[HouTango-L] ABC's Primetime segment on tango in Buenos Aires

A. Lester Buck III buck at compact.com
Sun Feb 5 21:11:54 UTC 2006


I had just walked in the door last Thursday when I noticed that
ABC's Primetime program was doing a segment on Argentine tango in
Buenos Aires.  I shoved a tape in the recorder and got all but the
first minute or so, and I just got a chance to watch that tape.
For a seven minute segment, it was an excellent introduction to
what makes tango interesting.

It started with a middle-aged woman (whose name I missed on my tape) who
had discovered tango on vacation and moved to Buenos Aires to follow her
passion.  She talked about a transformation in her life, a new feeling
that she wasn't "too old."  They catch her having to stop because she
was tearing up while dancing with her instructor, one of her spiritually
engulfing moments.  They attend a small milonga or practica and show a
floor with couples in close embrace. Another young graduate student,
Brandon Shaw, talked about the bargain that is Buenos Aires today, and
how he had taken thirty group tango lessons with great teachers for
about $100.  Brandon also revealed that he had met his last four
girlfriends through tango.  (Imagine that!)  He and his girlfriend then
demonstrate how to ask for a dance in Buenos Aires, without saying a
word.  Next is Marina Palmer, born in New York but educated in London,
who moved to Buenos Aires eight years ago.  She even wrote a book "Kiss
and Tango," which was news to me.  She hits the streets, where she used
to be a street performer, and runs into an old tanguera friend, who then
leads her through a quick milonga.  She comments "The tango gives you
this immediate excuse to touch someone." John Quinones was the reporter,
and he goes to buy some tango shoes and then takes a beginning private
lesson with Natasha Poverak(sp?), a well known instructor.  During their
lesson, she tells him to remember that tango is "about love."  He asks
why tango is so popular now, and she tells him "We need to embrace
someone, and to feel that someone else is embracing us."


Did anyone out there happen to record the entire segment?
I'd like to collect a complete copy and deposit it in the Tango
Houston video library.


Best regards,

Lester



More information about the HouTango-L mailing list