While creating a new tango music library on itunes, my computer busy importing my D’Arienzo CDs, I had a look at those CD covers again. I listen to my CDs from time to time, but it’s true I never paid attention to the covers. That’s why only until today, I notice this funny “error” of a CD I bought only for the song “Este Es El Rey”. The cover has a typical picture of Avenida Corrientes, but wait, something is wrong…… Read EVERYTHING on the picture and you will find it out!

“Ah?”

“I think it’s a very nice tango gift. And since we’re in Buenos Aires, it’s the best opportunity to buy one. You don’t like it?”

“I like it, but I think it’s very expensive. I have been very curious about this instrument, but I never thought I would play it one day. If you expect me to play it seriously, then just forget about this idea. Looking at my abandoned piano and cello at home, I don’t think a bandoneon can be an exception.”

“But I can learn it together with you! Anyway, let’s go and have a look first, then we decide it after.”

Here started our bandoneon-hunting journey, which lasted for 2 weeks, not very long. The first thing we did was to check the price. I sent an email to ask Daniel (Taiwan) about the price of the bandoneon and where to buy. At the same time, we walked along Calle Sarmiento to check out the music stores one by one. After having an idea about how much a bandoneon would cost, we searched on internet how to choose a bandoneon. We read some advices and saw some photos. These helped to give us an idea of how to choose a bandoneon, but only when we tried to play and check the bandoneon with our hands, we start to understand what those advices really mean.

With our limited budget, we decided not to go for a Doble-A bandoneon. If one day we would play very well, then we will get a Doble-A. To start with, we just want a bandoneon in good shape, because we want to avoid the trouble of repairing as much as possible. We went through some 7 to 8 bandoneons in 2 stores and inspected them one by one – Played them to listen to the sound, checked the bellow to see if there was leaking air, opened it and see if the keyboard, the buttons, the wood and the reeds are in a good condition etc. It was very time consuming, but it is worth to do all these checking. Because an old instrument like bandoneon always have problems here and there. When we were in the stores, we must have looked quite funny – two absolute beginners tried to inspect the bandoneons as if they were experts. To get an old instrument in good shape, either you spend money, or you have to sacrifice or lower your criteria. In our case, we sacrifice the sound quality. Just by listening and comparing bandoneons of different brands, we could already tell the differences with our non-professional ears. An ELA or Germania has a rather soft and kind of “warm” sound; while Doble-A has a brighter, somehow louder sound, but at the same time the sound is much more profound than the other brands. We wanted to get an ELA or a Germania, but we couldn’t find one we like among the available ones. So finally we got “Isaac Junior”.

Isaac Junior is a simple bandoneon without any decoration. He belongs to the Arno Arnold family, and was born after the Second World War (Arno Arnold is a post-war mark). There’s a chop inside the bandoneon dated 1958, but we are not sure it is a chop of the manufacturer or the repairman. For sure Isaac has at least 50 years old. For a bandoneon, he’s young. From what we found on internet, the Arno Arnold’s bandoneons are just average, and they don’t have a bandoneon sound because the reeds are different. We didn’t notice that when we tried this bandoneon for the first time. But when we tried it again another day and made a direct comparison with other bandoneons, we could hear the sound difference. Isaac does have a kind of “harmonica-like” sound. Just that without a professional ear and a direct comparison, we could hardly hear the difference. Besides the sound issue, Isaac seems to be in very good shape, and we hope he will be trouble-free at least for the coming 1 to 2 years.

Here I want to talk about more traditional (old style) milongas, where the host strictly organizes the floor plan, as well as each dancer’s seat. In this kind of milongas, the salon is mainly divided into 2 parts – 1 for the men and 1 for the women. These 2 parts are always facing each other, that make the eye-invitation easy for both parties. If there is a third part in the room, then it’s for couples or groups, and usually this part is at the place where eye-invitation is almost impossible. Because people assume that when you go to milonga with your partner and sit together, you would only dance with your own partner. Same idea probably applies to group as well.

When you enter this kind of milonga, after you pay your entrance, you have to wait for the organizer(s) to sit you. Where you sit depends on many factors. But one thing is sure – where you sit can almost define how your night is going to be. Will it be a great evening, having many dances and dancing with many good dancers; or will it be a boring night, struggling to get dances and finally you can only have 2 tandas with so-so dancers within 6 hours of hard work; it all depends on where you sit. Of course there’s always exception, but to be exceptionally popular in a milonga while you’re having a bad seat, either you are known among dancers, or your dance is super good, or your face and your body are super good looking.

So what factors determine your seat?

• Are you local (Argentinean) or visitor?

• How is your dancing?

• Are you coming to this milonga regularly?

• Are you a popular / highly demanded among the dancers in the same milonga?

• Are you socially friendly? How do you get along with other regular dancers in the same milonga? Do you respect the dance code in the milonga?

• Are you organizer’s friend?

• Do you look gorgeous and sexy (mainly for ladies)?

• Does the organizer like you?

• Are you dancing a lot in this milonga?

• Do you speak Spanish (that affects your relationship with everybody in the milonga)?

• Are you well-known tango figure or well-established regulars in this milonga?

There’s no absolute rule on how these criteria function. But I think in most cases the crucial criteria are the first 4 on the above list. But the rest on the list also matters. For example, I remember I saw a good looking western girl who wore sexy dress got seated in one of the best seat in the milonga, but she was just a beginner dancer. One thing is quite sure though, if you are a good dancer and respectful, usually a responsible organizer won’t give you bad seat (except the first time you appear in his/her milonga, when he or she has no clue about who you are and how you dance). If you’re just a short-term visitor, then no matter how good or popular you are, don’t expect that you can get the best seat in the milonga. In most cases, the best seats are reserved for the well-established local dancers, who go to this milonga regularly. A tanguero, who moved here for almost 2 years, once told me that he tried all the seats (all the bad ones) in the same milonga. It took him more than a year to get the current front row seat, which is considered a very good seat in a milonga. “It takes time to let people know about you and accept you as part of the community,â€? he said. So from where you seat, you can roughly figure out your “status”, “position” or “how your dance is considered” in the milonga. It sounds cruel and very competitive, but that’s the way it is. I like this practice very much, because it helps me to choose who I want to dance with. And this little information, your seat, is highly reliable.

Thus in these kind of traditional milonga, the organizer has strict and almost absolute control over the milonga. Those responsible organizers know their guests and treat them accordingly. They go to other milongas to check out the tango crowd, sometimes even invite good dancers to their milongas. They always keep an eye on the dance floor, making sure that nobody can create trouble to the dance floor or to the community. I saw an organizer asking beginner dancers to stop dancing during the peak hour in the milonga because those dancers created navigation problem on the dance floor. I also witnessed an organizer told a group of Japanese tourists who obviously didn’t know the code of the milonga, to stop “pulling” ladies out to dance. A good milonga organizer doesn’t just provide a venue, drinks and music for people to dance. He or she also needs to pay attention to many details. And most important of all, to build up a good relation with his or her guests.

*Please note that all the photos here are the result of my “research”. If anyone wants to use them for whatever purposes, please ask for my permission.*

Both man and woman’s shoes share the same structure – upper, insole, outsole and heel. Upper is the part that covers our feet, insole is the part where the bottom of our feet has contact with the shoes, and outsole is the part where the shoe has contact with the ground. The photo above shows (from left to right) the upper, the cover of the insole, insole, outsole and the heel.

Heel is attached to the shoe by nails. The number of nails used, the type of nails used and how the nails are attached vary from different shoemakers. Unless the heel is badly attached to the shoe – a wrong heel is installed to the shoe, the heel is not centered to the shoes or the nails are badly attached; with the enforcement of the nails, the heel should be very strong.

It’s not very difficult to find out whether the heels are well installed. The shoe (new shoe) should perfectly stands on its heel, and the heel should be firmly installed to the shoe. If the shoe wobbles on its own, then for sure it won’t give you a good support and balance.

Ladies, if you manage to break the heel of your tango shoes, if it’s not coming from your shoes, then it must be coming from you. Usually your old shoes can tell if you have this problem. Take out your old tango shoes and place it on a flat surface (e.g. table or floor), observe the angle between the surface and the heel. If the heel is still perfectly straight, forms a right angle to the surface and can still stand perfectly on its own, that’s good news for you. It means your shoe is still in good condition (at least from a structural point of view) and you can probably continue to wear it. If not, then probably the heel is “overused” – you have been relying too much on your heels to balance and support your body weight when you dance. Actually, it does not only happen in tango, ladies who don’t know how to walk on their high heels share the same problem, and it reflects on their shoes. Solution? Change your way of walking and get a new pair of shoes.

Then in between the insole and the outsole, there’s a shank spring. It’s a piece of metal placed at the hollow area of the sole to support the arch of our feet. In many cases (especially for woman’s shoes), the shank spring is embedded into the insole. Like the one shown in the photo, the shank spring is inside the insole that is made of plastic.

So what makes tango shoes special? I think there’re two things.

First is the padding. See the photos below and then you will understand why we usually find our tango shoes more comfortable than the other shoes.

Second, the upper is firmly attached to the insole so that the shoes won’t get lose easily. Nowadays, most of the woman shoes are assmbled by strong rubber cement. Tango shoemakers use rubber cement too, but some also use nails. I was surprised by the number of nails I found inside my shoes, and now I understand why my tango shoes are so strong.

Finally, if you wonder who are my “victims” – Delia, Mr. Tango and Comme Il Faut.

It is one of the most important tango venues in Bs.As.. 7 days a week from afternoon to evening, there are always tango events going on – afternoon milonga, tango show, orchestra performance, evening milonga. Not only that, it is also a historical cafe in Bs.As., like Cafe Tortoni, it’s big and with nice decoration. Stepping inside La Confiteria Ideal as if travelling back to the past.

I like this place a lot. The atmosphere and the environment are just perfect for tango. It is elegant. There’re golden decoration everywhere; but with the polish of time, you never feel they are too much. I particularly like the floral ceiling on the second floor and the old elevator (don’t know if it’s still functioning). Everything inside the cafe encourages you to make a journey through time. Dancing there, you can easily imagine yourself dancing tango in the golden ages. Besides that, 2 years ago, I spent a wonderful afternoon dancing there. That afternoon milonga (monday) was packed. Most of the time the crowd danced on the spot… because there were just too many people and people could hardly travel on the dance floor (except the first 30 seconds at the beginning of a tanda). However, that afternoon, I didn’t step on anybody and nobody stepped on me either. And I had lots of fun dancing with the old milongueros.

We went back to La Confiteria Ideal this year. Not the same day though. We went there in the evening, after visiting the gay-friendly milonga La Marshall. That evening Orchestra Sans Souci together with the singer El “Chino” Laborde performed there. The entrance was expensive (15 pesos, normal milonga charged between 7 pesos to 10 pesos), but with live music, what do you want! So we went in and we got a table very close to the little stage that hosted the orchestra. The performances started 30 mins after we arrived. The orchestra was ok, the music they played were very dancable, but they just followed the style of Miguel Calo, not that innovative I must say. The singer has a great voice and he has sense of humour. That evening, Isaac, Jean-Michel and I were impressed by his singing. I heard that he’s going to release a CD soon, definitely I will try to get one. So we had a rather relax but still enjoyable tango evening even though we didn’t dance much.

Ok… but this place has quite few things that puzzle me.

For those who know me well, I’m an “expert” of toilet. Of course I won’t miss the toilet in La Confiteria Ideal. The first thing that puzzle me – the handle of the entrance door of the ladies toilet and the big mirror inside the ladies toilet – 2 years ago they were broken, 2 years later, they were still broken. It was not a big deal, and because it was not a big deal, I think it’s not that difficult to repair them. However, they are still there… I won’t be surprised to hear that maybe 5 or more than 5 years ago, this broken handle and mirror were already there….

Jean-Michel told me that the gentlemen toilet was dirty and ugly. Of course I have no way to prove. But he invited Isaac to make a visit, and Isaac said the same thing. So I assume that the gentlemen toilet’s condition must be even worse… at least the ladies toilet is clean.

Second thing, the piano. As I said, 7 days a week there is always performances and milongas happening in the cafe. So the piano is used quite often. Many live orchestras or performances need the piano. I have quite good ears, and I’m very sensative to sound. I have a piano myself at home. I haven’t played it for years and it hasn’t been tuned for years as well. But I must admit that, my piano at home still sounds much better than the piano at La Confiteria Ideal. When the pianist of the orchestra started playing the piano, I couldn’t believe my ears. I think the whole orchestra should altogether tuned the instruments down for the piano – and even if they did so, I’m not sure if it’s going to sound better. Of course they didn’t do that. So throughout the performances, the orchestra and the singer were playing and singing in one tune, while the piano was definitely in another tune. That was very annoying. I just wonder when was the last time the cafe having someone to tune the piano… If you want to know how this out-of-tune piano sounds like – imagine a piano inside the music room of an old primary school being abandoned and leaving untouched for decades, and then suddenly one day someone stepped into this music room and tried to play this piano. If you love this “nostalgic” sound, you will love the piano at La Confiteria Ideal.

There are more. The ceiling has been broken here and there 2 years ago, and they still remain broken this year. Some parts of the broken fans or lamps have been hanging there 2 years ago, and needless to say, they are still there, continue to remind you that there used to be a fan or a lamp… few years ago a friend of mine went to Bs.As., at that time he already told me that La Confiteria Ideal was in a poor condition and at that time the place smelled bad. The place doesn’t smell bad when I was there – so maybe there’s an improvement, or it’s just because it is in winter.

The biggest puzzle – the cafe is having plenty of activities and is still generating income. So how come the owner doesn’t invest money to maintain the place? If doing an one-off renovation involves too much money, then at least they can do it little by little? Is changing the mirror and the handle of the toilet that expensive and difficult? Is tuning a piano unaffordable? Isn’t that a well-maintained historical site can attract more people to come? Too many questions… I don’t understand.

Is it a dream to see La Confiteria Ideal being restored and in as good condition as Cafe Tortoni? Unfortunately, yes.