[Tango-L] nothing as "confiteria style"

[Alberto Gesualdi]

Carmencita Calderon, in one of her last interviews, said that there was nothing like the "styles", that the tango she danced in Puente Alsina was the same than she danced downtown and/or any other neighbourhood, and that they do not called it "orillero" or "milonguero" , or else . 

Their last words on the interview, referring to the tango she learn to dance on the 30's were " we danced tango with "corte" . What is corte ?? and what is quebrada ??

Corte, was the moment when the dancing couple stop in a beating of the music . Quebrada, when they dissociate their bodies, maybe the hips, with two different movements, one for the woman, another for the man.

Confiteria style, is a meaningless word, it does not offer any other information to the dance than the word" salon style " or " open air style" . The references to the dancing places as confiteria, salon, club social , open air ....   is more relate to the type of place, the kind of people that could be expected to found inside , and a general reference to the furniture and / or beverages , refreshments  and food that could be found.

The Confiterias of Buenos Aires, were places where usually coffee, tea, cakes, and some hors d'  ouvre were served.They were different from the cafeteria or bars , not in a definite classification or arrangement, for many reasons, one of them, the confiterias may have a pastry and lunch catering area , and some bakery on their own. 

The cafeterias and bars, may have a more simple cook offer, but as said before, it is not a definite rule, some cafeterias used to, and have today, their own bakery and kitchen.


Besides Confiteria Ideal, there are some other Confiterias, like

Las Violetas, on Rivadavia y Medrano. Lately their quality of attendance has drop, waiters are not efficient and polite as usual,. Anyway , their vitreaus are still worth looking. Usually there is no tango dancing since the place is crowded with tables.

Cafe Tortoni. Avenida de Mayo 825 . This is one of the cases where a cafeteria started on his own to prepare and serve food , It is the oldest cafeteria in Buenos Aires, opened on 1893 on Avenida de Mayo 829 ( today the Academia de Tango is there) . It has tango shows , expensive, for tourist. Not dancing , save some "tourist for export" invitation on Alfonsina Storni venue , when the dancers enter into the audience to take someone to dance. The Academia del Tango meets on his cellar ,once in a month. There are good jazz music also, maybe some tango ( Sans Souci orchestra used to play at the cellar, too)

Confiteria del Molino . Rivadavia y Callao /( actually closed)

I can speak of this confiteria firsthand, since I have my wedding party on 1978, here. The ground floor has a confiteria / cafeteria, and there were some music on weekends, jazz, tangos, people used to dance . On the first floor they hire salons for weddings, birthdays,etc.. Actually, the town hall uses one of the salons for some special venues, not on a regular basis.

And ... this is it , there are no more confiterias old fashion, as this mentioned.

There are of course, pleny of places to have a coffee, the so called "bares notables / notorius pubs" , that are sponsored by the town hall, around 80 to 100 places scattered around the city of Buenos Aires ,


The only confiteria style I have ever known , was the dodging of the waiters with their orders across the salon, they do have an elegant style not to hit anybody :)


alberto

p.s. some cafeterias old fashion used to have a mezzanine (a platform of concrete attached to the wall ), where the musicians placed to play the music. It was not very confortable. One of the last ones I see was on Cafeteria Argos at Federico Lacroze and Alvarez Thomas, now the place is closed also.


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