Milongueros don't like foreigners. Tango dancers in the Argentine capital have tried to ban foreign couples from participating in the Metropolitano, the most prestigious competition held every year in Buenos Aires.
Although in 2009 the tango was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is among the most popular dances in the world, it seems that all this fame is starting to get annoying.
The official excuse is that the Metropolitano intends to classify the couples who will participate in the world championships in August, for which it is necessary to have an Argentine citizenship.
Fortunately, the court doesn't feel the same way. Three dancers, a Korean, an American and an Irishman won the appeal presented before the judge Elena Liberatori who declared the exclusion of foreigners from the competition unconstitutional. The judge recalled that "art has an international transcendence" and that there are many Argentine dancers who dance in the most important foreign companies (for example Paoma Herrera at the American Ballet Theatre). However, she also added that the solution proposed by the Metropolitano, of holding a parallel competition only for foreigners, is the most realistic thing the three indignant dancers can expect.
However, many milongueros expose themselves in a more radical form. Well-known dancer Hernàn Caballero told the Wall Street Journal that it's not fair to compete with foreigners because they can afford $100-per-hour lessons while Argentines can't.
So what do you breathe in the Bonariense air? A new protectionism, even cultural, in the wake of President Kirchner's policy or simply fear of losing?
Sources: Wall Street Journal Americas
