Do you sometimes sense
there’s void in your life. Passion? Adventure? A sense of direction?
Self-esteem?
My
Life in the Milonga is in part a story of self-discovery. My journey began when
fate took me to Buenos Aires. Like so many others I took a tango lesson. A door
opened into the crazy and captivating world of Argentine tango. My personal
story soon intertwined with the stories of the milongas, the places where tango
is danced. Soon my nights filled with passion, humor, and the playful flirting.
Buenos
Aires is the Mecca of tango. Even compared to Rome and Barcelona, it’s a
passionate and earthy city. Porteños, the people of Buenos Aires, live each day
in the present with their emotions on their sleeve. Nowhere is this felt more
strongly than in the milongas, where tango is a dance of human connection, not
a theatrical performance. The room vibrates with passion, joy, and love for
those open to receiving it. The more I learned and experienced tango, the more
open I became. My passionate and earthy side, so long submerged, came out.
Tango
is a challenging to learn, but not because the steps are complicated. The hard
part is leaning to connect with your partner, the music, the other dancers, and
yourself. There has not been a night since I started dancing tango, when
tango has not reminded me of the importance of living life in the present and
the desire for human connection in all of us. This
book shares some of the lessons I learned from my teacher and the many
wonderful people I met in Buenos Aires.
Tango
opened the world for me both literally and figuratively. Argentine tango is
danced in nearly every major city in the world, giving you instant access to a
community of people with whom you share a passion. Unstuck from the past, now I
live my childhood dream of travel and becoming more involved in other cultures.
But most of all, tango allowed me to become me.