[Tango-L] IV Campeonato Mundial de Tango -- Saturday Night--Live at the Salon Tango finals -- Part I

[Janis Kenyon]

I arrived by bus at La Rural around 7:00pm.  A long line had already formed
from the gates along Avenida Santa Fe.  I met a group of dancers from the
milongas, and one of them asked if I had an extra ticket.  I did, so I gave
it to her. Then I went to the end of the line.  A group from Colombia, who
came to cheer for their friends in the finals, were in line behind me.  They
weren't dressed adequately for the winter winds that night, so I offered the
blanket I always bring along for comfort on the bleachers.  The Argentine
next to me in line was talking to his girlfriend by cell phone, telling her
where to find him in line.  I saw her coming toward us and waved her over.
She greeted me like a friend with a kiss as she joined us in line.

At 7:30pm the line begins to move for the competition is to be at 8:00pm.
Nothing begins on time. The line was around the corner along Avenida
Sarmiento, confirming that once again this was the hottest free ticket in
town to have--that is, if you arrived early enough to get one.  As we were
closer to the entrance gates, a man asked me if I had a ticket.  He then
explained he drove 275 km that morning to arrive at La Rural for a ticket,
but he was in a long line and all tickets were exhausted before he could get
one.  I regretted that I had already given away my extra ticket.  Later I
learned that the other pavilion was set up with closed-circuit video for the
overflow crowd, so I knew that the man and many others weren't turned away
this year as had been done in the past.   Upon entering the domain of La
Rural, five security guards checks every person's ticket to verify them as
authentic for that night's event.  This slowed the process of getting 5,000
people into the pavilion, but security was tighter than ever.

By the time I entered the pavilion, a thousand were already seated on the
main floor and up in the bleachers.  My favorite seating was the center of
the bleachers, so I sought out my spot once again, high enough to see over
all the technical equipment with a clear view of the entire stage.  I
wouldn't have traded my bleacher seat with the fans for Robert Duvall's
front row seat anyday.   We may have been packed in like sardines in a tin
can, but we were all happy to be elbow to elbow together.  It wasn't long
before I discovered that the woman seated next to me was from Houston,
Texas, a new tango dancer who came to see the championship.  She got my
play-by-play commentary and first-hand translation during the entire
evening.  A very tall man occupied the space at her feet, who seemed to fall
asleep.  Later it was obvious something  serious happened since he was
unconscious and foaming at the mouth.  I asked the young woman next to me to
go for help.  In minutes firemen on duty came to escort him out of the
pavilion.  By then he had regained consciousness and protested being
removed.  He wasn't interested in the dancing, so we were relieved he was
gone for the night.

The judges were: Elina Roldan, Pancho Pey, Eduardo Aquimbau, Milena Plebs,
Graciela Gonzalez, Alejandra Martinian, and Pedro (Tete) Rusconi.  Two other
judges were on stage: Juan Manuel Fernandez and Gachi Fernandez, in some
capacity.  It's the first time I've seen Tete as a judge, although he may
have judged the qualifying rounds.  The judges are members of the Asociacion
de Maestros, Bailarines y Coreografos de Tango Argentino and teachers at the
Escuela Argentina de Tango and Escuela de Tango de la Asociacion.  Tete must
be a new member or he was made an honorary member to be a judge.

There were three rounds for the 38 couples in the finals after hundreds in
the qualifying rounds cut to 108 in the semifinals.  The recorded music was
almost the same used last year, although the nondanceable tangos by Color
Tango, Orquesta Escuela del Tango, and Sexteto Major were not on the play
list--finally!!  I could make up a list of the music and put it on Tango-L
for anyone interested in competing.  Sergio Cortazzo has finally eliminated
the new orchestras from his selections for the campeonatos.  He
is learning that to get people to dance their best, they need danceable
music appropriate for salon tango.  Vida Mia by Fresedo, Emancipacion by
Pugliese, Milongueando en los 40s by Troilo, and Bahia Blanca by Di Sarli
are always used, and the list basically hasn't changed in four years of
competition.

Maria Nieves and Miguel Angel Zotto performed what was presented as tango de
salon on stage between rounds.  Maria started out in the milongas before she
began her stage career in the 1950s with Juan Carlos Copes.  They married
and divorced, but enjoyed 40 years together on stage.  Her performance last
year with Junior was great, so I decided I had to film her performance this
year.  This great lady of tango will be 72 on September 6.   She places each
step and still has the legs of a dancer.  She managed to deal with the poor
stage surface, and she kept up with Zotto (48).  Miguel has been on stage
too many years to know how to dance simply for one's partner.  He still has
no sense of rhythm, takes very longs steps, and does his tricks for
attention.  He tripped and recovered.  I can't tell if he lost his balance
in a turn or the floor surface was the problem.  Maria Nieves has never had
another partner after splitting with Copes, but I've seen her dance an
exhibition with El Flaco Dany where they danced salon tango.

It was a real treat to hear Ariel Ardit, who used to sing with Orquesta El
Arranque, but a year ago decided to sing on his own with a duo.  He has to
be the finest young tango singer in Buenos Aires today.  His style is
effortless and he carefully chooses tangos for his repertoire.  He's the
Raul Beron of the 21st century.  Tango is fortunate to have him performing
and recording for surely he will attract a young audience with his
interpretations of the classics.   Cesar Salgan (piano) and Ubaldo De Lio
(guitar) completed the outstanding lineup on the program.  Cesar is
continuing the legacy of his father, Horacio Salgan, composer, director, and
pianist.  It was the Salgan style to perfection.  His father participated in
the Cafe de los Maestros concert at Teatro Colon last Thursday.

The 38 couples were cut down to 16 for two more rounds.  The judges'
deliberation was taking a long time so Ariel kept on singing and singing and
singing.  Too bad the audience thought it was intermission. They were
talking and moving about all during the musical performances.  This was the
first year that the mayor of Buenos Aires and the vice-president of
Argentina were in attendance.  They, along with the judges and 2005 world
winners, presented tropies, flowers and prizes to those who placed in the
top ten.