Tango and Empanadas

February 9, 2012

I am writing this portion of my blog from another country-Uruguay.  We are currently spending the night in the town of Colonia, a small, old, historic town which is a one hour rough boat ride from Buenos Aires.  We found a small boutique hotel on line called Posada de Mayor.  It is a cute old inn with thick rock walls, dating back to the 1700’s when the Portuguese ruled this country.  The weather is much cooler than the humid weather to our west in Buenos Aires, as this is a port city along the Rio de Plata, which is a muddy brown river that turns silvery in color as the sun sets.   Our intention is to travel to Punta del Este tomorrow.  It is approximately a two hour drive southeast along the coast.  Punta del Este is where the well-heeled Argentinians go to play in the sun and the sand during the hottest months of the year.  But before I go on, I must discuss the subject of tango and empanadas. 

If you are going to eat empanadas you must learn to tango!  Empanadas in Argentina are essentially little, dough filled meat or cheese pies that are inexpensive ways to grab a quick, filling meal on the run.  In Columbia, empanadas are made with a corn meal crust and deep fried.  We loved one particular place near Museo de Oro that made them with a thin cornmeal crust and a delicious meat filling.  Add a little chimichuri sauce and you have a yummy snack or lunch.  But in Argentina the empanadas have a pastry crust covering the filling, which typically consists of various cheeses or meats that are baked.  They are a caloric morsel that we have enjoyed frequently throughout our trip.  What fascinates me is the difference between two cultures, using flour or corn for the outside covering.  This brings me to the idea that both empanadas from Columbia and Argentina are similar to the concept of meat pies that are favorites in Australia and parts of New Zealand.  The Aussies just took the idea a bit further and added a few things like potatoes and veggies to their pies and made them nearly double in size.  If you are going to eat empanadas, then you must learn to tango!!  The calories taken in could easily match those burned taking an hour long tango class.  Which is what I did yesterday afternoon; I took a tango class and ate empanadas afterward.  Both were delicious in their own way.  

I was lucky enough to take a class from a woman who once danced with the troupe Tango Argentina that toured the world.  She has had such notable students as Princess Di, Bill Clinton, and Robert Di Nero, to name a few.   I was one of five students, the only gringo and novice in the class.  The other four had been taking weekly classes for at least two years. One of the women was a petite, adorable woman who originally hailed  from England.  She told us that she spent her early years in Spain and has lived in Argentina for the past twenty years.   The past two years she has been in Buenos Aires, and apparently many hours of those two years have been spent taking this tango class.  This adorable woman told me in her English accent that she was single and that is was her favorite activity, “Once you start the tango it gets into your blood and you can’t stop taking lessons.”  She was so cute when I asked her if she got to go to some malongas (tango dance halls) to dance and she said with a chuckle, “No my dear, I couldn’t possibly go out after 8 pm to dance; why everyone might think I was looking for a man.”  I was lucky enough to get to dance with both the men in the class, one a doctor and one a lawyer.  I mention this because we all had a good laugh when I said I hoped he wasn’t a malpractice lawyer and I was told. “Of course all the good lawyers in Buenos Aires are malpractice lawyers!”  I also had an opportunity to dance with a very skilled co-instructor who was probably in his early thirties.  He was both handsome and talented.  He could make anyone feel like they had mastered the tango! 

At the end of the class, each participant had to pair up and give an exhibition of the steps we had learned.  I was relieved that since I was new and didn’t have a partner, I wouldn’t have to participate and make a fool of myself!   But then the Latin wizard took me in his arms, and we sailed across the floor with my feet going places that surprised us all.  It was so much fun that the hour flew by in just seconds.  If we were staying in Buenos Aires longer, I would definitely go back to enjoy the magic that happened that day!  However we are now on the road again and will be driving a rental car to all the places our friends Margo and Lowell recommended.  If we are lucky, we will find a winery along the way to sample some Uruguay wines paired with some local fish or meat dishes.   If no more Tango then no more empanadas!  We need to watch our waistlines!