Traveling Tango

Moving south

Me and my scooter at the park in İzmir, next to the Egyptian Obelisk

We have spent 2 lovely weeks in Izmir, a large metropolitan city located on the Agean Coast of Turkey, the Asian side. Sitting on the mouth of a huge bay, Izmir is the 3rd largest city in Turkey with an active harbor and lots of ferries criss crossing the city.

The hotel residence we stayed in was located in Alcansak. A very lively neighborhood of the city, a bit north of Konak. The hotel residence was simple, with a large double bed, bathroom and a little kitchen area where were able to prepare our daily breakfasts.

The waterfront at night filled with families

We were surrounded by amazing restaurants and bars. Fast food, slow food, Turkish food, and some international foods.

We were close to a nearby house of transvestite prostitues. It’s a little different setting. Nightly when out walking, there they were chatting up customers and others locals. Was pretty wonderful to observe as no one seemed to care what their sex was or wasn’t. I would imagine that their attention was welcomed by some community members.

Always trying to locate milongas in the city we visit, we use Facebook, Instagram, and word of mouth contacts. In Izmir, we found a few milongas. As is typical when traveling, some are very open and welcoming. Other milongas are not open and can be less welcoming to strangers.

But what we loved about all this dancing was all the enthusiasm. Almost always very exuberant. It’s very dizzying to watch.

In Turkish Tango, there are many giros. In fact, it is the most used step in an open embrace. It’s more like gymnastics and not much walking.

In many milongas we attended in Turkey, the dancers prefer an open embrace for dancing tango.

I am not sure if this style of embrace is because of a possible cultural taboo or a learned experience.

But it is definitely very different from Argentina Tango.

The music played is Juan Darienzo, Hector Varela, Anibal Troillo, and other orchestras that have a fast driving beat.

Not much music by De Sarli or Pugliese, Fluevio Salamanca is played as this music is more playful, soft, and very romantic.

We are definitely Argentina Tango dancers as we love to caminando, and we dance. We listen to the music, and we take turns playing with spaces between the music. But most importantly, we are corazón to corazón in a close embrace. And enjoying every minute of it.

Next stop, Kaş on the Mediterran Sea.

Abrazo y Besos

The Joy of Traveling

Istanbul, the city of many mysteries and relics from the past, offers its visitors an amazing experience.

As we like to be local when we travel, we ride the buses, take the trains, trams and ferries all over this vast city of 15 million

It is such a huge city that it can take up to two hours to cross from an outlying sections to the edge of the city by the Bosphorus Sea and not even cross to the Asian side of the city, which can stretch for another two hours.

There is so much traffic that to go any distance by bus is a minimum of an hour, and depending on traffic can take up to two hours to go 8 km.

But the views and the people are wonderful.

Bodies are packed very close together, but the men are mostly respectful of the women and children.

Sometime you enter the bus in front and pay with your pass. Other times on crowed buses, you are entering from the rear doors.

To pay for your journey, you hand your bus pass to the next person, and they send it forward to the driver to pay your fare.

Minutes later, your pass comes back in the same manner.

Passing forward or back. But to me, the amazing part is that it gets returned.

Ride the tram on Sultanamet, and you pass the ancient Roman sistern, the Hagia Sofia, the Blue mosque, and parts of the ancient aqueduct system that brought water into Istanbul in the times of the Roman Empire.

Add to this visual mixture, the restaurants and the variety of foods and goods to buy and enjoy, and before you are even aware, a week has gone by. You might even be a bit exhausted.

Then there’s the Tango world here.

Remember Türkiye is a country of Muslims but not a Muslim country.

There are two types of tango danced here, Argentinetango and Turkishtango.

Closed and open embrace.

Using Hoy Milonga and Facebook, it is possible to find all the milongas here.

But be aware that some are in old buildings with no elevators and a 4th or even 5th floor walk ups.

While others are in restaurants and bars, almost none are on street level.

The problem for me is the number of people here who are smokers. There seems to be many more tango dancers that smoke here in İstanbul than in Buenos Aires.

Smoking is not allowed inside but only outside on the terraces and decks.

As to admission prices range from
80 T ₺ to a high of 125 ₺ [similar to prices in BsAs about 800 peso to 1500 pesos.

At my favorite milonga at the Armada Hotel, for example. This milonga has been going on for 24 years. There are tables surrounding the floor, while at Tangoist, Tango Nar [ all in Tasksim], there are chairs against the wall.

Sometimes, the host seats you at a table, and other times, it is free for all. Turks do not believe in saving seats, even if all your stuff is left there, someone else will sit there.

The most wonderful part of this…
Yes, there is Argentinetango all over the world to find.

So far this year, we have danced in Spain and in Turkey. In September, we are off to Petra, Jordan for a marathon.

Traveling just takes time, money and patience.

Making new friends and discovering a new place for a milonga in any given country is why we travel.

To be able to dance, to travel and enjoy all that is there, is truly a gift.

With gratitude to you my reader, who encourages me to write and foto.

Abrazo

Madrid Toledo Tarragona Granada Barcelona Girona

Dusk over the city from the top floor of NH Hotel, near Rambla Catalunya

Bon Dia. It’s been 25 days since we left Argentina on April 30th.

We have traveled by plane, fast train, slow train, taxi, metro bus, tram, funicular and teleferico, but mostly on our feet.

In walking, we have averaged close to 6 km a day. 12,000 steps. That means that in the past 25 days, we have walked approximately 150 km.

The sights we have seen are beautiful, both modern and antique. The Alhambra of Grenada. The Prado in Madrid and the Sagrada Family in Barcelona. The old cities of Gerona and Toledo. And many other smaller sites.

We danced Tango at a festival in Tarragona called Salou Tango, which was small and intimate.

In Madrid, while finishing a cup of tea, we ran into a friend at the same restaurant whom we knew from Tango in Buenos Aires…he lives part-time in Tel Aviv, Barcelona, and Buenos Aires. The small world of tango.

We danced tango in Madrid at the Milonga de Bulin on Calle Jacometrezo…again a small club with an excellent floor, with the typical arrangement of chairs and the women sitting on them. Smiling and sitting. Waiting.

The milongas in Granada are on the weekend, so we didn’t get to dance there. But we did see two amazing Flamenco shows from two different families.

And in Barcelona we have danced at Milonga de Emocion, Milonga del Angel and Club Tinta Roja.

Dancing tango in Barcelona is very sweet as the leads are nice and the conversation flows as with the usual, Where are you from? In Spanish, with a Cantaluynia twist.

What we did notice was the difference in the music, TDJ’S played lots of Darienzo, lots of strong rhythms, but not much Pulieses or Disarle.

There are dancers who use an open embrace, and others that dance closed embrace, but a good time is had by all. Another lovely element was we would run into dancers that we had met from the festival in Salou and other milongas in Barcelona. Very cozy.

The one thing we noticed that was different from BsAs is the feeling of the Milongas, I find the Catalunya/ Barcelona folks to be non emotional crowd. Maximo tells me it’s how the people are here. Very reserved. He was born in Girona and lived in Barcelona many years ago. He’s not only a lovely tangero and partner but a good guide as he lived and danced in many barrios in Barcelona.

But it’s Tango!!!

Daily life in Spain is different from Argentine as everything here functions all the time. The electrical power, the internet, the public buses and trains, and the amazing quality of food… but it is pretty ironic, we meet so many people who have moved here from Argentina. They love and miss their country, but they do not love how everything doesn’t work there. They like getting paid in a currency that functions all the time and does not fluctuate wildly and daily like the peso.

The old grandeur that is Barcelona, I love but yet all the old and antique has a function and is purposely recycled into something new.

The old Torredor ring transformed into restaurants and shopping.

This city is alive and breathes… you can feel it in the streets, in the food, in the cafes and while walking along the ramblers of the city looking for another cafe for a coffee.

Traveling Tango

Moving south

Like this:

The Joy of Traveling

Like this:

Madrid Toledo Tarragona Granada Barcelona Girona

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Traveling Tango