[Tango-L] Tango and Politics

[Shahrukh Merchant]

In case anyone had any lingering doubts as to whether Tango is really 
Argentine, Argentina now has, or presumably will soon have, its very own 
Tango Political Party. Seems like the next logical step in the evolution 
of the Tango, no?

At the website of the "Partido Político Tango" (www.pptango.com.ar), 
they state that the formal filing was done on June 30th of this year. 
The site contains a motley set of links with vaguely populist themes 
(mostly from what must have been a burst of energy between May and July 
2007). There are also links to the Argentine constitution and a set of 
Apartment Regulations for, of all places, Colombia (go figure ...).

In case anyone thinks that this is just another cheap attempt to 
capitalize on the name of Tango® by someone who knows nothing about it, 
Mr. Ricardo Montesino, the founder of this party, is also the founder of 
the still-active 42-year-old "Bar Sur" in San Telmo (one of the somewhat 
less touristy Tango show venues), so his Tango credentials are genuine.

His political credentials are no doubt developing, though a good start 
may be to change the classification of "Partido Político Tango" on his 
LinkedIn page, where he is listed as the "Owner" [sic], from 
"Entertainment Industry" to something else, although one could argue 
that "Entertainment Industry (With Possibly Significant Collateral 
Damage)" may not be a bad classification for most political parties (and 
not just in Argentina ...). But we digress.

You may read an interview of Mr. Montesino at 
http://www.bar-sur.com.ar/prensa-notamontesino40aniv.html. And you 
should definitely try to visit Bar Sur when you are in Buenos Aires, 
even if you don't see a show there.

Shahrukh