Thursday, February 08, 2007

Riffs in the Key of Tango

The bounce from the flute of Eduardo Tami echoes the rough sweetness of so many nights in Buenos Aires where La Culebra smokes her thin cigars, the ones that show off her hands.

El Esquinazo plays brightly, but still La Culebra watches, and her tiny white teeth touch the end of the skinny cigar -- and bite.

Her satin dress shows curves, yet no one asks her to dance.

'That one,' says one man with a cock of his head. 'She is too ferocious.'