June 15, 1916 – August 19, 2016
Only one in 10,000 persons live 100 years, and this pianist, composer and orchestra director was one of them. He was a tango legend. I’ll never forget attending a performance of his Quinteto Real in Club del Vino in 1997.
A Career between Love and Passion is the title of the new documentary film by Caroline Neal (Si Sos Brujo) featuring Horacio Salgán & Cesar Salgán. Caroline, who was born in Danville, Virginia USA, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University. While studying in New York, she started dancing tango, which lead her to making her first documentary about the Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce.
NOW SHOWING AT BUENOS AIRES THEATERS
GAUMONT, Rivadavia 1635 (in front of Plaza Congreso) daily at 18:15 hs. through November 4
MALBA museum, Palermo – Sunday, November 15 and 29 at 18 hs.
Centro Cultural Kirchner – Saturday, November 28 at 19 hs.
Centro Cultural San Martin – Saturday, November 21 & 28 at 2o hs.; Thursday, November 26 at 19,30 hs.
August 21, 1922 —
Juan Carlos Godoy (singer) & Jorge Dragone (pianist) in Café Gardel
Guillermo Thorp, editor of Diostango magazine, arranged for this special performance two days before Godoy’s 93rd birthday with accompaniment by Jorge Dragone (88). These tango professionals aren’t about to stop performing because tango is their life. We entered just in time to hear Quien tiene tu amor.
January 12, 1927 — December 28, 2014
Graffiti and post-it note advertising are prevalent in Buenos Aires, especially in the city center. Walk along any street and you’ll see how graffiti artists (I use that term loosely) have damaged almost every building with spray paint. The other eyesore is the abundance of small post-it notes glued to any place they will stick. They’re difficult to remove. I stood by while a young man stuck several to a light post, and then I promptly removed them before the glue dried. When I walked away, he returned to the same place to do his job. The city has a work force dedicated to the removal of any advertising fliers on city property.
There is a movement to create more public art, and it’s giving the city a needed facelift after a rundown look for years. Cris Bucciarelli is one of those artists dedicated to giving Avenida Corrientes (“the street that never sleeps”) touch-ups here and there. She has transformed old electrical boxes into works that feature celebrated artists of tango. Here are two examples of her work.
Hours of work removing layers of advertising on the metal boxes was the first step. It’s truly a labor of love to improve the aesthetics of a great city.
The first international meeting of Tango For Musicians takes place July 22-27, 2014, in Buenos Aires, with master classes, concerts, lectures and documentary films.
The lectures include an interesting array of topics:
Let’s hear all your music! Learn how to use social media to increase your audience and maintain a community around your music.
How to dance to the music and rhythm: Understanding the rhythmic pulse, know how to dance to the music through body exercises dancing tango.
Tweaking emotions: Workshop to solve specific problems in performance anxiety. Changing emotions like fear, shame, demand, competition or anger.
Getting tango to a mass audience: Group discussion on the issue of access to a new audience for the production of contemporary tango.
Listening to the styles of tango: The talk will address, through the analysis of recordings, different styles that are considered fundamental.
Rhythmic training for musicians: Workshop and group fun character to join the body to the music through rhythmic bodily exercises
A friend and I attended the Dia del Bandoneon events yesterday in La Usina del Arte. First was the screening of the new documentary on the life of Anibal Troilo entitled, Pichuco. Then a concert with bandoneonists performing solos on Troilo’s bandoneon.
Troilo left his bandoneon to his friend Raul Garello. He kept it safely tucked away in the case for many years before giving it to the Academia Nacional del Tango. During the last two years, there have been concerts featuring the great bandoneonists playing the restored instrument of Anibal Troilo.
It’s called a Bandoneonazo, where 100+ bandoneonists gather to pay homage to the greatest one of all time — Anibal Troilo. Ten years ago they got together at Teatro Colon. Today at noon they will join at the recently inaugurated Piazzolla passage way near the Obelisco to perform Troilo compositions. It will be exciting to see and hear 100+ bandoneonists. It doesn’t happen very often, even in Buenos Aires. There are concerts scheduled during the week leading up to Dia del Bandoneon on July 11, the 100th anniversary of Troilo’s birth and ending with a concert in Teatro Colon on July 14.
I arrived at 11:30 and was pleasantly surprised to see the fountains with a sculpture at both ends of the closed street. It’s known as Pasaje Piazzolla to honor the bandoneonista.
Only a few of the bandoneonistas arrived early for the event scheduled for noon.
Many of the one hundred chairs on the plaza remained empty during the Bandoneonazo.
A private unveiling of a bandoneon made in 1835.
The bandoneon made in 1835 fascinates the young musicians.
Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez came to hear their son Gustavo play in the Bandoneonazo.
More arrivals with those large black padded cases containing the instrument that gives tango its special sound.
Each musician posed for publicity photos in front of the official centennial sign on the plaza.
The younger and less experienced musicians took the back rows of seats on the plaza and left the front row to the famous ones: Walter Rios, Raul Garello, Horacio Romo, Julian Pane, and Daniel Binelli. Missing from this famous lineup was Osvaldo Montes who died last Friday. I heard the news from a woman attending the event.
Patiently waiting for others to arrive, they decided to play a few Troilo tunes to warm up for Quejas de Bandoneon. Other recordings of the event: video1 video2 video3 video4
It was a media event with television cameras and interviews galore. But what came later was just as special. Two young bandoneonistas stayed around and played Troilo compositions. They’re the future of tango. It was obvious how much they love tango.
Another musician continued to play as well for those who didn’t want to leave.
Do women play bandoneon? Yes. I met Celeste who has played for three years and asked me to take this photo with Maestro Daniel Binelli and Maestro Alberto Garralda who has played since he was 12 and would only admit that he is over 80.
This was my favorite part of the Bandoneonazo — when these young musicians played together on the plaza and people started dancing a milonga. It takes lots of practice to know the tango repertoire from memory.
Tomorrow marks the 99th anniversary of the birth of Aníbal Troilo, who many consider the greatest bandoneonista. Pichuco was only 23 years old when he debuted with his orchestra on July 1, 1937, in Cabaret Marabú at Maipu 365.
The national day of the bandoneon honors Troilo. Tonight’s concert at Teatro Cervantes is a tribute to Troilo with two bandoneonistas from his orquesta, Raul Garello and Ernesto Baffa.
Here is the concert from Bahia Blanca a few days ago with Nestor Marconi.
Next year is the Troilo Centennial.
