Nothing better, than to start a pleasant Saturday afternoon heading to a milonga for a couple of warm up tandas of Tango...

 

Definitely NOT my shoes, albeit would I ever love to wear those and despite them be able to dance longer than maybe 30 seconds...

So one heads off to Teatro Colon after a spot of tango, and refreshes oneself at Le Petit Colon, a 'Café Notable' of Buenos Aires, a block away from Le Gran Colon, the theatre.

At the Corner of Diagonal Norte and the Edge of Plaza Lavalle, in plain sight of El Obelisco, is le Petit Colon.

Elegance of a bygone era, the Petit Colon evokes images of the early 20th century, with ladies and gentlemen of La Belle Epoque having a few tete a tetes for their 'cinque a siete' entertainment. Nothing much appears to have changed, except the clientele and staff of course.

Main Part of the Café, wood panelling, sculpted ceilings, real rattan upholstered chairs, carved wooden bar and doors, inlaid floors and antique light fixtures (now electric not gas)...waiters in formal uniform...

The counter of Café Petit Colon

Table top inlay....Petit Colon Icon

From the engraved and curtained windows and enjoys a view of Plaza Lavalle with Los Tribunales in the background

Chandelier at the entrance of Petit Colon

Heavy Leather upholstery and embroidered wall paper...

All that comfort invites to linger....I had a cafecito cortado and a media lunes dulce, which is served with appropriate elegance....napkins, a small glass of mineral water to wash the strong coffee down one's throat, impeccable service.

My destiny was Teatro Colon, which staged as Part of the Summer Festivel a gratis concert of classical waltzes on an open air stage at spacious Plaza Vaticano beside Teatro Colon. Start time 8 p.m.
I had enough time (I thought) beforehand to buy myself a ticket for an upcoming performance (all Tschaikovsky concert) and wander over to Plaza Vaticana.

Well, I had hoped to be early enough to secure one of the plastic chairs, the city lines up by the hundred for listeners to enjoy free of charge. But....with an hour to go before start up, not only every single chair was taken (many brought their own folding garden chairs) but every surface that could serve as seating was occupied as well....popular event obviously.

Plaza Vaticano, empty, with Teatro Colon in the background. The plaza can accommodate a couple of thousand people - or more....

Today's Program of 'El Gran Vals', the Great Waltz, must be very popular, live performance of the theatre's philharmonic orchestra led by Mario Perusso, guest conductor.



Mario Perusso - Conductor

THE PROGRAM

“EL GRAN VALS”
CARL MARIA VON WEBER
(ORQ. HECTOR BERLIOZ)
INVITACIÓN A LA DANZA
JOHANN STRAUSS (H)
A ORILLAS DEL HERMOSO DANUBIO AZUL
FRANZ LISZT
VALS MEFISTO NO. 1
RICHARD STRAUSS
VALSES DE “EL CABALLERO DE LA ROSA”, OP. 59
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
VALS DE LA SUITE DE JAZZ NO. 2
MAURICE RAVEL
LA VALSE

Thousands of people, more of them standing than sitting...which brings its own set of challenges. Most of the crowd was surprisingly silent when the orchestra played. But, kids being kids, they kept up their conversations at kid volume of voices, cell phones provided the odd 'percussion' back up, and one collie border dog managed to yip in time and tune with the beat of 'The Blue Danube'. It sounded as if he liked it....

Flat surfaces were definitely at a premium. I had 'settled down' on a wide stone elevation, together with a whole army of other people...numbers increased during the program with a few 'upgrades' going on, each time a prime peace of concrete became free when a spectator left. Other listeners just 'bum hopped' into the open space, and the beat went on.

 Not my photo, but this may have been the view from 'above' - except today's crowd was probably larger than this one. The night  was balmy, with a moon trying to outshine the city lights (which worked today - how fortunate after rotative electricity cuts put the city into temporary darkness during the just past heat-wave). Puddles left over from the rainstorm of the previous night had dried up, and as a result, the concrete plaza fixtures serving as make shift seating were relatively 'dust free'.

 The Orchestra.....fortunately the temperatures had dropped, as playing in 36 degree heat (that's how hot it was a few nights earlier) would be rather a challenge for string instrument players especially....sticky fingers, and expanding wood...

Hard to beat the atmosphere of an open air classical concert, with a backdrop of the magnificent façade of Teatro Colon, soft night breezes, and a clear (for Buenos Aires) sky...

The video....or at least a sample....with a request for a pardon about the less than perfect audio track...my location in the plaza did not lend itself to 'high quality' recording....but, here it is.