Tango: An Argentine Love Story

Overwhelmed with the pain of a failed fifteen-year relationship, Camille Cusumano wanted badly to escape her life and heal her emotional wounds. After a violent encounter with her ex’s new girlfriend, Camille decided she had some serious soul-searching to do. She took off for Buenos Aires intending to stay a few short weeks, but when her search for inner peace met with her true passion of tango, she realized she’d need to stay in Argentina indefinitely.

Tango is a memoir of falling in love with a country through the dance that embodies intensity, freedom, and passion — all pivotal to Camille’s own process of self-discovery. From the charm of local barrios to savory empanadas, Camille whole-heartedly embraces the ardent culture of Argentina, and soon a month-long escape turns into a year-long personal odyssey. Slowly letting go of her grief through a blend of tango, Zen, and a burgeoning group of friends, Camille discovers that her fierceness and patience can exist in harmony as she learns how to survive in style when love falls apart.

Overwhelmed with the pain of a failed fifteen-year relationship, Camille Cusumano wanted badly to escape her life and heal her emotional wounds. After a violent encounter with her ex’s new girlfriend, Camille decided she had some serious soul-searching to do. She took off for Buenos Aires intending to stay a few short weeks, but when her search for inner peace met with her true passion of tango, she realized she’d need to stay in Argentina indefinitely.

Tango is a memoir of falling in love with a country through the dance that embodies intensity, freedom, and passion — all pivotal to Camille’s own process of self-discovery. From the charm of local barrios to savory empanadas, Camille whole-heartedly embraces the ardent culture of Argentina, and soon a month-long escape turns into a year-long personal odyssey. Slowly letting go of her grief through a blend of tango, Zen, and a burgeoning group of friends, Camille discovers that her fierceness and patience can exist in harmony as she learns how to survive in style when love falls apart.

Library Journal

Tango has been the subject of several recent books, from Marina Palmer's Kiss and Tango to Irene D. Thomas and Larry M. Sawyer's The Temptation To Tango to Robert Farris Thompson's Tango: The Art History of Love . Cookbook author and novelist Cusumano, as her web site (www.camillecusumano.com) declares, "is a writer who dances tango," and here she recounts her journey toward self-awareness set in the context of an extraordinary year spent in Buenos Aires. According to Cusumano, tango-like yoga and Zen, which she also practices-is a way of life, and her keen and colorful observations of everything from the milongas (tango dance halls) and her dance wardrobe to the people she met and danced with to the neighborhoods she lived in and the foods she ate create a thoughtful account redolent with the sights, sounds, and tastes of her own tango experience. Cusumano's book is recommended for public library collections serving dancers, armchair travelers, and literary-essay fans.-Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago P.L.