Remarkable Argentina - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 339

ernors of Argentina's twenty-three (nearly autonomous) provinces create standing “armies”
of loyal civil servants who “oversee” businesses in their province.
In 2001 Argentina “suffered its worst economic collapse in more than a century.” [291]
Presidents came and went, with three in one week. Protestors took to the streets. But the
military did not intervene, and a civilian President, with assistance from the international
community, began the process of rebuilding the country's economy. For Argentina's demo-
cracy it was a close call, but a reassuring one. And for those concerned with Argentine cul-
ture, we offer this fascinating insight: during the worst of the economic crisis, with banks
closed and savings accounts frozen, when more than one-fifth of the population was out of
work and desperate, tango bars and halls thrived as Argentines found solace in the dance.
HOW TO DANCE THE TANGO?
To say that the tango is merely a dance is like saying that opera is merely a stage full
of singers. One quip has it that the tango is the vertical expression of horizontal desire.
True, there is a sexual undercurrent to the tango, but there is also the soulful expression of
loss. The rhythms of the tango are insistent; the beat is unmistakable—slow, slow, quick,
quick, slow. The sounds of the band are defined by the bandoneon, a small accordion
that delivers both rhythm and melody. A stringed instrument—violin, cello, or bass vi-
ol—complements the melodic theme. And sometimes a piano provides all three: melody,
theme, and rhythm. The music celebrates “urban themes of betrayal, poverty, and misery,”
but also “sweet tunes that uplift...” [292] The dancer's steps are sinuous: stance is a close
hold; chest, stomach, and thighs touch, and legs flash and wrap themselves around one's
partner with dazzling speed. Dance exhibitions in tango cabarets offer a wonderful tourist
experience. The more adventurous and more competent tourist dancer may, with caution,
find a partner in one of the tango venues scattered mostly around working-class neighbor-
hoods. In the tango, as Guillermoprieto suggests, the soul of Argentina is on display.