Thursday 11 December 2008

Tango and the port

Having finished writing up ESMA, I decided I needed some tango, so I went to El Arranque, an afternoon milonga in central Buenos Aires. It's a big, slightly gloomy place, but it has a certain charm. For the most part it's for senior citizens: everyone else is working at 3pm. People go there to drink a coffee, read the papers, meet old friends and have a bit of a dance. There must have been more than twice as many men as women, and they don't have to face each other over the dance floor: there are a lot of tables, and you get shown to one, pretty much at random, I think. Very courteous, rather slow tango, and not great dancing, but a relaxing, gentle atmosphere. It would be a great place to go to with a partner for a practica as the floor was never crowded.

Having finished my coffee I decided I needed some daylight. It was around 5pm, and there was a cool fresh breeze, so I made my way down to the docks. The breeze was coming in off the sea, fresh and slightly humid and the light was fantastic, absolutely clear and fresh. Made photos, and on the way back came across a street conjurer, and photographed the faces watching him. A good day.

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