[Tango-A] Tango Book Review

[Angela Maria Tango]

Hola Tangueros y Tangueras,

In the event that you are planning to getaway and fly south to Buenos Aires,
I would like to share with you my review of a new tango book, "Tango Lover's
Guide to Buenos Aires: Insights and Recommendations" by Migdalia Romero.

I really found this book to a be a little gem. In fact, I wish I had had it
when I first went to BsAs several years ago. I remember my first trips as I
floundered around for too long trying to figure out the lay of the city,
where to go first and what to do next. By the time I figured it out almost a
week had passed. This book would have spared me the grief.

It is filled with valuable information to help tango junkies, like myself,
make the most of their limited time in BsAs. It will also help those lucky
enough to spend more time to savor the music and the dance outside of the
milongas in bars, clubs,restaurants and cultural centers, some of which lie
off the beaten path where most Argentines go. The book covers the milongas,
the schools and the teachers that are highly respected and sought after, the
places to shop for music, shoes, clothes and tango accessories.

But what makes this guide even more special were the vignettes presented by
the author, a reminder of my own personal experience, negotiating the
etiquette of milongas, learning what to do and not to do as not to be
embarrassed, and trying to understand what makes the milonguero in BsAs so
sought after by women all over the world. The portrait of the milonguero
that the author paints indeed is special.

Although I am a native Spanish speaker, I can also see how this book would
be helpful to people who do not speak the language, as it presents the
sprinkling of Spanish terms for vocabulary that travelers, shoppers and
dancers would need to feel comfortable in the Spanish world of tango.

Un abrazo y a la pista!
Angela Maria Suero
NYC