Tico Tango to Go On Display Next Month

Aficionados and amateurs alike will have something to enjoy at Costa Rica s first National Tango Championship, coming Feb. 9 to 14 to the PromenadeArtsCenter in the southeastern San José district of Zapote.

The event will include several days of seminars and lessons with professional dancers, culminating in a milonga, or tango performance, Feb. 13, with the competition for the national championship the following day.

Prizes for the winning pair include dancing shoes, lessons, dinner and $200. But organizers say the primary goal is to raise exposure of the Costa Rican tango scene and allow attendees to interact with and learn from professional dancers.

We want to bring about more awareness, says Pamela Camacho, a professional dancer and an organizer of the event, adding that every tango school in Costa Rica will be participating in the event.

While Costa Rica may not conjure up visions of romantic tango dancers in the same way a country like Argentina might, Camacho says tango is on the rise among Ticos.

In the last 10 years, interest in tango has grown a lot in Costa Rica, she says. For more information about the event, call 2283-6660 or e-mail ntrejos@artespromenade.com.

Patrick Fitzgerald