Giveaways - Tanguero/Tanguera

Draft piece I forgot to post from 2016 and was just reminded to go look for.

Here's an example from 2013:

"As you know we are tirelessly working hard to raise the profile and general awareness of Tango in [readacted] and always trying to give local Tangueros every opportunity to experience this beautiful dance."

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A:  I don't like people who are tangueros before they are human beings.
B:  Nicely put. Me neither.
A:  What I could have done without was one or two experienced tangueras using the point to ram home the gap between us in terms of years of experience.
B:  By the way, the Argentine word "tanguera" does not mean dancer. Most tangueras are not dancers and tanguera as opposed to baliarin therefore implies non-dancer.

That's in general. If from an encuentro type "tanguera" means woman tango dancer, then only in their own made-up language :)

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Tejastango

Tanguero — (feminine; Tanguera) Refers to anyone who is deeply and seriously  passionate about any part of tango, such as its history, music, lyrics, etc.  In Argentina most tangueros are scholars of lunfardo, music, orchestrations, Gardel, etc.  One can be a tanguero without being a milonguero and a milonguero without being a tanguero (very few milongueros would be referred to as tangueros).  And of course, one can be an extremely good tango dancer without being either, such as stage dancers, who are quite disdained by real milongueros and tangueros, unless they go the extra distance and become milongueros by going to the milongas, and/or tangueros as well.  An aficionado.

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I never heard an Argentinian dancer in a traditional milonga in Buenos Aires refer to themselves or anyone else as a tanguero.  It was always bailarin.  I specifically remember DJs of whom I asked questions talking about "los bailarines"

The way tanguero/a is used in Britain has sounded pretty suspect to me, a bit like a poncy Spanish version of "social dancer".  A tanguero for me is that guy with the fancy, stripy baggy tango trousers and the shoes. 

Sometimes, though, "tanguera" does seem perfectly apt:  Sh*t Tangueras Say,

Trick

I talked often with a friend who opened my eyes to the tricks and sleight of hand employed by teachers of tango dance class and performers to get people to pay for classes that the punters only think develop their dancing, despite the obvious lack of results.  

I had noticed in him and his partner a tendency to separate, distance themselves from others in some milongas to an extent that was marked and had sometimes struck me as extreme.  It nagged at me so about four years ago, eventually and although I had no business raising it, we were talking about that.   

F:  I think, especially in some women, in people without experience and people at the milonga alone, it can lead to them thinking:  "What have we done? What's wrong with us?" It doesn't take much to reassure people.  Smiling at them usually does the trick.

Friend:  Unfortunate choice of word there.

He was being understandably thorny but the lesson about being careful with that word was one that lasted.