So one of the things on our bucket list for this trip was to see and maybe try the tango. And we did it the past 2 nights. Michelle got 6 tickets at Cafe Tortoni, a famous coffee house where many famous portenos (name BA residents call themselves because most immigrants arrived through the port here) and visitors to BA have hung out in the past. They also have a tango show. We treated May, Susie and Jose Luis to the show and dinner upstairs after the show. The musicians, a pianist, cellist, accordian player (they have another name for it), and bass player were terrific! There were maybe 5 male and 5 female dancers sort of showing/telling the history of tango, a dance developed in the brothels of La Boca, the port area where the immigrants all started. I think I´ve mentioned before this is a country of immigrants. It´s so startling to meet someone, like our guide yesterday on the bus who has the most striking light green eyes!! Most of the immigrants were Italians and Spanish. Then French, other Europeans, even Russians.
Anyway the tango show was enjoyed by all. We then had our 3rd bottle of wine at the end with just May and walked her back to her car and said good-bye! They were all leaving the next day for the weekend in Uruguay!
At our hostel they had a tour we signed up for last night where they took us to a different club for a 1 hour lesson that was such fun! The teacher was excellent - with about 30 of us in the big group but he got us all doing the 6 step box step, the figure 8 movement and then the ¨tango face pose!¨It was pretty funny! We had a hard time with the figure 8 as we had rubber soles and that doesn´t work so well! But we got our certificate for our first tango lesson!
Next we went upstairs to a small intimate dinner theatre where we were all seated around the stage for good viewing! And the dancers came out in the aisles to dance as well. We had salads, beef dinner and a wonderful pear in wine and lemon ice dessert! And the wine kept coming! The show began with dessert! There was an older singer sort of telling the story (of course, all in Spanish!) and 3 couples dancing. Plus the violinist, accordian player (both women), pianist and I forget the other musician! After having had the lesson, it was such fun to kind of recognize the steps (although they did it MUCH better, and in slinky dresses, with lots of lifts!!). We all thought this was a much better show and all inclusive deal than the previous night at the more famous touristy place! But it was fun to do both. My friend Pat (see the China part of this blog!) has a son Ray who has been a writer for Lonely Planet travel books. He runs a tango school on the Cape and we just saw a YouTube interview of him talking about the tango and how he got interested! I´ll have to check it out when I get home!!
Our last couple of days was spent shopping at handicraft markets for gifts, going on a way too long tour of the Casa de Rosada where the President works, and then an interesting tour this a.m. of the Teatre de Colon, the gorgeous recently renovated Opera House here said to be only surpassed by La Scala in Milan. I had done a tour of the Met in NY recently and hoped we´d get to see backstage and below stage where all the costumes, wigs, sets, etc. are constructed. But no luck! But what we did see was gorgeous - newly added gilt causing everything to glitter! There were two places where they left a spot on the wall to show what the color had changed over the years before the restoration, and a piece of the gilted trim. They were almost black!! It took almost 6 years to renovate, 4 years of which the Opera House was completely closed and many people lost their jobs, the guide said. Maria Callas, Placido Domingo, etc. have all performed here! When it opened in 1908, they were trying to make BA the Paris of SAmerica! So Italian, French and finally a Belgian architect designed and built this. The first two both died at 44, the second one killed by his wife´s lover, the butler!! So it was said the Opera House was cursed! The Belgian was 45 and single! So he finished it, and you can see the influence of all 3 designs. Instead of columns of all marble, the middle part was made of stucco, looking like marble, not to save money (BA was the wealthiest country in the world at this time as they had just figured out how to freeze the beef and send to Europe!) but it gave warmth to the building. Marble holds the cold, and you could feel the difference.
Also interesting in the boxes around the main floor, about 5 of them had black parts, where widows used to be able to come and hear, but not see, the opera. They had to be in mourning for 2 years but this let them get out, with a separate entrance so no one could see them coming or going. Our guide said the widowers were out in public finding another wife!! :)
That´s all from Buenos Aires! It´s been a great trip and I am ready to be home for awhile!!
Ciao!
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