In 1999, twenty-two-year-old Brian Winter packed his bags and headed for Buenos Aires. He learnt the language, got to know the people and suffered with them as the peso bottomed out. And he became infected by an Argentine obsession - the tango. Since its birth in the city's streets and brothels in the 1880's, tango has remained the heartbeat of Argentine life, a barometer of its rising and falling fortunes. Flourishing in the grand milongas - dance halls - of Buenos Aires' early-twentieth-century belle epoque, its supremacy was later challenged by the emergence of rock'n'roll. But tango survived to enjoy a renaissance in Argentina and across the world."Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien" explores Argentina through its obsession with the dance, telling of winter's adventures in the sexy, over-caffeinated late-night world of Buenos Aires' tango halls. We meet characters like El Tigre, a merchant marine turned tango professor and B-movie star, and El Tano, a spectacularly foul-mouthed insurance salesman who scraped by for thirty years in Milwaukee giving tango lessons. The tango at its heart is escapism, pure and simple - 'the vertical expression of a horizontal desire'. Part travel narrative, part memoir and part cultural history of a remarkable and troubled country and the dance that epitomizes it, "Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien" provides a unique insight into the Argentinian soul.
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From the Inside Flap
In 1999, 22-year-old Brian Winter packed his bags and headed for Buenos Aires. He learnt the language, got to know the people and suffered with them as the peso bottomed out. And he became infected by an Argentine obsession – the tango.
Since its birth in the city's streets and brothels in the 1880’s, tango has remained a heartbeat of Argentine life, a barometer of its rising and falling fortunes. Flourishing in the grand milongas – dance halls – of Buenos Aires' early-twentieth century Belle Epoque, its supremacy was later challenged by the emergence of rock & roll, and condemned by notorious President Juan Peron. But tango survived to enjoy a renaissance in Argentina and across the world.
The Prettiest Girls in the World explores Argentina through its obsession with the dance, telling of Winter’s adventures in the sexy, over caffeinated late-night world of Buenos Aires’ tango halls. We meet local characters like ‘El Tigre’, a merchant marine turned tango professor and B-movie star, who has danced everywhere from Algeria to Japan; El Tano, a spectacularly foul-mouthed insurance salesman who scraped by for 30 years in Milwaukee giving tango lessons; and Hugo, a wiry mechanic who sometimes goes a whole week without sleep but manages (thanks to a dozen espressos a night) to cultivate a baker’s dozen of stunning groupies.
The tango at its heart is escapism, pure and simple – ‘the vertical expression of a horizontal desire’; perhaps this explains why the milongas are so often packed to capacity at 4am on a Monday night… Part travel narrative, part memoir and part cultural history of a remarkable and troubled country and the dance that epitomizes it, The Prettiest Girls in the World provides insight into the Argentinian soul.
From the Back Cover
In the fashion-obsessed capital where the stately streets are like a catwalk, locals take pride in the glorious past of Argentina, and claim, with wildly varying degrees of accuracy, that Argentines invented the city bus, heart bypass surgery, Thousand Island dressing and even the ballpoint pen. But there is one thing that all Argentines are most proud of. The girls. The country often seems like a genetic laboratory geared toward producing impossibly beautiful women – somehow combining the best aspects of Italy, Spain, England, Germany, Africa, Armenia, and the many other countries that Argentines call home. In their grandest moments, Argentines are able to forget their current crisis and remember what it was like to be rich, when the country was famous for having the most beautiful girls in the world.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Mary K
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I traced this book from one of the readers in the tube. I have to say that it goes very slowly and basically heads nowhere, it is just pleasant reading about Argentina, there are a lot of descriptions of life in the city, people, nature etc. It would be entertaining for everyone to know some basics of tango and not to get bored with specifics.
During the first part of the book I was waiting for some action to start, a love story to kick off or something to happen but nothing did, so I presumed it will go this way and it did, it was flat but in the same time intriguing and interesting to read.
During the first part of the book I was waiting for some action to start, a love story to kick off or something to happen but nothing did, so I presumed it will go this way and it did, it was flat but in the same time intriguing and interesting to read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By rory113
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed this book. There were three parts to it; these being the author settling into life in Argentina, the development of his appreciation for tango and finally a brief economic history of Argentina. These three are intertwined to provide an interesting read. I also liked that Spanish words were also used in the text. Not all of them are translated but the reader can easily pick up the meaning from the context.
If you have travelled to Argentina, and fallen in love with it as I have, then I would recommend this book!
If you have travelled to Argentina, and fallen in love with it as I have, then I would recommend this book!
By Stumptown
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is laugh-out-loud funny and would suit a wide range of readers, from those who would like an armchair trip to Argentina, Tango and Swango dance enthusiasts, and anyone with a soft spot for an amusing bad boy (El Tigre). Wonderful to purchase a book that lived up to its offical reviews!
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