Bandonegro in Buenos Aires

These four talented tango musicians from Poland were in Buenos Aires a year ago, sponsored by the Argentine Embassy in Poland.  I heard them and became an instant fan, following them wherever they played.

Today they release a movie of their tour in Buenos Aires.

They are scheduled at tango festivals in Germany, France, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, and Poland throughout 2020.  I don’t know of another tango ensemble that performs traditional tango, nuevo tango, and Piazzolla.  They are masters of every style.

Dia del Bandoneon

Tonight’s concert at the Centro Cultural Kirchner had solos, duos, and ensembles performing tributes to notable composers Anibal Troilo (remembering his birthday), Astor Piazzolla and Leopoldo Federico, with new compositions and historic pieces.

The concert ended with all the bandoneonists on stage for the emblematic tango of Troilo — Che Bandoneon.

Horacio Salgán

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.

Salgán & Salgán

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.

Juan Carlos Godoy

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.

Leopoldo Federico

January 12, 1927 — December 28, 2014

Tango greats along Corrientes

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.

Troilo spotted on Avenida Corrientes

Tango for musicians

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

Pichuco – the documentary

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.