Anahí ViladrichArgentine-tango environment. The following note illustrates my en-
counter with Mr. B, a well-known Argentine tanguero, famous not
only for his unique tango steps but for his discourteous demeanor
when approaching women:
Today was a tough one, and at some point I thought it would
become ugly. Mr. C had already noticed that Mr. B was drunk
and had already annoyed other women in the place. But as with
Murphy’s Law (if something can go wrong, it will) I ended up
standing face-to-face to him. Mr. B asked me who I was, and I be-
gan with my rehearsed soliloquy to describe my research project.
He was neither impressed with my academic credentials nor with
the purpose of my research. The fact that he considered me an
Argentine was enough to cause him drop any pretense of courtesy,
and he almost shouted at me in Spanish: “De dónde sos, flaca?”
(Where are you from, woman?) “A mi no me mientas, vos sos de
las nuestras mamita,” and “andá con ese verso de la investigación
para otro lado.” (Don’t lie to me, you are one of ours, little mother,
get out with that story of the research somewhere else). (Tango
notes, August 30, 2001)Paradoxically, the tensions I experienced with some men (of course,
not all as rude as Mr. B) did not require my becoming culturally com-
petent or savvy, for they were familiar with my Argentine idiosyn-
cratic background.
Whether men or women, we Argentines are trained in a sort of ver-
bal convention that relies on a socialized vocabulary that often be-
comes a weapon to unlock the doors of potential emotional encoun-
ters.^4 My familiarity with this sort of gendered dynamics did not help
ease the tension. Because I was as an insider, or one of them (an Ar-
gentine woman after all, so unworthy of political correctness), some
men eventually assumed the implicit right of making me the object
of dirty jokes, subtle provocations, and misguided interests in my re-
search agenda.
Curiously, women took my removal from the tango floor with a
more welcoming attitude than I had initially anticipated. By exclud-
ing myself from dancing, I assured my gender alliances with them