Le Journal Français: Back from Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires was amazing but exhausting! It has taken me this long to recover! Eight flights, surviving on aprox 5hrs sleep a night, Dancing from 5pm until sometimes 2-3am and erratic mealtimes...worth every bag under each eye!

BUT..that was the whole point of this amazing experience......A group of sixteen Brits plus our very own Tango professor Liliana Tolomei went to BA to improve our tango dancing with REAL Argentinian tango dancers! - followed by a British film crew...watch out for the forthcoming Documentary in November......do hope my feeble contribution ends up on the cutting room floor!
And Yes...... this lot can tango beautifully...at this moment in time they are in 'tourist' mode and are not wearing the right shoes!!

Wonderful, polite and welcoming Argentinians....even the Women, who knew instinctively that when we walked through the Milonga doors....all ten of us girls......their dances were numbered...and in some cases they sat all night without any!! So a big thank you to you Argentinian ladies...you were so gracious to us. They even complimented us on our dancing and thought we were very pretty. Gracias!

There is a saying that Argentinians are really Italian, living in Argentina but would like to be British!!

Milonga can refer to an Argentinian, Uruguayan and Southern Brazilian form of music which preceeded the tango and the dance form which accompanies it, or to the term for places where the tango or Milonga are danced

Rules of the Dance

For all the tango's spontaneity, there are also strict rules. Men and Women sit at opposite sides of the dance floor. Couples dance in a counterclockwise direction -- circling the dance floor and respecting each others space. Out of courtesy, partners dance with each other for an entire set -- usually four songs called a 'Tanda'.

There's even a specific signal men will give women when they want to dance. It's called the cabeza - a very discreet nod of the head.

"I look at the woman and she looks back at me and if she's interested she'll give a nod."

The tango is not just about how well you dance but how good you look doing it. For a woman, there is nothing more important than her shoes -- they need to be flashy but functional. That classic ankle strap is not only sexy but it also keeps a woman from sliding out of her shoes.

For men, tango shoes should have thin, smooth soles to slide across the floor. Black and red are tango colors.

The weather was perfect (first two weeks in August)...their winter but to us it was like a beautiful spring day...hot in the sunshine and cool in the shade.

We even managed a bit of sightseeing but only around the city and that was big enough! A good excuse to return as there is soooo much to see. Not to mention returning for all those wonderful, scary, fun and informative Milongas we attended and for those amazing Argentinian men who tangoed us around the floor for 14 nights!! Muchas gracias! Muy bien.

Will let the few pictures that I post tell you more....I took about a thousand but don't worry I will spare you and post only a selection:-).

This was a very moving picture - a collage of hundreds of tiny photos of some of 'the disappeared'. Young men and women kidnapped from their homes, in the street and work, tortured, raped, murdered and never seen again! Let us not forget them or their families- the children that grew up without their parents! Their mothers still parade in front of the Casa Rosada - La Plaza de Mayo every Thursday, holding their loved ones photographs.

Mothers of the Disappeared is a symbolic work of pain, absence and human dignity. Adandia's stark portraits of mothers who lost their sons and daughters during the years of military dictatorship in Argentina are juxtaposed with photographs of the sites where the tragedies took place.

Between 1976 and 1983, known as the "Dirty Years" in Argentine's history, over 30,000 Argentineans went missing under the corruption and crime of dictatorial reign. The mothers of these disappeared came together in solidarity and protest, demanding truths, covering their heads with the white linen of their lost ones. The ritual continues to this day. Every Thursday afternoon, the mothers, now old women, join together to walk in a circle around Argentina's most symbolic site of freedom, the Plaza de Mayo, wearing the white scarves that represent the memory of human loss. Adandia pays homage to these mothers as the protagonists of social justice. His essay builds upon the scars of Argentine's history, the pursuit of human rights, and the bonds of a mother's love that may reconstruct social truth.

"Mothers Of The Disappeared"

Midnight, our sons and daughters
Were cut down and taken from us
Hear their heartbeat...
We hear their heartbeat
In the wind
We hear their laughter
In the rain
We see their tears
Hear their heartbeat...
We hear their heartbeat
Night hangs like a prisoner
Stretched over black and blue
Hear their heartbeat...
We hear their heartbeat
In the trees
Our sons stand naked
Through the walls
Our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall.

Yes I WAS there!.......me and my shadow. Well, that is the lot of a photographer I suppose.......always behind the lens!

So why did you think I went to BA!! To buy shoes of course and yes I bought THREE pairs..photos to follow:-)) (oops!! did I say only one pair to you Mike!!)

Milonga Sunderland.

Counting their takings at the end of the evening.

The largest avenue in BA...'Avenida 9 de Julio'---24 lanes! Can take up to 20 minutes to cross!

Anyone for a pizza...on your bike!

Apart from daily Milongas we also attended dance classes too!! This one was a particular beautiful venue.

The Tango festival began the day we left!! Drat!!

Street Entertainers.

Galeria Pacifico... a large shopping mall for tourists and well-off Argentinians!

Quite a lot of flower stalls which make the street corners look very attractive.

Wooden cats and plastic frogs!

Front end of a horse and back end of a cow...hmmm...well, what can one say! Nay moore!

We visited a parilla (barbecue) to taste Argentian meat....and pancreas and intestines....yuk!

Food and Drink! Quite a bit of meat left over after our visit to this Parilla (barbecue)! it made you feel so guilty when you are aware of so much poverty around! Fortunately it was bagged up and we distributed it to those who needed it most!

A fabulous starter at Café Angelitos where we went to watch a tango show.

Beautiful hands holding champagne.

Old tea/coffee dispenser!

Casa Minima..... a tiny house owned by slaves!

La Casa Mínima or Minute House, is the only remaining example of a freedman’s lodging in Buenos Aires and provides adults and children with an insight into life in colonial Argentina. Built in the early 19th century, the Casa Mínima were constructed adjacent to a slave owner's residence and housed their freed slaves. And at 2.17 meters (7.12 feet) wide by 13 meters deep (42.5 feet) the Minute House is clearly minimal.

No reason for posting other than I love the blue sky and the white of the building..very Greek?

The English Tower! The 76m Torres de los Ingleses was a donation by the City's English community in 1916. During the Falklands War in 1982, the tower was a target for bombs; since then the Plaza in which it stands has been renamed the Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina - Air Force Plaza!

So that's where they went!!

Carlos Gardel, Eva Peron and Maradona...who else!!

Amazing and colourful murals in San Telmo.

Gardel statue outside 'Abasto'- another large shopping mall where tourists and well off Argentinians shop.

Gardel's guitar and piano in the Gardel Museum.

'Mi Noche Triste' My sad night- Carlos Gardel.. the first Tango tune with lyrics to be put onto vinyl! With Mi Noche Triste, the birth of sentimental tango took place. Nostalgic, melodramatic, sad, the new lyrics and the music that was created for them, embodied Buenos Aires and its people. Contursi wrote a melodramatic story that rejected lovers could identify with.

'At night when I go to bed,
I leave my door open deluding myself that you will come back!'

Los Angelitos...first Tango Band.

Confiteria Ideal - Beautiful but neglected old building!

We also went to a Gay Milonga.....fabulous dancers!

Beautiful dance floor in Confiteria Ideal. Used for filming as it is the most beautiful place to Milonga the night away! However, it is used for tourists mainly and does not have the authentic feeling of an Argentinian Milonga!

Milonga Grisel and Maipu.

Milonga Canning.

Dancing en plein air at San Telmo - Plaza Dorego

I loved the dancing outside.

Casa Rosada...La Plaza Mayo....the balcony where Eve Peron made her famous speech.

Off to quell the protesters!

This was a protest about 'hunger'!! 'No More Hunger'... so many poor people finding it hard to buy food. Argentina is one of the biggest exporters of meat and yet the majority of its people cannot afford to buy it!

Some amazing wall art around the streets.....just a small example.

Fabulous retro shop..I could have got lost in there for days but sadly only had half an hour!! Next time!!

For those of you who know my penchant for dresses and brightly coloured stockings!!

One of the many 'Dog Walkers' in BA...a big source of income...they walk up to ten dogs at a time!! and they don't fight either...nor do the dogs!!

OOps!! Just missed the pictures! Well, a boy's got to do what a boy's got to do!! but in DENIM!!

The latest in Doggie wear..does my bum look big in this??

The ultimate 'doggy Bag'!! Taking Kitty for a ride!

The colourful town of La Boca - famous for its painted houses and football team. Although a tourist draw it is still a residential area. Many of the houses are made of slatted wood and corrugated iron...painted with whatever colour paint they can find! It is very jolly and must help to lift their spirits as it is also an area of extreme poverty!