Tango on the Crystal Isles
Percell St . Thomas & Raymond Lauzzana
Tango has been alive for many years in the Caribbean , although not always well . The islands have rather small populations . You can find enthusiastic tangueras and milongueros if you look for them . Tango , though enjoying an ever-growing audience of enthusiasts and aficionados , is still very sparsely situated throughout the Caribbean . Small and isolated groups such as the Puerto Rico Tango Marathon , Tango Milonga in Santo Domingo , Tango en Cancun , Tango St Lucia , and Club de Tango Flores in Trinidad , are doing what they can to help foster the dance . Visiting artists help as well . Winter and Spring bring notable dancers , such as Emilie & Pablo Tegli , Martinique and Ricardo Luis Gallo & Carla Maria , Dominican Republic . As long as there are dancers ready to dance and cruise ships ready to sail , the tango will grow , live , and prosper in this Crystal Paradise .
On the islands of Aruba and Curacao can be found a group lnown as Tango in Paradise founded by Mady & Rafael Oliana . You can hear tango emerging from the trees , the breezes , the sun , and the beaches of these two beautiful , Caribbean islands . This is a small but growing group of tango enthusiasts who are dedicated to cultivating the dance here .
This group of tango dancers are intent on spreading the art of the porteños of Buenos Aires throughout the Caribbean . With regular weekly classes , milongas and outdoor artistic events , the tango is building a presence here . They continue to bring reality to the dream of dancing the tango in the idyllic Caribbean islands , Tango in Paradise includes evenings of tango with orchesta tipicas from Argentina , a presentation of the International Argentine filmmaker Daniel Mitre , and a performances by the prestigious choreographer and expert tanguera , Susana Red . Each night ends with enjoyable , traditional milongas . In the Fall , they hold the Petit Tango Different Festival . Mady and Rafa headline the event . Their hope is to continue promoting and spreading tango on the islands .
The Bahamas are not quite in the Caribbean . They are in the Atlantic , north of Cuba , east of Florida . But , there is a small native tango community there . They hold milongas with free classes on Friday nights through the Summer at Sunny Side Restaurant in Nassau .
In Barbados . an island off to the southeast corner of the Caribbean , the Argentine Tango Dancers of Barbados are a group of tango enthusiasts residing in Barbados The group includes Maj-Britt Waagenes , Randy Payne , Rosemarie Layne and Lalu Hanuman . They meet irregularly at the BooGaLoo Recreation Studio in Bridgetown .
Cuba is home to Casa del Tango , a popular tango venue in Havana . Owners Wilki and Adelaida have turned their home into one of the more distinctive and eccentric venues in Havana , offering dance classes in tango , along with a floor show and dancing . The main room is a shrine to the dance , packed with old posters , sheet music and other memorabilia .
Everyone agrees that tango arrived in Havana in 1920 when Argentinean tenor José Muñoz , member of an opera and zarzuela company , sang three tangos to save the day when the show seemed doomed to failure . Perhaps because it was influenced by the Cuban habanera , tango has been a favorite in the island , reinforced by old movies still shown on TV of famous Argentine movie stars and singers Carlos Gardel and Libertad Lamarque , radio shows dedicated to this genre . The perseverance of Cuban musicians and singers , including Berta Pernas , Santiago Marrero , pianist Rey Díaz Calvet and young trovadora Liuba María Hevia .
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