TANGO: The traditional dance born in brothels and among outlaws had become the patrimony of all. “Un pensamiento triste que se baila”: a sad thought that is danced. That is how Enrique Santos Discepolo defined this dance. After being censored, forbidden, criticized, condemned by the church, Tango was declared by UNESCO Cultural Patrimony for Humanity.

MONICA – MY STORY I was born in Romania and I grew up with tango. My father was an incurable romantic and idealist, and he loved tango. “La Cumparsita” and “Zaraza” are part of my childhood.

One summer night, after my father’s premature death I watched an Argentine tango performance. The death of a  parent marks us all in various ways. While alive, we think of them as an eternal presence, always there to pick us up when we fall. After they are gone, the pain of irrefutable reality never goes away. Listening to the tango music and watching the dance elicited in me a sense of nostalgia. I decided to try tango that year. Tango is now a significant and wonderful part of my life, something to enjoy and treasure. Travelling to Buenos Aires feels like going back home in a time and place which I thought lost forever.