Thursday, May 31, 2007

BACK TO SKÅNE-BIRTHDAY-MALMÖ- BEDDINGESTRAND -HÖLLVIKEN
It's good to be back. We are home again after a long, long journey...
There is cognac, Schapslieder and story-telling. The sun is shining, but RAPS FIELD ARE NOT THERE ANYMORE! MAY IS OVER. A new chapter will be written soon!


It is a second of June ( 02/06 2007) today and it is MY BIRTHDAY. I am a big girl now, and I hope a better dancer too. Age is good for tango, therefore I am absolutely relieved, and give a permission to anybody to ask about HOW OLD- I will answer with pride!
Each year I let the destiny ( tango destiny) choose the most appropriate place to celebrate it. So the list is very exotic: some years ago it was Ibiza, last year it was my cherished Provence, south of France, and now it is OUR SKÅNE, Sweden! I don’t remember having my birthday in mi Buenos Aires querido, anymore! Maybe it will happen one day, but considering that June is winter in Buenos Aires, I ‘d rather have a summery birthday- this is a requirement of my latin soul! WE WILL NOT HAVE WINTERS IN OUR LIVES- WE PROMISED EACH OTHER 4 years ago. AND WE KEEP THE PROMISE!

I woke up in a REGAL APARTMENT in Old Town of Malmö this morning: the sun was entering through the white, delicate curtains ( the northern folk does not have a custom to block the sun coming into the bedroom), the birds were singing and noises of pedestrian street down below was saying a BIG HALLO. It was a real pleasure to have this ***** room, freshly refurbished, just before our arrival. Very stylish:prevailing while with touches of light blue. Was it coincidence that Leif has prepared our special room in ARGENTINEAN FLAG COLOURS? And was it a coincidence that I arrived, a night before, wearing a shirt with Argentinean colours on it, with ARGENTINA written on the back ( Victor took a photo of me, stretched on a white-blue bed, having siesta, with ARGENTINA sign shining with little diamonds)
It was a delightful night after our performance in Camarin- each year’s tradition. But this year, unlike the other times, we had a lovely walk from our Långgårdsgatan 6 to Torpsgatan . It was almost ARGENTINEAN sensation ON LILLA TORG that evening, full of people and life, which, so long held inside, was booming out, covering all the chairs of terraces of cafes and restaurants, strolling through the cobbled stones streets: a warm summer evening that is SO FAMILIAR TO US: IT SMELLED BUENOS AIRES!
The Camarin milonga was a special prelude to my birthday too: coming here for the last 6 years in a row, we feel like in a family: so many familiar faces of our students, our friends. Not only tango between us, but many precious SYSTEM BOLAGET wines and beers, conversations and dreams about going to Buenos Aires, trips through raps fields, farewells and welcome back! So, as our Sven sings ( 60’s song) ‘ What a night, what a night, what a Saturday night’ : everything perfect, but one very Swedish detail: TIME DEADLINE: nightlife finishes at midnight, and that is LATE for SWEDEN. Special occasions, like our visit with a show, exceptionally prolongs the fiesta for as much as one hour more.
It is NOT Buenos Aires, where life just starts at midnight! Little differences: different climate, mentality and thus: habits…
I woke up in the REGAL APARTMENT in Långgårdsgatan 6. First gentle noises from the street and smell of orange-yellow birthday roses. Special birthday breakfast. We are fans of Swedish breakfasts anyway, their abundance and colourful display of different breads, cheeses, hams, marmalades. A delight for the eyes. And for the palate as well. Taken by the beauty of this MORNING, and it was AN ARGENTINEAN MORNING INDEED, or, I should rather say, a TANGUERO MORNING, 11 am, Saturday, I rushed to fetch my camera to immortalise the moment. And this anxiety had its price. As I wanted to have everything and every one of us in a picture, I asked Leif to use his tripod and place my camera on it. My remark: careful not to knock it down,was too late. THIS BIRTHDAY MORNING WAS THE END OF MY CAMERA! It did not even lived long enough to have its FIRST ANNIVERSARY! But there is a kind of spell of our cameras- they do not last long! Is it intensity of our travels! Experiences, feelings, tension, which kills them? Is it TOO MUCH TO STORE?!

-There was one drown in a Russian River ( was it Volga?) while canooing
-One we had stolen in a night train from Prague to Cracow ( while we were put asleep by a sleeping gas)
-Another was stolen IN SWITZERLAND WHILE WE WERE GIVING A SHOW ( what a fantasy of a theft)
-and given this sweet flat SAMSUNG as a compensation
-and on my birthday, 5 days before its FIRST ANNIVERSARY ( still on guarantee) IT COMES TO AN END. Farewell our faithful travel companion, sleep well and dream TECHNICOLOR DREAMS!

But may this little accident be the ONLY unpleasant accident of our tango tour!
Easy to arrange: we will get a new travelling companion just on my birthday.
Therefore this chapter will be only verbal and NOT ADORNED BY ANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS- those taken last days are gently sleeping in our Samsung…
Any conclusions: DO NOT PUT A CAMERA ON A TRIPOD WITHOUT FIXING IT TRYING TO TAKE A PHOTO OF TOO BIG GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM A VERY NARROW KITCHEN DOOR; ESPECIALLY ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!
We have learnt!

But, on the other hand, our Divine Tango Protection sent me two gifts ( by now) for my birthday:
- an invitacion to go to Norrland en of June ( especially valuable and flattering that it was due to the Presidents of Two Tango Associations meeting us at the Tango Event in Sollefteå) I m very proud because this case certifies that SWEDISH can become ARGENTINEAN in certain actitudes: Åke decided to organize it in ONE MONTH, which , for Swedish timing IS A VERY SPONTANEOUS ACTION ( normally they organize everything a year or at least half a year in advance!)
-a contract for TANGO FESTIVAL in PERU, with solid confirmation to take us to CUZCO y MACHU PICHU: THIS IS FOR INREDULOUS ONES: TANGO TAKES US EVERYWHERE. WE DO NOT NEED TO BE TOURISTS OR PAY OUR TRAVEL PACKAGES!
And in that case too, the invitacion is due to the stage in Valparaiso, Chile, which connected the eyes of Peru Organizers with ours... INESCRUTABLES SON CAMINOS DE TANGO!- Victor says!
And now, there is a surprise party, on the most southern point of Sweden: SMYGEHUK. Our wonderful students from Beddingestrand , together with our SUPER AGENT INGER are preparing it in a secret. EVEN THE SUN IS ORDERED, and , according to Swedish Weather Forecast it will be so.
Meanwhile, cognac, schanpslieder and some brief nostalgia of our house- SO FAR AND SO NEAR….

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

FAREWELL TO NORRLAND!
Mission completed, pleasure had, wild north conquered!
Now we are going to experience how far we got by travelling back, onland, during 24 hours to reach our Skåne!

Yesterday a farewell present: moose shit was offered to us in a jar! ( SIC!) I would not belive it had I not listed about it for many times: tourists actually buy it in souvenirs shops: we got it as a present: the very best,genuine, taken from the woods, just behind our tango students' house: THANK YOU GUN & UNO! You dared to give us this special present! We will TAKE THE SHIT!

We got another one at Farewell -See You Soon Party: wooden moose masseuse ( back-scratcher) and wooder junipher butter knifes. Not to mention the WHOLE PACKAGE OF TUNNBRÖD, some as TUNNBRÖDRULLE (Surströmmingsrulle I had before, thank you very much!)we are carrying for our journey just as a little schnaps bottle and original home made Christmas liquor- Sven is such a good provider!Moose meat as a welcome back party ( nevertheless we had reindeer-wraps and moose meat with a delicious sause already) I shall not forget a CD of 100 Schnapslieder- a very best gift from Sven!

And THE BEST WAS FOR THE FINAL DAY: yesterday, coming back from tango practica in town, our student Uno overpassed our car and made us stop, turn back and get off the car: A GLORIOUS MOOSE WAS THERE STANDING AND STARING AT US- my heart started to beat quickly. HE WAS STANDING THERE, FROZEN FOR A GOOD WILE AND THEN started to climb up the forest slope.... FAREWELL NORLAND!

Friday, May 25, 2007

ESTACION: SOLLEFTEÅ!por Victor

Sollefteå es una ciudad de 26000 habitantes, a unos 450 km. al norte de Estocolmo, y a unos 100 km. del mar. Esta rodeada de interminables

bosques, y se situa en un valle, entre modestas montanas heredadas de la ultima glaciacion que cubrio el planeta. Esta movida geologica en realidad pario toda la peninsula escandinava, tierra de Noruega, Finlandia, Dinamarca y Suecia, y dejo como testimonio incontables lagos, fiordos, islas, costas muy plagada de accidentes geograficos, que la hacen muy bella, y tambien la cadena montanosa que sirve de limite sueco- noruego. Otra consecuencia de esa glaciacion fue la creacion del subsuelo escandinavo, una gigantesca capa de granito que luego fue cubierto, por sedimentacion, con la muy fertil tierra negra: humus. Pero aqui y alla afloran desde las profundidades enormes piedras que le dan al paisaje un toque muy especial.
De la cadena montanosa que nos separa de Noruega bajan incontables rios que se acrecientan por los deshielos, y corren en direccion oeste-este hacia el Baltico, creando tambien cientos ( o miles) de lagos, rios, arroyos que transforman esta region en un casi delta, de aguas limpias y frias.
En esta pequena ciudad, tenemos clases de tango, milonga y vals en grupo, mas el show sabado a la noche y un par de clases privadas, pues aunque parezca increible, aca hay una milonga cada semana, y la gente baila tango de Buenos Aires, y se las rebuscan. La globalizacion sirvio para algo, voto a Bill Gates!
Aca nuestro alojamiento corre por cuenta de Sven, un sueco muy amable y sereno, de 62 anos, tanguero por supuesto, que vive solo en una bella casa a 12 km. del pueblo, y tiene una novia en Estocolmo que cada tanto lo viene a ver, pero ella no baila, asi que Sven manotea lo que puede cada vez que hay milonga en el pueblo, grande Sven!
Nos atienden de maravilla, y nos llevan y traen al pueblo a cada clase en el infaltable Volvo, que corre por una carretera entrte el bosque, protegida a ambos lados por un cerco especial para que los alces no se manden a cruzar. Cada tanto hay un paso especial para ellos, y esta senalizado con carteles que te avisan: Ojo, alces cruzando!!
Una vez pasado el fin de semana, con un monton de clases, entre grupales y privadas, mas el infaltable show, tenemos un par de dias para turismo e invitaciones varias, y cosas mas mundanas como lavar ropa, comprar los pasajes para la proxima movida, etc.
Nos invitaron a comer a la casa de un matrimonio veterano, alumnos nuestros, a 25 km. del pueblo, en la costa de un lago de pelicula, en una casa absolutamente aislada, rodeada del tipico jardin sueco: enorme, prolijo y con mucho espacio abierto.
El menu era variopinto, pero tenia un componente muy especial, muy local y muy famoso en la zona: arenque fermentado. Yo pense OK, debe ser pescado preparado con una receta tipica. Pues si, era eso, pero la receta tipica es de la epoca de los vikingos, cuando no habia heladeras, y el pescado se conservaba con sal, en barriles de madera, y se lo hacia fermentar con no se que porqueria para que el proceso de putrefaccion no se completara. Y si bien era cierto que no se completaba, tambien era cierto que se iniciaba. O sea, para hacerla corta, es pescado crudo medio podrido!!
Entramos al comedor donde se habia preparado la mesa para la reunion, muy paqueta, con copas para cerveza y para vodka, el increible pan Tunnabröd, manjar fino y flexible, quesos, pastas de no se que para untar, todo muy apetitoso. Entonces entro la duena de casa con la bandeja con el dichoso arenque fermentado. Instantaneamente el aire se volvio irrespirable, la baranda a podrido era mortal. Obligado por las circunstancias a adoptar un papel diplomatico, acepte uno de aquellos pequenos pescados horrendos, crudos, con tripas y todo, y poniendo cara de nada me lo lastre, con medio kilo de pan, tomate, papas, cerveza, vodka y cualquier cosa que atenue ese espantoso sabor.
Cumplido trabajosamente ese deber, me preguntaron que opinaba, y que iba a decir? Chamuye que era una experiencia interesante, que seria una anecdota, pero que en realidad era un poco fuerte para mi, cosa que se entendio y no me ofrecieron mas, gracias a Dios.
Pero la revancha fue gloriosa. El segundo plato era una carne de alce exquisita, preparada al horno muy suave durante toda la noche, luego sedeja enfriar y se corta muy fina, tipo fiambre. Es sabrosisima, y combinada con las papitas nuevas y la salsa que se sirve encima es una combinacion espectacular, y las cervezas desfilaban incansablemente por aquella mesa generosa. Fin de la comida, en otra salita mirando el lago, para una tarta tibia de frutos del bosque con crema fria semiliquida de vainilla, y el cafe final. Siesta obligatoria.

El buen Sven, que como ya dije es milico retirado, mayor del ejercito sueco, nos llevo en su Volvo a pasear por la zona, en un radio de 150 km. alrededor, y el paisaje es alucinante.
En uno de los grandes rios, en su desembocadura en el mar, hay no una, sino siete plantas de fabricacion de pasta de celulosa, cosa que pondria los pelos de punta a los "ambientalistas" de Gueleguaychu. Pues ocurre que las aguas de alrededor estan impecables, monitoreadas permanentemente por el gobierno y por las mismas empresas. La ciudad bebe el agua de ese rio, se pescan y crian salmones para consumo humano de la mejor calidad, ( me recontraconsta) y obviamente todo el mundo se bana alli en verano.
Repito: siete Botnias juntas, con tecnologias de los ultimos 20 anos, que son regularmente actualizadas. No quiero entrar en polemicas, pero me parece que los talibanes de Gualeguaychu, como una vez los definiera con presicion y sarcasmo Jose Sanchez, se hacen los otarios y no escuchan o no quieren escuchar todas las campanas. Que se yo!
El ultimo dia en Sollefteä estuvo ocupado por cena de despedida, regalos varios, CD con musica folclorica local, souvenirs varios y….bosta de alce!! Si, la tan criticada bosta para turistas gansos, nos la regalaron, asi que ira a Buenos Aires este recuerdo tan particular. Son bolitas secas de bosta en un frasquito con un alce caricaturizado. En fin…


La vuelta al sur de Suecia: Bus Sollefteä – Estocolmo ( 8 horas de viaje) , escala de 8 horas en la maravillosa Estocolmo, aprovechada para hacer sightseeing caminando entre las islas que componen esa especie de Venecia nordica, impresionante.
La arquitectura de la ciudad es bellisima, y sobre todo me maravillo el uso y manejo del ladrillo, mas refinado y exacto aun que los ingleses. Edificios de 400 o 500 anos, en estado impecable, y de una composicion geometrica estable y armoniosa, colores de perfecta combinacion, bellos para siempre. Entre las islas que componen la ciudad entran y salen barcos de todo tipo: cruceros de lujo, de carga, deportivos, antiguos, regalandonos un show nautico permanente.
A las 11 de la noche tomamos el bus a Malmö, otras 8 horas de viaje, y finalmente llegamos de vuelta al sur, a la hermosa y conocida Malmö, donde bailamos el show el viernes, clases sabado y domingo, fiesta de cumpleanos de la gringa el domingo, en casa de Alexandra, otra bella alumna sueca con casa en el campo.


Siguen pasando paises y lugares y personas, y la verdad es que siento a veces una sospechosa sensacion de incertidumbre. Como que algo malo o feo deberia pasar alguna vez. Pues hasta donde yo se, la vida no es asi, esto es joda! Pero tambien es cierto que ya hace un par de anos estamos en este sistema de vida, y funciona nomas. Entonces, hace tiempo decidi hacerme el otario, manotear todo lo posible ( no estoy hablando de plata) y estirarla todo lo posible, sean semanas o decadas. Ya veremos cuando el viento sople para otro lado, si sopla.

Proxima etapa: Riga ( Letonia), Alkmaar ( Holanda), Eindhoven ( Holanda)


Tambien pueden visitar otro capitulo, donde hallaran la mirada femenina de la gringuita, mas fotos y comentarios de ella en castellano e ingles.

Northern Sweden-Ångermanland-welcome to the land of MOOSE, REINDEER AND WOLF! by Aisha


We were driving for the last 100 km deeper and deeper into the forests-lakes- rivers wilderness with our great guide and host Sven, who has picked us up in Härnösand - it was midnight already, but the brightness was confusing our sense of time and beautifully iluminating this fairy tale countryside. We are not in the midnightsun period- Sven explained, but it was already enough to impress us! We were looking at the landscapes as if from LORD OF THE RINGS films, no doubts! And it is a last part of our long journey that we have decided to make onland, to see how the landscape changes from Smånd up to Ångermanland:13 long hours of driving!
We have passed Stokholm and carried on northwards. I was having the last ( SYMBOLIC) drops of Arktika vodka, that our wanderful cook from Kalma
r, Edwin, has put in our ' provisions' s bag as a special farewell and it had a magic effect on the landscape: it was getting more and more wild and more and more uninhabited- the wild forests and ÄLVAR ( big rivers) with plenty of islands on them have appeared, the postglacial ondulated landscape was both threatening and breathtaking- a human being is nobody there- this is a land of MOOSE, REINDEER, BEAR , WOLVE and EAGLE!

We were passing many road signs with MOOSE warning, and Sven made us understand the real danger of this encounter.Anyway, we are excited about this possibility! Sven told us about wolves visiting him sometimes in his house in the middle of the forest, and there are neighbours who has seen bears! We are out of so called civilisation, that is for sure, and we are ready for anything. The striking idea is- tango has arrived here and conquered the hearts of this tough people, people of few words... We have heard a lot about them, down in South of Sweden- stories about norther men, ' yu-men', since YU standing for ' yes' - the only answer you might get conversing with them. Yu can be also substituded by a short sound, non sonoric, which could be described as taking a puff of a cigarete inwards, or tryin to whistle inwards, without making a real sound, only air passing through the mouth put in ' U' shape... We were laughing while practicing this sound in Småland, having Edwin & Lene as our phonetics teachers.. And now as we are here- we state that the people still DO talk, but, for our pleasure ( and fun) they DO make this sound, which we call, between us a ' moose sound'.

But our Sven is a very eloquent man- he is a wise man from the Northern Sweden, with lots of knowledge- life wisdom- of somebody who has lived alone in the middle of the nature and therefore appreciates human company-he speaks slowly weighing each word. We are happy that he is going to be our guide to explore the land and culture of this region. We are bombarding him with so many questions from the first moment we saw him- his handsome face adorned with Salvador Dali-like moustache definitely awakes confidence and builds a bridge between him and new visitors. Sven is patiently answering all of our questions and we are slowing down: EVEN I feel I am beginning to speak and react in a slow motion!
Sven must have some special contacts with Vikings Gods, because he had arranged a perfect weather for us- all the time of our stay in his wooden house in the woods. It was a pleasure to have my yoga sessions in his terrace outside, the woods coming into the gardens.
It is thanks to SVEN that we have alrea
dy started our gastronomical journey in this land:
TUNNBRÖD is something we are tasting for the very first time and both of us developed a strong preference for it,it comes in two versions: soft one, like paper,that you can fold and crispy one , which has to be broken .
Therefore we are going to have TUNNBRÖDSRULLE whenever we want to have a snack ( tunnbröd filled with mashed potatoes, sousage and pickled cucambers)
We were welcomed with special yogurt of the region, YOGHURT of HJORTRON, a special berry of this region, whose name we have not found neither in English nor in Spanish. Anyway, we just LOVE IT!There is, course, a liquor made of this berry as well!
We had Johnsons' temptation, which simplicit
y matches the taste: sliced potatoes, onions, cream and fish- baked in the oven. Thank you Lena!
Sven has prepared a wanderful Malins Kyckl
inglåda,for a dinner in our honour- it made Victor forget argentinean meat for a while. And Rabarberpaj,with vanilla cream is a real danger for any human being- thanks god we are dancers and burn it quickly...
And of course, the QUEEN of the dishes is the MOOSE MEAT, which we enjoyed slice by slice, accompanied by the story of its unusual origins: a housewife was surprised with unexpected visit. She took a deep frozen moose and in her desperation
put in the oven with 75 degrees. She forgot about it, and next morning she managed to rescue it putting it in the saulty water. This was this magic touch which gives the moose meat its fine savor. Guna was kind to offer us this delicacy.
BUT WITHOUT A DOUBT OUR GASTRONOMICAL BAPTISM OF THE NORTHERN SWEDEN IS FERMENTED HERRING-SURSTRÖMMING. We have been listening about it from the very beginning, maybe even before we get here- mostly jokes about our eating it. As we were driving to Guna and Uno's house, now, of course, in the middle of the woods ( half an hourse driving un unpaved road deep to the forest) by the picturesque lake to attend an invitation to a FERMENTED HERRING PARTY, we got the message very clear: WE ARE GOING TO EAT A HERRING COUGHT LAST YEAR- Sven explained, that is: we are going to have an animal which has died a year ago! All our south swedish friends are waiting for that moment as they themselves, would never dare to confront EVEN THE SMELL OF IT. And yes, it is the SMELL of this dead fish witch could put off any, even the most insensitive nose. BUT WE ACCEPT THE CHALLAGE, we want to be a part of this culture, we want to go through this ritual! And it had happed! Of course, we were explained the story of its origines: in the 16th century herring was a means of paying taxes to the king. It took so many months to get to the king, that submerged in a salty water ( not enough salt- IT WAS EXPENSIVE BACK THEN!) it started to go off! And apparenty the hunger of some Swedish at that time was such, that disconsidering a smell they ate it... and it was GOOD! Since then it became a tradition. And it is said to be healthy- good for digestion!
I cannot say I enjoyed the moment when the herring dish entered the room! SOMETHING's ROTTEN IN THE KINGDOM OF DENEMARK- I thought. The rotten smell of fish- what a challange! We have not put a cloth cog on our nose, as advised by our super agent Inger, and we ate it as heroes do- the whole ceremony recorded by 2 cameras and plenty of photographs. There are no doubts that we went through the ceremony of smelly fish baptism! AND WE HAVE SURVIVED! Now we deserve to stay a couple of days more to enjoy the land and culture. Tomorrow is another party- our FAREWELL PARTY and we are not supposed to know what another gastronomical delicasy will be served. We are prepared for anything!
And where is herring party, there are SNAPSLIEDER! We were getting ready also for this very Swedish ritu
al. You are not allow to drink without singing a drinking song. A different one before each glass of schnaps! So there is a Schnaps' song nr 1,"Helan Går",2 "Helan gick i ena foten" 3 " and so on, 4... 10.. and 100! Yes, Sven made us listen to a CD of 100 Snapslieder! But we learnt only one, which we practiced the previous days ( before drinking our absolut or RENAT). It goes like that:

Helan går, sjung hopp faderallan, allan lej,
Helan går, sjung hopp fader allan lej,
Och den som inte helan tar han heller inte halvan får!
Helan gå
r, ( and here a pause for drinking your glass)
Sjung hopp fader allan lej!

meaning: here comes the first glass of schaps, let's sing the first schaps song!
I do not remember how many we must have sung there, in the magic house by the lake, but Sven is definitely an expert, and soon we have heard another song ( telling if you do not sing a nr 2 schaps song you will not have a second drink!), and another one and Uno was a good master of the ceremony too- answering with still another song. All of them were translated to us. We were told that each ear a competition of the Schapslieder is held and there are two countries participating: Finnland and Sweden. Usually Finish win- they outsmart Swedish with their wit. There is a known joke about Swedish and Finn drinking and when Swed sung his first Schaps song, the Finn replied: ' are we singing or are we drinking?!'
It got very merry in the lake house, and we
were totally overtaken by the spirit fo Northern People.We had our special students around:Sven, Erik, Dorte, Gun & Uno, Anders , Evarut, Jätte...We could haver get this experience in NO TOURIST AGENCY, in no special package! We were not tourists anymore, but enjoying the real food and drink in a real company of our friends, which we felt as knowing for ages, even though we have met a couple of days ago in a tango class! Not even a five star hotel could charm us more that this little house by the lake and as Victor was streched on the lake bridge, taking gentle spring sun on his face he said his usual joke' LA DURA VIDA DEL TANGUERO' - what a hard life of a tango dancer!( the red spot on the picture is Victor- in his favorite horizontal position)

Thursday, May 24, 2007

RESPUESTA DE UN PAYADOR ARGENTINO
Sigue por Suecia la cosa,
abajo del mar del Norte,
una quebrada y un corte,
el gringo y su “mariposa”
Ella, tan diva y tan diosa
en brazos de su tanguero,
por florecidos senderos
de un verde casi salvaje,
yirando de viaje en viaje,
con pasaporte extranjero.
Con esmerada docencia
instruyen un mandamiento:
“el tango es un sentimiento
de lagrimón y de ausencia”.
Será esta vez, residencia,
la casa de un artesano
que fabrica con las manos
figuras de aristas finas
y su mujer, bailarina,
de corazón cotidiano.
Pa mitigar la congoja
y el laburete del día,
salmón en la galería
con vino tinto de Rioja;
si la nostalgia no afloja,
helado de mascarpone,
y lentos y barrigones
a disfrutarlo con creces,
que no se vive dos veces
y empujan los corazones.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

A LAST DAY IN SMÅLAND!

We cannot imagine this fairy tale country in a winter. Hard to do so, when every year we admire the blissful month of May in Sweden… And we got to know Småland dressed in the best spring dress and with the best weather possible! Sick and tired of cold and wind in Skåne and Halland, we were wonderfully surprised to have a splendid summer weather on the other side of Sweden ( ‘ It’s not normal for end of May- they were saying- It’s a July weather!’) Edwin insisted to take credits for that- he was our weatherman: he himself arranged this weather for our time in Småland. Not a better gift could we have expected. We know that even Swedish, with their sarcastic sense of humour ( which is more usual for the Denish, we have learnt) say: ‘This year the summer fell on Tuesday’. When we got a lovely day on Saturday, of course, we took it as a solitary pearl and enjoyed it to the utmost. But the days were passing by and every day we were woken up by the brightest light and warmth which made it possible to do my yoga and stretching exercises outside, in the patio.
Småland is a nature marvel in May: not only bright yellow raps fields witch we know from Skåne, but all the shades of green, also the ubiquitous chestnuts and lilacs in bloom! All the flowers simultaneously in a May orgy! And what do Swedes do? Of course, they get our of their houses (even though we see almost abandoned looking towns and villages, with no people out in the streets) and go our to work in their gardens, to picnics and seaside. This is definitely NOT tango weather! With so many temptations and such a longing for sun, we hardly expected a small group of tango addicts to appear in our workshops. But- what a surprise! They must have not noticed that the spring has arrived and they came for the tango torture on this beautiful spring weekend…
This special sunny period (it is spring and not summer, which is suppose to be niece and warm. Summer is very capricious and rainy: thus unpredictable) we discovered THE JOY OF GARDEN PARTIES!

Of course it’s always great to be invited for dinner or lunch, but the most luxurious invitation, weather permitting, is LUNCH IN THE GARDEN. If we imagine a perfectly spruced up garden- it’s A SWEDISH ONE- and in this context everything tastes better! But we got special guests treatment from our students: Ana & Ole have prepared an idyllic lunch in their house in the middle of the forest. I have no better description than a comparison to Monet’s paintings: play of lights and shadows, juicy green around, flowers, a wind delicately caressing, the best food and wines offered…
GASTRONOMY:


We love Swedish cuisine. First because it’s very tasty, then because it’s healthy and third- because it’s completely different from Argentinean one. It’s not based on MEAT, but on FISH. And we are :
-great SALMON LOVERS ( smoked: in cold and hot, cooked, fried, row…)
-we adore Swedish YOUNG POTATOES, Who would ever guess potatoes can be a jewel on a table. YES, THEY ARE!
-And Swedish bread? We, who almost NEVER buy bread in Buenos Aires, we devour all those wholemeal kinds and our favourite is a flat, round, with a whole in the middle: SWEDISH BREAD! With butter on top of it, as a local ritual wants it!
-We tried KROPPKAKOR , which is potatoes and meat filling, with a fruit of the forest souse on the top
we cannot have a day without FIL, Swedish KEFIR and those wonderful Swedish YOGHURTS. Argentina is a backward country in these terms…
-and Swedish marmalade
-and herrings: I would never thought about having herrings with onions or mustard for breakfasts-but in this context I accept!
The same as we did in Russia and Ukraine: having vodka or champagne for breakfast.
-We have not had moose on a plate this year YET, but I thinks even this experience is coming. We had that experience last year and moose with blubbery souse is a delicacy.

-There is always a choice between beer and WINES- thanks God Swidish are our BROTHERS-IN AMRS when wines drinking in considered! We keep up good habits!
I love Swedish way of serving a lot of side dishes ( OUR PICADITA) with humus, tzatziki, Fish salad, rucula-tomatoes cherry salad, different kinds of cheeses, hams..
This is the Joy For Our Eyes to watch and for our palate to taste!
The SWEDISH ARE JUST PERFECT IN THE MONTH OF MAY!



One would never guess that swedish, being so correct and proper, have such basic sense of humor, or rather- sense of business! As mentioned before, we were absolutely impressed by the MOOSE ROAD SIGNS in many places in Småland. Nothing unusual, as we have heard-everybody is enchanted by a MOOSE and especially German tourists. As I have first exclaimed: Stop a car! when I saw the first moose road sign, Inger, very swedish and serious repplied: you are NOT going to steal this sign! I was so surprised as the idea never crossed my mind. All I wanted was to take a photograph of it to include in the blog. But, as Inger explained, those moose signs are so precious that they are objects of constant theft ( Fermans especially, but also other tourists with NO MOOSE in their countries) Inger went on explaining that a moose is such a desirable animal , not only to hunt eat or collect the road signs with it, but even his EXCREMENTS are sold to the tourists as a souvenirs! YES, Swedish make business selling MOOSE SHIT in hermetic bottles and you can get it in any souvenir shop! As we travel with tango we notice that people have a morbid sense of humour and we have already seen bleeding plastic ears of Van Gogh, hands and necks with signs of Dracula's bites. Victor suggested I should offer my underwear after using it in a show. One of the rooms in Anna & Ole's fairy tale house in the woods..


Edwin, our host, has told us about his face to face with a moose. Not a nice encounter when you drive a car and a gigantic animal (much bigger than a horse) crushes into it.’ A moose is so BIG that the sight of it freezes the blood in your veins- says Edwin- and your you could almost drive beneath his body, between his legs’. This encounter leaves special souvenir on your car . Fortunately Swedish are perfectionists and their cars are MOOSE- PROOF: each car has to undergo MOOSE CRASH TEST!

One of Edwin's suggestive sculptures ( MIND YOU! IT MOVES)
Wanderful example of a Romanesque church on the road to Trotorp..Especially at dusk..

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Trottorp Paradise-Kinnekulle Castle -LENE & EDWIN
Many times tango has fullfulled my childhood dreams or directly brought me to the fairy tale places that I used to read about in books. We are now in one of them: in the middle of the forest of Småland, in the middle of ASTRID LINDGREN's tale: a new tale that is being written just now, a wanderful screenplay that only life can write!
We can feel Astrid Lindgren' s spirit all the time- not only PIPPI LANGSTRUMPF , or the children of BULLERBYN, but the REAL PEOPLE we are meeting are coming from the fairy tale directly.
HERE IS our PIPPI LANGSTRUMPF alive: her name is LENE and she is not only beautiful and perfectly sensually red-haired, but she possesses the DIVINE CRAZINESS ( Locura Divina) and freshness of a teenage girl, which permits her to be such a versatile, spendid artist as she is. Of course she is a devoted tango dancer, but she is also a Eurithmia dancer, an actress, a singer ( chansons francaises) and ... a politician! She lives a life of Pippi Langstrumpf in her enchanged wooden house in the middle of the Småland forests. It's beautiful to see her acting Andersens's tales early in the morning, in her white, silk pigama agains the juicy green grass of her gardens- she is as ethereal as Shakespeare' s Ophelia! We can hear her shout and lower down her voice, we can se her fairy dance , barefeet on the grass, we can wake up to her laughter in the morning. SHE IS A QUEEN OF KINNECULLE, where we have arrived 6 days ago, but it feels like ages already.... The time has a different dimention here, the real time, city time does not exist here, in this forest fairy land, where you can encounter a moose or an elf ( yes!) And from the very first moment we are ame-seurs ( soul sisters), because , like Pippi Langstrumf, Lene has no real age- she is a young girl and a wise old women at the same time: SHE IS A REAL WITCH! Find out for yourself:
www.tangokalmar.se
www.lalene.se
We have had a long journey from one to the other side of Sweden: from the moment we left Helsigborg, where we held our last workshop Friday evening, in a car driven by our SUPER AGENT 007 INGER, where we said BYE BYE to the civilisation and were entering slowly in the gusts of the forests, driving for hours without passing any cars, but YES, the road signs with warning agains the possible encounter with a MOOSE, which, of course implies a danger to a car and the passengers... WE were slowly entering this fairy tale, and we had no doubt about being a part of it, when, directed by our castle keepers by mobile phone, we have finally reached our destination at 1 30 pm: a silhouete of EDWIN in his nightgown was contrasting against the lamp light: we were IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, in Hansel and Gretel's house, with a cat and a dog!Only in the morning could we appreciate the magic beauty of the spot: vast gardens surrounded by the forests, the attellier, little pond and plenty of sculptures scattered all around the place! We were in the ARTIST's WORLD!
EDWIN MATCHES ABSOLUTELY HIS artistic wife: but if she is a FIRE, he is WATER, equally strong, but different; if she is volcano errupting at any time- he is a tranquil river but with the potencial power to create a waterfall. EDWIN is the Dracula of the Castle: he is a chef de la cuisine, preparing such pictoresque breakfasts ( swedish-denish ones) that you feel like eating with your eyes even! He is the one cooking dinners and spoiling us with really gourmet dishes: from our requested salmon to.. asado! Always impecably presented and served, always attentive to his guest's needs.... while Lene is relaxed having a conversation or singing Dutch songs for us- with her adorable opera like soprano.
I adore to see men going around the kitchen, but Edwin makes it really like a dance! And so sexy with his apron!So, we let him spoil us, with his entrees, salmons, young potatoes, deserts and drinks ( already tasting Lapland!)- maybe it's really an enchanted house and a new version of Hansel and Gretel, but instead of the old ugly wich feeding us to eat us afterwards, we have a handsome Dracula, who is waiting for his TANGO BITE!?

But he is more than just a Dracula and a cook. Edwin is a recognized sculpturer and we can see it around- the whole garden is full of his art pieces. But our fascination has come to its high point when he showed us his real jewels: his SNOW AND ICE SCULPTURES! He does it in Sweden, but also travels to China, to Canada, Japan, Greenland creating the gigant, ephemeral pieces of art! On the other hand he makes FIRE SCULPTURES- making them out of hay and burning them afterwards! We are already thinking about a multi-media performance combining our tango dance with his light and fire happening, maybe even ice or snow! There are no limits to creativity!

http://www.sculpture.se/



One little example: Canelone snow sculpture build for Olimpic Games in Torino 2006- got a silver medal and a first artist's prince- GRAND EDWIN BÖCK!!!!
It will not be easy for us to leave our beautiful magic forest house, but it will not be long till we are back- Edwin and Lene are organizing tango camp in Ölland island and they want us to come with out tango again! And besides, from one fairy tale we will land in the other one- we say good bye to Astrid Lindgren country , but there is Hans Christian Andrersen waiting for us with his QUEEN of SNOW up there, in the northern part of the country, with the midnight sun. It is going to be a long jorney tomorrow...

Sunday, May 20, 2007

KALMAR!Småland!!!!
Quien mire el mapa de Suecia en la posicion convencional, o sea con el norte hacia arriba, encontrara que la costa occidental del pais, es mas bien corta. Seran unos 400 km. sobre el Öresund y parte del mar del norte. En ese litoral se hallan al mayoria de las ciudades que hemos visitado hasta ahora: Trelleborg, Malmö, Helsingborg, Halmstad. Si seguimos hacia el norte, siempre siguiendo esa costa, hallamos la ciudad de Gotenburgo, segunda ciudad sueca, y luego empieza Noruega.
Pero si atravesamos el sur del pais en direccion este-oeste, despues de recorrer mas o menos 300 km., llegamos a la costa oriental, esta muchisimo mas larga, de mas de 1000 km., sobre el mar baltico. Pues ahi estamos ahora, en la ciudad de Kalmar, provincia de Smäland.
Dicha provincia esta literalmente cubierta de bosques centenarios, de arboles de maderas duras, y la densidad habitacional es muy baja. Empezamos a comprender que Suecia es un pais casi vacio, pues tiene una superficie considerable, y solo 9 millones de habitantes, de los cuales muchos viven en ciudades, o sea que a medida que nos alejamos de las ciudades, aparecen interminables sucesiones de bosques y algunos campos desiertos. El paisaje esta cambiando. Ya no se ven a diestra y siniestra los elaborados sembradios de Sköna, tan perfectos y prolijos como livings alfombrados, sino que empiezan a aparecer la naturaleza en su estado mas salvaje, poco a poco. Y donde hay bosques salvajes, hay alces, aunque todavia no vimos ninguno, solo los carteles que advierten a los automovilistas del peligro de chocar con uno de ellos, sobre todo en lo profundo de la noche. Tienen el tamano de un caballo, o mas, y suponiendo que te lo comas a 120 km. por hora, velocidad mas que razonable para los impecables autos y las perfectas carreteras suecas, te haces bosta, por mas airbag, cinturon de seguridad y cuanto elemento de resguardo tenga tu Volvo, Saab, Audi o cualquiera
de los "cachivaches" que circulan por aqui.
Hemos trabajado el fin de semana largo en Kalmar, con clases grupales muy exitosas, por suerte. El habitual show del sabado a la noche, en la milonga, y ahora tenemos, el lunes-miercoles, un par de clases privadas. Nunca viene mal un par de coronas mas. Pero nuestra " residencia" no es en Kalmar. Estamos parando en una casa en la mitad del bosque, a 25 km. de la ciudad, hogar de nuestros anfitriones y organizadores locales, los muy tangueros Lene y Edwin, una pareja super hospitalaria que nos colma de atenciones y nos da su casa encantada para pasar estos dias aqui.
El es aleman (hungaro-checo),escultor, labura con granito, marmol, bronce, en una escala importante, y tiene su taller en la ciudad. Ella es danesa, bailarina, actriz, cantante y ambos son aficionados al tango. Por supuesto suenan con venir a Buenos Aires, cosa que cumpliran en diciembre.

Es un placer volver a la noche al bosque, en esta fresca primavera, cansados despues de dar clases todo el dia, y entrar en la ceremonia del crepusculo. Primero una corrida de una hora por los bosques, luego la imprescindible ducha, y finalmente sentarse en la galeria, con la perra Tania e el gato Mischou, a tomar una copa de los buenisimos vinos que ellos traen de Espana o Francia.
Edwin es un gran cocinero ademas, y a peticion mia, ha preparado unos salmones grillados que no se pueden creer, con una salsita de manteca y no se que, que es espectacular.
Se acompana con una delicia local: papa. Papas? esa es la delicia? Pues si, en esta epoca se levanta la cosecha temprana de las papas, se las llama papas nuevas. Son muy pequenas, y se hierven enteras, con piel. Son extremadamente tiernas y sabrosas, Con sal, un toque de aceite de oliva y un tinto de Rioja, son un manjar. Por supuesto siguen desfilando las botellas, y es hora de regular, pues es muy facil zarparse. Manana tambien tenemos clases, y la imagen de profesores y bailarines tambien debemos cuidarla, es parte de nuestro laburo, y de nuestra credencial de " embajadores" de la cultura portena.
Claro que es agradable sentir el efecto moderado del vino, mirar la luna entre el follaje, quizas una pequena dosis de nostalgia, el bienestar de la compania, el calor tactil del cuerpo de la gringuita sentada al lado, gato y perro compartiendo la sobremesa. Pero si no hay control, facilmente pasa a la segunda fase, la de " sabes como te quiero, papa?", a decir boludeces,
mucho peor en el pobre ingles que domino, y a seguir tomando, para terminar tirado entre los yuyos, vomitando penosamente y arruinando la noche, la imagen, y la posibilidad de futuros trabajos en este mercado tan exigente.
Afortunadamente eso me sucedio 4 o 5 veces en toda mi vida, y hace anos aprendi a evitarlo, con lo cual puedo disfrutar de todo sin caer en excesos.
El remate final de la cena fue un helado de crema de mascarpone que junto al cafe de rigor cerro la gastronomica velada a un altisimo nivel. Los desayunos de Edwin son tambien los despliegues de buen gusto y buena presentacion con el fondo de los jardines y la luz matinal. Nuestros queridos desayunos suecos, que para nosotros sirven de almuerzo al mismo tiempo ( tan abundantes que son)

Justo enfrente de la ciudad, que tambien es puerto, se halla una isla muy alargada, paralela a la costa. Tiene 150 km. de largo por 25 de ancho. Solo 7 km la separan del continente, y esta conectada a el por un puente que supo ser, en su tiempo, el mas largo de Europa. Ya no lo es. Esta isla se llama Ölland, que significa literalmente tierra de islas, y esta poblada por residencias caras, lugares de veraneo, clubes nauticos, de pesca, restaurantes, etc.
La actividad de la isla se multiplica en verano, pues apenas sale el sol y la temperatura pasa de los 15 grados, los suecos enloquecen, se ponen en bolas y van a a tomar sol y al agua, que es lo que ansian todo el ano.
La buena noticia para nosotros es que, debido al exito que tuvimos aqui ( la gente quedo muy contenta) nos pidieron volver el ultimo fin de semana de julio para hacer TANGO CAMP -4 o 5 dias de tango y playa en Ölland. Es muy interesante para nosotros, pues ademas de la guita nos conectara con gente de Estocolmo que vendran a esos cursos nuestros en Ölland. Asi que despues de Holanda, donde estaremos en julio, volveremos a Kalmar, Suecia.

Los suecos siguen asombrandome con los rasgos de su personalidad. Cada vez que vamos a dar una clase, llegamos 10 minutos antes ( jamas tarde) y en la puerta estan todos esperando, listos para empezar. Si te pones a boludear y se demora el inicio de la clase, respetuosamente te avisan que es la hora. Ellos pagan por 90 minutos de clase, no por 89.
Pero pagan bien. Y nadie se le ocurre faltar si dio su palabra que iba a ir. O sea, como debe ser. Solo que a nosotros nos parece demasiado rigido. Las consecuencias globales estan a la vista. El sistema funciona casi a la perfeccion.
Se dedican a trabajar y a organizar con eficacia espartana. El ultimo quilombo internacional en el que los suecos se vieron envueltos, llamese guerra, fue en 1812. O sea, doscientos anos de paz sostenida, sin excesivos gastos de defensa, y desarrollando una industria y una tecnologia fuera de escala con su modesta poblacion. Todos los vecinos ( Noruega, Dinamarca, Finlandia, Rusia, Alemania, Polonia) estuvieron en cuanto despelote hubo: primera y segunda guerra mundial incluidas. Suecia zafo, y los detractores dicen, quizas con razon, que se vendio al poderoso de turno para no entrar en la guerra.
Lo que el gran Carlos Saul diria una actitud pragmatica, ja!
Pero como decia don Albert, la inteligencia humana es limitada, aunque la estupidez no tenga limites. Y eso se ve en el turismo: En las tiendas de souvenirs, donde se venden todas las huevadas que se pueden imaginar, como llaveros, banderines, remeras, fotos, etc. , venden tambien.... mierda de alce! Pues si, conchetos frasquitos con motivos regionales llenos de mierda de alce. Creer o reventar. Me recuerda cuando estuve en Arles, Francia, donde vivio y trabajo van Gogh, que vendian de recuerdo orejas ensangrentadas de plastico, como macabra alusion al loquito de Vincent, que se corto una oreja. " Hay gente pa' to..!"
Las clases grupales del fin de semana aqui han terminado. Pero por suerte siempre hay alguien que se queda caliente y nos piden clases privadas, que es lo que estamos haciendo generalmente los lunes y martes.
La cena de hoy en nuestra casa encantada del bosque tuvo reminiscencias criollas: asado.
Claro que asado a la sueca, es decir una pequena barbacoa (parrilla) redonda, de 40 cm. de diametro, con 3 patitas, en medio del impecable jardin, en perfecta alusion a Homero Simpson cuando hace hamburguesas. Pero no estaba mal, una carne sueca aceptable, cachos de salmon, de cerdo, y unos vinos respetables comprados en el sistembolaget local terminaron redondeando una cena muy buena. El sistembolaget es el monopolio estatal de alcohol. Son locales oficiales donde se compra cualquier bebida alcoholica que tenga mas de 3,5 % de alcohol.
Pero seamos realistas: si lo comparamos con los asados espectaculares que nos hacia Oscar Gauna en Buenos aires antes de nuestra partida, estos no existen, pero habida cuenta de las circunstancias, el lugar y el momento, los aceptamos, disfrutamos y agradecemos con todo entusiasmo.
Compramos los pasajes para saltar a nuestra proxima escala: Sollefteä. Esta como a 1000 km. hacia el norte, y fuimos en bus hasta Estocolmo, la capital, para tomar alli otro bus que nos llevo a una ciudadita a 100 km. de Sollefteä, donde nos esperaron a las 22.45 hs. del jueves, con la puntualidad con que los suecos nos estan acostumbrando, y de alli seguimos en auto hasta nuestro proximo destino SOLLEFTEÅ!

Friday, May 18, 2007

HALLAND! SWEDISH WEATHER, SWEDISH TIME!















If Swedish tell you that ' it's not always raining in Sweden' , it's only a euphemism. EVEN IF IT'S NOT RAINING it's blowing your head off! But, we have to admit, this gloomy tempest weather has its charm and we let it seduce us... as they say' there is no bad weather, there is only inapropriate cloth' , we wore the Swedish suitable cloths and went for a walk around a little island of Ön,( SIC! That's it, the name of the island is ' Ön'!) The island is 3 km long and from our students' house, where we were invited to spend a night after a special milonga, we could see the impressive view of the bridge to Copenhagen, which, slowly, as inspired by GOLDEN GATE, was desappearing in the fog, in front of our eys... YES; BREATHTAKING, but lets get IN for a cup of hot coffe, and, yes, Bill, would you have some of this excellent cogniac to add to it?














BUT, IT HAPPENS that the sun appears! And, what a bliss to be out there, in meticuously spruced up garden, patios, verandas! And garden of Lucia is a flower paradise. Anyway, each Swede' s pride is to work so long in his garden till it resembles VERSAILLE! And, of course, they come out with the first sunrays in MAY! You cannot count on Swedish in May- they are ALL VERY BUSY IN THEIR GARDENS NO MATTER HOW SMALL THOSE ARE!

And we do admire those Swedish gardens- they are the mirror of swedish mentality indeed!












And Lucia... Well Lucia will never be enough Swedish and she will never return to be Argentinean again. SHE IS A LOVELY MIX between the nordic and latin qualities. AND THAT's WHY WE LIKE HER!


We had some other lovely invitations. Even in artist's apartments, like the one above.. with artistic " salad bar" including cheeses, hams and all the good italian stuff. HELSINGBORG!


Victor is and always WILL BE AN ARQUITECT! Especially in Europe, with the magnificent pieces of arquitecture he has studied and admired for ages! Then Victor-dancer becomes Victor arquitect and.. Victor small boy!
The combination fo ARQUITECTURE AND JURRASIC PARK IS JUST GREAT!

Victor the arquitect becomes Victor the GRAN TAMER OF THE DINOSAURS! Intrepid and courageous, he even tried to ride on one of those beast' s tales...
If he can lead any lady of the world in tango, dinosaurs are just a funny game...


FEEDBACK DE UN PAYADOR ARGENTINO

para ver mas de sus poesias entra en su blog: http://lmgsm31-imaginaria.blogspot.com/




Que nombres, Madonna mía,
los arrabales de Suecia,
ni la memoria más recia
manya su cartografía.
En la casa de Lucía,
más argentina que sueca,
panza arriba, la sabeca,
gira con suave pereza;
después de tanta cerveza,
nada mejor que un buen feca.
Parados en mi ventana,
dos cuervos amancebados,
encienden cada costado
de esta bendita mañana.
Plumajes de negra lana
dibujan un negro lienzo,
de bienvenido comienzo,
(que lo primero fue el verbo),
que vivan todos los cuervos,
menos los de San Lorenzo.
Atrás quedaron castillos
de arquitectura barroca,
(mueran los hinchas de boca),
perdón por el bocadillo.
“Yo soy un hombre sencillo,
de donde crece la grama”,
bailo tango en Tangorama
y después, ¡Santa resaca!
juntito con la polaca,
a no dormir en la cama.






Carlos Casellas

Monday, May 14, 2007

LILLA BEDDINGE-HÖLLVIKEN-HELSIGBORG-HALMSTAD
por Victor

Siempre pense que los cuervos eran aves con muy mala prensa. Protagonistas sombrios, siniestros y malignos de historias surgidas de la pluma de Poe o de algun escritor medieval, prohijados por la ignorancia y el oscurantismo de siglos preteritos.
Pues a mi me gustan. Es casi el mediodia de esta manana primaveral en Halmstad, y una pareja de cuervos parados en el alfeizar de mi ventana, graznan su melodia oxidada.
Son negros si, pero solemnes. Y contrastan su plumaje brilloso con el luminoso verde del jardin de la casa de Lucia.
Lucia es argentina, sueca por adopcion, y vive aqui hace 25 anos. Ella es nuestra organizadora para Halmstad y Helsingborg, y ademas nos aloja en su bella casa aqui, en esta ciudad de 70000 habitantes. Su amabilidad y condicion de anfitriona se refuerza con los exquisitos salmones que nos prepara, y con la amabilidad eterna de Bertil, su marido ( quien, al irse a Espana por 3 meses amablemente nos dejo a disposicion su coche, por supuesto un Volvo, rojo)
Hemos dejado atras nuestra bella Skäne, y ahora la region se llama Halland, siendo igualmente bella y igualmente llamativa por sus amarillos campos de raps ( colsa)
Escucho los cuervos graznando, tirado panza arriba en la cama, siendo casi las doce del mediodia, porque ayer bailamos en show en Helsingborg, a 80 km. de aqui, en la asociacion
” Tangorama”, y nos fue muy bien, al punto de que este viernes volveremos alli a dar una clase especial, antes de seguir camino a Kalmar. Nos acostamos bastante tarde, con un par de birras encima, asi que ahora recuerdo ese tango atorrante

“te gusta meditarla
panza arriba en la catrera,
y oir las campanadas
del reloj de Balvanera...”

solo que aqui escucho las campanadas del reloj de Halmstad, que es mucho mas paquete, viste?
La naturaleza sueca puede resumirse en tres palabras base: Mar-Bosques-Campos.
En los tres mete mano el hombre, con sumo respeto por la ecologia, el paisaje, la naturaleza.
Munidos de nuestras bicicletas, por lejos el medio de locomocion mas importante aqui, hoy hicimos un paseo sensacional por los bosques y las playas de la zona. Los urbanistas que pensaron estas ciudades, lo hicieron sin olvidar ni por un momento los 4 pilares basicos de la circulacion humana moderna citadina: el peaton, el ciclista, el transporte publico y el transporte privado, en ese orden. Asi que ese una bendicion andar en bici por aqui, al menos en primavera y verano, obvio, pues en invierno quedas duro como un arenque en el freezer.

El viaje hasta estos parajes empezo en realidad el miercoles pasado, cuando nos despedimos transitoriamente de Inger, en su casita bella y acogedora en Trelleborg. A las 5 de la tarde en punto paso a buscarnos Junot, nuestro amigo-alumno millonario de Höllviken, con su imponente Jaguar ( placa Leopardo), y nos llevo a su palacio en el bosque de Höllviken, conchetisima localidad a 30 km. de alli, donde vive el con su esposa Diana, ambos alumnos nuestros y casados por una historia de amor y tango relatada en nuestro blog la gira pasada. La casa de esta gente no puede describirse completamente: cientos de metros cuadrados de la mejor calidad, piletas de natacion dentro del living, gimnasio, sauna, sala de piano, biblioteca, jacuzzi en el bosque, y tantos etceteras que aburren. Obviamente suite de invitados para nosotros. Estuvimos dos dias alli, dandole clases privadas bien cobradas, y comiendo y chupando de lo mejor, ademas de usar todas las comodidades de esa impresionante casa. El segundo dia nos invitaron a comer a un restaurant en Malmö, distante 40 km. de alli, y luego al Konserthuset, a oir musica clasica ( Stravinsky, Debussy etc), en un concierto dado por la filarmonica de la ciudad. Espectacular.
Pasados dos dias, que es el plazo maximo que puedo estar en esa casa, pues realmente es gente muy atenta pero fuertemente egocentrica y te chupa toda la energia, debiamos ir a Helsingborg, sede de nuestro proximo laburo, a 120 km. de alli, hacia el norte. Afortunadamente Diana, fanatica nuestra, quiso ir para tomar la clase grupal, y de paso nos llevo en su Volvo ( obviamente sueco) con todo el equipaje. Asi fue que llegamos a Helsingborg, dimos la clase, nos despedimos de Diana, y ahi nos engancho Lucia para llevarnos a su casa en Halmstad, 70 km. mas al norte, donde ahora estamos.
Esta ciudad, puerto, tiene 1200 anos, y una parte historica ( que contiene la iglesia) que es una joya de arquitectura. No se puede creer el estado de conservacion que tiene, y la conciencia colectiva de la gente para cuidarlo. Y lo mas llamativo para mi, es como compatibilizan ese caracter antiguo, casi de museo, con lo mas moderno y tecnologico que se te pueda ocurrir.

Halmstad significa literalmente ciudad –puerto, y asi es, pero es un puerto modesto, que no puede competir con Gotemburgo, unos 100 km. mas al norte y por lejos el puerto mas grande la la costa occidental sueca, con salida directa al mar del norte.
Por esas cosas de la coordinacion fechas-lugares, a veces se nos amontonan compromisos, y otras, como ahora, nos quedan 5 dias libres, que se transforman en verdaderas minivacaciones, siempre en lugares distintos, y siempre tratando de garronear al maximo, pues los precios aqui son inaccesibles para nosotros, y si te descuidas se evapora rapidamente el canuto que vamos produciendo a lo largo de la gira.
Afortunadamente nos invitan a todo. Desde el alojamiento y la comida, hasta salidas o cosas especiales de los lugares. Son pocas las veces que nos quedamos en banda.
Lucia es docente en un colegio aqui. Y nos pidio si podiamos hacer una minipresentacion, en su colegio para los chicos. Por supuesto que aceptamos y alla fuimos.
Pude ver entonces un colegio sueco por dentro.... No es como el colegio de Carapachay, N 18, al que yo fui de pendejo! Es un concheterio hiper equipado con campo de deportes, gimnasios, comedores, aulas perfectamente amuebladas, computadoras hasta en los pasillos,
todo impecablemente limpio, ordenado y bonito. En el parque que lo rodea, hay un playon para dejar las cientos de bicicletas ( y algunos scooters) con que van al colegio.
Bailamos en el gimnasio, dijimos un par de giladas acerca de la historia del tango y Argentina, y los pendejos deliraban, super respetuosos y educados pero muy entusiasmados con el para ellos exotico evento.
Salimos por las tardes con la gringuita a pasear en bicicleta, por los increibles bosques o por la playa, a veces con bastante tuerca. Bertil me presto su concheta bici sueca ( aparte de su coche), y la uso cada dia.
Pero uno de esos dias, me comi un cordon, me fui al carajo con la bici, y se deformo ligeramente la rueda delantera, a la que por otro lado le faltaba un rayo. Como un caballerito ingles, averigue donde habia una bicicleteria para reparaciones, y la lleve. Obviamente que si hubiera pasado en Buenos Aires lo reparo yo mismo, pues era una huevada, y yo me las rebusco. Pero aca, que todo es tan formal, y encima con una bicicleta prestada por un sueco, habia que proceder con toda ceremonia. Era una cosa de nada. Quedo perfecta, como se pueden imaginar, y me costo 242 coronas, o sea 100 mangos. Un laburo que en el barrio como mucho sale 15 pesos. Bueno, es solo una anecdota, pero asi es todo de caro para los pobres del sur.

Y los suecos son muuuy suecos.
Va el ejemplo: nuestra anfitriona Lucia va a un gimnasio dos veces por semana a practicar una gimnasia medio especial, con un profesor, en grupo. A una de esas clase llego 4 minutos tarde ( si, cuatro!) Obviamente no la dejaron entrar, pues podia molestar al resto que ya habia empezado, le cobraron igual la clase, mas una multa pues ella impidio, con su impuntualidad, que otra persona ocupe esa vacante, pues son grupos cerrados. A pagar y calladita la boca!
Es demasiado para mi, seremos medio incumplidores, lo reconozco, pero esto es too much.

Otro detalle curioso de estas costas, lo he visto cuando voy a correr mis reglamenterios 60 minutos dia por medio. Elijo unos senderos serpenteantes por el bosque, pero ese sendero va practicamente paralelo al mar, a unos 50 metros del agua. Y ocurre que el bosque llega practicamente al agua, y los ultimos metros hay cesped, y en algunos puntos juncos, al mas puro estilo Delta. Esa flora es propia del agua salada? Claro que no! Ademas, una interesante variedad de aves, como ciguenas, cisnes de cuello negro, patos, le dan una onda mas bien lacustre, no maritima.
La explicacion es sencilla: el hielo. O mas bien el deshielo. Ocurre que toda la enorme peninsula que es Escandinavia, esta cubierta por capas de hielo y nieve gran parte del ano, algunas de un espesor considerable. Al llegar la primavera el deshielo transforma todo eso en millones de hectometros cubicos de agua dulce, que invariablemente van a parar al mar, con lo cual baja notoriamente el grado de salinidad del agua. Ademas, es menester considerar el caracter mediterraneo de estos mares, pues estan limitados por las costas noruegas, danesas , suecas, alemanas y eso favorece la retencion de agua dulce. La conexion con el oceano abierto se logra a traves de uno o mas estrechos, pero sigue siendo una especie de cuasi “ mega lago”. Distinto seria el caso si fuera como en las abiertas costas atlanticas de Buenos Aires, o el litoral maritimo chileno, de frente al Pacifico y en bolas.
De todas maneras estas raras mezclas de flora y fauna de agua dulce solo se da en sectores aislados del la costa del mar. El resto es el clasico paisaje de agua, arena y gaviotas.
Por ahora: The End.


Proxima escala: Kalmar – Solefteå - Malmö

Sunday, May 13, 2007

CARTAS DE NUESTROS SEGUIDORES DE VIAJE
THE LETTERS FROM OUR ONLINE TRAVEL COMPANIONS

Hello Aisha and Victor,
Thank you for the inspiring workshop you shared with us and your wonderful performance during our milonga on May 11-12. We are looking forward to seeing you again on Friday!I have now published information on our website concerning May 18. It says that we can expect a brief retake of the material you shared with us last Friday and also some new material. My personal suggestion is the sequence you showed us last year and I reminded you about briefly. The information also says that if we have any specific request, e g concerning milonga, we probably could find time for that as well.
Have a nice stay in Kalmar!Ingvar(ito)

Arrancó el tour europeo,
punto de origen, Varsovia
y el tanguero con su novia
arrancan el ajetreo.
Llevan consigo el deseo de amarrocar
unos mangos,trajes de lujo, tamangos
y los taquitos de punta,
la gringa y el gringo en yunta
sobre la orilla de un tango.
Dos tangos y una milonga,
quinientos euros los tres,
para tirar más de un mes
con la dieta de la Donga.
Ay cuanta plata mistonga
por mover el esqueleto
y yo que escribo sonetos
por el vicio de rimarse
me da por barruntar
que la pifié de libreto.
Todo el jet set de Polonia,
encolumnado a sus pies
y ellos que cuentan por diez,
con numeral parsimonia.
Babel de luz, Babilonia,solar de Villa Rossina,
donde el gotán encamina,su prodigioso aleteo,
con el bacán del Liceo
y la polaca argentina.
Destinos y peripecias,siguiente parada:
Suecia.
Abrazos y besos, según corresponda.

Que buenos regalos les brinda la vida!! pero ya sabemos que nada es gratuito, hacéis un buen trabajo, sois humildes y tenéis los premios.
Imagino que ya estáis entendiendo el sueco, (al menos tu con la rapidez que tienes para los idiomas) pero bueno, si se habla ingles por todas partes, tampoco es necesario, así también Víctor practicara su ingles. que bueno!!! (.......)


Estáis bebiendo leche en los almuerzos, y comiendo con esa mermelada que le ponen a todo los suecos??? jejeej, (no me lo imagino a Víctor comiendo eso), ya se que hay de todo para comer, pero algunas cosas son bien raras.
Espero que puedan meterles el tango a los suecos, y les den mucha vida y alegría!!, desparramen amor y gracia por doquier......................

cariños Ana.


Hello My friends
Koktebel Camp was finished last week end, It was ok but the atmosphere was not like last year.
Many more Russians than last year too and less foreigners and also Ukrainians and Russian men dos not make beginner dancing only the foreigner do that.
So it will be good to invite you next year because you give and do a very good atmosphere every where you go.
Hearing always from you
Many kisses to you both
Kerim

Hola Chicos!!
Bienvenidos a Suecia!
Me alegro de que estén aqui ya!!
El viernes Practica Especial en Tangorama y des pues el sábado vuestro show alli.
El viernes dormimos en Halmstad. curso el sabado a las 12.30
Sabado dormimos en Halmstad y curso el domingo.
Bienvenidos a Halmstad y Tangorama.

Salmon a gusto de los huespedes!

Si quieren dormir algunos dias más aqui con gusto lo pueden hacer.
Nosotros trabajamos el lunes y creo que Bertil está libre el martes. Les puede mostras más Halmstad

Besos
Lucia

ja, allesok...........b und k sin grade seit 1 woche hier......also rufst du vielleicht in can sopasan,.kober hat am samstag geburtstag c.sopas ist971410039-------privat berlin k und.b ist 0303249284........schön wäre es , wenn wir uns sehen imsept.----aber erstmal toitoitoi in stockholm,

wie gut du es hats immer unterwegs zu sein,dass du Polen inhaltlich verlassen hast, ist logisch......alles etwas hinter dem Mond.............dein schöner bruder a.in london mit a.......geniesse ich jeden tag soweites geht,drück mir die daumen für eine neue liebe mit M., kommt im august für monate,wir kennnen uns nur kurz....bis bald...harilove

querida amiga, que felicidade receber noticias suas. esses dias estive pensando em vc e ja estava com saudades. Sabe que vc faz falta aqui!!!!
Nem posso imaginar a imensa alegria do seu pai, sua mãe seus irmãos de te ver depois de tanto tempo. como e gostoso o reencontro familiar, que sensacão boa traz. fico muito contente por vc.
legal saber que vc ja esteve com seu irmão , e ele ja falou com vc.Eu tenho certeza que ele e um cara super de bem com a vida e muito bem resolvido, seja qual for a escolha pessoal dele. eu adoraria conhece-lo., bem como a sua mãe, e o seu pai que tem uma forca incrivel.
que legal saber que ja vai comecar a sua gira e milhoes de aventuras, adrenalinas estão por vir.
Aqui amiga o outono ja chegou. Hoje me dei conta do montão de folhas douradas, alaranjadas pela rua.e uma estacãao do ano muito bonita.
as aulas continuam a full, tambem ando fazendo bastante gym, e me controlando com os doces (menos quando aparece umas caixas de chocolates suicos por aqui (rs,rs) de uma polaquinha muito copada!!!

espero all the best for you both, always. beijinhos saudosos
sonia




szczesliwej podrozy. W szwecjii mam kolezanke z Liceum w Kalmar-bylam tam 10 lat temu. bedziecie tam tez chyba...szczesliwej wiec podrozy i do zobaczenia moze gdzies w trasie moze w Hollandii??
jestem w kontakcue z E dszwonie do niej do Rosjii . Spytam wiec dlaczego nie odezwala sie do was ?Zadzwonie do niej dzis i pogadam. Mam tez kolezanke w KRAMFOS ale to hen wysoko w gorze tez ja odwiedzilam w 1995. Tam pewno nie dotrzecie. Szerokiej drogi pozdrawia ze slonecznego dzis Ludnyn Justyna

aishinha, entrei no blog de vcs e adorei a historia da petaca com cachaça. vc é demais mesmo, não pude acreditar que vc levou cachaça pra sua viagem. que maximo!! que legal a foto das três geraçoes de mulheres preparando o pierogi com os super hongos. que delicia,me deu água na boca. que linda casa tem os seus pais aisha. é um paraiso.

beijinho
sonia

Hola Aisha y Victor como están? en que parte del mundo se encuentran,nosotros los seguimos recordando con mucho cariño y aún los tenemos presente en nuestros corazones.les cuento que estuvimos en el festival de la Patagonia donde nos encontramos con muchos amigos y conocidos; compartimos con los cariñosos Requenas almorzamos juntos disfrutamos de un asado espectacular, y nos comentaron de ustedes que habían estado milongueando y disfrutando.
Reciban un beso y abrazo fuerte
Cariños
Kito

querida aisha , hoje entrei no site de vocês, e não acreditei quantas mil coisas aconteceram com vocês desde que eu entrei da ultima vez, na foto das três geraçoes e o victor com os cogumelos gigantes. me deu uma recarregada, aliviada, me senti mais leve, e com mais forças pra seguir e passar pra frente, perpetuar, neste momento tao dificil, quando passei rapidamente o mouse do começo ao fim do ultimo relato, rapidamente, sem me deter em nenhuma informaçao, ouvindo a fundo a linda musica de tango que acompanha. obrigada amiga
beijo con carino
sonia