Firsts, finally

I am finally in Buenos Aires after years of pining and looking forward to the day I make my “pilgrimage” to this “Mecca” of tango.

In the blink of an eye, I am coming to the end of my fourth week here, and this post is definitely long overdue.
So, here’s a brief account of some of my memorable tango firsts in this colourful and exciting city:

My first milonga in Buenos Aires!
At Porteno y Bailarin on 13 March.

I remember my apprehension that night, based on all the stories I’ve heard about unsuccessful ‘cabeceos’ (method of using eye contact and head movement to invite and/or accept dancing with someone) at the milongas of Buenos Aires. Recognising that I’ve been spoiled in Singapore amongst our cozy community of tangueros, where for my last 4 years, the invitation to dance has usually been verbal, or that I have often been cabeceo-ed relatively briefly, rapidly and at close distance. Considering that I managed to dance a total of about 3-4 tandas that night (not including the few that I had with Wai Chung and Isaac), the night seem to turn out alright.

A tanda with one of the older milongueros
Incidentally, this first milonga at Porteno y Bailarin was also where I first danced with an old milonguero.

Due to my almost non-existent command of ‘Castellano’ (what the Argentines term their national official language, Spanish), and that he does not speak any English at all, the mandatory polite conversation in between the song intervals within the tanda was really at a bare minimum. I merely recognized that he said something nice about my dancing and all I could do then was to smile back in return. Since I never got to ask him his name, I have decided to nickname him Mr. Soapy. Why? His jacket had a pleasant, mild soapy scent that hints of it being freshly laundered.

Lists of milonga venues visited
Attended the milongas at all of the following at least once:
Bien Pulenta, Club Gricel, Club Sunderland, El Beso, El Tasso, La Nacional, Nino Bien, Porteno y Bailarin, Plaza Bohemia (a.k.a. Maipu 444).

My favourite will be revealed below.

Experiencing the first tangasm
In search of the elusive ‘tangasm’ (i.e. tango high) after several mediocre milongas, it finally happened at Plaza Bohemia on 22 March.

Wonderful music that night (the tango DJ on duty was excellent!)… All the leaders I danced with were connected to both the music and me… Good floorcraft and navigation of all couples contributed to the overall good energy on the dance floor throughout the night…

To date, it still ranks as the best milonga night I’ve had here.

First “Ouch!”
My feet have been attacked, and also gotten close to several other potential accidents that were waiting to happen. I attribute these to inconsiderate leaders with weak navigational skills, and also sometimes inconsiderate followers who execute high, sharp boleos on a crowded dance floor.

Number of significant injuries to date: 2.
One on my right foot, an impact injury on the inside of my right foot, between the bunion (protrusion of the big toe joint) and the foot arch.
The other on my left foot, which is a medium-deep scratch caused by collision and subsequent abrasion with the heel edge of a man’s shoe.

Anyway. Let’s move on to something happier.

Tango shoe-shopping
I’ve heard the hypothesis from several that “men take up tango for the women, and women take up tango for the shoes”.

There will be no protest from me against that statement. Even though my tango obsession stems from several reasons, I am found guilty that shoes are one of them. :) So needless to say, one of the main activities Wai Chung and I indulged in over the past weeks was: shoe-shopping.

The first pair to come into my possession, a pair of brown-coloured snakeskin ones from Susana shoes. And Wai Chung has decided to nickname them ‘buak-salak’ shoes (after the tropical ‘snake-skin’ fruit. See picture.)

Comme Il Faut, Darcos, Delie, Fabio Shoes, Flabella, Lolo Gerard, Madreselva, Mahara, Suipacha 256, Susana (both anchor shop and new shop), Tango 8. We’ve visited each of them at least once, and were only too happy to take James and Irene to some of them again when they got here.

Workshop experiences
List of instructors whom we’ve taken at least one group class from:
Ana Schapira (for Tango Milonguero)
Cacho Dante y Rosana Devesa (for Tango Milonguero)
Javier Rodriguez y Andrea Misse (for Tango Salon)
Jorge Firpo (for Tango Milonguero)
Maria y Carlos Rivarola (for Tango Salon)
Nora Robles y Pedro Calveyra (for Tango Fantasia)

We've taken the most number lessons from Rivarola so far, as after the first lesson, we really like their style and feel that there is much we could benefit from them. Wai Chung likens Carlos Rivarola movements to a tai-chi master. Seems like a pretty apt description. Exemplified by one of the times during the class, when he danced with me in order to explain and demonstrate a concept to Wai Chung, I had been brought from point A to point B without me even realizing it! And for Maria, given the fact that she had just recovered from a bad knee injury that required surgery, moves with much grace and softness. Together, they make all the hiros, moulinetes, enrosques and sacadas look so quiet, but brimming with their sense of musicality.

We have not had a chance to ask them if, when and which milongas they go to. The demonstrations in class though brief, have already put me in awe of them. Imagine if I could see them dance to a full song...