Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart
| The Sound That Was Missing |
| Chronicle of the first Tango Show and Dance at the Rock 'N' Bowl Cafe with the music of Quartet MALA JUNTA from Uruguay and the performance of the NOLA Dance Troupe "Los Che." |
| Photos by Gary Breaux |
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Those who undertake the endless journey on the path of the tango, travel through well-known avenues where the emotions intersect each corner, and along with the happiness of the encounter with old and new friends there is also the occasional disappointment that results from the actions of disloyal friends. There are also less frequently traveled roads. Those who venture on these, have their hearts full of tango, with the flaming torch that blazes new trails, so that those who follow can find a friendly footpath. This path leads to a place to make a heart-warming pause before continuing the search of the destiny that waits ahead. One of these new footpaths leads to New Orleans, the Crescent City that rises majestically from the shores of the powerful Mississippi River. A harbor city; a melting pot of races; a "Bohemian soul;" a resonant box of old and new sounds that form the musical essence that gave the world the happiness and the sadness of jazz. Music of the black folks that seized the soul of the white people, and after a long time of tragic racism and segregation contributed to the universal recognition of men and women, without regards to the color of their skin. |
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Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart |
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When arriving in New Orleans, the traveler recognizes traditions; the narrow streets; the balconies overflowing with flowers; the street lights that illuminate the nigh for untiring travelers as they look for, and find, in every door, the sounds of pistons; of strings; of accordions; of drums and of voices that sing the experiences of life. Each relevant event is celebrated with brass bands parading through the streets of the French Quarter marching with the joy that the music creates, the second line dancing and the spirit always present of those who no longer exist, but have left their footprints on the old cobblestones near the river bank. |  |
| Barbara and Alberto |
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| On Monday,
April 9, a missing sound arrived to New Orleans. It came from
the Eastern shores of the Rio de la Plata, another majestic river
that unites two cities fraternally related by the common sound of the original
tango. With a bragging and sentimental accent, lazy and inciting, the moan
of the bandoneon was heard in New Orleans.
At 9 PM, in a hall reminiscent of neighborhood clubs of Montevideo or Buenos Aires, the night shivered like a first love affair when the "fueye" of Gerardo Perez played the sounds of La Yumba. As the floor filled with dancers, many listening to the phrasing of the bandoneon for the first time, the members of the Uruguayan quartet Mala Junta began to write a new chapter in the imponderable history of the music of New Orleans. The tango had its party and it dressed up for the occasion. The way is now open so that
the travelers of tango may find, in a bend of the Mississippi
River, a warm abode where open arms will wait them with a fraternal
embrace, and where they can hear along with the old sounds of New Orleans,
the new yumba of tango shooting from digital tracks, and sometimes from
an orchestra on stage.
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"Los Che" Valorie, Phyllis, Aaron, Sabina, Sean, Catherine, Mary Anne, Warren, Gary, Melissa, Ed, Alberto |
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| Barbara | Antonio and Enrique | Rosanna, Valorie, Catherine and Warren | Alberto and Aaron |
Photos courtesy of Gary Breaux
Last update, 4/21/01