A Tango Story

A rarity found in a place that no one would have imagined. Life is full of little surprises. Roughly forty years ago, a man was determined to put together a record with the best of tango, poetry, and paintings.

One of the songs just made so happy. I was in my bedroom, playing the record in my living room and then all of a sudden, I started paying attention to that song. Oro y Gris by Leon Benaros and Mariano Mores. Raul Soldi was the painter. He did his muneca: a blonde girl with curly hair. Maybe she was his Spring.

I like it when I have music in the living room and I can listen to it from everywhere in my apartment. That makes me feel less lonely, but not only that. It's a surprise when I walk from one room to the other. On top of that, it seems like something very movie-ish or movie-esque.

The entire album has a very interesting story. The selection of songs is amazing. Songs that you don't usually hear at the milongas. Originally recorded. Fourteen songs in which a producer selected the poems by famous Argentine poets and writers. He hand-picked the best musicians with the best orchestras and painters, who would have to paint how they felt tango. How does one feel tango?

When the guy had that idea, he wanted to include 14 songs - since the poems had 14 verses (sonnets), but that was technically impossible. Records only supported 12 songs total back then. He had to fight a great deal to have it done the way he wanted, the way he had conceived that idea. All of that was back in 1966 when tango was "dying".

This record is very special to me for many reasons. It was a donation. It was given to me when I already had made up my mind and didn't want to dance or listen to tango. And those were two big losses. Yesterday, I heard it for the first time. I was full of dreams, actively organizing my place, getting home late and happy. Happy because of you, your voice, your words, your love. It was a very busy evening. Music was present and tango was a gift.

Tango is a gift. It's a legacy. Tango is the reason for me to sing. I feel tango in every inch of my body and soul. Tango resonates with my childhood. It reminds me of my mom and my aunts. It reminds me of the cold winter in my hometown. It's like Buenos Aires in another shape. It's Buenos Aires for your ears. It's portable Buenos Aires, the Buenos Aires you carry in your heart. It's that red sky and those peach hues that you see over there at sunset. When you feel small because of the size of those dark and colonial buildings that are like street-scars. Ghosts that remind you of your own scars.

Tango is passion and tears and drama. It's our untold story, but felt every time we allow ourselves to first kiss each other. To first kiss life and its surprises. Its delights.

Above all, tango is the best of you and me. Together.

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