[Tango-L] Socio-ethical behavior

[Charles Roques]

Vince wrote:

<The manners you highlight, must be reserved to certain milongas in BsAs and
for the locals.  It was not what I observed how they treated the group I was
travelling with to BsAs or to other tourists.  On the whole the men behaved
as men do here in Australia.  Yes I did observe the cabeco in some milongas.>


The traditions are generally as Sergio explained them, not just exceptions at certain milongas, as you have observed.  What has happened over the last 10-15 yrs with the advent of nuevo tango, which is more performance oriented, is a looser protocol about dress and customs and milongas cater to that tango tourist trade because many of these tourists do not even dance traditional tango de salon, but nuevo instead, and are very casual about dress and dance floor etiquette, so the milongas where they go reflect that.  If that is where you go you will not see the same traditions.  Those milongas are becoming more popular.  But many traditional tango de salon dancers there will never go to some of the "new style" milongas, for the same reasons.  What Sergio points out is the way it was for many years and still is in many places.  I know many tango dancers who have gone there and never even gone to Sin Rumbo or Sunderland, even though they are two of the oldest, most famous and traditional milongas, where you will also find some of the greatest dancers like Miguel Zotto or El Chino, and you will see the protocol and etiquette followed.

Where you go and how you behave is greatly influenced by the way you learned. 
Cheers,
Charles