[Tango-L] Report on the Tango Festival & Mundial Buenos Aires 2011 (Report No. 2)

[Shahrukh Merchant]

Thanks for the comments from those who found this report interesting 
(Ilene, Alberto, Trini, ...).

Before I report on my visit of yesterday, let me comment on this 
response to the list by Trini:

>  It sounds like incorporating this time of year would be a good idea for a trip.
>  I'm at the point where I'm more interested in the music than the dancing ...

I would absolutely recommend this. There were at least two years in the 
past where I had the opportunity to attend the events and neglected to 
do so. I think my reason was that I poo-poohed all the drama and 
posturing surrounding the dance competitions, which in Tango dancing 
circles at least were the most talked-about part of the festival. And I 
ended up throwing out the baby with the bath-water. It's really a Tango 
cultural climax, and Argentines, young and old, who are interested in 
Tango, take it very seriously and turn up in droves to attend (and not 
only because it's free, though certainly many of them would find it a 
hardship paying theatre prices for shows of this calibre).

So check the dates for next year and make your plans! You will see 
another side of Tango, if you have been mostly exposed to the 
dance-related side and the industry that has cropped up surrounding 
that, and will appreciate Tango in a distinct light. My reports can only 
give a glimpse of this, as it's hard to convey the "energy" of an event 
with words, and besides I'm attending a small fraction of all the events 
that are being held, and not reporting on all of them either.

So on to my visit yesterday (Friday): I stopped by (on a cold and 
drizzly day) mainly to go to the performance of the Orchestra of Horacio 
Salgán.

Now, as César Salgan, his son, and the leader of this orchestra said, 
the last time the orchestra of Horacio Salgán played was 30 years ago! 
So of course, it's a "reconstruction" orchestra, comprising:

- The 5 members of Quinteto Real (piano, bass, bandoneón, guitar, violin).
- Three additional bandoneonistas, 3 additional violinists, a viola, and 
a cello -- these were all young musicians, and clearly not playing (in 
some cases perhaps not even born) 30 years ago.
- Four of the five invited bandoneon greats: Leopoldo Federico, Néstor 
Marconi, Ernesto Baffa (unable to attend for health reasons), Julio Pane 
& Juan José Mosalini.

This last group of invited bandoneon maestros performed only one at a 
time, in one number each, replacing the Quinteto Real bandoneonista, 
except for the closing piece in which they all played together a piece 
by Piazzolla (Verano Porteño, if I remember correctly)--4 bandoneon 
greats side by side with 4 future greats (as César referred to them), 
and about 9 other musicians. That brought the crowd to its feet!

An aside: Horacio Salgán himself, as I had mentioned, is still living at 
95 and in fact was scheduled to appear and listen to "his" orchestra 
playing for the first time 30 years later--that would certainly have 
been a very emotional moment. Unfortunately, as César explained, owing 
to the blustery weather that evening, and to his frailty, it was 
reluctantly decided not to bring him.

Related aside: Leopoldo Federico was assisted to his seat and was 
noticeable hunched (neither of which I had noticed a year ago), but 
still played with vigour. And he still has a relatively active 
performance schedule. I already mentioned that Ernesto Baffa was unable 
to perform for health reasons.

You get the picture--don't delay your Tango musical experience trip to 
Buenos Aires. Alberto Podestá (yes, the original) still performs 
regularly but this cannot last indefinitely either. While I'm not a fan 
of packaged experiences, in this case I think the packaging adds to the 
experience. Check the dates for 2012 (August again I believe) and plan 
to show up. Most of the events run from 2 pm to 10 pm (midnight on 
weekends), though the main ones are in the evenings, and you can still 
go to milongas every night if you really want to, and do other stuff 
around the city when you need a break from Tango.

After the Salgán performance, I didn't stick around for the "Piazzolla 
plays Piazzolla" performance (had heard Daniel Piazzolla, the grandson, 
some months earlier at a Jazz Club) but checked out instead the "Fiesta 
Electrónica" at the smaller space next door. It had a more club-like 
ambience, with Tango electrónico playing, a few people dancing but 
mostly standing on the dance floor and, as one might expect, a mostly 
younger crowd. At one point there was a very good modern-dance 
performance by an unbilled couple. So the festival is not just a series 
of trips down nostalgia lane, but also represents the contemporary tango 
scene of Buenos Aires.

Tonight (Saturday) has some other wonderful performances, including the 
orchestra of Leopoldo Federico and that of El Arranque, and even a 
seminar of sorts for Tango collectors, but I will be missing them all, 
owing to other plans (it *is* Saturday night ...), so the next edition 
of this report will probably be on Monday.

Shahrukh