MILONGA LITERARIA

On the 10th December, the eve of the Tango Day we will celebrate the upcoming holiday and the start of the Sofia International Book Fair, with a special literary tango evening honouring the people who write for and about tango. They are all the poets, authors of the lyrics of the famous tangos as well the writers who describe tango in their books.

The program of the event is as follows:

  • 6.30 pm screening of the biographical movie Homero Manzi: A Poet in the Storm (Argentina, 2010) about the life of one of the most famous argentinean poets and authors of tango lyrics. Free entrance.
  • 8.00 pm presentation of the bulgarian edition of the book Twelve Minutes Of Love: A Tango Story by Kapka Kassabova. The presentation is organized jointly with Ciela Publishing House. Free Entrance.
  • 9.00 pm milonga with music selected by DJ Vera. Entrance 5 lv.
  • There will be special musical surprise during the milonga (around 10.00 pm): a short live performance of the argentinean tango singer Paola Fernandez Dell'Erba who will sing selected classical tangos.

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More information about the featured artists and works:

Homero Manzi - A Poet In The Storm is a biopic about one of the greatest Argentine poets, the author of the lyrics of many famous tangos like "Malena", "Sur", "Barrio De Tango" and others. The film recreates in an exciting way the life life Homero Manzi from his childhood in Añatuya, through his teenage years in the neighbourhood of Pompeya to his adult years, when he is confronted with the upper classes in Buenos Aires heavily influenced by foreign European cultures . The character of Manzi is masterfully played by the actor Carlos Portaluppi and the soundtrack includes music of 28 of his tangos. The movie also features tango choreographies, theatrical scenes and excerpts from films shot by Manzi . This is the story of the passion and true love of the great Argentine poet. His tangos come alive on screen not only as works of art but as statements which in combination with powerful visual scenes show how his works reflect his life, feelings and his beliefs .

Many tango lovers in Bulgaria know or have heard of Kapka Kassabova and her tango book "Twelve minutes of love"- a timeless tale of exile and longing, death and desire, love and belonging. There, in sparkling, spring-heeled prose, Kapka takes us inside the esoteric world of tango to tell the story of the dance, from its Afro roots to its sequined stars and back. The author first set foot in a tango studio ten years ago and, from that moment, she was hooked. With the beat of tango driving her on and the music filling her head, she's danced across the world, from Auckland to Edinburgh, from Berlin to Buenos Aires, putting in hours of practice for fleeting moments of dance-floor ecstasy, suffering blisters and heart-break along the way. During the event Kapka and Ciela Publishing House will present the long-awaited bulgarian edition of the book. This will give Bulgarian tango lovers finally a chance to read this wonderful memoir-travelogue that includes among other things a brief episode about Kapka's tango adventures in Sofia.

Kapka Kassbova was born in Bulgaria and now lives in Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands. She is the author of four poetry collections, two travel guides, numerous travel essays, and two novels. She made her non-fiction debut with the acclaimed memoir Street Without a Name (2008).  Twelve Minutes of Love: A Tango Story is her latest book telling the story of her decade-long love affair with the dance. She has written for the Sunday Times, the Guardian, Vogue, Intelligent Life and Granta.com. Her website is www.kapka-kassabova.com

The special surprise of the evening is the participation of Argentine tango singer Paola Fernandez Del'Erba who will perform a short program of classical tangos. Paola Fernandez Del'Erba is dedicated to the study of vocal tango, and has participated as a singer in various tango project with which she has appeared on many stages across Argentina and Europe. She has worked with groups such as Tangoseis, Nuevos Aires and Orquesta Minimal Flores De Tango and sang in numerous tango shows including Tangasos by Luis Castro and Claudio Mendoza, Tango Bar by Los Hermanos Macana, and the dance group of Miguel Angel Zotto, TangoX2. Paola has founded the group La Milonguera, the duo Fulanas and the project Swinging Tango, in which she sings with a traditional jazz trio. Among her latest projects are Tango Absinthe, a band mixing tango with electronic music and jazz and the duo with the pianist Hernán Fassa with whom she performs classical tangos.

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Note: The organizers reserve the right to make changes in the program