BUENOS AIRES, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Every night in Buenos Aires, cozy clubs and huge halls fill with dancers from all over the world, clinging to each other in the embrace of Argentine tango and gliding in unison to plaintive melodies of nostalgia, loss and love.
This week, tango took to the stage, with several hundred competitors vying for the world’s most important titles at the annual Buenos Aires Tango Festival and Competition, which was attended by 10,000 spectators on the closing night on Tuesday.
With a record number of 750 couples from 53 countries, the competition demonstrated the global appeal of a dance style that emerged among sailors and immigrants in the ports of Argentina and Uruguay in the early 20th century and also has its roots in African rhythms.
“Tango unites everything,” said one of the event’s moderators. “In times of global division, what could be more beautiful than embracing one another?”
Argentina is revered as a global mecca for tango music and dancing, both in social clubs and in dazzling stage shows.
Participants came from countries as diverse as Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, the United States and Ukraine.
However, the highest award went to the Argentinians.
Ayelen Morando burst into tears and her partner Sebastian Martinez fell to his knees when their names were called as winners of the Show Tango category.
“These are years of effort, of work, of dreaming and of not giving up,” Morando later told reporters, still wearing the black velvet dress and jewelled collar in which she had performed.
Fatima Caracoch and Brenno Marques hugged each other tightly as they won the Salon Tango.
“It’s a mixture of emotions, of happiness, of ecstasy and the realization of an incredible dream,” said Marques.
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Reporting by Miguel Lo Bianco, writing by Daina Beth Solomon; editing by Michael Perry
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
