2997  Spain travel report - Part 1

Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2004 14:52:09 -0500
From: Tanguero Chino <tanguerochino@NETSCAPE.NET>
Subject: Spain travel report - Part 1

It took a while, but I finally sat down long enough to write this report.

My wife, her sister and I went to Spain for 3 weeks from mid-October, and had a marvellous time there. We spent the first week in Barcelona, and then drove around southern Spain for another two weeks, ending up Madrid. This was, above all else, a sightseeing trip, but I did look up tango opportunities in all of Spain. If the timing was right and there was a milonga where we were staying, all the better.

As it turned out, things could have been more interesting had I gone in the reverse direction. There were festivals in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, in that order, during the time that I was in Spain. Exactly in the reverse order that we had visited these cities.


Thursday - Friday

Trans-Atlantic flight from North America usually means a short night and arrival during the day. So a siesta and a jet-lag induced long night were in order. My research indicated that there are three milongas in Barcelona on Fridays, all seemed to be within walking distances of each other. Sounded perfect!

First try. I had an address. A longer than expected walk brought us to an apartment building, but there is no sign of any restaurant, club or other public venue. I found out later that it was actually in someoneb s private apartment. We gave up after ringing one of the units and got no where.

Took the bus back to Plaza Catalunia, and started looking for the second milonga on my list. We found the address, but the milonga is no longer functioning. Another disappointment.

By this time, we had already walked for over an hour just looking for milongas. We were tired and frustrated, but after a coffee and dessert break, we decided to give the third place a try. La CC:pula del Tango is held under a formerly (and potentially) beautiful dome in a building that at one time was quite spectacular. It is located next to a theatre, so it may have been part of that building at one point. It was just before midnight when we walked in. Less than 20 people were there, and a few more showed up later. I talked briefly to the person taking the money at the entrance, told them that we were visiting from Canada. However, during the evening, no one approached to talk to us.

Possibly because we were tired, we did not find the music, nor the dancing, to be great. My wife and I danced a few tandas when the music was good. I did ask someone else to dance once. In between songs, I found out that she was from Munich and would be in Barcelona for a week. She and a girl friend had come to Barcelona for tango and some sightseeing. They were not the only foreigners. My wife danced with another German, and, from meeting them in other milongas later in our stay, we counted at least 4 others.

Not wanting to over-do it on our first day, my wife and I left just after 1:00 am to get some rest for the next day.


Saturday

Since my wifeb s sister does not dance, we decided to get some dancing in before she joined us on Monday. We had even worst luck than Friday. Both places we tried were closed, so it was back to the hotel for an b earlyb night. At least our bus rides were already paid for. We had purchased a Barcelona Pass, which allows unlimited rides on public transit for the days that the pass is valid.

Lesson learnt: check with the organizers before arriving, especially if you are visiting a country where you do not speak the language. We spoke the language, but still had problems.


Sunday

Sunday was a leisurely day, mostly because my wife was not feeling her best because of something she ate. After some sightseeing at Tibidabo, one of the highest points in Barcelona, she decided to say put for the evening while I checked out the milonga at Club 7 & 9. Lucky me, it was a great milonga, and it was a special occasion as well. It was the DJb s birthday, and he decided to toast his wife as well, as her birthday was also approaching. Someone read a poem that was written for the occasion, and another, the host of the Friday night milonga, gave a rambling speech on tango. It was long enough that at one point, someone in the back suggested unplugging the mike. The applause was loud when he was done.

Since I did not know anyone initially, I sat and watched for the first half hour, observing the styles of the dancers, and deciding on a few that I wanted to invite. For my first dance though, I was the one that was invited. It was a friend of the organizers.

When I first arrived, the only table that was free was one that was in the back. I waited until the cortina was playing before walking through the dance floor. Halfway there, a woman walking off the dance floor in front of me started dancing to the cortina. Since there were others around, I waited for her to finish or move off to the side. She did neither, for what probably was only a few seconds. Seeing me, a friend of hers at the table nodded, indicating something behind her. Thatb s when she turned around and saw me, excused herself and graciously walked off the floor. Thank you, Pilar, for being my first local partner and for breaking the ice.

I had many good dances, with the ones that I had observed earlier, but also with some of their friends who had invited me to dance. I was also introduced to others, men and women, including a Uruguayan who had moved to Spain just a few months ago. A few of the foreigners from Friday, including the girls from Munich, also showed up.

It was a great evening. I had many good dances and met some very friendly people.

Next report - more dancing in Barcelona.




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