One of my fellow-bloggers in Argentina, Cherie Magnus, also known as Tangocherie, has written down her memoirs.
The books starts at the point in her life when everything changes. She becomes a widow at too young an age -early 40- and she finds herself alone, with 2 grown up sons. A husband who had been everything and a marriage that had meant to be forever, were no longer : her world fell apart. But then one day she woke up, after having spend days and weeks in bed crying and feeling sorry for herself, she decided to take her life back into her hands, and go for her dream. She went to Paris. But it turns out that life isn’t a bed of roses, and after each setback she struggles to get up again. She gets through it with the help of old and new friends. And she focuses on what she loves the most -dancing-! She falls in love with tango, which is a lot more then just a dance. She describes the power of the dance, and how it can lift you up. The story leads you from LA, over France and Mexico, to Argentina.
Although I have been coming to Argentina for many years, and have been living here for almost 3, I have never danced the tango, never been to a milonga. But after reading this book I think that maybe I should, and I am actually considering it.
It is a heartbreaking but also a heartwarming story, that gives hope. Hope that, whatever might happen to you, there is always a way out.
Cherie now lives with her partner in Boedo. She still dances -and teaches- the tango. If after reading this book you feel the same as I do, you can take tango lessons her and her partner and check out if she was right with her description of Argentina’s national dance.
Read the book
visit Cherie on Facebook
Read Cheries blog
The Feel Good Way 
11 responses to “Church of tango”
I don’t really like the dance aspect of tango, but I am quite fond of the music itself. Like my grandfather said to me once when I was much younger (albeit with a little bit of closed-mindness), “el tango te canta todas las verdades”.
It’s quite sad and melancholic, in fact, if you listen to the lyrics of several songs for quite a time chances are you’ll start feeling down, for something sang there might have happened to you. It is a very sentimental form of music, and transmits such feelings quite well. That is my experience at least, I am a tango music lover.
As for dancing, I have never tried, and probably, never will.
Regards.
Is it me? Or almost all your blog’s entries are just complaints about Argentina/Buenos Aires? I mean it. If you’re not happy in here, just leave.
And I’m not being rude, I’m just understanding, that as a grown adult, who raised in another country, it’s perfectly normal not to feel “at home” in a foreign country.
Maybe it was a wrong understanding of some of your entries, but that what I felt.
Regards.
Dear Fabrizio,
it is strange that you would feel that way, as this blog is nothing but an ode of my love to Argentina, which is so big that many Argentines (even my friends) wonder if I something is not right in my head. 🙂
The thing is that every country has its good and its bad things, and one has to put those in a balance, and according to ones needs one or the other country is more valuable than the other.
I have never been as happy as I have been here in Argentina, I didn’t regret moving here for a second, and if I could do it all over again, I would move here sooner…
I only see complaints about argentina/bs as in your posts. Maybe I’m wrong… But if that’s the case. Why are you still here?
I’m not trying to be rude, it’s an honest question.
Regards!
Thanks, Katti, for not only reading my memoir, but posting about it on your blog! I really appreciate it.
(Strange comments by Fab)
You’re Welcome Cherie! I enjoyed reading it!
Hi there. Sorry abput the double post. IDK what happened.
Let me tell you that I just read a lot of entries now, And I have to say “I’m Sorry”. I really misundertood some of your articles, And now I can easily see your love for this country. I’m really sorry I was rude with my comment.
I really hope that you’re enjoying this country and it’s people.
Sometimes I really wonder how to stay in contact with foreigners living in here. As a native porteño. I would love to chat often with you/them and share experiences. Differents points of view, new places to show/share. I always thought that it would be just grear, sadly the only foreigners I’ve known in here, like a friendship relationship were other people from latinamerica, and the difference with the people in here isn’t that much.
What I didn’t realize at first was: What’s something really common in argentineans? complaints! hahaha we’re always complaining about almost everything. 😛
I’m really glad of having people like you with this kind of blog. It help us to understand something from here, with different eyes. Wich is something amazing.
Thank you and again, sorry about my last comments.
Take care and enjoy.
Don’t worry, I didn’t think you were rude, 🙂
Keep on reading my blog!
:-p
Tango is a lot more than just a dance! It is a passion!! I ought to try it. OK it’s not easy in the begining but maybe you’ll find it trapping you sooner than expected!
For me, now I think I have found one os the best tango teachers nearby and I’m really happy about it.
Little typo in there: Where it says “I ought to try it” I meant “you”. LOL
And if you are curious, the teacher is Claude Murga from Escuela Argentina de Tango in Viamonte and Florida (Shopping Galerías Pacífico)
I will keep it in mind 🙂