Tango on the ocean-Dancing in Gran Canarias

Even though where I current live the temperature is 20 ^oC during the day, it is true that this is not a season for dreaming of summer landscapes and leisure on the beach. However today as I was waking up, during this passage from the subconscious to the conscious, I had the vision of long and high dunes, coloured from white and gold sand, in various formations and spreading for several kilometres.. It was the magic scenery of Mas Palomas. Cliché, touristic, one might say, but always sensational… I visited Gran Canaria last February, in an effort to catch some sun and enjoy the beach and sea in the heart of the winter. Brilliant idea indeed… In the meantime I was lucky enough to have my visit coinciding with a tango festival taking place every year in Las Palmas. I wasn’t very optimistic about the experience, but I couldn’t miss it as well!

The first days of the festival were right on the peak of the carnival which is deep rooted in the local culture and combined with the working week days; it wasn’t big surprise that participation was rather weak,. In the weekend more people showed up, also from other islands, mostly speaking Tenerife. As a result things started to heat up, while in the meantime I started to become more familiar with the people and become part of the ‘group’. Anyway people were very hospitable and friendly and the ambience was cool… So it was the point of enjoyment with the festival peaking with classes and milongas…

The first thing that really stroked me was the devotion of the people to the classes, taking notes and videos, attending several lessons in a raw always focused, trying to understand every detail. Tango passionates exist everywhere, but I had never seen something like this before. It was obvious that the Canarians love tango and knowing that they don’t have a lot of chances for interaction with other dancers and teachers, they won’t definitely miss the few ones available. As a result, despite the fact that the tango groups in the Canary Islands are small, there are some very good dancers (mostly in Gran Canaria and Tenerife)…

Personally I also found my personal ‘tango guru’, Nacho, a local teacher that impressed me with his particular style. Nacho is teaching all the latin American and ballroom dances and he is very much into the dance and the music, while he has built his own hidden bridges, between different styles and dances. His tango is passionate, very musical and precise, while most important of all, even if he masters all the ‘fancy’ tango moves (soltadas, volcadas, etc), he prefers to transform every tango in his own ritual. He knows that he ca write his own lines in the tango book and he does it! And me, I finally skipped some classes of the festival take few private ones with him… Invaluable experience

The other thing that vividly remained from my visit is the contact with some of the people. The Canarians live simple, calm lives in a place which often resembles with paradise. Island people who have learned to take it easy, to appreciate the moment and the simple pleasures. So calm and polite, but on the other hand, present, respectful and technically correct, in the dance. So dancing tango with them brings a pleasant and mild warmth, but as well as something extra too difficult to express with words. Like the felling you have when you watch the see for hours, peace and serenity, but also something supernatural, bringing together aspiration and dreaming. Butterflies flying in your stomach… A feeling that persists every night after the milonga, during the walks on the beach next to the oceanic swell and the music from the swash. Another interpretation of tango and a very pleasant one indeed…