|
The
Tangueros Monthly Newsletter |
31 |
Nightingales at the Colòn
From
our correspondent in Buenos Aires
- We were about to press when we heard the news we have been longing for years:
Juan Gelman the poet and César Stroscio the
poet... of bandoneonists, have been invited to perform at the Teatro Colòn
the next May. The two nightingales' performance will be part of a
public ceremony in aknowledgment of the major Latino-american poets which
is under preparation between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. In times
like these, in which we have to win even our tears, Poetry seems to be
the only force that can make the pestilence's course less triumphant.
Paradoxically, at these same hours in which the roses are getting organized in
order to celebrate their singers properly, the City Government's
combine is once again making all arrangements to welcome the
avalanche of tourists with another Tango Festival made of
lessons, contests and photogenic balls by the Obelisk. And as the private
enterprise couldn't stay out of it, here comes in quick succession the
CITA Convention, a kiosk with long shelves which customers are
allowed even to choose style and teachers from, according to a left-overs
management called FIFO, or First In First Out, even if here in Buenos
Aires the acronym describes the same action more exactly. The non-stop
chain of entertainment-oriented events*, the black market
commodities trading, the branched activities of this grown
midgets' circus, the monopsony's decline, are turning the Tango's shares
into blue chips. We realize that the stock-exchange words are more and
more apt to show the current situation of our national culture, not to
mention our sentiments.
Luckily, we have "this heart that overbalances us all" by our side. Come
on you nightingales, sing loud!
© El Moplo - Buenos Aires, February 2004
*
event: action, fact, show, unexpected or expected
©
Adolfo Bioy Casares "The exquisite Argentine dictionnary"
Esquina in Italy
The artistic act is the result of a blissfull grace of life, of a brightness and a plenitude of soul, rather than the squalid outcome raising from the bundle of rules, from the academic dissertations, from the authoritative suggestions. Carlo Emilio Gadda
Concerning the grace, or better the state of grace, we bring to your notice the two next italian concerts of Trio Esquina & César Stroscio: a Tango that, as Macedonio Fernandez used to say, makes silence jealous.
february 21: Varazze (Savona), Teatro Don Bosco
february 28: Torino, Conservatorio Verdi
TRIO ESQUINA - The today's musics from Rio de la Plata
César Stroscio bandoneòn
Claudio Pino Enriquez guitar
Hubert Tissier double bass
In
spanish esquina means
"streetcorner" or "junction" whereas in the Buenos Aires
slang esquina is the place where we meet, we become friends, we
fall in love and we split. The esquina is where the barriada
(gang of neighbours) feels at home; we date at the esquina and
then we go elsewhere and from anywhere we always go back to the esquina;
esquina so-and-so is the place-name we carry in our heart and
we like to remember when we are far and exiled.
Tener esquina or no tener esquina is an idiomatic phrase meaning
to have or have not experience in life, to have or have not that hard and
cynical view on human things which is so typical porteño.
As a matter of fact, the esquina is a symbol of the Buenos
Aires everyday life, of its sentiments and its wonderful music.
Here comes the philosophy of this band: Tango with scents of Jazz and
Contemporary Music, border sounds, crossroads opportunities. Their arrangements
are complex, but not affected, they are refined and relentlessly sincere, as we
can expect from who is used to know a lot of esquinas. And there is also
something more: these three great musicians can't hide their enormous joy of
playing together.
Toma Dos likewise
It's
a pleasure to learn that the Barrio Tanguero's great
work, in sinergy with the Faitango network of Tango
Associations, is bearing fruit.
The italian tour of the Argentine Duo Toma Dos (Javier
Vargas at bandoneòn and Fernando Cappelletti
at guitar) is now a reality.
They will be perform in many italian milongas, such as Vicenza, Udine,
Cesena, Napoli, Saluzzo and Torino. And many more gigs will be booked as
soon as they will start playing.
Nor it makes them straight
As
our readers will remember, Juan Gelman the poet has been
recently honoured with the Prize Lerici Pea.
In that occasion, the Guanda Editions had released "Carta
a la madre"; only a few months later, the Interlinea Editions
has issued "En el revès del mundo". From this precious booklet,
as a sudden confutation of what our candid correspondent from Buenos
Aires has just said above, we hasten to copy the following unpublished
poem:
NOBLEZAS
El poema es pàlido y noble.
No cambia nada, no curva colinas, no
da una sola fruta roja, ni
hace el ruido de quien arranca
un pedazo de pan para dar
un pedazo de pan.
Se acuclilla en un rincòn y
no se queja.
Vive en todo lo que se alza
al aire y de nacer.
No pide que lo visiten.
Le basta con lo que no sucediò.
Juan
Gelman
©
Interlinea Editore - Novara, 2003 www.interlinea.com