Hey I just received this mail from Jose and Viky (who are in tour in Europe right now! www.joseyviky.com.ar).
Basically, the La Ciudad de Buenos Aires is cancelling the next Festival de Buenos Aires Tango. I don't know about Macri and the political ins and outs, but here here is the letter from María Carolina Simón, una grossa del mundo del tango (er, I think).
I've been in Buenos Aires for two years and for personal reasons I know a lot about how the State deals with The Arts in Argentina (for instance, ever heard of the Ballet Folklórico Nacional de Argentina? No one has, because it's an organismo del estado). In so many aspects, if the goverment of Argentina would only stop fucking things up and take care of what they have, Argentina would again be one of the best countries in the world (instead of being a cheap tourist destination, meat restaurant, tango practice spot, and place to set up cheap call centers).
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Dec 13, 2007 2:52 PM
Subject: Si a alguien le sorprende es que no conoce nuestro Pais
Estimados músicos, bailarines, profesores, organizadores de milongas, fotógrafos, dibujantes, docentes, medios de prensa y todos aquellos que desde 1998 han sido parte, cada uno desde su lugar, del Festival Buenos Aires Tango, de los Campeonatos Metropolitano y Mundial de Baile de Tango, y de la web Tangodata :
El próximo Festival Buenos Aires Tango, ocasión en que la ciudad celebraría por décima vez nuestro género ciudadano, no será una ocasión de festejo, como muchos habíamos imaginado. Las autoridades de Cultura de la gestión que asumió el último fin de semana nos han comunicado la suspensión del evento. Lo hicieron justamente el 11 de diciembre, aunque dudo que sepan qué debía festejarse ese día.
Cabe señalar que esta decisión fue tomada sin haber conversado con ninguno de nosotros acerca de qué era lo que estaba armado, a qué artistas se había convocado, qué espacios estaban involucrados, es decir, sin evaluar cuáles serían las consecuencias de la decisión ni quiénes resultarían perjudicados.
La instalación nacional e internacional de Tangodata y de los eventos de Tango que hasta el viernes organizaba el Gobierno de la Ciudad fue una ardua tarea que venía desarrollándose desde hace años, incluso desde la época en que el actual Ministro de Cultura, Hernán Lombardi, era Subsecretario de Turismo de la Ciudad.
Lamentablemente, hoy vemos que el vaciamiento del área de Tango y del resto de los Festivales es una estrategia planeada desde hace tiempo, lo que queda demostrado en la celeridad y la violencia con que implementaron este cambio, que se parece bastante a una demolición. El martes, primer día hábil de la gestión macrista, llegamos a lo que hasta entonces eran nuestras oficinas y nos encontramos con que los carteles que indicaban los espacios de los distintos eventos habían sido arrancados. Ese mismo día la flamante Coordinadora General de Producción nos comunicó que el Festival se suspendía, que cambiarían la estructura de la Dirección y que todos íbamos a ser reasignados a otras tareas y en otros espacios físicos. Ayer, miércoles, fuimos invitados a desalojar las oficinas, vaciar las computadoras y retirar nuestros efectos personales de ellas. Nos otorgarán "francos compensatorios" hasta el 15 de enero y temo lo que ese día pueda ocurrir.
No sólo se está despreciando un proyecto que llevó años construir, sino que también se desprecian los recursos humanos y el conocimiento que formamos a lo largo de diez años.
Pido disculpas a todos los convocados para ser parte del Festival que ya no será. Probablemente, haya pecado de ingenua y hasta de optimista, pero sinceramente este escenario no lo soñé ni en la peor de mis pesadillas. A su vez, agradezco que nos hayan acompañado todos estos años y que nos hayan permitido trabajar con ustedes, disfrutando de su arte, de sus conocimientos y de todos ustedes como personas.
También quiero expresar mi enorme gratitud a todos los que formaron parte del equipo, los que están y los que estuvieron. Les agradezco el trabajo, la entrega, el compromiso y la pasión que pusieron. El éxito y el prestigio innegables que logramos construir (y el macrismo viene a destruir) fue posible porque entre todos lo hicimos posible.
Espero encontrarme con muchos de ustedes en situaciones más felices. Muchas gracias,
María Carolina Simón
2007-12-13
Not Tango Nuevo: Traditional Prácticas in Buenos Aires
I would say that any of the larger places -- especially the Viruta and Canning -- work as "prácticas" on off days and earlier in the night. Especially check out Canning on Monday nights right after the class or on Tuesday nights (but go early, that way you get more space and feel around the space more, so it's like a práctica) and on Thursday nights (check out the class with Damian Essel (?) on Thursday nights too. At the Viruta), one-stop-shop for all kinds of Tango, check out Sunday nights (at 12 or 1), Wednesday nights (I think there's a class first), and maybe Thursday night.
In Buenos Aires there's a lot of Tango but it's hard to say which place is going to be great what night, exactly. Práctica X, for example, explodes when someone well-known dances there, but sometimes it explodes when no one is dancing. The Viruta is totally unpredictable.
One rule of thumb: the Viruta, Canning and every other club in Buenos Aires follow the same pattern. So if you talk to a whole bunch of Argentinians and everyone is going out -- even if it's for Electronica -- you know that the cabs will be hard to get and the milonga will be crowded as well.
Well, at least that's my best sociological view on the thing.
In Buenos Aires there's a lot of Tango but it's hard to say which place is going to be great what night, exactly. Práctica X, for example, explodes when someone well-known dances there, but sometimes it explodes when no one is dancing. The Viruta is totally unpredictable.
One rule of thumb: the Viruta, Canning and every other club in Buenos Aires follow the same pattern. So if you talk to a whole bunch of Argentinians and everyone is going out -- even if it's for Electronica -- you know that the cabs will be hard to get and the milonga will be crowded as well.
Well, at least that's my best sociological view on the thing.
2007-12-12
Thanks For Your Support
I'm writing this entry from the road so it'll be brief.
Thanks for your comments and emails about this blog. I thought I had no readers at all, but that's not true.
First off, I'm travelling in Brazil until the 17th or so (been here since the 6th) and when I get everything in front of me I will put up my links to all Tango stuff in Rio de Janeiro. I met some nice people and found the main milonga in Lapa (miraculously). I'll write more about the Milonga in Lapa (Rua Lapa at the Associacao of Moco or whatever) later, but the kind of general rule that the old people show up to the first part and then the young people show up is true here. I was trying to think of whether that's true in Buenos Aires, and it kind of is. In La Viruta, for instance, the older people do pack it in earlier than the younger people.
So sometime soon I'll write some stuff about WHAT TIME to get to a milonga or práctica, because that's almost as important as knowing where to go and what to wear (casual for the prácticas, but if you're headed to a nice milonga like Tuesday night at Canning, do dress up).
Anyway, the main questions people had about Tango in Buenos Aires were where DNI is and so forth. Now just let me say for the record that in DNI they work a lot with el abrazo abierto and it's a bit moderny, so I think that if you just do that you're missing a big part of what is tango salón (excuse my Spanishy sentence structure). I would definitely check out the classes with Maxi and Maricel in the OSPACA ( http://www.maxiymaricel.com/) or the superfamous classes with Pablito Perez in Sunderland on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8pm (take the 41 bus from Avenida Cabildo). I wish I had some better suggestions out there, but for right now I'm a bit dry on suggestions.
So anyway, DNI is at http://www.estudiodnitango.com.ar/ and I like them a lot and they are VERY popular so you'll get to know a lot of the foreigners who are in Buenos Aires at the same time as you, studying tango and going to the practicas. As I said, you need something else to supplement DNI, but DNI is a pretty decent place and a good technique, especially for the woman to learn how to responder a la marca. The problem is that the guys learn how to do hard stuff and never learn how to walk.
The best practicas are Tango Cool (www.tangocool.com, I think) and PracticaX (check out their blog which is practicax.blogspot.com ) and yes, there are generally more women than men, which is how the world of dance works anyway.
And now a random note about Tango for both men and women: to increase your chances of dancing more, try everything. You don't have to make yourself supersexy or show cleavage (or wear an Armani suit), but you should be clean and presentable for EVERY night that you go to dance. You may NOT get a chance to dance with a great dancer because of your unkempt appearance, or, worse, you may not get asked (or get accepted if you do the asking) when you come back because of that.
It's true, most people are really nice and don't care if you stink or look nice. But Buenos Aires is, in general, a superficial place, and this is true in Tango también.
And while I'm at it and typing up a storm, two other things: guys, unless you are absolutely convinced it will be well received, do not give women ANY advice, EVER. This is true even if the woman just decides to switch feet on you all the time because she "doesn't understand your lead." First off, your lead is probably unclear, and secondly, you're not going to get her to stop sucking with one or two comments. It will probably take months. And that advice goes for both leaders and followers.
Second, if you're dancing with somebody, pretend you enjoy it until the tanda or three songs (is the práctica) is up, and then say "thank you" and be on your way. If they are really terrible, you can say thanks after one or two songs. Don't make up any excuses about going to the bathroom, and don't ask them how long they've been dancing. Most people who suck know they suck, anyway. I should know. I used to be really bad, and now I'm just "not good" (and getting heaps better).
Cheers from Brazil!
Thanks for your comments and emails about this blog. I thought I had no readers at all, but that's not true.
First off, I'm travelling in Brazil until the 17th or so (been here since the 6th) and when I get everything in front of me I will put up my links to all Tango stuff in Rio de Janeiro. I met some nice people and found the main milonga in Lapa (miraculously). I'll write more about the Milonga in Lapa (Rua Lapa at the Associacao of Moco or whatever) later, but the kind of general rule that the old people show up to the first part and then the young people show up is true here. I was trying to think of whether that's true in Buenos Aires, and it kind of is. In La Viruta, for instance, the older people do pack it in earlier than the younger people.
So sometime soon I'll write some stuff about WHAT TIME to get to a milonga or práctica, because that's almost as important as knowing where to go and what to wear (casual for the prácticas, but if you're headed to a nice milonga like Tuesday night at Canning, do dress up).
Anyway, the main questions people had about Tango in Buenos Aires were where DNI is and so forth. Now just let me say for the record that in DNI they work a lot with el abrazo abierto and it's a bit moderny, so I think that if you just do that you're missing a big part of what is tango salón (excuse my Spanishy sentence structure). I would definitely check out the classes with Maxi and Maricel in the OSPACA ( http://www.maxiymaricel.com/) or the superfamous classes with Pablito Perez in Sunderland on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8pm (take the 41 bus from Avenida Cabildo). I wish I had some better suggestions out there, but for right now I'm a bit dry on suggestions.
So anyway, DNI is at http://www.estudiodnitango.com.ar/ and I like them a lot and they are VERY popular so you'll get to know a lot of the foreigners who are in Buenos Aires at the same time as you, studying tango and going to the practicas. As I said, you need something else to supplement DNI, but DNI is a pretty decent place and a good technique, especially for the woman to learn how to responder a la marca. The problem is that the guys learn how to do hard stuff and never learn how to walk.
The best practicas are Tango Cool (www.tangocool.com, I think) and PracticaX (check out their blog which is practicax.blogspot.com ) and yes, there are generally more women than men, which is how the world of dance works anyway.
And now a random note about Tango for both men and women: to increase your chances of dancing more, try everything. You don't have to make yourself supersexy or show cleavage (or wear an Armani suit), but you should be clean and presentable for EVERY night that you go to dance. You may NOT get a chance to dance with a great dancer because of your unkempt appearance, or, worse, you may not get asked (or get accepted if you do the asking) when you come back because of that.
It's true, most people are really nice and don't care if you stink or look nice. But Buenos Aires is, in general, a superficial place, and this is true in Tango también.
And while I'm at it and typing up a storm, two other things: guys, unless you are absolutely convinced it will be well received, do not give women ANY advice, EVER. This is true even if the woman just decides to switch feet on you all the time because she "doesn't understand your lead." First off, your lead is probably unclear, and secondly, you're not going to get her to stop sucking with one or two comments. It will probably take months. And that advice goes for both leaders and followers.
Second, if you're dancing with somebody, pretend you enjoy it until the tanda or three songs (is the práctica) is up, and then say "thank you" and be on your way. If they are really terrible, you can say thanks after one or two songs. Don't make up any excuses about going to the bathroom, and don't ask them how long they've been dancing. Most people who suck know they suck, anyway. I should know. I used to be really bad, and now I'm just "not good" (and getting heaps better).
Cheers from Brazil!
2007-10-05
Still Rocking On, But Very Little Blogging Again
I'm still in Buenos Aires and still doing a lot of tango classes, and still liking the prácticas better than the milongas. Why? Space. Dancing in a phone booth in the geriatric ward is fun, but it's just not my way of seeing Tango. At the same time, I don't like how Chicho dances, either. My chica would definitely feel nauseous if she saw this (does she know I have a blog? does anyone?) but I think some of the coolest people out there really are Pablo and Dana. Yeah, I know, it's hard to take that the same people that are getting all the spotlight are really that good.
But my respect for Pablo and Dana goes beyond that. I am even impressed with the empresa that they've made here. I like taking classes with (almost) all the teachers/dancers at DNI, and I like how they dance. I've been at Tango Brujo, Carlos Copello, and Mora Godoy, and none of those places have a central technique that they are teaching. None of those places have the teachers watching each others' classes. And none of those places has the student loyalty that DNI has.
Anyway, enough for now. I'm going to Jose and Viky's last class. Depending on the students, their classes range from okay to great. And seeing as the 13 pesos include the práctica, it's worth it.
Here are the times for the guys who took 3rd place in the Campeonato, Maxi y Maricel:
Miércoles Viérnes Sábado y Domingo 20.30 Anchorena y Zelaya (where Práctica X is!).
I'll check them out while Jose and Viky are out on tour in Europe.
But my respect for Pablo and Dana goes beyond that. I am even impressed with the empresa that they've made here. I like taking classes with (almost) all the teachers/dancers at DNI, and I like how they dance. I've been at Tango Brujo, Carlos Copello, and Mora Godoy, and none of those places have a central technique that they are teaching. None of those places have the teachers watching each others' classes. And none of those places has the student loyalty that DNI has.
Anyway, enough for now. I'm going to Jose and Viky's last class. Depending on the students, their classes range from okay to great. And seeing as the 13 pesos include the práctica, it's worth it.
Here are the times for the guys who took 3rd place in the Campeonato, Maxi y Maricel:
Miércoles Viérnes Sábado y Domingo 20.30 Anchorena y Zelaya (where Práctica X is!).
I'll check them out while Jose and Viky are out on tour in Europe.
2007-06-07
El cambiazo
No one reads the blog anyway, so I'll put some of it in Spanish. And while I'll writing this I'm actually drinking mate, que casi nunca hago (pero compré dos bombillas de putísima madre, así que debería tomarlo más)... al mismo tiempo estoy escuchando Chris Fortier y saltando una clase de DNI nivel 2-3. Está bien porqué recientemente el nivel se tira para abajo en 2/3.
Tengo un volante de la práctica El Cambiazo, y antes de tirarlo en la basura, pongo los datos acá por si a alguien le interesa. El Cambiazo es "La práctica de cambio de rol" y se hace todos los sábados de 17 a 20 horas (mmm... quién sabe a qué hora llegaría la gente, entonces???). Más datos... está en La ratonera cultural: Corrientes 5552 (estación Malabia de Línea B), email elcambiazo@gmail.com, o llamen a Florecia 1667660624 (no la conozco) o Miriam (1563526813) que es muy simpática. Y la han anunciado en Práctica X, pero a ver si la gente empieza a ir o no. La entrada vale 3 pesos.
Tengo un volante de la práctica El Cambiazo, y antes de tirarlo en la basura, pongo los datos acá por si a alguien le interesa. El Cambiazo es "La práctica de cambio de rol" y se hace todos los sábados de 17 a 20 horas (mmm... quién sabe a qué hora llegaría la gente, entonces???). Más datos... está en La ratonera cultural: Corrientes 5552 (estación Malabia de Línea B), email elcambiazo@gmail.com, o llamen a Florecia 1667660624 (no la conozco) o Miriam (1563526813) que es muy simpática. Y la han anunciado en Práctica X, pero a ver si la gente empieza a ir o no. La entrada vale 3 pesos.
2007-06-05
Mora Godoy Tango II Intermedios
So stuff has been advancing nicely so I decided to try a Tango II Intermedios class in Mora Godoy, which is right near my house. The teafchers were good although you can really tell that, aside from the DNI teachers who have the DNI technique, they are basically just pointing out whatever they find to be interesting. So more experience would make them better, and just what to focus on is not particulary obvious for them.
But anyway, the figure they showed was very long and had all kinds of complicated shit. I just did a part of it. There were too many women and they all danced well, although some of that Buenos Aires "who the fuck are you we're Mora's students" did show up.
Anyway, right now it's:
50 pesos for 5 clases al mes
80 pesos for 10 clases al mes
120 pesos for paso libre
o 12 pesos per class
It's the only place I've seen that has this kind of bono, but obviously Mora has learned a thing or two from going to the gym.
Anyway, I think I'll go there a few Tuesdays and see if I can keep up with some part of the class.
Note that Mora's website is NOT up-to-date as far as the class schedule goes. Letting your website get out of date is so third-world, isn't it?
But anyway, the figure they showed was very long and had all kinds of complicated shit. I just did a part of it. There were too many women and they all danced well, although some of that Buenos Aires "who the fuck are you we're Mora's students" did show up.
Anyway, right now it's:
50 pesos for 5 clases al mes
80 pesos for 10 clases al mes
120 pesos for paso libre
o 12 pesos per class
It's the only place I've seen that has this kind of bono, but obviously Mora has learned a thing or two from going to the gym.
Anyway, I think I'll go there a few Tuesdays and see if I can keep up with some part of the class.
Note that Mora's website is NOT up-to-date as far as the class schedule goes. Letting your website get out of date is so third-world, isn't it?
2007-05-26
Too Many Damn Classes
So Naveira was great the other night at Practica X, although perhaps it's not the most emotional tango around.
Anyway, I've been keeping up my rhythm of 7 classes or more per week, and today I tried two new ones. The first was great: Tango 4 at DNI with Sebastián and Eugenia. I like the way they teach, and the figure was really cool: I finally understood how to get the barridas to always be lateral or frontal or whatever. The second one was Tango Salón with Fabián Peralta (at Carlos Copello at 6pm for , which was more like Bailar como Fabián Peralta with Fabián Peralta. The idea of the class was cool: he basically focused on rhythm. But the way he did it was kind of retarded, although I think I'll be able to use those concepts soon. Basically, with syncopation you have more options than quarter- or eight-notes. You can also do eighth quarter quarter eighth, which is must easier to handle in terms of movements than straight eight notes.
But anyway, I've been analyzing my dancing for two weeks now and there are a few things I want to clear up. First of all, as my friend Agnes from one of those Baltic countries says, you don't wait for the woman to get to her axis. You lead her to arrive at her axis faster (No esperes que la mujer descargue. Hacé que descargue más rápido). And then I'm having this other problem where I'm just sucking and dancing weakly and unsurely (whatever). So I'm trying to get back to my onda, which has to do with learning to dance and making the transition, and putting everything together and dancing.
But one of the things I've decided recently is that I really do need to focus on repertoire. I really need to start getting a handle on the figures that I know, how to connect them, the figures that I don't know and need to know. Now, most of this would be better with a dance partner, which I do not have yet (though you can always get somebody to come once a week, which you could also do in the prácticas without a problem, in fact you could just ask them to try something, it's no problem) but it's also just a mental practice. One of the best things to do while you're falling asleep is to think of some of the figures that you've learned recently.
I'm wondering if I should keep a log of the figures I've learned, or a Kbase.
This last week Download.com and Softopedia.com (and others) finally published the Trashpad by Confusionists, Inc.. It's a tool to be able to do freewriting without anybody being able to read your stuff, ever, because it deletes the text as it scrolls off the screen.
Anyway, I've been keeping up my rhythm of 7 classes or more per week, and today I tried two new ones. The first was great: Tango 4 at DNI with Sebastián and Eugenia. I like the way they teach, and the figure was really cool: I finally understood how to get the barridas to always be lateral or frontal or whatever. The second one was Tango Salón with Fabián Peralta (at Carlos Copello at 6pm for , which was more like Bailar como Fabián Peralta with Fabián Peralta. The idea of the class was cool: he basically focused on rhythm. But the way he did it was kind of retarded, although I think I'll be able to use those concepts soon. Basically, with syncopation you have more options than quarter- or eight-notes. You can also do eighth quarter quarter eighth, which is must easier to handle in terms of movements than straight eight notes.
But anyway, I've been analyzing my dancing for two weeks now and there are a few things I want to clear up. First of all, as my friend Agnes from one of those Baltic countries says, you don't wait for the woman to get to her axis. You lead her to arrive at her axis faster (No esperes que la mujer descargue. Hacé que descargue más rápido). And then I'm having this other problem where I'm just sucking and dancing weakly and unsurely (whatever). So I'm trying to get back to my onda, which has to do with learning to dance and making the transition, and putting everything together and dancing.
But one of the things I've decided recently is that I really do need to focus on repertoire. I really need to start getting a handle on the figures that I know, how to connect them, the figures that I don't know and need to know. Now, most of this would be better with a dance partner, which I do not have yet (though you can always get somebody to come once a week, which you could also do in the prácticas without a problem, in fact you could just ask them to try something, it's no problem) but it's also just a mental practice. One of the best things to do while you're falling asleep is to think of some of the figures that you've learned recently.
I'm wondering if I should keep a log of the figures I've learned, or a Kbase.
This last week Download.com and Softopedia.com (and others) finally published the Trashpad by Confusionists, Inc.. It's a tool to be able to do freewriting without anybody being able to read your stuff, ever, because it deletes the text as it scrolls off the screen.
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