Crossroads

Remember when I just arrived I wrote about $5SGD big juicy beefs steaks (disappearing 6 packs). It keeps getting better!!

I just discovered a place right beside my hostel where it says 'Tenedor/ Parrilla Libre'. I walk pass it all the time not knowing what it means. But since then I've come to understand it 'libre' means 'free', 'parrilla' means 'bbq' and 'tenedor' means 'fork'. And those were eat all you can BBQ buffets!

So I went to try it with Cibele and Luciana. And it was awesome! We ate and ate and ate. Beef steaks, chicken steaks, pork steaks, fish, fried eggs, fried calamari, french fries, dessert, dulce de leche... blah blah blah....For 8.5 pesos (4 SGD, or 2.5USD)!!!

At the end of the meal I think I ate like 3 beef steaks amongst other things (open your two palms wide and place them side by side: this size). hahaha. Best meal I had since Royce and Jean Michel left.

Oh guess what. This very enterprising buffet business? Owned by chinese. In fact a lot of these parrilla buffet restaurants.

A few years ago, from the world of tango emerged two young shining stars, the lady was sharp, beautiful, fast and sizzling hot, the guy was elegant, agile, calm and understated; together, they made the nostalgic and romantic music of Francisco Canaro popular again. Their dancing, with a milonguero close embrace, showed the world you don't need gymnastic type movements to wow the audience. You just need love. The couple and lovers were Geraldine Rojas and Javier Rodriguez.

Fast forward till today, they have since separated and found their new dancing partners each. In Buenos Aires, I was fortunate enough to catch Geraldine Rojas performing live in a milonga club called El Beso.

That was a friday night, I just finished a fantastic class with Ana Maria Schapira in Salon Canning. The milonga that followed in Salon Canning was going great. Hsueh Tze was there and I saw many familiar faces whom I knew were good dancers. But I couldn't possibly miss a live performance by Geraldine. So regretably I left Salon Canning and went to El Beso.

I reached El Beso about 12 midnight and I couldn't believe the crowd there. it was a paltry 10 people. El Beso was not known for friday nights milongas. I mean I've been there on sundays and the place is packed. But on a friday night there were more established places to go. However, Geraldine is performing, surely that'll pull a crowd...

130am and Geraldine finally arrives with her new partner, Ezequiel Paludi. Geraldine is a beauty. If Claudia Codega is the ice queen, then Geraldine oozes youthful exuburance and red hot sensuality, without overboarding to crassness.

The performance started at 2am. To a pathetic crowd of 15 people. That wasn't bad enough. The performance was disappointing. With Ezequiel, Geraldine lost that special something. Javier was very fine and elegant. Very often he is so fine that he fades into the background and Geraldine comes roaring to the fore. When they performed 'Poema' in Taipei tango festival 2004, their love and musicality entralled everyone.

But Ezequiel is not that fine. Geraldine is still doing all the awesome embellishemnts and super sharp footwork. But to me it feels like she is trying to make Ezequiel look good. The subtlety and musicality is gone.

At the end of the day, I was a bit disappointed and also feeling sad that we'll never see Geraldine and Javier dance again. Even if one day they do, it'll never feel or look the same. Because they had danced with love. Nada mas.