Going back home

I was back home during August. In early September I went back home again, but not to the same one, I went to my tango home - Edinburgh. Luckily for me, Edinburgh was hosting the Orquesta Típica Imperial, Alejandro y Marisol (we filmed them so I'll post them on youtube, they're worth it!) and a ball to go with it!
As soon as we stepped in the room where the dance was going around, I saw my tango-infancy friends, those with who I learnt with, all coming back with smiles, hugs and fantastic dances.
I was in that hall for over 4 hours and I didn't seat even once. Apart from the time when Alejandro y Marisol were doing their performance, I danced all night with those people who I danced so many times and with who I learnt so much. But after 1 year of not having contact with them they were SO different! Their moves much more elegant, their energy much more subtle, their musicality so much improved... I'm sure that Orquesta Típica Imperial helped to my enjoyment but, I had a tango night as I haven't had since... last time I was in Edinburgh!
For following week I couldn't dance. I don't know why but I had no will to dance. I just wanted to perpetuate the feeling of tango happiness as long as I could.

Jenny and Ricardo

Here it is a promotional video of my tango mentors. They are partly responsible for this blog. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be the addicted tanguero that I am now.



Having lived in Leith (the port of Edinburgh, mostly known for the cult film Trainspotting) for a long time they decided to film most of this video there!

PS - And I can't stop being nostalgic when they dance in the Counting House, the place where I was born for tango.

Never too early

Back to the days when I had regular classes with Ricardo Oria y Jenny Frances I remember lots of people that went religiously to classes and never set a foot in a milonga. I never understood them (I shall mention that I was one of the annoying kids that started learning how to dance in milongas because I had no money for classes... tuh tuh). What’s the point of going endlessly to classes if you don’t go to milongas? They told me with wise square faces, “So that we learn it properly and then, when we go to the milonga, we are good”.

I did try to tell them but they didn’t listen to me. I remember a guy that had been learning tango for two years, he was at intermediate level and a reasonable dancer, of course, in the class. And he went to the milonga. Reality set in very quickly for him. He had nobody to shout him which steps to do, his plans of doing a Pablo Véron impression were crushed the moment he realised he had 10 times less space in a milonga than in a class and i remember him telling me, “I have been learning for two years, for nothing!”

He actually never came to a milonga again but I think he moved out of town (hopefully not because of tango!). So if you’re reading this, my friend whose name I forgot, persevere, don’t give up. And if you’re reading this and starting don’t do as he did. Go to milongas, listen to the music, respect others while dancing and, above all, have fun. Tango without fun isn't worth dancing!

La Revancha de La Otra Milonga!

It's next friday, on the 20th of July, that Edinburgh's funkiest milonga will resume again. La Otra Milonga, as the name says, it's different. It's not only the music, it's definitely not the people (as most of the people that go to La Otra also go to other milongas) and it's not the location. What is it? At La Otra we are not purists. We believe that Tango is much more than a music style or a dance. We believe that Tango is a state of mind in which you use the music and the dance to express yourself. We believe that you can do that with many music styles improvising your way through. Tango is a feeling. If you feel it, come to La Otra.

edinburgh I

I will try to refrain myself of talking about Edinburgh itself. 1, I would not shut up, 2, I would write about everything but tango and, 3, you might as well buy a travel guide; they have been to Camera Obscura and I haven't.
I was received in Cardiff as one that comes from the British Capital of Tango and that must tell you something about what generally British people think of tango in Edinburgh; very nice (and regular) milongas with nice tangueros. However, there is something very odd about Edinburgh! Whereas in most places you can find milongas crammed on fridays and saturdays, in Edinburgh most milongas come during the week. It may a bit detrimental to all those of us that have to work early in the morning but, hey, it's tango and we have to sort out our priorities...
Tango in Edinburgh is kept on a high by two independent but cooperational parties. The recently 10 year old Edinburgh Tango Society and the magnificient pair of professional teachers, Ricardo Oria and Jenny Frances. While the first provides classes (I started with Jessie and Monica's classes), milongas, workshops and a general framework for tango to improve, JyR pass on the intricate secrets of tango. They also organise Edinburgh's Tango Festival in December (Bailongo!) and occasionally they organise milongas and workshops. As for dancing, I love dancing in Edinburgh! Unlike most places I have been the best dancers are not pseudo-connoisseurs and they are happy to dance with less advanced dancers, just for the fun of it. And, as far as I am concerned that should be the only reason why one should dance tango - to have fun. And there is a fantastic fashion growing very fast in Edinburgh - women that lead! It's very nice to see women taking specially because they always give it a touch that man cannot. After all, hormones do make a lot of a mess sometimes, but once every often they produce magnificient outcomes.
So, what to say about Edinburgh? I think it’s a fantastic place for tango. Not only it has tango pretty much every day as the places are in walking distance of each other. Also, it’s very cheap to dance in Edinburgh and I think people don’t quite realise this until they set off to dance elsewhere and find that it’s bloody expensive. So I definitely give it two thumbs up to tango in Edinburgh. More than tango, Edinburgh tangueros make me think that way.