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Since arriving in April 1, I’m 99% certain that every milonga I have attended has had at least one chacarera tanda. And the floor is always full with eager tangueros. Even the floor at La Marshall, the gay milonga, was packed with people who were suprisingly young and full of furver for such a traditional dance. Maybe the young are planning on preserving the traditional roots of tango too. Last night we went out our front door, into the Plaza Dorrego for a bit of tango dancing in the beautiful open air environment of the plaza, and to watch a qualifying heat of the Tango Championships to be held later this year. At the interval of judging, three chacarera tandas were played and the audience and competitors alike jumped at the chance. The old with the young. Over 60 people in two lines in a floor space about half of Brisbane State School venue. It was something to behold – I’ll remember the occassion forever.  So when I get back I’m hoping there’ll be enough interest to get it started again in Brisbane. I’ve included a couple of pics from last night down at the Plaza.

I’ve taken possession of 2 pairs of hand made shoes from Fattomanos here in BA. Unlike previous purchases in recent years, I went for total comfort with complete disregard for style (I’m a bloke by the way). I included  my orthopedic inserts and all into the design. I wanted my broad foot to still feel broad inside the new shoes, and allow me to wriggle the toes, unlike most of my other orders. I indulged myself with an otherwise very bland design, by adding a colour to otherwise totally black shoes. One’s got a splash of grey and when I went to pick them up, blood rushed to my head by the sheer comfort of them on, and I ordered an exact replica but with a splash of red. Took me a couple of weeks to work up the courage for a public appearance. The shoes have made a tremendous difference to my dancing. More comfort and definitely increased balance. Beginning to wonder if pink might be too much!

Compared to my 1st visit, many of the old time locals seem to be ignoring the normal dance floor etiquette on which they used to pride themselves. Maybe the foreign influence has got to them. They’ve just got sick of us gringos muscle-ing them on the floor. Now they quite happily back step up to three steps, perform unsuitable routines on a tight floor, don’t progress with the rest of the floor, weave  in and out and display an increased aggression. Maybe not all that many, but enough of them to affect the dance. I get the feeling they are getting a bit fed up with the continual bomardment of  foreigners.

Ever since my 1st visit to BA in 2007, El Arranque has been my tango home while here in BA. Juan Carlos and the guys are just great.

Tonight there’s the usual free open air milonga in the picturesque Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo Buenos Aires. It’s hosting a qualifying round of the Tango Championships held later this year. In the last week the weather has decidedly developed a winter complexion, so maybe the event won’t attract a lot of entrants or spectators. We’ll wait and see. Pity really as the weather since we arrived April 1 has been T-shirt stuff, day and night; never a cloud in the sky, or a damp moment from rain. That’s quickly changing now.