August may be winter in Buenos Aires but it was the month that David and I chose to visit our friends and family in Argentina, hoping of course to fit in a little bit of tango. Who needs the sun to dance tango right?
We left London in 30 degrees heat, sandals and summer clothes and arrived on a dismal Buenos Aires day with lashing rain and wind. We had been prepared for a contrast but this welcome came as something of a shock!
Despite the gloomy start, the month ahead was to give us plenty of beautiful winter’s days, with blindingly bright sun and clear blue skies.
Not so on the day we scheduled for our photo shoot with tango photographer Marcelo Di Rienzo though. As if to challenge our determination, it was an uncharacteristically cold day.
We had chosen a dilapidated building in the Villa Crespo neighbourhood for our location. In the UK, there would be all kinds of health and safety regulations preventing the use of a place like this – stairways with sheer drops, floors that seem to sink as you step on them … but not so in Buenos Aires.
And for the purposes of the photos we were hoping for, this definitely worked in our favour. The building was a treasure trove of a bygone era, with a labyrinth of different rooms and back-drops to explore. Both a photographer and tango dancer’s dream!
Yes, we were “inside”, but the building was so exposed to the elements that it felt exactly the same as being outside. Not for the first time on a photo shoot, I stayed huddled in my warmest winter coat until right the last minute. And my brother-in-law was on hand with hot drinks and biscuits between shoots.
They say you have to suffer for your art and judging from the final results, I would say there could be some truth in that! Marcelo Di Rienzo did an amazing job and we are thrilled with our Buenos Aires nostalgia shots.
Here are a couple of the photos to begin with. You can see more shots on our Instagram and Facebook page. And our Gallery will soon be filled to the brim with all the photos from that memorable day. Keep your eyes peeled!
Thank you Buenos Aires for as always inspiring us with your magic!
