1514  a night in a Club de barrio in Buenos Aires

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 23:12:51 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: a night in a Club de barrio in Buenos Aires

I had never been to Club Glorias Argentinas (a neighborhood club in
Mataderos) where dances have been held for decades. Last Saturday night,
friends invited me to join them there after an asado. When I learned that
this night would be devoted to the recordings of Carlos Di Sarli with
Roberto Rufino, Alberto Podesta, and Jorge Duran, I didn't want to miss it.
I know that the organizer has an excellent collection of Di Sarli
recordings. There was also an homenaje to Juan Topalian, milonguero, and my
friends were invited to participate in the program.

I wasn't expecting this to be a great night of dancing for me. Couples
outnumber singles on Saturday nights in the clubs de barrio. Single men are
few and far between. We joined a large table of friends from the milonga
when we arrived, so I knew I would have a tanda or two with friends.

Organizer Oscar Hector Malagrino invited Horacio Casares to perform for this
special night of Carlos Di Sarli, since he was the last singer to perform
with the orchestra.

Juan Topalian talked about the way dances used to be organized in Glorias
Argentinas when he was a young man. He explained there were no tables, only
chairs along the wall where the girls sat with their female escorts. All
the boys stood in the middle of the room, from where they had to invite a
young lady to dance with a nod after making eye contact with her. If young
ladies didn't accept an invitation, the young man had to remain standing all
night long. Juan then invited his friends to do the same thing. The women
lined up along the wall and the men moved to the center of the dance floor.
One by one they began to dance. There were about 15 couples who danced a
tango and a vals, which I videotaped. Juan told me that during the hot
summer months, all the young men wore suits and ties, and the young ladies
had a new dress each week. He said there were 500 or more in attendance at
these dances.

Dante Cespi was introduced during the evening. I learned that he was once
the organizer of several dances, most notably Deportivo Buenos Aires. A
milonguero recently told me that Deportivo Buenos Aires was his favorite
place to dance when he was young. I decided to take this opportunity to
talk with Sr. Cespi, who is 83 years young. He related so many memories
about his earlier days in tango when they used 78 rpm records. This man
should be interviewed. He doesn't dance tango, but certainly knows a lot
about it.

I had a delightful evening and stayed until 4:00, since a ride to my
apartment was arranged for me with a couple who live in my neighborhood. I
danced tandas with Ruben Harymbat, Juan Topalian, Oscar Hector Malagrino and
another gentleman, the only single men there. I estimate there were 225-250
attending this evening with the majority of people 60-70 years. I recommend
Glorias Argentinas to couples who are interested in experiencing the social
atmosphere of a club de barrio.

Pichi de Buenos Aires
www.totango.net/milongueros.html