Guerrilla Tango & a Sunday Afternoon Milonga

Guerrilla tango in the United States in an impromptu gathering of people dancing tango, usually in a public place with portable music. I guess you could also call it a tango flash mob.

They don't use this term in Paris. Dancing on public property requires a permit that takes weeks to obtain. Instead, the tangueros spread the word among themselves to gather at a certain public place where they dance until the end of the set time or until they are kicked out by the authorities, whichever occurs first. So they use the elegant term "milonga illégale".

We received word from Lydie, our newest tango friend in Paris, of an IM in front of the Musee d'Orsay that evening. So we went. We arrived around 7:30pm, it is still light but dusk is quickly approaching. There weren't alot of dancers then; they seemed to come out after dark.


That's a corner of the Musee d'Orsay on the right. It is a former railway station that was converted to a museum in the '80's & houses the largest collection of impressionist works in the world. After the Louvre, this is 2nd on most visitors' "must-see" list.











More tango.





















Susanne took this shot. That's Lydie & me off to the right.

















Here we are. This photo was taken from a video by the local tanguera & videographer, Debora.














,A close up with Lydie. Her job is to promote Paris & Paris exhibitions throughout the world. So she travels alot. Last week she was in Montreal for 10 days & tangoed 10 nights.


















Finally, here's a video of the scene. The music wasn't very loud for the outdoors so it's hard to hear. As I pan, you'll see Susanne in the background.

(I could not get this video to play in the compose or preview mode. So if it doesn't play in the web version, let it go. Blogger is driving me nuts.)



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On Saturday afternoon we went to a milonga in the neighborhood at Barrio Latino a very large dance hall & night club. Except it wasn't night but 4:30 in the afternoon.

The music was a mix of traditional & nuevo music. Very little of the traditional music was familiar to us. The crowd seemed to emphasize fancy, intricate moves.

The late afternoon sun was shining on the building across the street. That soft light reflected into the dance hall.


And finally, here's a video of a the last part of a milonga.