Dancing, everybody dances in South America.
Tango Lesson, Nightmare, and the World’s Most Beautiful Bookstore
South America is a vibrant continent; it’s colourful and lively, with music every where, and it only takes a few people to turn a gathering into a dance party. From Salsa to Merengue, Rumba and Mambo, to Bachata and Tango, the stuffy waltzes of Viennese salons are laughed at, and replaced with what can only be described as sensuous, exuberant and sinuous gyrations. On one of my first nights in Bogota I experienced first hand just how dance is such a huge part of the culture; and it was my intention to finish off my trip to South America with at least an attempt at Tango. As part of the pre-arranged tours I had booked, I had asked for a change in the itinerary, and a subsequent change on the bus tickets, so I was offered an opportunity to attend a Tango class and dinner-dance show in exchange. That became my goal for that evening. In the meantime, I joined my host for another gallop through Buenos Aires in the morning.
“Nightmare of the unjust” painting by Antonio Berni
Nightmare of the Unjust
We visited a large antiques market and browsed through cast-offs from decades past, and wares that were not necessarily old, but definitely quirky or recycled. We found a nice local restaurant to enjoy a late breakfast/early lunch before we went our separate paths for the remainder of the day – I went off to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. The Museo is a wonderful place to explore and enjoy the works of many different artists, including some of Argentina’s greatest artists. One painting which caught my eye was that by Antonio Berni, entitled “Nightmare of the Unjust”. Berni moved across several different styles of art, from Impressionist to Surrealism and Pop Art, and became involved in revolutionary politics while he lived in Europe. The painting I mention here was part of his series created surrounding a fictitious character, Juanita Laguna, and were a commentary on the social injustices he noticed in his home country of Argentina. (Unfortunately I have not been able to find a good description of the work and how it came into being, in English). In an interview shortly before his death, Berni said “Art is a response to life. To be an artist is to undertake a risky way to live, to adopt one of the greatest forms of liberty, to make no compromise. Painting is a form of love, of transmitting the years in art.”1 Art is often an interpretation of life, and many times it is a strong commentary on socio-political situations in a country. It will be interesting to see what Thai artists come up with as commentary on the present situation in the country being ruled by the military.
The interior of El Ateneo – the world’s most beautiful bookstore.
Beautiful Bookstore
From the museum I moved on to the “second most beautiful bookstore in the world” according to The Guardian Newspaper, in Buenos Aires: El Ateneo. Originally designed as a theatre with a seating capacity of slightly over 1,000 people, the Teatro Gran Splendid hosted stage performances before the first sound motion pictures were shown here in 1929. Renovated in 2000, the theatre was converted to a book and music store that sells more than 700,000 books per year, and has more than a million visitors annually. There are a few places I can think of where I wouldn’t mind getting lost for a few days: the New York Met Museum, the Louvre, The British Library, the Smithsonian, and El Ateneo. For several hours I browsed through the vast array of shelves of books and music, stopping only when I realized it was time to move to my Tango lesson and dinner. The only thing holdiong me back from making several purchases was the fact that I would have to carry all that extra weight with me for the rest of my travels before returning to Thailand, and I knew I was already much overweight with all the books that stood boxed and waiting for me in Canada.
It doesn’t look that hard – a chart to Tango on the pavement of Buenos Aires
My Attempt at Tango…
The Tango lesson was interesting, even if I don’t remember a single step of what I learned – I am sure that within 5 minutes I will have it back again if shown. Of course like all anxious students we want to be able to do the most intricate moves within our first 15 minutes of lessons, half-expecting to walk out of the class as certified Tango masters; the truth, unfortunately, is quite a different thing, and even the basics we were taught were difficult enough for uncoordinated gringos such as myself.
Certified beginner at Tango.
We received our certificates of participation after nearly 90 minutes of trial and error, but they were a good 90 minutes, and there was plenty of laughter as we all tried to count, keep our eyes up and looking forward instead of at our feet, and pacing carefully to ensure we didn’t crush our partner’s feet. What followed after the short award ceremony was a dinner and dance performance, and within 30 seconds of the very first dance to be performed it was clear to all of us that even with months of training, we would be severely tested to even get to half the proficiency that was being shown by the dancers. Some routines later in the show simply reinforced the knowledge that where Tango is concerned, to be professionally competent requires years of dedicated practice, not a simple 90-minute intro course – we can all wonder how Al Pacino made it look so good and so easy in “Scent of a Woman”… The evening was a wonderful experience, and we all left slightly inebriated on Argentinian wine, and fully fed on fine Argentinian beef – a perfect state for someone who had to figure out the bus system to get back to his accommodation.
- “Biografia de Antonio Berni”. Olimpiadas Nacionales de Contenidos Educativos en Internet. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
