Tango codes

Those two words have generated heated discussion.  There was a time when we were told that “tango has no rules.”  Eventually we learned that it has rules.  Many refuse to respect them.  They are no more than guidelines that have been in place for all social dancing for decades.  Code is another word for rule.  Games have rules, and so does ballroom dancing.  Tango is a ballroom dance.  Then tango has rules like other social dances.  Like any sport, they establish rules of behavior so everyone can enjoy participating.

1. Dress appropriately.
2. Remember personal hygiene.
3. The man invites the woman.
4. The man leads, remains in control, and protects his partner.
5. Respect the line of dance. 
6. Be aware of others around you.
7. Do not teach on the floor.
8. Apologize to your partner if you step on her foot, and to other dancers if you interrupt their dancing.
9. Escort your partner off the floor.
10. The floor is for dancing, not for conversation.

These rules are part of all ballroom dance instruction.  It’s impossible to learn to dance without learning these rules.  And yet, one organizer in Buenos Aires has found it necessary to announce the line-of-dance rule at his milonga and to enforce it to keep disaster from ocurring.

What sets tango apart from other dances are the unwritten codes of personal behavior that are respected by milongueros.  I found an interesting list of codes on the internet.  I don’t agree with the complete list, but it covers many of the codes observed by milongueros.  These codes are disappearing from use because the milongueros are disappearing from the milongas.

Carlos Alberto Rodriguez

March 28, 1936 –

Although I’ve danced with him over the years, we never had the opportunity to sit down and talk at length about his years in the milongas until November 2007.  He enjoys talking about tango,  and he knows what he’s talking about.  I can always find a difference of opinion among milongueros.  Carlos prefers
holding the woman with his arm lower on her back.  He began dancing at 17 in 1953 and left the milongas for only three years while he was with his wife.  Other than that, he has danced continuously–he is married to the milonga.  He dances at Centro Region Leonesa and Salon Canning.
 

Ernesto Delgado, Luis Ferrari, Carlos Alberto Rodriguez -- Buenos Aires Tango (Milonguero), November 2001

Jose Francisco Pantano

March 24, 1935 –

I came to know Pepe at the Saturday milonguero luncheons at Miguel Angel Balbi’s apartment. I usually brought along my camcorder to record their conversations when everybody was talking at the same time.  Pepe was best man at Miguel Angel’s wedding and his business partner when they ran their first milonga at Palacio Rivadavia in 1956.

Pepe was engaged to be married in his 20s.  One day he met Monica at a dance, and his life changed.  He cancelled the wedding plans with his fiancée and eventually married Monica with whom he raised two daughters.

In February 2000, Pepe came for a visit in Villa Gesell at Miguel Angel’s summer home.  We were sitting at the table one afternoon when Pepe called me Pichi.  He, like many other Argentines, had difficulty pronouncing my name, so he decided to give me the nickname Pichi.  It’s a name by which many know me in the milongas although I haven’t used it for five years.

Ricardo Enrique Cachiero

March 22, 1935 — ?

On January 9, 2001, after the milonga at Lo de Celia, I invited Ricardo and Alito to join me at a cafe on Independencia and Entre Rios to film them talking about their lives in tango.  I didn’t understand what they said at the time of the recording, but I treasure hearing what they said in that hour conversation.  Ricardo is another on the list of milongueros who have disappeared from the milongas.  He moved down south to Villa Gesell several years ago, but he is no longer listed in the telephone book.

Ricardo began dancing tango at 17 with girls in the neighborhood.  He went to dance at Club Huracán in Parque Patricios, Club Oeste, and Club Premier in Caballito.  He said, in part:

If you like tango, you feel tango, you love tango.  When you love tango, your heart lives.  We milongueros can spend all night at the table having a drink and just listening to the music.  Tango for us is primordial. When we’re at home, we turn on the radio to listen to tango.  Tango for me is horrible!!!  I feel it so much.  Dancers like tango; milongueros need to listen to tango, to eat tango.  At this moment, tango is the culmination of my life.  I want to die listening to tango.  I can go to a dance, have a drink and feel nostalgic while listening to the music.  A milonguero loves tango more than any woman.

Maria La Vasca

Maria Rangolla was born in 1866  in the Basque region of France, hence the name La Vasca . The earliest documentation about her was that she had a dance academia on Pozos and Independencia where she got her start as a dancer in 1884.   Maria La Vasca opened her private dance house in 1903, and she was the madam.  Rosendo Mendizábal premiered his tango El Entrerriano (Man from Entre Rios) at Maria’s house, located on what was then called  Europa near the corner of Jujuy in the neighborhood San Cristóbal.  The façade of her house still stands today at Carlos Calvo 2721.  Her partner Carlos Kern (called the Englishman), a well-known dancer in those days, managed the house for Maria from 1903-1909.  In 1914 Juan Carlos Bazán dedicated his tango La Vasca to Maria. 

After reading Hector Benedetti’s article about Maria La Vasca, I had to go and see the house which is six blocks from my home.   The building is now a laboratory with the façade as it was a century ago.  If only the walls could talk, imagine the tales they would tell!

Mario Papasaba

March 16, 1940 –

Mario doesn’t exactly live around the corner from the milongas, so there is no doubt that when he makes the long trip by bus from Quilmes to Lo de Celia he is there to dance.  He and Pedro Sanchez used to share a corner table every Sunday at Lo de Celia.

My favorite table at Celia’s is in the second row next to the bar where I am close enough to ask Dany Borelli about the music.  One evening Mario passed by my table and said, “Troilo con Fiorentino.”  Ever since then I know that Mario will invite me for his favorite tanda–Pichuco con Fiore.  He always says before we dance, “listen carefully.”   

It has been several months since I danced with Mario in Lo de Celia, but I remember the night.  First we danced a tanda of Anibal Troilo.  Dany followed that tanda with tangos of Carlos Di Sarli.  I rarely dance two tandas in a row and never with the same partner.  This was an exception.  I looked in Mario’s direction, and he was looking back at me.  We then danced another wonderful tanda together.  I love dancing in his embrace.

Six months of the year Mario lives in Mar del Plata and the other six months he is in Quilmes.  He goes to dance in both places although Mar del Plata is a far cry from the milongas in downtown Buenos Aires.  In a few more weeks Mario will be returning to dance at Lo de Celia.

Ricardo Suarez

March 14, 1924 –

Dancing certainly keeps Ricardo looking younger than his years.  In 2000, I bought a camcorder for the purpose of filming the milongueros.  Ricardo was the first milonguero we invited talk about his life in tango.  His account of the milongas and orchestras lasted two hours in Miguel Angel Balbi’s apartment. There are three segments for viewing on YouTube, thanks to the editing work by Ricardo Bellozo.  (His daughter Florencia (20) dances with Ricardo Suarez.) I didn’t understand a word Ricardo said at the time of the recording, but I am happy to have had the opportunity to record this interview  so the world could know and listen to a true milonguero. 

His favorite orchestra is Anibal Troilo, and he loves to dance milonga con traspie.   He grew up in San Telmo and started dancing in 1940 after observing for two years.  He works in his electrical repair shop on Estados Unidos.  He never married because he is married to the milonga.  You can find Ricardo dancing on Fridays in Centro Region Leonesa.

Antonio Pisano

March 12, 1931 –

Centro Region Leonesa (December 2000)

I think of Santa Claus when I see Tonino because he’s a jolly old soul.  He was one of the regulars at Club Almagro.  He lives in Villa Urquiza and once owned a restaurant in Mataderos.  I never danced with Tonino, but I have footage of him dancing in Club Juvenil with Rosita’s grand-daughter.  Tonino has a daughter in Michigan. I met her at Ezeiza in 2000 when she was returning home the day I was going to Chicago. I called Tonino to wish him a happy birthday.  He admits he has slowed down and doesn’t go to the milongas every night as he once did. Now he dances only on Saturday nights with his partner at Club America del Sud.

Clubes de barrio

Club Social y Deportivo Juventud de Belgrano — Virrey Aviles 3153 in Belgrano R

This was one of many neighborhood clubs where orchestras performed on Saturday nights in the 1940s. Miguel Angel Balbi went there regularly in the 1950s.

 

Club Atlético Veléz Sarsfield — Juan B. Justo 9200 — Versalles

My first tango teacher was Danel who taught in New York City and now is enjoying his retirement in Phoenix, Arizona.  This is one of the clubs where he danced as a teenager before moving to the USA.  The photo isn’t the actual club where he danced in the 1940s, but the new existing stadium.

 

Club Atlético Defensores de Chacarita — Elcano 3831 — Chacarita

Amanda Lucero and Rodolfo Cesar Indegno mentioned this club as one of their favorite places to dance.  There is no dancing there anymore.

 

Club Social y Deportivo Buenos Aires — Gaona Avenida and Av. San Martin in Caballito

There is no photograph to show of this club since it was demolished several years ago to construct an apartment building.  Miguel Angel Balbi told me that he went regularly on Sunday nights in the 1950s when dances were held in the outdoor soccer court.  My friend Diana sighed when I mentioned Club Buenos Aires where she danced in the 1990s.

Dante Cespi was the organizer at Club Social y Deportivo Buenos Aires.  He was introduced one night by Oscar Hector Malagrino at Club Glorias Argentinas in July 2003, so I took the opportunity to ask him about how dances used to be.  He was 83 years old then and recalled when 78rpm records were all they had for dances.

Club Telegrafo y Crisol Unidos –Saraza 951 — Parque Chacabuco

This is the club where Osvaldo Centeno attended a practica with other neighborhood boys.  

Milongas are being held at this club.

Clubes de barrio

Circulo Social y Deportivo Sin Rumbo — Tamborini 6157 - Villa Urquiza

The entrance wall is full of photographs of tango personalities who have been to the club.  For almost 90 years it has been a traditional place to dance, known as La Catedral del Tango.  The only occasion I went there was in July  2002, for a special event organized by Oscar Hector Malagrino.  Julio Dupláa and his wife organize Friday nights where they provide traditional tango music.

 

Club América del Sud
Francisco Bilbao 3760
Parque Avellaneda

They have a salon with a wood floor for their regular Saturday night dances that have been held for many years.

 

 

 

 

Club Atlético Huracán Av. Caseros 3159 Parque Patricios

This club’s history dates back to 1903.  During the 1940s dances were held on Saturdays.  Ernesto Jorge De Gouvea once told me that he would give his right index finger to have one night the way it was at Club Huracán.  It must have been very special for him.  Dances were held ten years ago in the confiteria of the club.

 

 

Asociación de Fomento y Biblioteca Popular Mariano Acosta
Mariano Acosta 1544
Parque Avellaneda

Saturday night dances

 

 

 

 

Club Social y Deportivo  Estudiantes del Norte
Holmberg 4070
Saavedra

Dances haven’t been held in this club since March 2000. Saavedra was the neighborhood of tango singer Roberto Goyaneche.