Tango

Tango, a distinctive dance and the corresponding musical style of tango music, began in the working-class port neighborhoods of Buenos Aires (Argentina); and years later in Montevideo, Uruguay; the area of the Rio de la Plata.

There are a number of theories about the origin of the word "tango". One of the more popular in recent years has been that it came from the Niger–Congo languages of Africa. Another theory is that the word "tango", already in common use in Andalusia to describe a style of music, lent its name to a completely different style of music in Argentina and Uruguay.

The dance form derives from the Cuban habanera, the Argentine milonga and candombe, and is said to contain elements from the African community in Buenos Aires, influenced both by ancient African rhythms and the music from Europe.

Even though the present forms developed in Argentina from the mid 19th century, there are earlier written records of Tango dances in Cuba and Spain, while there is a flamenco Tangos dance that may share a common ancestor in a minuet-style European dance. All sources stress the influence of the African communities and their rhythms, while the instruments and techniques brought in by European immigrants played a major role in its final definition, relating it to the Salon music styles to which Tango would contribute back at a later stage, when it became fashionable in early 20th century Paris.

In Argentina, the word Tango seems to have first been used in the 1890s. In 1902 the Teatro Opera started to include tango in their balls. Initially tango was just one of the many available local dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants. The development of the Tango had influences from the cultures of several peoples that came together in these melting pots of ethnicities. For this reason Tango is often referred to as the music of the immigrants to Argentina.

During the period 1903–1910 over a third of the 1,000 gramophone records released were of tango music, and tango sheet music sold in large quantities. In 1910 the bandoneon was introduced to Buenos Aires from Germany and it became linked inextricably with tango music from then on. In 1912, Juan "Pacho" Maglio was very popular with his recorded tangos featuring the bandoneon accompanied by flute, violin and guitar. Between 1910 and 1920, tango featured on 2,500 of the 5,500 records released.

As the dance form became wildly popular with upper and middle classes around the world, Argentine high society adopted the previously low-class dance form as their own. In 1913, tango began to move from the dark side of town to elegant dance palaces. In 1916, Roberto Firpo, an extremely successful bandleader of the period, cemented the arrangements for standard tango sextet: two bandoneons, two violins, piano and double bass. Firpo heard a march by Uruguayan Gerardo Matos Rodríguez and adapted it for tango, creating the popular and iconic La Cumparsita.

By 1912, dancers and musicians from Buenos Aires travelled to Europe and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New York in the USA, and Finland. These exported versions of Tango were modified to have less body contact ("Ballroom Tango"); however, the dance was still thought shocking by many, as had earlier been the case with dances such as the Waltz. In 1922 guidelines were first set for the "English" (international) style of ballroom tango, but it lost popularity in Europe to new dances including the Foxtrot and Samba, and as dancing as a whole declined due to the growth of cinema.

In 1917, folk singer Carlos Gardel recorded his first tango song Mi Noche Triste, forever associating tango with the feeling of tragic love as revealed in the lyric.

Classically-trained musicians weren't associated with tango music until Julio De Caro, violinist, formed an orchestra in 1920 and made the tango more elegant, complex and refined, as well as slowing the tempo somewhat. With Pedro Laurenz on bandoneon, De Caro's orchestra was famous for over a decade.

In Argentina, the onset in 1929 of the Great Depression, and restrictions introduced after the overthrow of the Hipólito Yrigoyen government in 1930 caused Tango to decline. Its fortunes were reversed as tango again became widely fashionable and a matter of national pride under the government of Juan Perón. Tango declined again in the 1950s with economic recession and as the military dictatorships banned public gatherings, followed by the popularity of rock and roll. The dance lived on in smaller venues until its revival in the 1980s following the opening in Paris of the show Tango Argentino The Broadway musical Forever Tango and in Europe Tango Pasión followed.

All photographs and video posted here were shot at the Gala Dinner at the Raintree Club, Kuala Lumpur during the 5th Kuala Lumpur Tango Festival which took place from 8th to 11th March 2012, organized by Marguerite Brodie and Andreas Lehrke. Marguerite and Andreas started Tango Malaysia which run tango classes and workshops at various locations in KL.

The Lost World of Kinabalu

A tropical, jungle-clad, cloud enveloped and rugged mountain terrain with multiple micro climates hosting mesozoic mosses, prehistoric fungi, Jurassic tree ferns, dwarf shrubs, colourful orchids, carnivorous primeval pitcher plants, gigantic parasitic flowers which stink of rotting flesh, a multitude of unique and uncategorized flora and fauna with mysterious rugged trails leading through dense and unexplored forests up to the towering heights of the massive mountain peaks and ridges. 

This could be the screenplay setting of a movie such as The Lost World or even Jurassic Park but in fact is a description of Mount Kinabalu National Park in Borneo. This UNESCO world heritage site remains once of the least explored parts of the world and is home to one of the richest and most bizarre diversity of animal and plant life you will find on this planet. It is indeed like entering a time warp which takes you back to the prehistoric days of dinosaurs or walking into the film set of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. As you walk on the many trails through this mystical environment you would not at all be surprised to stumble upon a Velociraptor or Stegosaurus popping out from behind the trees and bushes.

Dominating this whole area are the massive slabs of granite rock which soar over 4km into the clouds. The ragged skyline ridges of the mountain in many ways resemble the back of a Stegosaurus further exemplifying the Lost World analogy. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo and is also one of the youngest mountains, still growing at some 0.5cm per year. 


This is certainly one of the most formidable and commanding mountains you will see but for all of this, is easily accessible and can be climbed, or rather walked, with relative ease. I use the term "relative ease" lightly, as having walked the first 2km up the Summit Trail from the Mesilau Gate park entrance on the east side of Mount Kinabalu, it is no walk in the park! It is however one of the best trail walks I have done and one day I plan to explore more of this trail and perhaps even conquer the mountain itself. 

Also of interest at the Mesilau Gate entrance there is a short private trail walk you can take, known as the Nepenthes rajah Trail or Nepenthes Garden, named because of the proliference of these incredible pitcher plants. These carniverous plants range from tiny specimens no larger than your finger nail up to the large Nepenthes rajah species which can hold up to 3.5 litres of water and 2.5 litres of acidic digestive juices. These incredible plants have an ingenious hinge mechanism allowing them to close off when it is is raining to prevent the acidic brew inside the plant from diluting or opening up to allow unwary insects, frogs, lizards and even birds to fall into the attractive nectar scented trap. A unique serrated ridge on the underside of the pitcher plant urn prevents the trapped insects from escaping.

Close to the Mount Kinabalu Park is the small town of Poring where you can visit the famous Poring hot springs or walk on the elevated canopy walk high in the trees. Around this area it is also possible to see the largest flower in the world, the Rafflesia, named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. You will see signs on the roadside advertising flowering Rafflesia plants and for a small fee a guide will take you through the jungle to the place where the flower is blooming. Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest single flower of any flowering plant and is sometimes known as the corpse flower because of the rotting flesh smell exuded by the plant. The plant has no stem, leaves or true roots and is an endoparasite of the vines of genus Tetrastigma spreading its absorptive organ, the haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside of the host vine is the five petaled flower. These plants flower over a period of only a few days and then decompose into a black mulch.

So whether you come to climb Mount Kinabalu, play golf on the highest golf course in South East Asia at Mount Kinabalu Golf Course or explore the trails at the lower levels of the mountain this park offers so much from the stark, rugged scenery of the mountain peaks, the incredible variety of flora and fauna and the fact that you are in a relatively unexplored part of the world. Who knows what you may find.

Life In A Bubble

The London Eye is a popular tourist visit and provides some stunning views over central London. This image I took was processed to a black and white image and then the colour brought back into the passenger bubble for effect.

Saigon Street Scenes

Saigon, or rather Ho Chi Minh City as it is called now, is a wonderful place for observing street life. It is a vibrant Asia city where many activities occur on the street from peddling goods to preparation and eating of a multitude of foods. Many years ago the bicycle was the king here but this has now been replaced by the motorcycle which predominates the traffic in the city. On Sundays people simply cruise the streets on the motorbikes and it is a real challenge to actually cross the road given the density of the bike traffic. The trick is to slowly, but positively, walk out into the street and the bikes will part and move around you ..... that theory has held up for me so far!!

Leopard - Panthera pardus

The leopard, Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its range of distribution has decreased radically because of hunting and loss of habitat. It is now chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa; there are also fragmented populations in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Because of its declining range and population, it is listed as a "Near Threatened" species on the IUCN Red List.

Compared to other members of the Felidae family, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic (completely black or very dark) are known as black panthers.

The species' success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometres per hour (36 mph), its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains.

These photos were taken in 2002 at the Ngala Private Game Reserve which is adjacent to the famous Kruger National Park in South Africa. Having arrived at the reserve only a couple of hours before we immediately left on the early evening safari in an open land rover and this one one of the first sights we saw - this magnificent leopard in a tree with a kill of a young impala (African antelope) in the next tree. As we sat directly below the tree it allowed me a wonderful opportunity to capture multiple images of this beautiful cat as she lounged, yawned and then casually leapt to the other tree to gnaw away at the impala.

The Year of the Water Dragon

Gong Xi Fa Cai! .... or Happy Chinese New Year ..... the Year of the Water Dragon is upon us. 

Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is known as "Spring Festival," the literal translation of the Chinese name 春節, since the spring season in Chinese calendar starts with lichun, the first solar term in a Chinese calendar year. It marks the end of the winter season, analogous to the Western carnival. The festival begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chúxī (除夕) or "Eve of the Passing Year." Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year".

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors. These include Korean (Seollal), Bhutanese (Losar), and Vietnamese cultures.

Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity". On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

Although the Chinese calendar traditionally does not use continuously numbered years, outside China its years are often numbered from the reign of the Yellow Emperor. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various scholars, making the year beginning in AD 2012 the "Chinese Year" 4710, 4709, or 4649.

Please Mr. Postman

Wherever I travel I try to capture images of post boxes and letter boxes. These brightly colored boxes can be quite different in many different parts of the world and it has been a sort of unwritten, background activity of mine whenever I'm traveling. So when I spot a post box I grab an image for what purpose I just don't know .... call it a letter box fetish! So here I have decided to collate all my most beautiful post box images and post them (pun intended) here on my blog.