With today’s playlist, I’m listing tangos with their truths. Some even blend his rock elements into her desires, proving that there was a time these characters made beautiful music once…

So, how do you hold out from emotionally bleeding your truths long enough for the other person to bleed theirs? And also, how do you survive a dance that requires closeness when at least one of you wishes to never touch again? Because we’ve already seen the electricity in a different moment.

This is a battle of wills and who can touch the fire the longest without burning.

And a test of truths in movement. If the words are bruised ego? But you’re in sync with footwork? Are you giving yourself away?

First up, we have how she enters the dance. A storm of passions is the nice way to say it. Her whole body screams this song, objecting to every part of it. How she doesn’t want to deal with him, how he’s more intimate than she’d allow if they weren’t in the middle of the dance floor and she wasn’t pretending to be someone else. Most of all? How she hates his touch, but her body remembers it, and how he leads smoothly even when she does object in her movements. That core soul knowledge? That’s the stuff that makes old lovers feel like they hate each other. It’s easier to object to feelings you have no home for…

Objection (Tango) – Shakira

If she’s pretending to be someone else for this party, maybe to avoid him, how did he know it was her? She recalls his touch without feeling it. Him? Well, when you think you found your musical muse on the dance floor the first time, it doesn’t matter how much time or what the distractions are.

Your muse will always call to you.

Though this song is not in English, it is beautifully on point. It speaks of reading someone and feelings like a writer. Things like romance she speaks of only when she saddens herself with alcohol? Sound like a familiar character? Or more to our tango point and aligning with our objecting lady? How about your lips are pressed together like rage. The lyrical translation I found has it starting with “Malena sings the tango like no other and she puts her heart in every verse”. He might be the singer in this story, but switch singing to dancing? That might as well be the best explaining he could do too. That’s why he’d know her anywhere without needing to see her. And one consistent line in the chorus? “Malena feels the pain of bandoneon” which is a musical instrument that’s prominent in tango music, often considered the soul of tango. No spoilers, but his muse has always been his version of a bandoneon, and it’s made his music universal. At least, in our story world.

Malena – Roberto Goyeneche

I’ve got another translation tango here, but it feels like that sound that changes them. Up until now, we did that week of paso doble, and they were still butting egos, protecting prides for our first two songs. This one? This feels like that music that slips under the defenses. Maybe the guards aren’t down, but something feels easier, more relaxed. This is that sort of tango that lets me believe they can get to the soft rumba next. That all the sharp edges are tests and protection for the old wounds.

Let’s get into the translations for explanations. Remlino means whirlpool. Right on par with her feeling like a storm… But this one? It’s not about how he sees her. This one is all him on the inside. He might come back as the confident one who is going after what he wants. Except, he’s a little too sharp too. A little too dangerous with his flirtation. Why? The lyrics here have the emotional clues. It opens with “It’s like a curse, this time without your love, how I miss you”. Things like “I consume myself when I dream of you” or “To keep myself alive I need this motive that I find in you” tell us how deep he’s feeling in this dance. He’s downplaying how it effects him because if he holds in his truth, he can get closer to the center of the storm. If he speaks up too early, he will not make it there. She is all fight. He just wants to be close. He’s feeling her follow his leading, even if they are verbally sparring on chess levels. He never played checkers for her heart, and playing this game again? He is watching for all the tells, the fakes, the signs of comfort. And if his whirlpool matches her hurricane? One might wonder why they were ever apart.

Remolino – Francisco Cespedes

One of my favorite sources for this sort of music is Gotan Project.

Mi Confesion – Gotan Project ft Koxmoz

Now, with the second part of my mash up? You know I like to grab the artist links as much as possible. This one is not that, but the translation was helpful.

There are too many words and ways in this one. If the last one was them syncing in their pain? This is them syncing in their masked selves. The professional faces that the world around them knows all the stories about. Guards aren’t down, facades are holding, but… there’s cracks forming. Some of those sharp personal points? Aren’t taken as attacks, instead receiving a you’re right or an I’m sorry. Furthermore, the steady consistent dancing? It’s sinking deeper than the heat of their words or the warmth of the hold. Sometimes the wanting more may be as simple as I want to keep dancing a little bit more. It can mean everything, or only last as long as the song.

Pa’ Bailar – Bajofondo ft Julieta Venegas

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Bonus truths about your Lady of Mind here!

It’s my birthday today. So, I share what I would play at my party, my age, and where I am in my goals via a few mathy things. I may be quiet, but I see who watches me. I am still chasing this dream, no matter what life throws at me. And I thank you all for reading my ramblings. Following my story, both the fictional ones and the mind behind them all. Each of you is a true gift.