1603  a special night in El Pial, a club de barrio in Buenos Aires

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 15:57:10 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: a special night in El Pial, a club de barrio in Buenos Aires

Four years have passed since I had danced in El Pial in Flores, a
neighborhood club with a very large dance floor. The Friday night milonga
is known as La Baldosa (which means floor tile). Beto Ayala and his wife
Teresa invited me to join them July 11 when Pocho and Nely performed for
a filming by Solo Tango.

Last month I was invited to Nely's house to celebrate Pocho's birthday
(he turned 72 on June 18) with friends from the milonga. I eventually
discovered I was spending the evening, not only with family and friends of
Pocho, but with five milongueras and three milongueros. My video camera was
ready when Pocho talked about his early days in tango. He and Nely have
been dancing together since he was 16 years old. Pocho admits that he can't
dance like the twenty-year olds or how he did years ago, but he has never
changed his style. He recalled how well girls dressed to dance and didn't
wear the same dress twice. Now men dress like cowboys in the milongas and
act like boys, with their shirts hanging outside their pants.

Pocho and Nely have been working on a project for Solo Tango. They have
done separate interviews on their lives in tango as well as teaching and
demonstration of tango, vals and milonga. Pocho admitted that it wasn't
easy for him to repeat the same sequences for filming--he improvises in the
moment. Pocho explains how important it is for the woman to place her head
next to the man's, looking to the rear. The couple feels more. Nely
remarks how every man is different to dance with, so the woman needs to know
how to dance well. When produced, this video will be the first
instructional video by a milonguero and a milonguera.

The highlight of the evening at El Pial came when I danced with Pocho for
the first time ever. He transmits what he feels with his entire body. It
was as if we had been dancing together for years. What a feeling! Later we
danced a milonga con traspie. It was a great pleasure for me to dance with
this milonguero who I have admired in the milongas for many years.

Find a photo of Pocho (Roberto Carreras) at www.totango.net/milongueros.html
A photo of Nelida Fernandez (68) will be posted soon with photos of other
milongueras.

Pichi de Buenos Aires