Tango

Ah, the tango. Who can talk of Argentina without mentioning the tango?

There's a flourishing market for glitzy, touristy tango shows, with prices ranging from A$250 to A$500 or more per person, for transportation, dinner, and a show. I'm glad to say I've never been to one.

Back in 2007, during our first extended stay in Buenos Aires, Terri and I discovered the Borges Cultural Center, next to, and in the same building as, Galerías Pacífico, an upscale shopping mall in central Buenos Aires. The Borges center has exhibition galleries for art and photography, and several small theatres for music performances.

Two years ago we saw Anoche: Un Baile de Tango there and fell in love with the tango. The only turistas in a very enthusiastic Argentine crowd, we were stunned by the beauty and intensity of the dance and the music. It was that performance that got me to thinking of Buenos Aires as not just a travel destination but a second home.

Last night, in the evening of a perfect day, we went to the Borges center to see El color de mi baile, featuring Luis Pereyra and Nicole Nau dancing with Horacio Banegas and his son Jana providing the music.

Try YouTube to to get a small glimpse of what we saw.

How do I say it? We were stunned, overwhelmed, awestruck. I have seen some greats in my day: Igor Stravinsky conducting, in Louisville in 1966; Steve Reich, on several occasions; Baryshnikov and Twyla Tharp, at SMU; Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, at Armadillo World Headquarters; Blue Man Group, in NYC, Chicago, and Las Vegas; Cirque dul Soleil in Las Vegas; David Byrne and Talking Heads at Palmer Auditorium in Austin; and in Paris, Daniel Roth at St. Sulpice and Jean Guillou at St. Eustace. Seeing them, and now these tango dancers and musicians, have made me glad to have been alive at this time, in this place.