Argentina to crown new tango champs
The Argentine couple of Naoko Tsutsumizaki and Cristian Andres Lopez dance at the Tango Dance World Championship in Buenos Aires on Saturday. — AFP pic BUENOS AIRES, Aug 28 —The quintessentially passionate Argentine dance form — the tango — is about to crown new kings and queens.
The tenth edition of what is billed as the world tango championship will unfold today in Buenos Aires, with 62 couples having made the cut to the finals in a tournament that began Aug 14.
The initial field boasted 487 pairs of dancers from 32 countries.
There are two categories: traditional ballroom tango and a more flashy, acrobatic genre called tango escenario, the Spanish word for stage.
City hall says half a million people have watched the competition in its different venues.
Their pride bruised in the very birthplace of tango, Argentines are hoping for a comeback.
Last year, the winners were a pair of Colombians in one category and a mixed Argentine-Ecuadoran couple in the other.
In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation added tango to its world heritage list, in the category of intangible treasures. — AFP-Relaxnews
