Symbolic Roman Tango Places
Mario Abbati
Several years ago , while I was living in Spain , I discovered the Latin American dance world . I was amazed that the Spanish nightclubs were insensitive to the change of seasons . If I had the impulse to dance , I could choose an indoor room where I could be sure that I could dance in the same place at any time of the year , irrespective of Atlantic perturbations and weather from the Azores . It was enough to adjust the air conditioner ’ s temperature upwards or downwards and the game was on .
In Rome it does not work that way . In Rome , when the thermometers exceed the 20 ° in May and June , the enclosed spaces disappear , and the desire to move out under the stars is born . At first , I thought that this phenomenon was entirely dependent on the heat . The indoor air conditioning systems , for technical reasons or savings , were incapable of ensuring an acceptable climate for dancing . But then I realized that there was a different , deeper , perhaps unconscious reason that was driving the tango circus to move to open spaces . There is a need to re-occupy a city that is not liveable in daylight hours due to traffic . At sunset , the asphyxiating and yoxic congestion becomes a magically viable paradise .
Cesare Magrini founded the Tangocontemporaneo Association and organized of the first popular milonga under the arcades of Piazza Augusto Imperatore , Fatima Scialdone . As artistic director of the Tangoeventi Association , he brought tango to public spaces such as Piazza Vittorio and the Capitol . Maurizio Fabbri , created of the Tangram Project , which for two years has allowed the Roman tango community to dance In ancient and modern symbolic places including l ’ Isola Tiberina , il Ponte della Musica and the colonnade of the Museo della Civiltà Romana all ’ Eur
In the summer , tango doesn ’ t move to just any place in the city . There is a special formula that allows tango to release the most tangible effects of its power . Some places are repositories of personal secrets and urban mythos . The hidden unconscious can be exposed during the dance . Vicious circles of logic give way to the charm of these symbols emerging from the darkness . These revelations would otherwise be camouflaged in the shadow of conscience .
Several outdoor milongas continue to animate the summer ’ s evenings . Among all the ones that have succeeded in the history of Roman tango , it ’ s worth mentioning three that have transform themselves into events accessible to the whole tanguero audience .
— 5 —
TO SUBSCRIBE , CLICK HERE