (this is before they invented metrocard machine), the bright red condom fell out of my wallet and onto the freshly washed floor. I thought of picking it up but didn't want to confirm ownership of the damn thing. I was also running too late to get on another line, so I decided to stay and endured 10 minutes of bright red embarrassment while I listened to the people laughing behind me.

From Tango to Fencing

2008-01-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

We've been trying to cope with our post BsAs tango withdrawal. We figured maybe we just needed a little temporary distraction from tango. So Malena decided she would give fencing a try, while I would take up ballroom dancing again. I thought fencing was a great idea for Malena, because I could totally picture her as Catherine Zeta Zones in that fencing scene in the movie The Mask of Zorro. So this was the week she was going to start this new craze. Malena sent me the link for the fencing school. I told her it looked like fun. "Class starts tonight. Do you have plans tonight? Would you like to come with?" she asked. "Hmm, Moi? Fencing? " I thought. "I suppose I could go since I didn't have any plans, plus I'd do anything to work off the few extra pounds from the holidays." So off we went, from tango to fencing.

We walked into the class. Almost everyone was in full gear, white fencing jackets, knee length fencing pants, long black socks and dark sneakers. I was fascinated by the clothing. One guy actually had his pants custom-made to look exactly like the ones worn in the 16th century. He was an obvious fencing addict with very intense eyebrows. He must have thought I was a nutjob because 65% of my questions were about clothing and not fencing.

The fencing academy operates out of a great little studio near Chinatown. I was told by the maestro that no street shoes were allowed because the space is a dance studio during the daytime. "Should I wear my tango shoes then?" I asked with a straight face. He didn’t answer me but gave me one of those looks, "Did she really just ask me that? was she being funny or is she just plain stupid?" It was fine because Malena got it and immediately laughed out loud.

Maestro went over the proper attire for students in a fencing class. There are strict color rules. Rule #1. The maestro, and ONLY the maestro, is allowed to wear all black. The would-be-masters-in-training wear white jackets and black pants. All other fencers can wear any combination of white, black and grey. Newbies can wear any gym clothes (provided it's not all black). I luckily wore a grayish t-shirt and black gym pants, while Malena?... she wore head to toe all black. "I am sorry. I didn't know." she said to the maestro with a little smile.

There were so many styles. This academy specializes in Italian, French and Spanish. We were shown the following weapons, the Foil (technically not a weapon but a practice tool), the Epee and the Sabre. They all looked the same to me, except for the different blade lengths and size of the handle guard thingy. There are names for every part of the sword, even the sections along the length of the blade had a different names. It was overwhelming and intimidating; we were beginners all over again. I felt like a sponge trying to soak up everything thrown at me. Some students were very helpful, while others ignored us. I guess they figured we probably wouldn't come back. Everyone from different levels worked together in the same space. We started with a few different en garde positions. There were lots of turnouts and pliés, very much like ballet, except you don't lead with your toes. It definitely brought back memories of the couple of years I spent in ballet school back when I was in high school.

On our way out, we chatted with a ballet dancer who's been fencing for 14 months. She gave us the low down on what to expect as a beginner and told us about how much fencing has reshaped her body. Aside from the workouts she received with her already strong dancer legs, she couldn't believe how ripped her arms and upper body got. She even saw results after just one month. Those were the key words I needed to hear. I hate the gym and have been looking for an interesting sport to help tone up abit. Each class is three hours long and doing that twice a week? My body better show some changes. She also advised us to take the advil before the soreness starts. I must admit I'm really looking forward to the pain. Bring it on baby!

We promised to give ourselves one month to explore this further. It's only been one lesson and I am already loving it. I like the fact that fencing is just as much a mental game as it is a physical challenge. The art of it involves learning how to strategize your attacks, as well as learning how to read and understand your opponents. It's the perfect combination of chess, geometry and dance?... all wrapped up in one very sexy cool outfit!

* Buenos Aires to be continued...

Buenos Aires - Day 6

2008-01-09T09:42:00.001-08:00

We got up late today. We were hungry and wanted something good, so we went to Novecento in our hood. It was nice to have good Italian for a change. Unfortunately, we were running late for our tango lesson and had to inhale our food. Malena wanted to hit a mall to do some shopping before we leave BsAs, so we decided to go to the Alto Palermo mall. We were tired and cranky and didn’t find anything worth buying. How do the portenos afford these prices??? We left and went straight to our local patisserie for some café con leche and sandwiches. We also picked up a good selection of cakes and alfahores to go with our champagne. We rushed back to the apt for our massages. Sebastian was an hour late today because.... he forgot. I was annoyed but was glad he did show up…hoping he would iron out our crankiness. He started to tell us in Spanish … something about his job with a priest and an architect. Trying to sound like I actually understood what he was saying, "Ahhh... you massaged a minister and an architect? You must be mucho cansado!" He gave me a puzzled look then started waving his hands, "No, no, no masaje el ministro." We all broke out in laughter; it was the release we needed. We later figured out that he has several jobs. He is a Nurse Assistant at a hospital, also freelances for a minister, helping with local contractors for the construction of a new church and he is an aspiring painter.

Dear "Massage Therapists",

Please refrain from telling your clients the following, especially right before their massages.

a) You are late because you simply forgot.
b) You have multiple dayjobs and giving massages is what you do to earn a few extra bucks.
c) You are exhausted because you just came from your multiple dayjobs.

(Pop!) We needed to open a bottle of champagne before heading out. We're still tired but a little less cranky now. Can’t believe we'll be leaving this beautiful city in just two days. We decided to check out the "New" milonga Eduardo(the taxi dancer) mentioned, as he promised to meet us there so he could give me my video. I was under the impression we were going to the grand opening of a new milonga. We soon realized "new" meant "alternative" because the first thing we noticed when we walked in was two men dancing together. As we surveyed the room, we saw many more same sex couples. It was hard to tell at first because everyone looked so androgynous. Yes, it was different but people seemed very relaxed and were having a good time. It was beautiful to watch, especially two men dancing to a slow tango.

Eduardo spotted us right away when we arrived. He came by and we made some small talk. I didn't want to appear rude so I waited a little while before bringing up the subject of the video. When I finally asked him, he casual said to me... "Ohh, I forgot to bring it but I am sure I'll see you both again before you leave." It was so blatantly obvious to me right then that this slime was using the video as bait, just so he could see Malena again. Mind you he runs his taxi dancing business with his girlfriend and just a few nights ago, he told me they were still happily together. Maybe it was obvious how annoyed I was because he didn’t ask me to dance once. Eduardo danced several tandas with Malena and tried to work his "I'm a teacher, let me show you a few things" magic on her, but it didn't quite work this time, as she was fully aware of his unwelcomed advances.

We stayed a little while and danced to nuevo tango with a few tangueros we met from the previous nights. We left there a little upset that we were misled but on the other hand we were glad we had the chance to experience this milonga. We watched a father dancing with his little baby girl. It was adorable to see but babies should really be sleeping at 3am, not dancing to loud music at a milonga. We learned from our maestro that many tangueros there use their babies to impress the tourists.

Ugh! The hell with you Eduardo and your dumb video!

Buenos Aires - Day 5

2007-12-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

We slept in late and didn’t get out to lunch till 3:00pm. Decided to head over to San Telmo today. We wanted to go to Abril, but couldn’t find it for the longest time… Then when finally there, Eva remembered that she had already tried the place and food was soso. So we headed over to the other restaurant we had in mind, Nacional. It was a dump, clearly not the La Nacional we were thinking of. Walked around and found a parilla place. We went in and sat dawn half-heartledly - it felt like something was off about this place, we weren't feeling it. Well, maybe not every single food outing has to be magical. It was already 3:30pm, kind of late to be searching for yet another restaurant and we were cranky as hell. Decisions, decisions... good thing Eva realized just then that she'd had dinner there too back in May and it was the worst parilla ever (if a parilla in BsAs can be bad). Pheeew, relieved to have a good reason to be picky, we got up and left.

After walking a number of blocks in the area, we found it. On the corner of Avenida Defensa, there was Chez - the most delightful French restaurant. Although it was empty when we peeped inside, there was just something about the place that called out to us - nothing is accidental, not even small things like that. We found Chez or it found us and we were about to make a memory that will be with us each time we think of Buenos Aires. Just a simple, absolutely magical afternoon. You know how sometimes everything aligns, your senses are heightened and the best of feelings are just magically frozen in that particular place and time? Where something stirs you up inside and gives you a whole new perspective on things. Yes, it was just a lunch, but nevertheless, one of our best times in BsAs. We felt as if we had stopped time for a little while, capturing a fleeting moment.

The restaurant's decor was beautiful, with the littlest touches completing the warm french country ambiance. A vase of overflowing bouquet of calla lilies sitting on top of a large wooden antique chest in the center of the room. The randomly placed items like an antique tray of perfectly golden freshly baked pound cake and the beautifully bound french cookbooks.

The long windows were open letting the fresh early summer air in and the sun rays were courting the fresh flowers in the vase and our smiling faces. As we were looking at the menu, already having ordered our champagne, we were wondering why we haven't read about this heavenly place before. As it turned out, the restaurant had only been open for 10 days! Food was out of this world, French Nuevo with local influences, of course. We still haven't forgotten the taste of this divine meal - from the pate, salmon tartar and the most delicious beef loin with pimiento sauce to the dreamy dessert, all this accompanied by plenty of champagne... Roll your eyes as you may, but the little things in life are what matters most. Makes one celebrate life - with all senses and an open soul. We counted our blessings as we completed our meal with Belgium waffles topped with dulce de leche. We were told we had to wait 15 minutes for them to prepare it. When the dessert arrived, we could tell the cream was freshly whipped and the waffles just toasted and generously topped with the best dulce de leche we've had in BsAs. We made funny noises while devouring our little piece of heaven, while the wait staff watched in silence, witnessing our little ritual. While we were waiting for our coffee to arrive, I sneaked outside to smoke a cigarette and while leaning against the front door of Chez, the sun shining on me and making it difficult to see much around me, I closed my eyes and just let myself be. There was no yesterday, no tomorrow... just now, on a small street corner in San Telmo on an early Argentine summer afternoon.

After Chez we leisurely walked the streets of San Telmo and stumbled upon this charming antique shop and bought a few beautiful antique cocktail rings. We then headed back for our lesson at 7pm, then back to the apartment to change. It was a hard time getting dressed for the evening, nothing seemed to fit right after our huge decadent meal... Eva even said "Well, I don't think I fit into anything tonight, I might have to stay in!" After much debate, we decided to go out anyway, even with our little extra dulce du leche curves. You can imagine the surprise on my face, when I heard a man in a suit making loud smooching sounds at me while I was dancing at La Confiteria Ideal. I swear he looked like a monkey in a mating ritual. Eva was supposed to meet Eduardo (the taxi dancer) there to get her video, but we never connected. Maybe it's because we hadn't set an official "appointment".

The place was full of tourists, it wasn't a good milonga night. At the entrance I saw an immaculately dressed older gentlemen, standing next to the door and surveying the place with a stern look, so taking him for the maitre d' or some sort of organizer for the night, I asked for a table. "Yo soy bailarin, senorita!", he said to me stunned that I had talked him for a member of the wait staff. Ok, one dancer lost for the cause already, there was no way he was going to ask me to dance later.

It turned out to be a nice night after all, despite all the tourists, and the relatively slow night for Ideal. Eva bumped into Damian, who was the first person to cabeceo her at Practica X in May. Funny meeting him so randomly again. They danced most of the night together. She was happy that he could see what a beautiful dancer she has become. We were pleased to see our dear Tango Pilgrim. Funny to finally meet so far away from home, yet given our shared passion, not so strange at all. We danced a song together and I enjoyed his warm embrace. After that Carlos, my local bailarin mistaken for a waiter, started to look in my direction. It couldn't be, not possible, this was a major faux pas after all. He gave me the cabeceo! I was happy to accept to make it up to him. As he was taking me in his arms, he was frank enough to say that he invited me to dance because he had just watched me and in his opinion I was a 'linda bailarina'. He was such a lovely dancer. We kept dancing throughout the whole evening. Never two tandas in a row - he would escort me back to the table, and after a tanda or two he would look for me and cabeceo again. The cutest thing. Carlos said he was happy I was there, as there were not many good bailarinas, only tourists that night at Ideal. Ironical - it was my fifth night in BsAs. Eva kept dancing with Damian, they had a great time too. He was very nice and polite to us.

Turns out you may be at the absolutely wrong place according to the BsAs milonga schedule of the ones in the know and still have a wonderful time... It's really circumstantial. And we were at Confiterial Ideal after all - the venue itself was enough to make our evening. There was a dance floor, the beautiful Ideal hall around us and tango music - what else does one need (yes, a good partner, but we were lucky in that respect too - we didn't found many, only a couple, but they surely counted). And as the night was slow and the floor was pretty empty after the performance, as the milonga was winding down it was just Eva and Damian, then Carlos and I on the dance floor of Confiterial Ideal. It was almost surreal - we had the place to ourselves. In the end, as the waiters were starting to clean up and the last song came on, one of the performers from earlier, a Venezuelan guy, asked me to dance. I sensed a smell of coffee and cigarettes as he held me tight against his chest. Somehow it was enchanting, his breath carried the night's mood... He danced beautifully, his lead was so confident, mmmmm...

As usual, the birds cheered for our home coming...

Buenos Aires - Day 4

2007-12-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

The 22 hour marathon, 6 glasses of champagne each.

Lesson at 12. Eva worked on boleos. Whipping back boleo, she kicked maestro several times. She apologized and he said jokingly, “If you’re kicking me, then you’re doing it right. No worries, I’ll bring knee pads for lesson in ganchos tomorrow.” Mine was uneventful in that respect, I was good to maestro, no kicking. By the time we left the apartment it was 3pm… We never figured out how time flew by. No sooner would we wake up, and it would be time to get ready for milongas! And that's while on vacation!

We headed for Bar Uriarte in Palermo Viejo, Eva remembered it to be a great place to eat. It had a modern atmosphere, elegant, spacious. Then we saw the garden! Green and luscious with plants enveloping the walls around, it was like a little oasis, so relaxing, yet refreshing. What would be the perfect thing to go with this?? Champagne, of course.

As soon as we ordered, Eva started to make signs at me, discreetly pointing to someone sitting behind me. I couldn't turn around right away, but then I heard her whisper "William Dafoe!" and I had to see for myself. Sure enough, there he was - one of our favorite actors of all times and one of these men that seem to get hotter with age. Sitting casually at a table in the corner in the company of an unassuming looking girl, almost surely Argentine, who was feeding him spaghetti across the table and lovingly caressing his face. Gorgeous blue eyes and the sexiest smile... We tried our best not to stare and fought all urges to ask for a photo. He gave us a big smile as we walked past him on the way out. That made our day, at least so far! What also made us very happy was the food - it was excellent, as any other dining experience so far! Very tasty salads - mixed greens with beef and caramelized walnuts and dulce de leche crème brulee for dessert! Yummy!!! It doesn't get better than that! Until our next food indulgence that is.

As we were sitting at the restaurant and enjoying every second of it, we both realized we had only been here for three days and had not once thought of home and the life we used to live there. We had so easily adapted to the porteno life of dinning after 10pm, beginning to dance only after midnight and getting home as the birds start to chirp “Good Morning!”... If only this could be our normal lifestyle! Then we also realized how lucky we were to have found each other - we had similar tastes in everything - there wasn't a second during our trip when one would want to do something different from the other or would rather enjoy a different experience in whatever we were doing. We were so well tuned into each other's whims and desires... Here in turn is what I want to say to my dearest Eva - thank you, thank you, thank you! For the gift of sharing these amazing days and for being so wonderful, always!

After our lunch we shopped the boutiques in Palermo Viejo; yummy lingerie at Beleidades and Amor Latino. Wanted to get manicure and pedicure, but realized we ran out of time when our cute masseuse called and said he had already arrived at our place. On the way home, we stopped at the little wine store right across from our apartment building. Two bottles of champagne. One chilled and one to be chilled for later. Champagne in hand, we walked over to Sebastian waiting with his massage table. “Hola Sebastian… we are so ready for you!” As he was setting up, he proudly showed us a new massage oil he had brought. It had aromatic ingredients of some sort and real fruit (that you could actually see!) "I made myself!" he declared with a glaring smile. Oh boy... We looked at each other, but decided to be nice and go with it... It wasn't going to kill us after all, or let's hope not... That day's massage was actually particularly relaxing. Maybe the crazy dancing schedule was catching up to us and we were feeling a bit more tired, but whatever he did, he took this all off our shoulders (and feet - he did a great foot massage, thank you Sebastian!), we felt like brand new. I sat out on the balcony while Eva was showering, still in my towel, sipping champagne and listening to the early night city sounds (early night meaning 10-11pm) - the air was full of excitement and bliss. Time had stopped. In what world would we begin getting ready for dinner at that time of night without a care in the world, other than what to wear that night and which pair of shoes will go perfectly with it??

We had planned on dinner in Puerto Madero, but it grew late, so we decided to go straight to milonga. Tonight's choices: El Beso, Porteno Y Bailarin, La Viruta, Practica X. We ended up going to El Beso first. There was a beautiful lady with long black hair who sat at our table, who seemed to know everyone at the milonga. We were still not completely at ease with the cabeceo ritual. Just when I thought a man across from us gave me the cabeceo, it turned out it was for the woman at our table. Don't ask me how I found out. Eva did say it was a bad idea for us to stay at that table with her, so after I felt as embarrassed as could be, we decided to escape this spotlight and sat at the bar.

We got our champagne and quickly got into our usual bubbly mood. It seems that draws people like a magnet because in no time we were literally surrounded by men hovering about and competing who will catch our glance first. I first danced with this porteno who, as soon as he found out we had only been there for a few days, decided to act as a teacher (you know the type - yes, they are everywhere!). Ok, I heard what he had to say. But then I put an end to this and danced with a few lovely dancers. So did Eva. We didn't sit for a second. I will remember El Beso by what a very nice gentleman told me there, something that I had heard many times before, but that resonated with me on a whole different level that night - tango is not about steps, it's about the embrace, the emotion that two people share at that moment.

As I was dancing with different people, I was constantly aware of this handsome guy's stare. Dark skinned, slender, with hair pulled back in a long braid, incredibly intense eyes. By the manner he was sitting and scrutinizing the floor with a couple of other men, it seemed that he was a big shot dancer. I was drawn by his eyes - we didn't lose each other's sight for a long time. Wherever I was on the dance floor, I knew his eyes were following me. It was a beautiful thing... How powerful this play was, maybe more powerful than a direct interaction could have been... Maybe. I kept thinking what it would be like to dance with him. Well, I didn't find out. That tango god never came down from his pedestal to dance with a mortal. And I wasn't willing to hang out there forever to find out if that was going to happen.

We headed off to Porteno y Bailarin with a bunch of other people from the El Beso crowd, we were told Alberto Podesta, the living legend, was singing that night! The place was packed, of course. We fought the crowd and headed to the back salon to get a table. We were starving at that point as we had skipped dinner. It happened so that Alberto Podesta had just finished his set and headed over toward us as his table with his whole entourage was right next to ours. People followed to get photos and autographs. Eva happened to be right in his path. He looked at her and smiled and seemed to be expecting some words of praise. Eva didn't really know what to say or rather how to say it, so she kept saying Gracias! Gracias! He gave her a kiss on the cheek and said "No, gracias a vos!". I snapped a photo of them together, beautiful!

We ordered a few empanadas without having great expectations, but they turned out to be the best empanadas we had tasted so far! We had to scarf them down as men were gathering around our table - it was funny, we didn't even have time to eat. It was a great night of dancing. While Eva was dancing with a porteno, who was shorter than her (unusual being the petite girl that she is), she looked over and saw Eduardo, the taxi dancer she hired on her last trip. They greeted each other with a kiss and he told her he had the video that a whole tv crew from Germany took of them dancing then. He said he would call her to make arrangements the next day. She wasn't sure she even wanted to see her dancing back from those beginner days.

Eduardo danced a few tandas with Eva. He then asked me to dance. I was becoming slowly aware that the guy was putting the moves on me! He knew Eva was not interested in hiring him any more or going any further with their acquaintance. I was the next prey. He showed everything he was capable of on the dance floor. Since he was a really good dancer, I didn't mind going along for a while. It was fun, although challenging too, to follow all his fancy moves and steps. This was actually the only time that I did the whole spectrum of "performance tango steps"; we even gathered a crowd. The fact remains this was not the tango you would normally see at the milongas in BsAs, and thank God - as much as i was fascinated by that as a beginner, I now grew to know what tango is really about. So when he decided to use the heat of the moment to kiss me as we were dancing, I was pretty much done. What was he thinking?! After all, that initial blind beginner fascination was long gone. A real vulnerable time for every tanguera, where you're easily seduced by the skills of a good leader. Thank God! Slimy Eduardo!

Eva's pilot/Greek God found her again, it was cute to watch that scene all over again. Eva and I danced some more with a few locals but the night was winding down. We left at 4:30am. Back home, early morning bird songs in the background...

Buenos Aires - Day 3

2007-12-14T11:34:00.001-08:00

Our plan today, Comme Il Faut then afternoon tea at the Palace Alvear Hotel. We've been so looking forward to this day. I even had dreams of sitting on the plush seat in the showroom waiting for the stacks of brand new shoes to float out of their stock room. Finally the day has come, where our feet will meet their new lovers.

When we arrived at the showroom, there were several people trying on shoes. We took our seats and then two sales ladies came out to ask for our sizes. Malena's stack of shoes came out first. I had fun sorting through her selections. Finally, my stack came out 5 minutes later. I fell in love instantly when she opened the first box. Pretty black lace on pink satin. I don't normally wear pink shoes but this was a very wearable nude pink and they just screamed Agent Provocator when I put them on. Hmmm, how practical! I looked through the rest of the boxes but nothing jumped out at me. A couple of traditional black strappies and some flashy neon colors in patent leather. I asked what else she had hiding in the back room. She disappeared for a few minutes and returned empty handed. "Sorry, we do not have in your size." Hmmm, she must be lying! How is it possible they only had 6 pairs of shoes in my size instock?? I asked her to please check again. "Sorry, your size is all sold out. You can come Friday... we'll have more shoes Friday." Malena ended up buying two pairs she wasn't totally in love with. Needless to say, we left there a slightly disappointed.

I tried to cheer Malena up and asked if she was ready for our fabulous afternoon tea. "Yeah, I guess so.", She replied with a pout. It’s funny but I knew what that meant. I hailed a taxi and said, "Come on, we're not done yet." Neo Tango wasn't that far away and their selection hadn’t really changed much since I was there in May. Their styles were trendy and I still don’t feel the construction is as sturdy as CIFs. Malena half heartedly bought one pair. We left the store even more disappointed. How can this be??? We flew eleven hours for some kickass one of a kind tango shoes! This can't be!!! Then it hit me... Raquel shoes! A new brand designed by a tanguera from the south of France. I remembered they'd just opened their first store in BsAs. I flipped through our B.A. Tango magazine....Viola! there it was. I hailed another taxi.... "Arenales 1974, por favore."

When we arrived at the showroom on the third floor, we were greeted by a lovely older gentleman, who turned out to be Raquel's husband. He gave us the lowdown on how Raquel started her business and talked about the wonderful milongas they host weekly in their home in the south of France. The styles were stylish and sophisticated but definitely not flashy. I was surprised by the comfort of these shoes... my feet didn't teeter one bit. I was told that each new style is "milonga tested" by Raquel herself. When I was trying on a pair of red suede mary janes, he took me by the hand and we danced in the showroom. He was so delightful that he made me forget where I was. He finally had to say, "Hmm... you might want to look in the mirror to see the shoes while we're dancing." But of course! Why else would we be dancing in a shoe store with no music at 4:30 in the afternoon???

We got so carried away buying shoes that we were 30 minutes late for our tango lessons. Maestro was annoyed because he had to be somewhere. We walked in like two guilty little kids... looking down while clutching our bags of goodies. We had to break open our new shoes because we didn't have enough time to stop by the apartment. Maestro was kidding around and said, "Let me wear my fuzzy slippers, so I don't ruin your new shoes." It started out as a joke but, as it turned out, the fuzzy slippers didn't really interfere with our lessons, so we let them stay. They were a pair of fuzzy monster feet, black with red claws. My favorite part was when he lead the sandwich. It was mighty warm and toasty!

Since we skipped afternoon tea, we were both starving and super cranky. After our lessons, we dropped off the bags at the apartment then ran to a local restaurant in Las Canitas, Campo Bravo. That is where we inhaled our first real parilla dinner with a bottle of red. We tried to figure out what part of the cow each piece of meat came from but by that point we were just too hungry to care. Must admit the mystery meat was delicioso! We topped off dinner with a nice plate of crepe con dulce de luce.

Tonight's destination; Saloon Canning. We hopped into taxi and noticed our taxi driver right away... he had the most beautiful green eyes. It turns out he also tangos and said he might stop by after his shift. We arrived at 12:00am and the place was packed. We spotted Ney Melo, Robin Thomas, Rebecca Shulman, many tourists from New York. Gabriel Misse performed that night. When we sat down, the guy from London, whom we had empanadas with the night before, approached our table. He went straight for Malena. He asked her if she is from Russia because she has those distant eyes... "ohh so present but yet so far far away." Malena was speechless and I wanted to burst out laughing. They left the table to dance while I ordered our champagne. A couple of guys that I danced with from last night came by and kissed me hello on the cheek. I love being a part of this tango community. You share a few dances and some idle chats with a total stranger then you're automatically friends.

It was a lay back night. We danced a few tandas and chilled with our champagne. At about 3:00am, we watched our cute taxi driver stroll in. He said hello to someone then surveyed the room but then turned around and left. We would have said hello but we felt it was best to leave early, since we have our lessons at noon the next day. Got into bed completely restless ... hmmm, Ambien to the rescue!

Buenos Aires - Day 2

2007-12-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

We woke up at 11:45am, not by choice anyway. Lesson at our apartment at 12pm. Maybe not the best of ideas. Note to self; Lack of sleep = Trouble walking and thinking at the same time. Especially not good for working on embellishments. Pivot with decoration... pivot without decoration... change direction. Again, walk... now with decoration in the front... then in the back, front, back... Heeeeeelp!!!! This was one of those times when I really didn't think very highly of my capacities, dancing or mental. My mind was spinning. Maestro was probably thinking, "What in the world did I get stuck with teaching??!" Although he was very reassuring and sweet..."Well, it happens, we all have these days, it's normal but it sinks in even without you knowing it." Yeaaah, right! Turns out Eva had the same experience. Well, now we know that in BsAs noon is early early morning for us.

While Eva was having her lesson, I ran across the street and got us cafe con leche y cuatro medialunas... para llevar! (Spanish rapidly improving!) This will hold us over until we get to Recoleta. We wandered about the market at Plaza Francia. Got a set of beautiful leather coasters. Only second day here and we are already shopping. Nice! In the middle of our stroll, we realized we needed more cash, as markets don't take credit cards, at least not yet. We were told there was an ATM right around the corner. Hmm, which corner?? We saw a security guy in front of the building. "Donde esta el cajero automatico?", said Eva (did I mention her Spanish was well above mine, and sounded so cute!). He didn't speak a word of English but spoke español muy rápido, which did not help at all - we were completely bewildered. He then decided to take matters into his own hands and this was the beginning of our being escorted throughout the neighbourhood to three ATMs; all non-working. Cajero Autmatico – no denero x 3. He patiently guarded us while we both tried inserting our bank cards into each machine. In the meantime, he began to make attempts to get Eva's number (duh, why else would he be walking around Recoleta escorting two foreigners to no end!). She played stupid and said, "No entiendo." But when he made it so clear that everyone in our surrounding got it, she finally said "No hay telephono, lo siento!", smiling widely at him. Anyway, the fourth ATM was our lucky charm (never rely on getting money from an ATM on a Sunday). We bid him goodbye and decided we were exhausted enough to sit down for a drink and a bite to eat.

We strolled into the first restaurant that looked appealing, actually a very cute place! What do you know, there is a happy hour in BsAs too! We decided on champagne and ordered a few appetizers. Delicioso! Mediterranean bruschetta, chicken kebab of some sort with peppers and a yummy sauce and fried cheesy potato things. We were tired, so the champagne kicked in pretty quickly. We started giggling and got progressively happier by the minute. This is when it was decided - champagne for the rest of the trip! We wanted to keep the bubbly mood going. Well, no problems there.

We hopped into a cab in an excellent mood - so relaxed, mellow, and smiling! The fact that we were far away from everything that had to do with our everyday lives, in a beautiful country where you could dance tango any time of the day, was sinking in and beginning to exhilarate us. There was a silent pact between us to enjoy this for all it was and to fully immerse ourselves in the moment. Everything else but now was becoming a blur. If I have to describe a perfect state of well-being, this was it! So since we were already all set with a sim card and could communicate with the world, on our way home we got a call from a Sebastian, one of the massage guys. We didn't remember at this point who was who anymore - was it the Sebastian with a massage table or the one without. I hear Eva picking up the phone: Hola, Sebastian! You are in front of the building? Now? Oh, we'll be right there!" How was it 18:30 pm already?? She hangs up the phone and I asked the only question on my mind at that minute, "Did he bring a table?" Ok, that started a new giggling fit and we could hardly breathe when we got out of the taxi. It was impossible to keep a straight face at the sight of him and for the next couple of hours for that matter.

OK... not as cute as his picture, but he was so sweet! Ingles no muy buen, so that made things even funnier. Try to explain to a masseuse how you like your massage with no language in common and post two glasses of afternoon champagne was just plain ludicrous! So Sebastian did have a table after all and he started setting up in the living room. He then turned to Eva, asked her something, motioning washing hands and washing arms. She looked at him amazed: "Do you want to shower?!". At the sound of that, I burst out laughing uncontrollably and ran into the kitchen not being able put any sort of remotely serious look on my face. The guy got utterly embarrassed and said something to the effect of "Well, if you want me to..." Turns out he was asking for the bathroom to wash his hands. All three of us just couldn't stop laughing from there on. Even well into Eva's massage, she was still giggling on the table while Sebastian kept repeating the word 'shower' and was trying to explain that misunderstandings happen a lot during first sessions. He also practiced Reiki and kept saying to Eva in broken English "Your head very strong, your heart very relaxed." She wasn't entirely sure what that meant. I was upstairs on the balcony having a cigarette while still not being able to stop laughing myself. It had been awhile since my stomach hurt from laughing. The massages were great nevertheless. They do wonders especially when you have to get ready for another marathon on your feet. Off for 2 hour nap before dinner and milonga.

Porteno Y Bailarin tonight. It turned out to be our favorite place. We were a bit nervous as this clearly wasn't a place like La Viruta - here the cabeceo seemed to be in full play. No sooner were we seated (after some back and forth with the guy in charge, he was so nice to us!), Eva was invited to dance. I followed, but didn't have great luck. I realized there are bad dancers in Argentina too! Thankfully, much fewer and farther between. I survived the first tanda and just when I thought no one will ever ask me to dance again, this old old man came and motioned me in the quieter back room. I followed while realizing that he was at least ninety, if not a hundred years old (I am quite serious). It was one of the most beautiful and authentic tandas I have ever had. He was tiny, much shorter than me, shaky, and even though his shirt was scuffed up at the collar edges, he was wearing a suit and a hat and looked very presentable! And, most importantly, so full of life! We must have made an interesting couple - people were looking at us and smiling. It was incredible! In the meantime Eva was dancing with a 6'4" Greek pilot and the tiny thing that she is, it looked like she was dancing with Daddy! She was reaching high for his shoulders and he was carrying her around like a feather. She asked him in between songs if he's ever had any trouble fitting into the cockpit. Perfectly reasonable question.

As the night progressed we got a much better table, closer to the dance floor. The table next to us was occupied by a big crowd - Javier Rodrigues, Andrea Misse, and a bunch of other people (among which there was, as Eva put it, a hot hot hot hot guy!) were celebrating Gabriel Misse's birthday. What are the chances of that happening! It was surreal. You go to a random milonga and get to hang out at the same place with some of the best dancers there are! Just like that. Then we saw Gabriel's birthday dance. All the girls in that big group danced tango like it was nothing. In their casual shoes and clothes, but my God, they looked like they were born dancing!

It was a good night, with great dancers. Towards the end we both danced with this gentleman from London. Interesting character. Architect, working out of Buenos Aires for two months out of the year. And dancing every night of course. Where do we sign up for that, I would like to know???
The three of us left together around 4:30 am and found a little place nearby where we sat down for a quick round of empanadas.

When we got home the birds were already out and about. Chirping away, kind of loud actually! I don't think I have known another place where you could hear the birds like that... How do you fall asleep with this going on?! It was something we would have had to get used to.

Buenos Aires - Day 1

2007-12-08T05:54:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Buenos Aires was one of the best vacations I've ever taken.

Here're my top 5 reasons.

1) I had the best travel partner ever....

Dear Darling Malena, thank you for being you. You're one of those people who have no idea just how beautiful they are. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I'm so thankful that tango has brought us together. We must book our next BsAs trip soon but I have only one request... can you please lighten up on the luggage next time??

2) No schedules (except for tango lessons and massages). It was all about me, me, me... without an ounce of guilt. For one week, we lived as if life didn't exist outside of BsAs.

3) No boys... and kept flirting to a minimal. (wink)

4) We had at least one good belly laugh per day.

5) Our days were filled with champagne & dulce de leche and our nights, champagne and tango.

Day 1

Stepped outside the airport and felt a chill in the air. Damn, we only packed summer clothes! Ok, sleeping on the plane just plain sucks... have neck cramps and feel puffy all over from the 11 hour flight. We arrived at our ultra girly duplex apartment in Las Canitas and met Eugenia, the rental manager. She was so sweet and wonderful. She even offered to help us get the three items we so desperately needed (a sim card for my cellphone, a hair dryer, and an adaptor).

The apartment. Antique white and pale lilac walls, each rooms tastefully decorated with a posh mix of antique furniture and modern touches. We stepped outside our balcony (one on each floor) and heard the birds chirping away. Realizing our first tango lesson was in just 3 hours, we decided to get some lunch at the corner restaurant. Ahhh! Our first cup of cafe con leche and jamon y queso sandwiches.

Our first lesson. We had initially wanted to take privates all week with Geraldine but at the last minute decided to spend the money on expanding our tango shoe collection instead. So we opted to go with someone less well known but came highly recommended to us by several tango friends. He was a delight and we spent our first lesson getting to know each other and talked about what we wanted to work on for the week. Neither Malena or I like to get too technical when it comes to tango. We are not one of those people who takes notes and breakdown every move mathematically. We'd rather not rationalize too much but spend the time repeating the right movements and letting it sink into our muscle memory. Before we left him, we ask if he could help us make a phone call to our masseuse, whom didn't speak a word of english. Several weeks back, we found an ad for a masseuse name Sebastian on Craiglist. I responded to the ad but didn’t get a response. The next day I noticed another ad with the same name. Thinking it was the same person, Ms Smartypants decided to try writing again, but this time I send it to both email addresses from the two ads. Later that day, I received two different responses in Spanish with references and contact numbers. It didn't occur to me that they were from two different people till the day we were leaving. I received an email from one of the Sebastians, this time in english (w/ help from a friend), questioning the other email address. This started a battle between the two sebastians. One said the other was on his tail trying to steal his clients, while the other one accused him of being an unqualified masseuse because he doesn’t even own a massage table. Malena and I had a discussion and decided to go with Sebastian #2, the one without qualifications and massage table. Why? because we saw his photo and he is hot. (wink)

After our lesson, we decided to get a small bite before getting ready for our first milonga. Pizza and empanadas. We went to the pizzaria downstairs from the apt. I walked up to the counter and said, "Cuatro empanadas con carne, Una pizza y una pizza napoli, por favor." The bill came out to 20+pesos. We paid it and started to wonder why pizza was so expensive in BsAs. 5 minutes later, we decided to check the menu and realized he thought we'd wanted one pizza pie each. It took us 15 minutes to explain we only wanted 1 slice of pizza and 2 small empanadas each. The guy behind the counter gave us back our change and we left there with 3 slices and 4 empanadas. Ok... not bad for our first attempt. We picked up a bottle of red on the way home. Pizza y empanadas con vino rojo para cena. Malena giggled while she ate her empanada and said, "These things are good!" Apparently, It was her first empanada... ever. It was a kodak worthy moment... so I snapped our first photo in BsAs.

Off to La Viruta. It was more of a disco than a milonga with mixed music. We went there because we heard Color Tango was playing that night. The place was already packed when we arrived at 11:30pm. We were definitely too elegantly dressed for the place. A lot of the younger women were in jeans and skimpy tops. The minute we sat down, we noticed a few men started to gather by our table. We were anxious and excited to receive our very first cabeceo. I glanced at the men around me a few times but mostly kept my eyes on the dance floor. What can I say, maybe it's a cultural thing but I was definitely not that comfortable with the idea of staring at a stranger for more than a second. While I was observing the dance floor, I felt a "tap tap tap" on the right shoulder, then I heard a man say “Bailar tango???” He was a porteno in his 50's... so I nodded, got up from my seat and started my week of Tang-a-thon.

Color Tango came on around 1:30am. A tall, dark and handsome man in a dark suit gave Malena the cabeceo. Malena danced three songs then excused herself because she was worried that he was being polite and was waiting for her to say thank you. We knew that dancing more than one tanda with someone might be misconstrued for romantic interest but what do you do when an orchestra is playing and there is no cortina to mark the end of a tanda??? She sat down and pouted, so I encouraged her to give him the cabeceo later. La Viruta was a decent size venue and he was the only well dressed good looking man in the place (that we noticed). She waited and looked his way several times but he seemed to be busy dancing with other women. After that, I decided not to follow the codigo and danced with the same man while Color Tango was performing their second set. They were outstanding, the energy in the room was electrifying, the sound was mesmerizing. My partner was an older tanguero with the most comfortable embrace and a soft but clear milonguero lead. I closed my eyes and danced with a smile on my face. Every fiber in my body was excited by the music, each movement executed from my core. Wow, after months of anticipation, we're finally here. I was so happy and filled with unexpected emotions that my eyes started to swell up. I don't think I've ever fully understood what "living in the moment" meant till then.

We left around 4:30am. We were hungry and wandered around our neighborhood looking for media lunas but nothing was open. We noticed a man in red car watching us, circling our block several times. Yikes! Still in our 4 inch CIF stilettos, we ran back to our apt. Ugh! Must sleep! Have to wake up at 11:30am for lesson 2.