[Tango-L] Tourists, porteños, plata plata plata

[Deby Novitz]

First and foremost, thank you Caroline for your astute comments.  
Second, how can anyone no matter how you come to Buenos Aires, and in 
whatever manner you choose to spend your money here, compare themselves 
with someone who probably lives on 400 - 600 pesos a month.  At the 
least a person coming here will spend $1700 - $1800.  Money you do not 
need to spend, money you want to spend on something you love to do.  If 
you choose not to come here, you would probably still have a pretty 
decent life in whatever city you live in.  The fact that you can even 
spend the money to come here says it all.

In my original post I was not talking about teachers who market to the 
foreign market.  People who charge in USD and upwards of $100 USD for a 
private lesson.  If someone is stupid enough or desires to pay those 
prices fine.  With regards to the bad teachers who charge $50 USD for 
privates, what about the bad teachers in the US who charge $100?  No one 
is forcing anyone to take those lessons. So why get so upset about it?  
Just because it is here?  Like it is OK to have bad teachers and bad 
dancers in the U.S. but not here?  Nah...it is just a part of life.  
There are opportunists everywhere.

What I was talking about is the reason why there are less people in the 
milongas.  The people who come to dance are not all teachers.  The 
majority are not.  These retired guys live on 400 -600 pesos a month. 
(If that, some do not have even this much to live on.)  The average 
Argentine lives on 800 pesos a month.  Do the math, a room in a pensione 
is 100 pesos a month.  A studio that no one on this list would live in 
might go for 300 pesos.  Can you eat for 10 pesos a day?  With inflation 
it is almost impossible.  Food and a room alone is $400 pesos.  Bus 
fare?  Subte?  How about doing your laundry in the sink?  Medical care 
is free here, but glasses, medication, and hearing aids are not.  What 
about clothes?  Shoes? You wonder why they don't go to dance?  Because 
they can't.  Tango is a luxury regardless of where you live.

Teachers, dancers, and musicians.  You think they all run around getting 
rich off of people who come here?  Most of the dancers and teachers I 
know scratch for the rent every month.  Most have other work so they can 
eat.  Some of the most talented people I know barely earn 1000 pesos.  
Most of the people I know charge 100 pesos or less for private lessons 
and will gladly give you a discount if you take several.  They don't 
speak English, they don't know how to market themselves, but they know 
how to teach and dance.  For these people and the people who make up 
"our" tango community a trip out of the country costing even $1800 pesos 
let alone dollars would be nothing more than a dream.