In one of my favorite movie scenes Al Pacino asks a lady to tango with him and she says that she has never done it and she is afraid of making a mistake. He answers: "No mistake in tango, darling. Not like life, simple, that's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, get all tangled up, you just tango on.(Scent of a woman). This is so true. Tango is more than just a dance. It's a relation. That's why it takes two. It's all about passion. It doesn't matter whether you're young or old, fit or unfit as long as you tango. I don't feel like walking in Argentina, I fill I tango through it.
My first steps brought me to Mendoza which is the province in north-western part of Argentina, famous for cultivation of wine and olives. It is a little bit unusual thing to grow the grape in the desert which is 60% of the Province. The melting snow and ice from the nearby mountains are used to water the wine yards. The kind of wine specific for this region is Malbec, originally imported from France in 1852. I visited two wineries in Mendoza, one ran by Wineirt family, now turned into museum and the other one, still active - Donaturo. The other one is specialized only in a production of red wine. In the opinion of Donaturo family, there are other parts of Argentina with the different kind of ground, clime and water, more suitable for the cultivation of white grape. Obviously, they tend to keep the standard in a production. Tasting the wine here Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet, I learned how to separate wheat from chaff: good quality wine needs to be the red color ( if it's brownish that means it's not good); to recognize the texture of wine moving the glass in rounds leaving the thick line with the drops called tears falling down the glass. In general, I prefer white wine with the meal, especially with the seafood. Red wine doesn't need anything because it's very thick, it's a meal itself. Maybe served with some croutons dipped in extra virgin olive oil which brought me to another factory- of olive oil. What I didn't know is that the olive oil for culinary purposes is derived from the black olives. Green olives are too bitter to make the oil with. I saw a grinding machine and big tanks for preserving and refining the oil. I love olive oil so much that I wanted to jump with my head first in the thank. Also, there are spa products made of olive oil, more than necessary for nourishing and moistening the skin in this dry area.
City of Mendoza looks like a cute little Mediterranean place with a lot of parks. Once more on this trip, I ran into a local willing to show me the city. Federico, one in a thousands of Argentinians speaking English here, is from south of Province, studying an electro engineering and he has four siblings. He suggested to meet and to explore the city riding a bike which is possible to get for free. When we met the next day, Federico already knew few words in Serbian. Jeronimo, one of his brothers, joined us. After the ride, we went for a lunch where I met two of his girlfriends. They don't eat animal products so they took me to a vegan buffet. We got the food to go and made a picnic in the park. This was the most pleasant lunch I had in a while, sitting in the shade of a palm tree and having a nice conversation. I told to Federico that Messi is my favorite soccer player. I like to see him dancing a tango with the soccer ball and then this game seems to be very easy. One day, maybe, Messi asks me to tango. I found out, unfortunately, that he is not so popular in Argentina. Messi hasn't won The World Cup yet so Maradona is still number one here.
Buenos Aires is a city of tango. Tango starts here late at night on the streets, in the clubs. I can say tango's in the air. I woke up in the middle of the night and went to a club just to feel the atmosphere. Dress code is suitable for tango: women wearing the tight dresses uncovering the knees for the steps which will put the accent on dancing and the high heels specially designed for tango; men are dressed in elegant suites and shoes. Couples are dancing on the floor until one of them starts its own show. I tried few steps, got "tangled up" and went back to watch professionals. Definitely, I have to learn it.
During the day, Buenos Aires, gives un impression of an artistic city. The facades are all in the graffiti. The official culture considers graffiti as an act of villains but in the underground world are considered to be an act of a free spirit or will. Graffiti artist tango with the culture.
Tango is still on and it dances me to the end of time and World.
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