Traveling Tango

Travelingtango goes …

San Martin de los Andes

21st Annual San Martin de los Andes Tango Festival

A group of regulars always dances at Julia’s Doynel’s Sueno Portenyo milongas on Sunday nights. When Julia learned she was invited to recreate her tanda of the Bonbons, she invited all her supporters from her Milonga to attend.

My partner, Maximo, shared his adventure stories from years ago, driving his motorhome in this part of Argentina, so I was prepared for an adventure.

We found out that 16 other people were involved in this expedition. I have traveled in Argentina, but this is a new location. It is a beautiful city at the base of the Andes on the famous route of 7 Lakes via Highway 40.

view of volcano in chile travelingtango.com

We responded that we wanted to go, so the travel agent in charge of this trip was contacted. We chose to stay at a 4-star hotel that included a breakfast buffet. Paying for this was as easy as transferring money using a debit card.

We were all set and ready to go. About a month later, when it was time to go, the travel agent sent us boarding passes for the plane, a copy of our room, and transportation receipts.

We all met very early at the Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires, which is much more convenient for departures than the other airport, Ezeiza. With only carry-on bags, we boarded the plane via the steps provided after showing passports and boarding passes at the various inspection points and the gate.

I was surprised to see that our seats in the second row of the airplane were big, overstuffed First Class seats, which were very comfy for a two-hour ride.

We Arrive in San Martin

Arriving at the tarmac in San Martin, we departed through the door using the steps provided, as this airport is located in a small rural community surrounded by the Andes.

Once our driver located us, we entered the front seat of the large white passenger van to wait until all our group members were seated in the van.

After driving for about 30 minutes, I got my first glimpse of the area. From the front seat, I saw the distant snow-covered mountains and the Lanin Volcano, which straddled the border of Chile and Argentina.

Arriving in San Martin, we were deposited at our hotel and told we would meet later that evening to attend the tanda of the Bonbons.

We stashed the luggage at the front desk, as our room wasn’t yet available. We walked toward the lake that was the base of this community. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day.

The Beauty of the Outdoor World

This community lives outdoors, as the streets are lined with many cold-weather clothing stores, rafting companies, and ski rentals. We walked until we found a cafe for coffee. The cafe was great, almost better than most cafes in Buenos Aires.

Upon finishing our coffees, we returned to the hotel, walking six blocks, and discovered that our room was available.

As we knew it would be late at night, we chose to nap for a few hours, as we were tired from getting up at 5:30 in the morning.

Hours later, we emerged, looking for the location of the milonga. Unfortunately, this location will change several times before arriving at the correct location of the senior center.

Entering the space, we noticed a small L-shaped room with red-covered picnic tables scattered around the room with an aggregate floor.

After greeting friends, it was time for our first tanda. The floor was very sticky; fortunately, someone brought talc powder, which made dancing easier on the ankles and knees.

The Tanda of the Bonbons

With tango music playing and dancing, the time passed, and then it was time for the Tanda of the Bonbons. Julia explained this to the crowd, saying that this dance is where women choose a piece of chocolate and decide which person will get it. This chosen person will then dance a tanda with their respective giver of chocolate.

Many women love this as it allows a woman to pick her favorite dancer, which differs from the traditional role of the man asking a woman with a head nod. Typically, Argentinian women do not ask a man to dance, but this task becomes more manageable with the chocolate bonbon.

What fun this was to watch! So many women are enjoying their moment.

After this tanda, the regular milinga continued. We danced until 1 in the morning, walking back to our hotel in the colder weather of the evening.

Over three days, we toured the area, stopping at various vantage points to admire its beauty. We visited a ski slope, and on another day, we had lunch in the distant city of Villa La Angostura.

The Tango Festival

We attended the 21st edition of the San Martin Tango Festival in the evenings. The festival is held in a large gymnasium with a ceiling decorated with colorful banners and a floor made of aggregate. Large rectangular banquet tables with white folding chairs are on both sides of the room.

Different regional groups had a whole table. For example, Bariloche and a town in Chile had tables. All tables had placards specifying the group. Our group was in front of the room, near the speakers and the DJ table.

Our group danced a lot but mixed minimally with the other groups. The space was not very inviting and was chilly.

On the ride back to our hotels, we spoke about this in the three successive evenings.

We from Sueno Portenyo are a friendly and inviting group of milongueros from Finland, Italy, the United States, and Argentina.

For three days, we shared both champagne and the milongas, as we were getting to know a few folks. Mostly, we had only seen each other at the Sueno Portenyo Milonga. This was a wonderful experience.

The connections developed here will continue to other milongas in Argentina and other countries, as we are no longer strangers.

Abrazo

It’s just not tango. It is the music.

Yesterday was an amazing day filled with music.

Buenos Aires is renowned for its theater and music clubs. Walk Corrientes Avenida and pass by numerous large musical productions and serious plays; then, look down those stairs and see comedy clubs with stand-up comedians.

Smaller theatres are located all over the city, from Palermo to Recoleta, mainly on the smaller avenues. With me speaking Spanish for only three years, I do not understand the rapid-fire Argentinean Spanish spoken here. The idea of trying to follow a serious drama is a bit unnerving. Instead, we go to clubs and listen to music.

Going to a club is different here as the music starts at 10 pm. Some clubs offer 2 shows a night with 2 different musical acts.

We have gone to shows at the Beepop Club in Palermo, Jazz City in Recoleta, Swing City in Almagro, and most recently, Torquato Tasso in San Telmo.

Having heard the singer Lidia Borda while dancing tango at a milonga, I learned she was still alive and would be performing at a club in San Telmo. I bought tickets for us online at their website, http://www.torquatotasso.com. This process was relatively easy; they take credit or debit cards online. The tickets are all open seating with an admission price of 18,000 per person. The ticket is for general admission, and the club opens up at 20 hours, and the music begins at 22.

After buying tickets for the show several weeks later, we forgot about this until a day before, as my phone calendar reminded me.

That Friday evening, after dancing tango for a few hours, we took the # 24 bus on the corner of Corrientes and Callao, riding to Ave Defensa near Parque Lezama.

This San Telmo neighborhood is brightly lit and filled with people, unlike some other areas of San Telmo. The theatre is easy to find. Upon entering, you are asked your name, not to see your ticket.

Looking around the club, there are three levels of open seating. Half of the space has tables with low upholstered chairs, while the other half has regular tables and chairs.

A few high-top tables and chairs are at the back of the room, close to the bar area.
The first time, we arrived a bit late and decided to sit at the bar. It was a good decision as we had a clear vista of the stage. The acoustics in this club are excellent and can accommodate a solo singer with a piano player or a large blues band.

The two performances we attended were excellent and very different from each other, as were the attendees.

The first was Lidia Borda, a well-known tango, opera, and lyric singer. Her voice is strong, she is very emotive, and her voice is very vibrant. She is accompanied by a talented pianist, David Godfrid. It was 2 hours of listening to her voice with the accompaniment of a very talented piano player.

The crowd was very enthusiastic, and in the end, for an encore, they did a few more songs.

The 2nd performance we attended was for the group Memphis Blues. This group has played together for over 35 years, evidenced by all the gray hair on stage and the walking canes.

The sound is anything but old. These musicians produce a tight sound with a singer, a sax player, 2 guitarists, a bass player, an electric piano, and a drummer.

The show they performed lasted nonstop for 2 hours, playing the blues and raucous rock and roll with some fantastic solo performances by each musician. But the singer kept everything moving and grooving, and his throaty bass singing was superb.

At the Memphis Blues show, we arrived 90 minutes before the show started to get excellent seats in the front of the club. We sat with another Argentinean couple and discussed travel, tango, and relationships.

This was done using my translator, as the conversations were lively. Yes, wine and food were involved. The food offerings were typical Milanese, pasta, Ensaladas, and steaks with wine and a complete bar.

Our next music venture will be the Biblioteca Club on Marcello t Alvear near Libertad. Having visited this club before, we know it is a minimal venue seating maybe 50 folks but only 20 people showed up as the concert was quite early.

The show is a tribute to Piazzola with a fantastic pianist, Leonardo Marconi, bandoneonista, Carla Ageri, and another favorite singer, Isabel Minguez.

Carla Ageri, Leonardo Marconi y Isabel Minguez

This is tango music for listening to. It comes from the souls of these three talented musicians who play their hearts out in their performances.

As you see, this city offers some incredible music for all tastes and budgets.

3rd Month

With us starting the 3rd month of living in Buenos Aires, I thought I’d take a moment to take a breath. Breathing thru all the changes currently taking place around the world polically, economically, and environmentally.

Today, the weather was very warm, and tonight, with the help of the wind, the days heat is dissipating as we wait for the Uber that will take us home from tonight’s milonga.

As mentioned, I’m continuing to write about my impressions of the familiar milongas in the next few issues. These are the places we return to because of their familiarity with a combination of new and old friends and because they are friendly. The type of people that are attracted to these milonga are usually upbeat folks who want to dance and enjoy their time.

One of my happy spots is at the El Abrazo Tango Club with the hosts Zoraida and Diego, providing a space to have a milonga with excellent music by dj Mario Orlando with a good wooden floor plus bar service.[ https://travelingtango.com/en/tango-whats-happening-in-buenos-aires/]

On Sunday nights, the usual happy and familiar place is Julia Doynel’s Sueno Portenyo at Maza 457. The milonga starts early at 7.30 pm after a tango or rock and roll class.

Here as in many clubs, reservations are a must.This room has a long rectangle shape with a row of single tables on either long side and larger tables in front of the stage and on the opposite side of the room by the bar there are more larger tables.
Quique Camargo has been Julia’s dj for many years. This month, she not only celebrated her personal birthday but celebrated the 17th anniversary of her milonga, Sueno Portenyo.

The place is usually packed with portenyos and foreigners. many who’ve been dancing at Julia’s milongas for years. There are always at least 3 or 4 very talented taxi dancers that Julia hires to dance with the abundance of women.

What makes Sueño Portenyo a little different from many other milongas in the city is Julia’s invention of the Milonga of the Bonbon. This tanda is different as the woman makes the choice of what man she wants to dance with by giving him the piece of chocolate that she has chosen.

This is very popular with both sexes as much anticipation occurs for many people. For me, as I have a wonderful dance partner and dance a lot, I anticipate my partners appeal to other women, we agree that he should dance with another woman.

Unfortunately, the ratio of woman to man can be as much as 5 to 1 in many milongas here in Buenos Aires. At this milongas with Julia’s has a constant presence. She is continually asking the women, “Have you danced?” If the response is no. She will find an available dancer. She is truly an amazing organization/host.

Another well-known feature of her milongas is the fresh hot medialunas served at 2 am. to all those dancers who have stayed until the end. As for us, we usually leave at 12.30 as we arrive at 8.30.

She also takes many photos and posts them on Facebook. I have gotten a copy of a photo that she posted on Facebook sent to me on what’sapp at 5 am.

The other thing she does for her woman dancers is make make sure you leave in a taxi as safety is always a concern in Buenos Aires, especially in the late evening or early morning.

More essays about different milongas in the next issues.

Abrazo

Traveling Tango