Every year as my time in Argentina is winding down, Alejandro and I do a video of one of my tango lessons. This time we did two — one standard speed and one more uptempo. And there’s an outtake too — Alejandro had been drinking maté before I got there and he was wired! This bit of silliness was the result! Hope you enjoy all three.
My friend Cecilia is part of a social group called Ruta 40, because they originally met many years ago around their common passion for traveling Argentina along Ruta 40. They meet once a month at somebody’s home, and over the past couple of years they have welcomed me into their group. They are lovely people and I always enjoy the parties.
This one was at Cecilia’s house, and the main idea was a goodbye party for me, as I am leaving in less than two weeks (sigh!) When I arrived, Cecilia had written a message in soap on a big mirror, and over the course of the night everyone took up the soap and added their names. It was hard to take a photo because of the lighting, but here it is anyway.
The translated message reads, “Helen, bon voyage. We’ll see each other in A6”. As you may know, all my Argentina adventures are labelled with an “A” for Argentina. This one is A5, and in November I will start A6.
Instead of the usual asado, this time we had Peruvian food, courtesy of Cecilia and her niece Nicole, from Lima. The main dish was a delicious stew of meat and potatoes called carapulcra, and one of the desserts was a delicia de limón. There was also a tasty non-alcoholic drink called chicha morada, with a base of black corn — although with all the Malbec flowing around the table, it didn’t get much of a chance to shine! It was all yummy.
I made this little video just to give you a flavour for the party spirit. I hope you enjoy it.
Last night I went with a group of people from InterNations to see a beautiful production of Swan Lake, performed by the National Ballet of Russia at the Teatro Grand Rex. Earlier this year, we saw the ballet on the big outdoor screen beside the Teatro Colon, that one being the classic version choreographed by Rudolph Nureyev. I have to say I like last night’s version better, as it had more life and a lyrical quality I didn’t see in the other one. Of course, to be fair, a live performance is almost always better than a filmed version, even on a huge screen such as that one.
Argentines love culture, and there’s a great deal of it to be had in Buenos Aires, absolutely free — although that wasn’t the case last night. I must say I’ve never seen an audience’s appreciation of ballet expressed with the “hooting and hollering” I heard last night! They clapped, they cheered, sometimes even sort of screaming as they would at a rock star! It was altogether a very Buenos Aires sort of event, and of course we loved it.
On Sunday night I went with my friend Lola to the milonga at La Nacional, but this was a special charity milonga. There was no fixed price to get in, and you just donated whatever you wanted. I put just a bit more than I would normally pay, but some people must have been extremely generous because they raised 90,000 pesos, or almost $1,400. The money goes towards education in the rural areas of Argentina, so it was a good cause. They do this every month for a different charity — sadly I’ll have left by the time next month’s rolls around.
At one point during the evening there was a break from the dancing, and we were treated to two exhibitions. One was a couple dancing a very nice tango, and the second was this exhibition of a folkloric dance called the Chacarera. Its origins are in the mountains, and it’s a very lyrical, romantic dance of flirtation between the couple.
As I have just over three weeks left before I leave this time, I’ll be going to a lot of milongas between now and then!
Blowing out candles on a birthday cake is the same tradition down here as in Canada, but the candles are different! I’ve seen this several times, but this is the first time I remembered to catch it on video.
It was Cecilia’s son Joaquin’s birthday last weekend, and we had a lunch for him on Sunday at Cecilia’s house. So this is the birthday candle ceremony, Argentine style — although it’s not always with dogs!
On Friday night I went with some friends to a concert in a little club called La Biblioteca. It’s a small, intimate space with shelves full of old books on all the walls.
The singer was Joanna Maddox. She is a jazz and blues singer from Atlanta, but she has made Buenos Aires her home and has built up quite a following. Check out the video and you’ll see why.
Wow, what a fantastic idea! I’ve mentioned before that Buenos Aires is chock full of bookstores, and that Porteños really appreciate books and authors. Well last night proved that.
In Toronto we have Nuit Blanche, an overnight celebration of art galleries. The Buenos Aires equivalent is La Noche de las Librerias, or the night of the bookstores. It’s not all night, but everything does stay open very late.
Avenida Corrientes, where you can find bookstore after bookstore for miles, was closed to traffic. All the bookstores we went into were very busy, and not just with browsers. A lot of money was changing hands. Venetia (in the first photo) bought a lovely photo book about Patagonia, and I bought a history magazine with information about the great Argentine hero General Jose de San Martin, known as El Libertador.
As you can see from the photos, these are real bookstores selling books — not the candles and gift items North American bookstores have been forced to focus on. And it’s not that Argentines don’t have technology — they do, but books are still books down here. I love that.
And outside on the street, a live jazz concert was going on to complement the book celebration. The lovely soft, late summer weather was just right for walking too, so all in all it was perfect.
Oh, and I couldn’t resist photographing this — a book of Scottish actor Ewan McGregor’s life in pictures, in Spanish! My family in Scotland will get a chuckle out of that!
Last night I went with five women friends on another “research” trip for the new book. It was also International Women’s Day, which is very big down here, so a nice way to celebrate. We were Cecilia, Venetia, Joanna, Lola and Gillian.
Bar Sur is a very old establishment in the very old barrio of San Telmo, where many of the Bares Notables are to be found. It’s tiny, dark and very cozy and intimate. I had spoken with Beatriz, the proprietor, last week, so she knew we were coming and welcomed us warmly.
We ordered wine and picada, and sat back to chat and wait for the show.
Bar Sur claims to have the oldest tango show in San Telmo, and I believe it. The signed photos of tango stars of the past around the walls testify to its tight ties with the music and dance of tango.
There’s no stage in Bar Sur, so the performers sing, dance and play right there on the floor beside the tables, which makes you feel almost like part of the show. I particularly liked the bandoneonero and the two dancers, who beautifully evoked the soulful sound of tango, which was emphasized even more because of the very dim lighting. I’ve put some photos of the iside here.
You might be wondering what the surprise bonus was. Well …
While some of us were taking advantage of a photo opp with the dancers (see the end of the first video), I told him I actually wanted to dance. He didn’t say anything at the time, but before the end of the show I looked up to find him in front of me, giving me a cabeceo — invitation to dance!
I separated Joanna’s video of this, as I didn’t want to put it beside the real dancers, but take a look and let me know what you think.
Of course if I had realized I was going to be part of the show, I would have worn my tango shoes!
We still have a lot of bares notables to see, but it will be hard to top that one just for the experience! See the videos below.
Last night was movie night again with Venetia and Raul. This has been a Wednesday night thing for them for a long time, and I’m happy they’ve now included me. I’m not a lifelong movie lover, and when I do go it’s usually because a friend has invited me — thanks to you too, Grace!
The Shape of Water won four Oscars, including Best Picture.
It’s a fantasy about a marine creature that is brought to a top-secret government laboratory in 1962. It is befriended by a lonely young woman, who eventually teams up with a few friends to save it from a nasty fate. Along the way, there is lots of emotional exploration, and a quiet humour that I enjoyed.
The firm is beautifully staged, evoking the times through noire sets, nasty villains and sharp social commentary. The underlying theme of acceptance of “other” is a lesson for today as well as the sixties.
My friends liked this movie more than I did. Despite all its great qualities, I found it dragged. I was quite bored a couple of times, and all in all I think it could have been better told in an hour. But I did love the sea creature!
Last night I had a new experience, as I was the guest author at the InterNations book group here in Buenos Aires. My friend Lola is the “consul” for this group and she set it up. As I’ve never done an author reading before, I was a little nervous, but it was a friendly group and all turned out well.
Lola hosted the group in her lovely home in Palermo, and the malbec was flowing freely — this might have contributed to the interesting discussions sparked by the extracts I chose from the book!
Later today Venetia and I are doing some “research” at another cafe notable. Stay tuned.