Well, I don't know if it feels like less than three weeks or more. School helps me keep track of what day it is. Otherwise, time feels very different here. I wake up late, I go to bed late. I eat at different times (or all the time). It's the weekend again, already.
Yesterday after class I hung out a bit with Larry, but I was so tired. We went and had a snack in a nice little restaurant he knows, and then we went to Volta, which has better ice cream than Freddo. They have these really comfortable chairs and we sat there, ate our ice cream and I actually fell asleep. It was one of those sleeps where the body was asleep but I was still conscious. I could hear the noise of the people in the cafe at the ice cream shop, but I was out. I wanted to go home and take a nap, but Larry wanted to go to see a tango orchestra. I knew I would fall asleep if I did that, but he was pressuring me. Finally we figured out that this orchestra was playing in a cafe out near where Hernan lives, so I texted Hernan and he called me back. He wanted me to go over there. So, my choices were to go hang out with this cute, funny guy, or go listen to a tango orchestra and maybe fall asleep. I'm sure you can guess which one I chose.
The orchestra was actually very good.
No, just kidding. I had a great time again with Hernan. We drank wine, listened to music and when we got hungry, at midnight, he ordered empanadas to be delivered. These empanadas were not as good as the ones in El San Juanino, the restaurant across the street from Larry. They were more like donuts - I think they were fried, and they were really kind of heavy. But I wasn't all that hungry, so I ate a few. They also delivered a bottle of wine. Can you imagine having a pizza delivered along with a bottle of wine? Crazy.
Because Hernan had taken a 2 hour siesta, he was still raring to go, but I was exhausted after the wine, the empanadas, the heat in his apartment, the music, and his sofa, which is so comfortable that once you sit down, you can't get up. So I gradually slipped into a coma, while he continued playing with his computer. We watched some videos on You Tube, starting with Mina, an Italian singer that he likes, then we moved on to old Michael Jackson videos, and eventually, we went to bed.
I really don't like sleeping with people, but he is so easy to sleep with. I slept really well, and finally woke up at 10:30 this morning and made my way home to take a shower, and chill a bit. Hernan has some things he needs to take care of with an apartment he has in San Telmo that he rents out. I don't know what I'm going to do today. It's a beautiful day. It's Saturday and there will be less traffic, so it is a perfect day to take a walk and explore more of the city. But who knows. I may end up back in bed.
2 comments:
"El Arranque" is is a very hot tango orchestra composed of 7 members and a singer all under the age of 30 who make it a point to study with the masters. A wonderful documentary film was produced about this group last year and was a hit in Buenos Aires. The concert was $8 USD. I doubt that you would have fallen asleep!
I found this information for yoru readers:
The orchestra El Arranque started in 1996 as a quintet. Now is lined up by seven musicians and a singer, all them young and under 30 years old. Some of them as well played in the Orquesta Escuela de Tango led by maestro Emilio Balcarce.
They attempt to be in search of the musical essence of the genre. Their point of departure is a sound similar to De Caro with a strong influence of Osvaldo Pugliese’s style.
Between 1997 and now they recorded three compact discs. Their first disc, in which the singer Marcelo Barberis is featured, was under the auspices of Nelly Omar and maestro Leopoldo Federico. The second CD is titled “Cabulero”, as homage to this great bandoneonist, with their present singer Ariel Ardit. It includes two numbers written by two of its members “Gran Hotel Venos” by guitarist Alejandro Schwarz and “Jazmín”, by Ramiro Gallo, lead violin of the orchestra. According to critics, it is the best of the three CD’s. The last release is “Clásicos” and contains consecrated tangos in their own arrangements which strive for new paths.
With a strong support by the Secretaría de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, the group made several tours of Europe, including Germany, Italy and Switzerland. In May 2001 the group traveled to New York to appear along with the renowned jazz musician, the American trumpetist Wynton Marsalis at the Lincoln Center.
They also appeared at the Festival Buenos Aires Tango in París and at the Grec in Barcelona.
The contrabassist Ignacio Varchausky is the leader of the group. He studied with Daniel Buono and in the Escuela de Música Popular de Avellaneda.
Isn't it amazing that they were givig a concert for $8 USD?
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