The oldest swingers in town

“Oh my God!” I squealed into my friend’s ear during the rapturous applause between tangos, “This is the most amazing thing I’ve seen since I got here!” On the 8th March, I’ll have been in Buenos Aires two years.

Last night in a Palermo park, we sat on a blanket the colour of an Argentine summer sky and as the light faded over the Planetarium behind us, the stars of the golden era of tango shone. This was a tango music moment that will never be repeated. Yesterday morning I didn’t even know it was happening. Unusually for a Saturday I taught a rescheduled English conversation class. As we walked to the subway afterwards, my student told me about an open air concert at 7.30pm. “It’s the stars of Café de los Maestros,” he said. “What? You are kidding?” I replied. He wasn’t.

In 2006 they did it for an upmarket Teatro Colon crowd who probably paid a packet. Last night they did it for ‘la gente’, us, for free.

Gabriel ‘Chula’ Clausi’s hands (above) are 97 years old, but they can love the bandoneon on his knee into a solo melody exquisite enough to silence a crowd of thousands. And for two hours it was the hands of Maestros that mesmerised me from the big screen. Clausi’s, Leopoldo Fedrico’s, Carlos Lazzari’s (who must have been granted a night off from La Ventana), Ernesto Baffa’s. Some of these men needed assistance to walk from the wings to their seat on the stage. Some of their bodies stooped. Some were unsteady on their feet. Their bandoneons were carried to them by youthful stagehands. Each man waited while a black cloth and then their ‘musical box’ was placed across their thighs. Then hands that have touched time for almost a century, pressed and pulled and created beauty.

I come from a country where far too many jokes are made about shoving your parents into old people’s homes when they hit seventy. Argentina has taught me that age is a barrier to nothing and that we can dance through life with gusto until our final moment. Last night 81 year old actress and singer Virginia Luque, brandishing a glass of champagne for dramatic effect, blasted Canaro’s Destellos with a star quality that any Pop Idol competitor would envy. 91 year old Mariano Mores, flicking his tailcoat behind him, stood at his piano and conducted his orchestra to deliver perfection. One after another these men and women proved with panache that it is never too late, that you are never too old, that every last minute of life is to be lived. In style.

The gasps of recognition and admiration from the crowd as each Maestro was announced, the stillness as we watched a film in memory of those from the original concert who have left us since, the standing ovation as the two hour spectacular event closed: these boys and girls may be in their later years but by God they are loved and appreciated. And in case you are thinking that the crowd was made up solely of old fogies like Me and C. Well you’d be wrong: young lovers snuggled; grandparents, parents and children drank mate together; teenagers tucked into hot dogs. I’m sure there were a few tangueros present, but so were a hell of a lot of people who’ve never danced a tango in their life. This music stands alone.

Yes there were tango dancers on the stage last night. Two young couples performed a tango and a milonga with Carlos and Rosa Perez. They were not announced by name. Last night they were the accompaniment not the stars of the show at all. And rightly so.

I sat on my blue blanket and a big ‘Wow!’ lodged itself into my heart. This week I wrote a post about Carlos Lazzari. I said that I wanted to see him play again. Bingo. There he was on the stage in front of me with the incredible bonus of a whole crowd of his ‘musico’ pals. Two days ago on Twitter I confessed: writing a list of intentions to encourage the universe to deliver – does it work? Oh yes my friends. I think it does. In spades.

So how can you make sure you don’t miss out on fantastic events like this when you are in Buenos Aires? Well it’s easy. You can click on this link to the Ministerio de Cultura list of Buenos Aires Festivals 2009, and from there head to the website of the Festival of your choice. Sometimes you can even get an English version of the agenda. Sorted.

Meanwhile if you want to see more of what I saw last night, check out my Flickr PhotoSet: Night of Los Maestros. If you want to see the stars in action watch this trailer for the 2008 film Café de los Maestros. If you want the inside track on my kind of Buenos Aires events then follow me on Twitter where I am experimenting with a view to Tweeting the lowdown. And folks, that I think is service, the SallycatWay. May we celebrate life together until the last breath.

Enjoy!

Sallycat

PS. With respect to the Love Verb Thing we go from strength to strength, but as yet, not quite strength enough. Keep spreading the word, doing the required deed, and watching our progress. I thank you for supporting Sallycat’s Adventures. You’re the best.