[Tango-L] Death of tango?

[Shahrukh Merchant]

macfroggy at aol.com wrote:
> I've lived here in BsAs for 7 years and the milongas I go to are just as packed with locals as ever

I do see lower attendance this month, both from tourists ("it's 
off-season for the tourists," is the explanation), but also from locals, 
at the two regular milongas I went to (El Beso on Wed a week ago, and 
last night at Niño Bien). In both cases, it actually made it more 
pleasant to dance--there were certainly enough people that it didn't 
feel dead, though Niño Bien never really felt full all night either. Am 
planning on going to a couple off the tourist radar screen in the next 
couple of weeks, so will report on those.

But I agree that there is no long-term trend downwards in attendance (in 
the quality of the tango, yes, but that's a different story). There are 
waves in attendance that don't have any discernible cause. There are new 
milongas opening (at least one a month, it seems), so clearly there is 
no "milonga depression."

Last Saturday, I went to the milonga of the "Estilo Parque Patricios" 
festival at El Gardel de Medellin (mostly to accompany some friends who 
were going there after the práctica at El Tacuarí). Boy, was that a 
mistake! Packed like sardines with some of the most inconsiderate 
dancing, flailing of limbs and in general poor navigation I've seen in a 
while (including from two of the teachers--well, one was a teacher for 
sure and the other I didn't recognize but was sitting at the teacher's 
table with a "maestro" look about him).

The milongueros of Parque Patricios who have passed on were no doubt 
rolling in their graves to have their name so taken in vain (and no 
current milongueros were in sight). If there is any "Death of Tango" in 
recent evidence in Buenos Aires, that was the closest I came to seeing 
it; but attendance was certainly not lacking, making it all the more 
ominous! (For the record, the regular milonga at El Gardel was very nice 
when I went some months ago, but I would recommend going in a group if 
you don't know people who'll be there.)

On a positive note, a flyer in Niño Bien last night advertises a 
"PractiMilonguero" each Tuesday (for students only), organized by Mónica 
Paz and Chan Park, to:

- familiarize [yourself] with the codes of the milongas in BA
- learn to use the "cabeceo"
- navigate properly on the dance floor [amen!]
- refine your dance
- Enjoy!

with a different "real milonguero" as a special guest each week (see 
PractiMilonguero.wordpress.com).

I haven't been to it, and have no connection to this, but it certainly 
seems like a worthy and well-thought-out project, and I hope is the 
beginning of a trend. (If anyone has been, or ends up going, please post 
your comments ...)

Shahrukh