Maipu 444 Saturday night 11.24

F has been to BsAs 18 times over the past twelve years. She is such a charming lady, friends with every one. From the waitresses at the milongas to the waiters at Cafe del Los Angelitos, every one loves her.

The restaurant is very elegant. We ordered nice bottle of Malbec, and juicy steaks (can't help it.) and fruitcieta con creama (strawberry with whip cream), the most delicious desert that I've had for a long time. During the two hours dinner we conversed, talked about tango, the meaning of it, the way each of us feel about it. Both of F and E have been there many times. They had these tango tales that sometimes made my eyes wet.

By 1:00am, we finally asked for the bill. Good food, nice service and damn good price. Salad, bottle of nice wine ($38 peso), good steak, and desert with coffee came out to be $50 peso per person.




Then we decided to go to Maipu 444. Got there around 1:30pm. And the floor was not so crowded. And damn, the level of dancing is really high here. Seeing all these fabulous dancers dancing was a treat for me. It sets the standard of "bien" dancing for me. I realized the stuffs that I need to work on to be able to dance like them, but I also gained confidence that soon I can excel.

I danced with F first. She is such a fantastic dancers. Then cabeceo a polish girl for half tanda. A local argentine woman who was probably a bit under level. Then another pretty looking young polish girl who was unsure in the beginning.

She is over 6 feet tall, which i guess it is normal height for a polish. I guessed she had bad experience with some one shorter before. She told me in the break that she was not sure about me being 5.8' dancing with a 6.1'. Clearly her doubt was gone soon when we started. She told me that she has been here for month and half and will stay for another two month and half. I told her how jealous I was.

Then I cabeceoed this woman who danced with Oscar Casas, and the best (or at least the best that were left at the time we arrived) in the milonga. She evaded my cabeceo earlier. But this time she nodded and accepted.

First thing she asked was what lingo that I speak in spanish. " Un poco Espanol, mas ingles." She too. It turned out that she is an Aussie. I don't know why, but I was not impressed with her embrace. Too stiff. After dancing with over thirty woman in three days, I realized that a good Argentine follower has this wonderful disassociation that makes dancing in close embrace a blissful experience.

Most of gringas that I danced with just didn't have that smooth hip movement. It is heavenly the way a good dancer move her hip. Then when I danced with some one whom feels like a block, regardless her level, the feeling was completely different.

How do I coup with the reality when I go back to NY. The unpleasant thought went through my mind and brought a bit chill in this summer night of BsAs.