Friday December 4, 2009
All to soon the alarm went off and it was time to get dressed and head back downstairs. I was already in my suite in the nick of time and was pleased that my suit did not wrinkle in my suitcase. My shirts were a mess, but thankfully I did not need to take my jacket off during the whole time I was downstairs. I spent the day helping the doctors get registered at the desk and running errands to help mom out. I did not get to eat much until around 1230 when we finally ordered room service. It was such a whirlwind of activity getting everything done, and by 3:30 or so I was wiped out. I headed upstairs for a nap so I would be good to go for the night event.
I woke up around 6:30 and got cleaned up and headed downstairs to meet the big group going to La Ventana for a dinner/tango show. To me it seemed like the Buenos Aires equivalent of the Moulin Rouge in Paris. When we arrived, we were led into the theater showroom and then surprisingly down some stairs. The room was decorated with many photos of Argentina history and of great Tango stars. It was a mix between someone’s basement and one of the off-strip Vegas showrooms. First up was dinner, and despite picking a salad that turned out to be cheese balls and some sliced tomatoes, the steak was wonderful and the dessert was awesome. I was seated with the tech guy from the conference and two German heart doctors. It was a strange mix of conversation with them asking me about my job and me asking about theirs. Finally, after a long dinner service, the show began.
The show was three acts. The first act was tango classic with dancers and singers moving and shaking across the small stage backed up by a great tango orchestra. The finale of this section was one of the singers belting out “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” after playing a sample of an actual Eva Peron radio broadcast. The second act was traditional Andean flute music with a Gaucho dancer who swung balls on a cord around and around at high speed. It sounds weird, but it actually was very cool. The third act brought back the tango orchestra, but this time it was headed by an accordion superstar who got his own video that shows him playing at a young age on TV. At least, that’s what I think it said since it was all in Spanish and repeating over and over. The superstar and his fellow accordionists were amazing and the tango dancers and singers came out for some more demonstrations of skill before the show came to a thrilling end.
Overall, it seemed like everyone in the group loved the show, but felt it was a tad long. I admit I felt it could have been shortened a bit, since the dinner started around 9 and the last part of the show ended at midnight. All in all, I had a great time and never wanted to learn the accordion more in my life!
We made it back to the hotel and instantly crashed. It was a super long day and we were all looking forward to getting a decent night’s sleep.
