John:
One of our students Jose (who looks like Pablo Picasso), last week, told us to head off to the Teatro Empire on Avenida Hipólito Irigoyen (that is the name of a road btw) for a free tango show.

What he didn't tell us is that 400 pensioners would be doing the same thing.

We arrived and there was a queue along the block, we were the youngest by far. But the way I figured: imagine going to New Orleans (before Katrina) and you see a queue for a show that is full of old New Orleoneans, who have been listening to the music all their lives...

The theatre was a deco dream, big eagles on pillars outside and faded inside. The seats were the original 1920s wood and leather and the theatre itself was oval, with a ceiling made of concentric circles, like a jelly mould based on the Hollywood bowl.

The show was fantastic. The sort of thing that tourists pay US$60 for... for free. I think it was sponsored by one of the unions and the early evening show is the pensioner special. The dancers were amazing. One guy (in his 60s at least) looked just like Donald Sutherland at his bearded best and he danced with a girl 30 years his junior. The old guys are amazing, they seem to hardly move but they're like kung fu masters, the girls move around them like they're the centre of a storm- very good to watch. The highlight for the crowd was the appearance of Juan Carlos Godoy, a singer who was famous in the 50s. He had an amazing voice and the crowd really did go wild (400 pensioners and me and Liz were on our feet, and for some of them that was a tall order).
  ¶ 1:56 AM