ARGENTINE TANGO
It all began with an ordinary old iron bed. Do not think anything bad; a few years ago, my close friend (of 42 years!) learned of some exciting news: we, her relatives, would soon come to visit her in Argentina. Her joy was indescribable, especially since she lived alone in a foreign country and longed for family and relatives. She wanted to be well-prepared and receive her guests as best she could! How nice, how wonderful! She thought day and night what needed to be done, what needed to be bought, and how she could improve her home. There were not enough beds in her Buenos Apartment—but one cannot host their friends on the floor! A sociable woman, Sveta spoke with some of her acquaintances and found out that one of them had a spare bed, but it had to be brought to the apartment somehow. So, she decided to do this with the help of an acquaintance.
At this point, we need to talk a little about nature and the weather. Yesterday, I watched the old Russian film “Alone on the Battlefield” about WWII. In the movie, a German general praised Argentina, saying that it had an eternal summer—a paradise on earth! The fascist expected to leave Germany and live the rest of his life with his family, as in paradise!
And then I remembered June 2007. It was very hot in South Carolina, so we went to Argentina, hoping to escape the searing rays of the sun at least a little. But what we saw upon exiting the plane stunned us!
Seeing my friends was very exciting—I had tears in my eyes—and Sveta told us that, in Argentina, snow had not fallen in a hundred years; generations of Argentines had never seen it. And suddenly, before our arrival, God decided to bless Argentina, and snow poured from the sky as if he had decided to cover the whole, huge city from the ground up to the tallest roofs! How terrifying, and, yet, beautiful! But, oh, how it didn’t work out for our poor friend—she urgently had to bring back the bed! Luckily, she had had an extra day, as we had gotten delayed in America for a day (we’d even returned home for the night) due to a delayed flight. Even so, imagine the sweaty and snow-covered people, dragging this poor iron bed over a snowy, slippery road!
But finally—hooray! The bed was delivered in time! Everything was ready! “I can’t wait for you to arrive!” thought Svetlana! And we made it! The bed was there.
Sometimes, when you look at a photo, you suddenly remember things associated with that memory. And I one such memory has just dawned on me! Since then it has been about 50 years. The relatives of a 27 year-old asked him to help move an iron bed, which they were offered by former neighbors of their apartment. The elderly relatives’ health was not very good—his uncle’s heart did not function very well, and he had to rest a lot during the day. Anyway, they took their nephew and went together to visit their friends, unaware that in a year they would become not only friends, but also relatives! The bed was left standing in the corridor for a long time, waiting for it to be transported somewhere else. But the former neighbors had a daughter, in whom the nephew was quite interested! On the first evening of having met each other, the young folks went for a walk in their city’s downtown, and found common interests. The iron bed stood still for a long time, because the enamored Kim no longer cared about it. And this story ended with a happy, young just one year later! Now, there’s an old, iron bed for you—it helped create a new, happy family!
We spent two wonderful weeks in Argentina. We visited many picturesque places, walked around the capital, admired the beauty and architecture, and visited the church of the Pope Paul. We saw magnificent statues that looked like real people. The environment and decor of this beautiful place gave us some fond memories!
Visiting the museum of the Holy Land certainly left an impression on us.
Every tourist, after having arrived in Argentina, dreams of seeing how the true Argentine tango is done. We could not avoid this tradition, and with pleasure watched wonderful dancing couples, dancing directly on the asphalt in the downtown! How cool, beautiful and charming! We were even delighted by the performance of professional dancers in a restaurant!
Argentine tango is not only and not so much a dance as a small play created by two—with its intrigue and its history.
We really enjoyed the wonderful monuments and beautiful buildings! We could go on forever about this wonderful trip.