News

At the comfortable setting of the Anfiteatro del Parque Centenario, whose main pedestrian entrance is at Lillo and Leopoldo Marechal, a first-class program of concerts has been scheduled for this long weekend, with a comprehensive showcase of the best of Buenos Aires’s emerging tango scene. The lineup for tomorrow, Saturday 18, starts at 2 p.m. and features pianist Aldo Saralegui; the ex-members of Jorge Alorsa’s ensemble, who will pay homage to the La Plata-born musician with a concert titled “A los jóvenes de hoy”; the Escuela de Tango Orlando Goñi with the orchestras Típica Malo Giunta, Típica Bien Calavera and De Cuerdas La Gandolfo; and the Cuarteto Azopardo. Then, the Orquesta Victoria, one of the ensembles that has been building a career and a repertoire from the stage of Café Vinilo de Palermo, will take the stage at 5 p.m. to close the day’s events.

This Friday evening at 7, the orchestra conducted by La Pampa-born pianist Nicolás Ledesma will kick off the series of acoustic concerts at the beautiful auditorium of the Usina del Arte, in La Boca, one of the new venues of the 2012 Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Cup. Later, at 8 p.m., the Orquesta del Tango de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires will pay homage to Astor Piazzolla in a double program featuring the series Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, conducted by Raúl Garello, and the Concierto para bandoneón y orquesta with Néstor Marconi as a bandoneon soloist and with direction by Juan Carlos Cuacci. Tickets to attend these concerts will be given away today at the Usina del Arte’s Information Desk, starting at 5 p.m.: a maximum of 2 (two) tickets will be given per person per show.

The concert of great bandoneon master and Buenos Aires tango’s living legend Leopoldo Federico and his Orchestra, scheduled for today Saturday at 4.30 p.m. at the Usina del Arte, in the neighborhood of La Boca, has been cancelled due to health reasons. We look forward to seeing him on stage again soon, to enjoy his talent and feel the emotional appeal of the unequalled sound of his bellows. The rest of the activities scheduled at Usina del Arte remain without changes.

One of the great attractions of Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Cup is the already traditional Product Fair, located in the privileged facilities of the Centro de Exposiciones. The fair can be visited today and every day until Sunday 26, and the doors will open when the activities start (today at 5 p.m., during the weekend at 2 p.m.). With a variety of quality products related to the tango culture, this represents an ideal showcasing and trading opportunity for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs venturing into clothing, footwear, books, music and other areas. Also, considering the large crowds from different countries drawn by the irresistible charm of tango, this fair broadens the horizons of tango as a product into the entire world.

El Arranque, one of the most important orchestras in Argentine tango, and Kevin Johansen, one of the most prestigious popular music singers in this side of the world, will be the protagonists of one of the most awaited concerts of the 2012 Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Cup, tonight at 9 p.m. at the main stage of the Centro de Exposiciones. After their collaboration for Johansen’s new double album (titled Bi), in which they achieved excellent results in terms of artistic amalgamation in the original tango song “Nieva en Buenos Aires” and in the notable porteño-style version of Leonard Cohen’s classic “Everybody knows,” they come together at this exclusive concert that enhances the artistic attractiveness of the Festival. The stage will be crowded with a number of talented instrumentalists on one side, and on the other, a charismatic singer-songwriter who seems to be acquiring a taste for being backed by an orchestra to sing such great tango songs. Try not to miss it…

Today starting at 5 p.m. – on the first full day of activities, product fair and concerts at the Centro de Exposiciones – the permanent exhibition “Astor Piazzolla, íntimo y universal” will be open to visitors, featuring 250 mostly previously unseen photos, documentary material, manuscripts and drawings. In the framework of activities to pay homage to the great bandoneonist and composer, on the 20th anniversary of his passing, this exhibition shows revealing images about exciting aspects of the life and oeuvre of Piazzolla. Festival-goers can visit it during the hours the venue is open to host activities, until Sunday 26.

Tonight’s concert at 9 p.m. at the main stage of Centro de Exposiciones will mark the beginning of a series of musical homages to the great figure of Astor Piazzolla, on the 20th anniversary of his passing. The very first tribute will be paid by a member of his family: his grandson, Daniel “Pipi” Piazzolla, together with some Escalandrum bandmates and special guests, will recreate the repertoire and sound of the Octeto Eléctrónico, the ensemble created by Astor at the beginning of the 1970s composed of bandoneon, electric and/or acoustic piano, organ, electric guitar and bass, synths and violin, later replaced by transverse flute or sax. The 2012 version of the octet will perform a new version of the series Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, with arrangements by pianist Nicolás Guerschberg.

Tango Buenos Aires Festival and Dance World Cup kicks off today. The globe’s major tango event will offer, for two weeks, a fine musical program featuring great talents of various generations in the already traditional setting of the Centro de Exposiciones in Recoleta, in addition to this year’s new venues: Anfiteatro del Parque Centenario, Teatro Regio in Chacarita, Usina del Arte in La Boca and Teatro Colón, which will host a very special evening. Also, in 2012 the Dance World Cup celebrates its tenth anniversary with the participation of the world’s best couples in Salon and Stage Tango.

One of TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND WORLD CUP’s most emotional moments will be when singer Juan Carlos Godoy – a living tango legend who performed with the orchestras of Ricardo Tanturi, Alfredo De Angelis and José Basso in the golden decades of tango – celebrates his 90 years of life and premieres his new album Obsesión,accompanied by a string ensemble conducted by Carlos Juarez. This concert will take place on Sunday 19 at 6 p.m. at the Centro de Exposiciones, with free admission. A great opportunity to enjoy an emotional live performance by an artist of all times.

Apart from the good music brought by several generations of tango musicians, the special activities, the Fair Product and the permanent exhibition in homage to Astor Piazzolla, Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Cup will celebrate 10 years of the Dance World Cup with a competition among the world’s best couples that certainly promises to be highly exciting. And also, there will be great dance shows. Among them, Piazzolla Tango by Ana María Stekelman and the company Tangokinesis with music by the great Astor (Saturday 18, 9 p.m., Centro de Exposiciones, free admission) and the particular aesthetic blend brought forward by El Reenganche Tango Ballet in El tango y el fútbol (Sunday 26, 2.30 p.m., Centro de Exposiciones).