The Zen of Tango or Eat, Meditate, Dance?
I found this to be a very interesting memoir. The author, Camille Cusumano, undertakes a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina in part to escape the pain of a shattered 15 year relationship that results in the loss of her best friend as well as her life partner. It is a deeply personal book in which the author courageously bares her soul to the reader. It is as much a spiritual journey as a travelogue with vivid descriptions of the people and culture that make you feel as though you are there. She had taken a prior trip to Argentina several years ago. When she arrives, although she speaks French and Italian, She speaks little or no Spanish and picks up the language on her own and with the aid of language tutors. An avid Tango dancer, she immerses herself in the culture and tango, both taking lessons from various well-known teachers and making the rounds of the Buenos Aires milongas (tango dance clubs). Dance is her escape from pain. She loses herself in Tango, becoming one with her partner and the dance. Her descriptions of her tango rapture, in which she achieves a sort of transubstantiation, are so lyrical that they make one want to take up this form of dance. After a couple of very brief affairs that end in disappointment, she decides to remain celibate for a year. She develops many friendships with the local people, takes sightseeing trips to breathtaking Iguazu Falls and Patagonia, invites American friends to visit her, and genuinely falls in love with the culture and people of Argentina. This book is all about spiritual healing achieved through tango, yoga, Zen, friendship and immersion in a fascinating and passionate culture. The authors incredible joie de vivre is tangible on every page and I come away with the impression that life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but about dancing in the rain. Although she decides to extend her stay indefinitely (and ends up staying a total of 3 years per the authors website), the book covers only the first year of her stay in Argentina. She takes the reader on a journey through bustling Buenos Aires streets, into the homes of intimate Buenos Aires friends, through dark, steamy tango clubs, and into the pristine wilderness of breathtaking Iguazu Falls.
Although she decides to extend her stay indefinitely (and ends up staying a total of 3 years per the authors website), the book covers only the first year of her stay in Argentina.
I found this to be a very interesting memoir. The author, Camille Cusumano, undertakes a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina in part to escape the pain of a shattered 15 year relationship that results in the loss of her best friend as well as her life partner. It is a deeply personal book in which the author courageously bares her soul to the reader. It is as much a spiritual journey as a travelogue with vivid descriptions of the people and culture that make you feel as though you are there. She had taken a prior trip to Argentina several years ago. When she arrives, although she speaks French and Italian, She speaks little or no Spanish and picks up the language on her own and with the aid of language tutors. An avid Tango dancer, she immerses herself in the culture and tango, both taking lessons from various well-known teachers and making the rounds of the Buenos Aires milongas (tango dance clubs). Dance is her escape from pain. She loses herself in Tango, becoming one with her partner and the dance. Her descriptions of her tango rapture, in which she achieves a sort of transubstantiation, are so lyrical that they make one want to take up this form of dance. After a couple of very brief affairs that end in disappointment, she decides to remain celibate for a year. She develops many friendships with the local people, takes sightseeing trips to breathtaking Iguazu Falls and Patagonia, invites American friends to visit her, and genuinely falls in love with the culture and people of Argentina. This book is all about spiritual healing achieved through tango, yoga, Zen, friendship and immersion in a fascinating and passionate culture. The authors incredible joie de vivre is tangible on every page and I come away with the impression that life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but about dancing in the rain. Although she decides to extend her stay indefinitely (and ends up staying a total of 3 years per the authors website), the book covers only the first year of her stay in Argentina. She takes the reader on a journey through bustling Buenos Aires streets, into the homes of intimate Buenos Aires friends, through dark, steamy tango clubs, and into the pristine wilderness of breathtaking Iguazu Falls.
Although she decides to extend her stay indefinitely (and ends up staying a total of 3 years per the authors website), the book covers only the first year of her stay in Argentina.
