The Food

Our Firehouse friends brought loads of delicious food.  You also were the beneficiaries of my unprecedented Christmas overbuying and overcooking.  My mom taught me that making food for people meant that you loved them.  How true!.  Happy, Happy New Year to all my dear Firehouse friends.

• Sue Dallon        Roast pork in gravy, lasagna  and sweet potato souffle, bread, cake, cauliflower souffle
  
• Terri Lopez        Arroz con Pollo
• Mike and Debbie - salad
• Francis and Marie Gregoire     Their famous shrimps
  
• Judy Assisi       Dried fruit compote with Grand Marnier
• Rose Whitehill    Variety of bagel crisps with dips
• Eva Roth            Lamb stew
• Judy and John Wynne   Banana nut chocolate bread
• Lynn Gross        Banana bread
  
• Elena Syrett        Mince pie and apple pie
• Maro                pizza
• Two pies
• Barbara Lombardi - Panettone Cake
• Mary Pagano - Candy
• Dana Harrington - Veggie Platter
• Bob Brillo - Cookies
• Elizabeth Pachella - Ham
  
• Bonny - Cookies Chips, Guacamole & Eggplant Caponata
• Rose Whitehill - Chips & Dips
• Eva Roth - Lamb Stew
• Elena Syrett - Mince Pie & Apple Pie
• Jorge Sturam    Champagne for toast
  

The Door Prizes

Congratulations to the winners of our door prizes.

• Steve Maisch
• Andrew Gauld
• Eva Roth
• Edna Negron
  
• Charles Morman

The champagne toast

Thanks to Jorge S, we shared a wonderful champagne toast to the new year.  It was a wonderful end to a wonderful year and a wonderful beginning to the new one.

 THANKS TO EVERYONE - WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU

The text below comes directly from last year's end of year newsletter, which comes from the year before that and the year before that all the way back to 2009.  I can't do much better, so I just changed the year and maybe one or two other minor details.

In 2013, Firehouse Tango continued its tradition of being the best place to dance Tango in New Jersey and the ONLY place to be on Thursday nights. 

Though many of you thank us, the truth is that it's you, our dear Firehouse friends, who generate our success.  So at the beginning of the New Year, we want to thank you all for helping and for bringing wine, food, and other wonderful goodies.  Mostly, thank you for coming every week and for the pleasure of your company.   

We wish you all a year filled with good health, love and friendship and as the song says, "If you have the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance."

RESOLUTIONS

My resolutions for 2013

1.   Learn to converse fluently in español
2.  Keep visiting Buenos Aires
3.  Shorten this newsletter
4. Exercise six days a week

How did I do? Successes and failures

 Buenos Aires

We spent five weeks in Buenos Aires last year,.  Thanks to Eva Roth for all her help in all of the arrangements and for the shared breakfasts and conversation. 

Spanish

I've really been working on my Spanish, which has improved greatly, but not enough. 

I learned a great deal from my Spanish conversation class at William Paterson University.  Special thanks to Rafael and Hilda, who reviewed my weekly homework and helped with my presentation of el cabeceo en español,  Thanks to Horacio for allowing me to interview him (en español) about his background in Argentina. 

 Thanks to Georgina for continuing to habla conmigo in spite of my failure to understand much of it.  I appreciate the help that I received from all of my Spanish speaking amigos. Please keep it up, no matter how much I might resist.

Exercise

The exercise thing has really gone down the drain.  I did at least 20 minutes every day until October.  One trip to Buenos Aires and two to San Francisco followed by my eye surgery and Joe's hernia operation provided all the excuse I needed to discontinue distractions like exercise.  I will start again in January.  Here's to better luck next year.

My resolutions for 2014

1.   Keep improving my español and study Spanish every day
2.  Keep visiting Buenos Aires
3.  Shorten this newsletter (HaHa)
4. Exercise every day when I'm at home and try to continue when I'm on the road

 Wish me luck!

 January 16 - Estelle and Rose

Estelle Stanger

Our first celebration of 2014 will be for one of the greatest ladies of Firehouse Tango --  Estelle Stanger.  We are always thrilled to see Estelle walk through the Firehouse door.  We're certain that Bert looks down at the scene with joy and approval.  Estelle won't dance, but we will sing to her with great enthusiasm.

Rose Whitehill

Rose is a great dancer and lovely lady who has been a Firehouse fan since our Firehouse # 4 days.  She has also been to Buenos Aires with us seven times.  We are thrilled to be able to celebrate her birthday.  As for the birthday dance, I'm sure that the Firehouse Tangueros will keep cutting in as long as we would let them. 

Marie Gregoire - birthday celebration Thursday, January 23

As always, we are thrilled to be able to host another Gregoire celebration.  This time it will be Francis and Marie's anniversary.  We will do it on Thursday, January 23rd.  Marie and Francis have been loyal Firehouse followers for many years and have been to Buenos Aires with us as well.  Moreover, we are very happy to be able to call them our friends.  Francis and Marie will start the birthday dance together and then the guys and gals can cut in. 

As they always do, Marie and Francis will bring lots of goodies for us. 

 Every day, our dear friend and teacher in Buenos Aires posts a historical tango fact of the day. These interesting and informative tidbits always include English and Spanish information and a relevant recording.  You can see all of them by simply joining Monica Paz PractiMilonguero Facebook page. Below is the post for December 26 and a link to the Facebook page.

 


Calendario Milonguero

26 DE DICIEMBRE DE 1944

December 26th, 1944: Date in which Juan D' Arienzo and Alberto Echagüe recorded ME GUSTA BAILAR MILONGA. Its composer, the Uruguayan pianist Pintín Castellanos registered some 200 themes. The latter was an honored author, responsible for introducing the "candombe rhythm" into the milonga. His most famous work is LA PUÑALADA. D' Arienzo recorded 13 milongas that belonged to him.

 Fecha en la que Juan D'Arienzo y Alberto Echagüe graban ME GUSTA BAILAR MILONGA. Su compositor, el pianista uruguayo Pintín Castellanos, tiene registradas unas 200 obras. Autor distinguido por escribir el ritmo candombe en la milonga. Su obra más famosa es LA PUÑALADA.  D'Arienzo grabó 13 milongas que le pertenecen

Here is a link to her Facebook account

 https://www.facebook.com/MPTango

And the following one for her latest interview (She regularly posts interviews that she does with surviving old milongueros) : http://youtu.be/EUjsOreThMc

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. The New Year is fast approaching, and you know what that means. That's right, it's time to make a bunch of New Year's resolutions that we'll probably end up not keeping, but know our lives would be oh so much better, if only we could!

High on my personal wish list for 2014 is to become a better Tango teacher. For Pat and me this means trying really hard to give our students (that would be you, of course) less of what they want, and more of what they actually need in their quest to improve as Tango dancers. The challenge we'll be facing is to somehow convince them (yes, I mean you!) that the step-by-step learning process is the one true means of really getting better -- as opposed to the far more enticing -- but ultimately unproductive -- endless pursuit of complicated stage figures.

This is a difficult challenge both for Pat and me and for our students. We would love it, of course, if everyone we teach could become an accomplished social dancer in just a few short lessons. And we know that the majority of you are impatient to be doing the kinds of figures you see the pros handle with such apparent ease.

But in our hearts we all know that we have to crawl before we can walk, and we have to walk before we can run.

Our hope for the New Year is that some of you -- maybe even just a few -- will decide you really do want to become better Tango dancers. Our hope is that you will finally accept the challenge of step-by-step learning, and that you will put the "I want it all now" attitude aside for the time being.

Whatever you ultimately choose to do, Pat and I hope above everything else that you have a wonderful New Year, with nothing but happiness in 2014!

The following folks helped set up, break down and clean up before and after the milonga. Without them, there would be no Firehouse Tango.

• Tony Mele
  
• Terri Lopez
• Tsipoyra Sartan
• Bartender Mike Porro
  
• Steve Maisch
• steve turi
• Bob Brillo

• Adrienne Burton
• Bill Krukovsky
• Steven & Linda Gooen
• Tonia
• Bob Brillo
• Enrique Zuniga
  
• Flor Salierno
  
• Edna Negron
• Horatio Piccioni
• Marta Bautis
• Jorge Sturam
• Francis & Marie
• Eduardo Campos
• Terri Lopez