Mari Travels with Tango

This weekend, spending those countless hours in the milonga like so many times before, i was reminded of a friend's description of surfers sitting at the seaside, waiting for a wave big enough to pull them onto their boards and out to sea. Like them, we seem totally immersed in this semi-religious cult that requires immense concentration even when not actively participating. Reading, facebooking, even talking for more than the mere essentials all seem to deduct from the expe rience, and those who do it will require more effort to enter the proper mindset when stepping onto the dance floor. And like the surfers on the Atlantic coast, we too are willing to devote a large part of our lives to the simple quest of the one wave that will justify all the sacrifices of time, energy and attention. In our case, the right music is the wave that pulls us out of our chairs, and upon hearing it, we focus on selecting the right person with whom to experience the emotions it brings. For the bi...

At times, i feel my life is an endless series of departures. Despite some of the excitement undeniably being lost when travelling to familiar destinations, there is something liberating, intoxicating even, in the sensation of having your essentials packed in the smallest allowed carry-on, activating your email autoreply, and closing the door behind you. A small voice inside of me says i don't have to come back, i could just leave it all and keep travelling, and I have to confess that there is something very attractive in that possibility. But even if I do resume my duties at the end of this trip too, i know my life will forever be marked by these journeys.