Travel. T-Bones. Tango.
Article Date: Saturday, June 07, 2008
Written By: Russell Rawlings
The tango is performed at La Ventana. |
From Ben and Emily Kuhn
(Saturday, June 7)
Travel
Off from RDU at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Connect through Miami. Eight and then a one-half hour, overnight flight, and arrive in Buenos Aires 7 a.m. One hour time difference (ahead). We meet our friendly guide Alejandro Kazanietz who accompanies us to the hotel and introduces us to Buenos Aires.
We checked in early (about 7 a.m.) at our hotel, Broadway Suites. The hotel is located in the center of the government and business district a half block from the famous Obelisk (locally known as the Obelisco Plaza de la Republica). Later, the Obelisk became a sea of red and white after one of the local futbol (soccer) clubs won its championship game (River Plate).
T-Bones
Local Abogados Dr. Javier Fernandez and Carina (attorneys) met us in our hotel at noon and we walked to the Puerto Madero (Port Maedero) for lunch. We dined at Justo Corrientes, which is a very nice restaurant overlooking the water. The steak, of course, was Argentine style. The wine, Malbec. After a long night of travel the fantastic food provided much needed fuel. The afternoon was unplanned and most took time for siesta, though Argentines do not generally partake of this practice. Given the long trip, however, the rest was needed by all.
Tango
In the evening, we gathered in the hotel lobby for the short bus ride to the San Telmo neighborhood for our dinner and entertainment destination, La Ventana (The Window). We arrive at about 8 p.m., which is apparently an early start for the Argentines who apparently do not start out for dinner or the evening until after 9 p.m.
La Ventana is a classic dinner and tango theater. The interior was of brick and old hardwood timbers. The dining room was a theatre set up with dinner tables arranged on a step for audience viewing. After dinner was completed around 10 p.m., the tango show started. There were two tango singers (male and female) and four sets of tango dancers accompanied by a four-piece band (Bass/Cello, an accordion-like musical instrument the name of which escapes me, and two violins).
The dancers were powerful and elegant – kicks and lifts with grace and precision. Part of the show also included another four-piece ensemble that had a more rural flavor with flutes and guitar type instruments. For flare, there was also a “bolelero” performer who twirls hard pieces of wood on the end of strings which simulated tap dancing. The two-hour show was a great taste of Argentine food, culture and flare. After a long and fantastic first day in Buenos Aires, we were all happy to be back to our rooms for a good night’s rest.
End of Day 1 in Argentina