12 March, 2012

Opening milonga of CITA festival

After Milonga at Plaza Dorrego, I quickly came back to my apartment. My apartment is just 2 blocks away from Plaza Dorrego in one direction and another 2 blocks from Dandi Mansion where CITA festival takes place. 
I quickly changed for more formal milonga- the opening night milonga of CITA festival. It was in Nino Bien, Humberto Primo, 1462. Again close to my apartment. I chose the location of my apartment such that I am close by to all these places. I can walk back in between the classes of the festival, get some rest, eat some food etc. 


Tonight the highlight was that Mingo Pugliese also performed. Read about Mingo here and here.  Then the following teachers were on the floor. 

  • Fabián Salas & Lola Díaz
  • Mariano "Chicho" Frúmboli & Juana Sepúlveda
  • Eduardo Cappussi & Mariana Flores
  • Adrián Veredice & Alejandra Hobert
  • Mariano Otero & Alejandra Heredia
  • Cecilia González & Somer Surgit
  • Christian Márquez & Virginia Gómez
  • Rodrigo Palacios & Agustina Berenstein
  • Paz Giorgi
  • Lucila Cionci & Rodrigo "Joe" Corbata
People from various countries were intermingling with each other. There were people from Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Egypt, US, etc. I am of course, the only participant from India. No other Indian is there. 
As you enter any Milonga, a waiter escorts to your seat. That becomes your permanent seat during the whole milonga. You go and sit in your assigned seat after every Tanda. Today, people from the same country were being made to sit together. And each table had a country tag on it. Since, I was the only one from my country, the waiter was giving me a very bad table. Right at the dead corner of the room. He told me that every other table was taken. I went and sat with the maestros. It was a blessing in disguise.
Today I saw all levels of people on the floor. Beginners, advance, super advance, maestros. There was a live band and live singer that played Tango and milonga music. 
 Japanese, Chinese, Koreans had come in groups and stuck to their own partners. Bad dancers from Indonesia and Egypt.
Today I also danced with the teacher Guillermo Alio. Like many other teachers who have met me, he also suggested and asked me that why I do not do teachers training to teach Tango. Well, that I will discuss in another post as to why I do not do that. But then, he gave another interesting proposal. He said that I should teach Yoga for Tango. That I can and will start during my stay in BA only.
Today I got to know that after BA, Berlin has the second biggest tango community in the world. 
Thankfully, today I could speak to people in English. People from US of course spoke English.
Milongas here end at about 5AM and from 10 AM, the classes start. They are followed by practicas and then again a milonga. We breathe and eat Tango here.