Delusions
I think, as in all walks of life, any tango communities can have people who are delusional.
I believe it all goes back to how differently people grapple with new concepts, or in some cases how they have been led “up the creek” by one or more teacher-figures, as it were. 
It is often amusing to see the consequences because of these slightly skewed interpretations.
For example, it may not be uncommon to see a couple practicing hard at some fixed choreographies. This, even if executed awkwardly, is fine by me as long as the couple is not under the illusion that the same steps can be tried out on a unsuspecting partner on a social dance floor. Or that they think that they are actually preparing for social dancing, where each part in a dancing couple moves by listening to the proper leads/follows of the other. Otherwise, to each their own!
Another common misconception about Golden Age tango music is that it’s really only for beginners, and full of rhythmic stuff*? Or so people interested in using alternative music would have you believe… Actually I have no specific disdain for using alternative music – as long as it is the music that can bring people to dance, to the music that is. After all, tango is a dance which yearns for an emotional connection to the music you dance to. However, I do take issues when people consider alternative music as something superior and essential for “survival” of tango music, or that tango nuevo is somehow more “interesting” for the masses when the very same advocates still have trouble walking in flats to the beat… 
* The irony is that the same people who made these claims don’t seem to notice the heavy rhythm in techno-style music from Gotan Project, for example.
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Maps
Just for fun – and since I was constructing a map of tango venues in Singapore anyway – I decided to create a map of interesting tango-related places in Buenos Aires. Incidentally, I have been to all places marked on the map, except for Villa Malcolm, Club Fulgor, Club Glorias Argentinas and Salon El Pial (where La Baldosa is held). I will certainly be adding to it as I recall more places. Although this is probably a duplication of effort with existing maps but, hey, it’s my map with places that I am interested in!
View Buenos Aires tango in a larger map
* Note that I have only marked one shoe store, so far! 
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Salon or milonguero?
Melina, of the Melinda-Detlef fame, recently had something to say about tango styles. What she had written reminded me of my own experiences at a recent tango festival. I do agree with her overall thesis, that tango de salon is a sufficient description for social tango, and should not be used as a tag to separate dance styles between Susana Miller’s use of tango milonguero or Jorge Dispari’s use of Villa Urquiza = tango de salon.
Having taken classes with teachers who dance in a style that is suitable for crowded downtown milongas* in Buenos Aires (nowadays usually associated with the style prominently popularised by Susana Miller, as mentioned in Melinda’s piece), I feel that even here there can be quite distinct differences. As a postscript and before I digress too much, I suppose this is par of the richness that some are lamenting when they complain about tango “clones”!?
To me this “cloning” or “fashionable dance styles” are not really as much of problem as some people make out to be because it’s just indicative of how people came to experience tango. In the old days, people might learn from or were heavily influenced by their peers/elders, hence a style would likely remain dominant in any given barrio. In addition, from what I have heard, due to the relative isolation of different barrios, various styles usually remained untainted. In contrast, nowadays increases in the number of teachers available and fewer men practicing with other men before they can attend a milonga, people will naturally dance in the way they have been taught. I don’t think people should be faulted for trying to learn something new!? With more dancing mileage, things will surely and certainly change. It’s just a question of time.
* I think for the purpose of discussion, this long-winded description is necessary to avoid further confusion.
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Recent purchases, part 2
The second batch of new CDs arrived yesterday. Thanks to Vivien for bringing them back from Buenos Aires!
This lot is from the Buenos Aires Tango Club (or BATC for short). As I understand, you’d need to go through hoops and bounds to order anything remotely from BATC, so it’s good to have someone on the ground.
- BATC Orq 286 Francisco Canaro “La milonga de Buenos Aires” (1933-1940)
- BATC Orq 287 Francisco Canaro “Estampa del suburbio” (1929)
- BATC Orq 288 Francisco Canaro “Fueye Querido” (1930)
- BATC Orq 289 Francisco Canaro “Criollazo” (1930-1931)
- BATC Orq 290 Francisco Canaro “Yo te adoro bandoneon” (1931-1932)
- BATC Orq 291 Francisco Canaro “La canción de Buenos Aires” (1932-1933)
- BATC Orq 295 Francisco Canaro “Noches De Buenos Aires” (1935)
- BATC Orq 310 Francisco Canaro “Corazon de oro” (1930-1941)
- BATC Orq 340 Francisco Canaro “Dos amores” (1932-1934)
- BATC Orq 260 Orquesta Tipica Victor (1925-1927)
- BATC Orq 276 Juan D’arienzo (1928-1929)
Next step is to digitise everything to lossless format before anything goes wrong with the CDs (they seem to be writeable CDs), as Royce has recounted here. I plan to switch my DJing collection (and ditch iTunes) eventually to flac in any case.
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