Tangomarkkinat 2014
According to the online programme for the 2014 Tangomarkkinat, Mika Pohjonen would be attending. I had by now managed to track down his CD with the Malando Tango Orchestra, so I packed that hoping to get his autograph. Also Taina Kokkonen would be returning (as an announcer, not a performer), so I took one of her CD's along as well. Kaija Pohjola and Arja Koriseva were both due to appear on the Friday (at separate venues, not as a duet - that would have been great) so there was a big decision there. Big Irja had told me that she would not be attending due to illness.
I arrived in Helsinki on a blisteringly hot Tuesday. Check in time at the Omena hotel in Lonnrot Street is 16:00, so I went to Stockmanns to see what new records were available. Heidi Pakarinen and Yona had both issued new CD’s, which I bought. Tangomarkkinat 2013 is still not available. I had some strawberries and ice cream in the park until I was able to check in. I stocked the fridge with piimä and Käärme (snake) salmiakki, which is flavoured with chilli as well as ammonium chloride. The supermarket now had a self service checkout, but it was not much used and was card only, no cash.
The Vanhan Kellari was sparsely attended, probably because of the heat, and also it was records only on Tuesdays. Neither Eine-Liisa nor Hilkka were there, but a very nice lady asked me for a waltz. I eventually left after a tango with the most popular lady there.
I got up at 8:00, and it was already very hot. I had some coffee and strawberries with Havis Amanda before going to the station. I arrived in Seinäjoki at 13:15, and went straight to Seija's house. She plied me with coffee and cakes. You will recall that last year she was camping at the time of the Tangomarkkinat. I went out to get my pass, which is still 100 euros. Johanna Pakonen and Amadeus Lundberg were in the office, almost unrecognisable in their civvies. I picked up a programme, which was different to the one that had been published online. Good news: Kaija Pohjola is not appearing at the same time as Arja Koriseva. Bad news: she isn’t appearing at all.
The Tangomarkkinat proper started with the Tango Parade, led by the Korikan soittokunta, the same rather disappointing marching band that took part last year. They couldn’t play and march at the same time, the music being provided by two men playing harmonikka on the back of a truck. To compensate, Arja Koriseva was taking part in the parade, and I fell into step beside her for a while. I was also able to speak to Heidi Pakarinen, who signed my new CD insert, Piritta Venho, Tommi Soidinmäki, and Johanna Debreczeni.
All the finalists performed in the pavilion. My particular favourites were Leif Lindeman and Piritta Venho. Here is Piritta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tp1I7ZBAU4
Little Irja was there with her husband. Also Anja was there with a new partner. I hadn’t seen her since 2007, when we hit the hotspots of Turku: http://www.finnishtango.blogspot.co.uk/2007_09_01_archive.html (5th paragraph). They had come from the US, stopping at Denmark, Sweden, and Estonia. It was very hot in the pavilion, but I had dances with Maija. who thought I was Swedish, a lively jive with Kateriina, who seemed to have bricks in her handbag, and many others. I went back to the house at 1:30, picking some birch twigs on the way.
In the morning I had a sauna, using a vasta I had made with my birch twigs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVR8iAFpTp4
Then I went out to enjoy a coffee in the square and look round the town. I saw a very butch delivery woman, wearing shorts and a hi-viz bra, casually swinging a large steel box in one hand. You will have to take my word for it - I didn’t dare take a picture. I ran into Seija and Matti-Pekka, who said a reporter from the local paper wanted to interview me back at the house. I said this was my 14th Tangomarkkinat, I had visited Finland over 40 times, my favourite singer was Arja Koriseva, and I was impressed with the clarity of the words on Finnish tangos, as compared with the nasal mumbling too often found with Argentine singers. After this I went to the mall, where the finalists were performing; but I had missed most of them because of the interview. Johanna Debreczeni, Marko Maunuksela and Jukka Hallikainen were in the pavilion. It was a bit cooler than the previous day, more suitable for dancing. I had one foxtrot with Anja. Jukka Hallikainen danced with one of his fans. At 16:00 I returned to the house. Tommi Soidinmäki greeted me by name as I passed the church.
In the evening Tarja Lunnas was in the Tango Street. I hadn’t seen her live before. She was due to appear at the Tangomarkkinat in 2005, but was ill and was replaced by Eija Kantola. I have seen her on tv singing a very familiar old song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9hUHROSITQ&list=UUvHQUmoFbr66MimHSFOmE1g
After that I went to the Tanssitalo, but it was even hotter and stuffier than the pavilion, and not well attended. Oskari and Lasse were there, and greeted me in a friendly manner. Johanna Pakonen sang Uno in the original Spanish:
This is a tango written by Enrique Santos Discé
polo (1901-1951) who is credited with saying "tango is a sad thought that you can dance to". Uno is often heard in Finland, but always in Finnish under the title Yksin. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t get the kudos it deserved. I returned to the pavilion. Anja and her partner were there. I would have liked to have another dance with Anja, but I didn’t want to butt into what I suspected was a new relationship. Never mind - there were lots of beautiful ladies waiting for dances. But the most beautiful (and smallest) of them all was Little Irja. Our bodies melted together in a tango, with an intimacy unknown in anything else. Johanna Pakonen appeared with the same programme as in the Tanssitalo. I called out “Muy bueno” when she sang Uno, and then wondered if it should have been “buena”. I never learned Spanish. All the Spanish I know came from old cowboy films. The new Tango King was announced: Teemu Roivanen. He has long shaggy hair and a beard, and looks a bit like the Lion King. He came to the pavilion to do a spot. At 2:00 Irja got a text message: her husband was at the gate waiting for her. She kissed me hard on the lips and rushed off. That’s 2 kisses in 8 years.
Next day (Friday) my interview was in the paper. Copies were free in the mall, so I picked up six.
Eija Kantola was in the pavilion. It was extremely hot, and somebody had put out a lot of chairs, probably assuming there would be more listening than dancing.
Next was Johanna Pakonen, wearing a very pretty Spanish dress. I asked if she would sing Uno again, and she did. In the evening Taina Kokkonen was announcing the acts in the katulava:
A galaxy of brilliant Finnish stars followed: Amadeus Lundberg, Tommi Soidinmäki, Saija Tuupanen in a very pretty dress. Marita Taavitsainen gets madder every year and ended her act by flinging a bottle of water over the audience. I mean just the water, not the bottle itself.
The dance teachers came on to do a salsa demonstration. The Blomqvist family are not doing it this year, and are replaced by Susa Matson (one of the professionals from Tanssii tähtien kanssa) and some other young teachers I didn’t know. The highlight of the evening was of course Arja Koriseva. She did a brilliant foxtrot medley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZYLOu5MKkM
and yet another version of the classic Enkelin silmin. This included a yelp when she noticed someone bungee jumping from a cherrypicker. A lady in the audience recognised me from the paper. Then back to the pavilion. the chairs were now gone, leaving plenty of room for dancing. I took full advantage. Amadeus Lundberg came on and performed some very avant-garde numbers. I returned exhausted to the house at 2:15.
On Saturday I didn’t wake until after 10. Seija and Matti-Pekka came to the house to water the plants. They said I was now known to 60,000 people. I asked Seija where the broom was, as the sauna was now filled with leaves from my home-made vasta. In the afternoon a concert was held in the church. I went half an hour early, but people were already going in. Entry was 20 euros, and I made straight from the front. I remembered that last time my view was restricted by the piano, so this time I sat in the middle. Unfortunately Kirsti Ranto was playing her own compositions on the piano and was almost invisible behind the lid.
Other performers were Marko Lämsä, Mika Pohjonen, who sang Panis Angelicus without a microphone, Elena Vettenranta and Mira Sunnari. These two sang a gospelly duet at the end. Religious records by Kirsi Ranto and Elena Vettenranta were sold in the vestibule, and they signed them for me. Mika Pohjonen signed the Malando CD, and I was able to speak to Mira Sunnari. I said I remember her being Tango Queen the first year I came to the Tangomarkkinat.
When I left the church it was much cooler and starting to rain, though it didn’t persist. Amadeus Lundberg was singing Argentine tango in the katulava:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30VZDTJi_EA
He was followed by Heidi Pakarinen, and then I went to the pavilion. Jukka Hallikainen was singing humppa. I saw Mira Sunnari in the crowd and asked her to dance. She said she couldn’t dance. Difficult to believe for a Tango Queen. Perhaps she thought I couldn’t do humppa. Anja was there with her partner and said we should dance the next tango. Johanna Debreczeni and Jouni Keronen, accompanied by harmonikka player Taisto Lunkka, played old Finnish dances: polkka, jenkka, and masurkka:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7w1F0f2DFk
Johanna played the spoons. I had never seen the spoons as a musical instrument outside London before. Then I caught sight of Little Irja, and we spent the rest of the evening together. So I never got my tango with Anja, who seemed to have disappeared anyway. The new Tango Queen was announced: Maria Tyyster. Jari Sillanpää was performing at 1:15 but the place was packed out and Irja couldn’t see. I tried picking her up but she was surprisingly heavy for such a tiny person. She must be all muscle from all the swimming she does. Fortunately Jari was visible on a big tv screen. Eventually Irja’s husband came to collect her (no kiss this time), and I remained in the Tangokatu. The new King and Queen came on at 2:40 and sang Satumaa, after which I went back to the house.
Next day was the last day of the Tangomarkkinat. Maria Tyyster and Teemu Roivanen performed in the mall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh2wAw4QC7s
I was surprised, and pleased, to see Big Irja there. She said she had felt well enough to come after all, and had not told me as she was with a new male friend. nevertheless we danced a lovely tango to Ecstasy together. She is a very accomplished dancer in spite of her illness, and I was sorry when her partner came to reclaim her.
There was nothing on in the evening so I watched the recording of the Tango Queen finals. Piritta Venho and Maria Tyyster dominated the competition from the beginning. They were the oldest and youngest competitors, though there was only 12 years between them. They were the only two left at the end and each had to sing El Choclo with Lion King Teemu Roivanen. Though I am a big Piritta fan, I had to admit that Maria was the best, with far more interaction.
On Monday I got up at 6:15 and got the train to Helsinki. As it was an early flight I didn’t go all the way but got off at Tikkurila, the nearest station to the airport. The no 61V bus leaves from right outside the station and the fare is 3 euros. The girl at the baggage drop inspected my passport and then said “Buenos dias”. Perhaps she was confused about what language is spoken in the UK.
I never did get the Tangomarkkinat 2013 CD, and the 2014 one hasn’t been published either. I mentioned on Facebook that I wasn’t able to get Taina Kokkonen to sign her CD, and the lady herself sent me a message: bring it to the Kiuruvesi Iskelmäfestivaali. I replied that I was already back in Britain, and she replied, never mind see you next year. That’s promising!
I arrived in Helsinki on a blisteringly hot Tuesday. Check in time at the Omena hotel in Lonnrot Street is 16:00, so I went to Stockmanns to see what new records were available. Heidi Pakarinen and Yona had both issued new CD’s, which I bought. Tangomarkkinat 2013 is still not available. I had some strawberries and ice cream in the park until I was able to check in. I stocked the fridge with piimä and Käärme (snake) salmiakki, which is flavoured with chilli as well as ammonium chloride. The supermarket now had a self service checkout, but it was not much used and was card only, no cash.
The Vanhan Kellari was sparsely attended, probably because of the heat, and also it was records only on Tuesdays. Neither Eine-Liisa nor Hilkka were there, but a very nice lady asked me for a waltz. I eventually left after a tango with the most popular lady there.
I got up at 8:00, and it was already very hot. I had some coffee and strawberries with Havis Amanda before going to the station. I arrived in Seinäjoki at 13:15, and went straight to Seija's house. She plied me with coffee and cakes. You will recall that last year she was camping at the time of the Tangomarkkinat. I went out to get my pass, which is still 100 euros. Johanna Pakonen and Amadeus Lundberg were in the office, almost unrecognisable in their civvies. I picked up a programme, which was different to the one that had been published online. Good news: Kaija Pohjola is not appearing at the same time as Arja Koriseva. Bad news: she isn’t appearing at all.
The Tangomarkkinat proper started with the Tango Parade, led by the Korikan soittokunta, the same rather disappointing marching band that took part last year. They couldn’t play and march at the same time, the music being provided by two men playing harmonikka on the back of a truck. To compensate, Arja Koriseva was taking part in the parade, and I fell into step beside her for a while. I was also able to speak to Heidi Pakarinen, who signed my new CD insert, Piritta Venho, Tommi Soidinmäki, and Johanna Debreczeni.
 |
| Me with Arja Koriseva |
 |
| Me with Piritta Venho |
 |
| Me with Heidi Pakarinen |
 |
| Me with Johanna Debreczeni |
Little Irja was there with her husband. Also Anja was there with a new partner. I hadn’t seen her since 2007, when we hit the hotspots of Turku: http://www.finnishtango.blogspot.co.uk/2007_09_01_archive.html (5th paragraph). They had come from the US, stopping at Denmark, Sweden, and Estonia. It was very hot in the pavilion, but I had dances with Maija. who thought I was Swedish, a lively jive with Kateriina, who seemed to have bricks in her handbag, and many others. I went back to the house at 1:30, picking some birch twigs on the way.
In the morning I had a sauna, using a vasta I had made with my birch twigs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVR8iAFpTp4
Then I went out to enjoy a coffee in the square and look round the town. I saw a very butch delivery woman, wearing shorts and a hi-viz bra, casually swinging a large steel box in one hand. You will have to take my word for it - I didn’t dare take a picture. I ran into Seija and Matti-Pekka, who said a reporter from the local paper wanted to interview me back at the house. I said this was my 14th Tangomarkkinat, I had visited Finland over 40 times, my favourite singer was Arja Koriseva, and I was impressed with the clarity of the words on Finnish tangos, as compared with the nasal mumbling too often found with Argentine singers. After this I went to the mall, where the finalists were performing; but I had missed most of them because of the interview. Johanna Debreczeni, Marko Maunuksela and Jukka Hallikainen were in the pavilion. It was a bit cooler than the previous day, more suitable for dancing. I had one foxtrot with Anja. Jukka Hallikainen danced with one of his fans. At 16:00 I returned to the house. Tommi Soidinmäki greeted me by name as I passed the church.
In the evening Tarja Lunnas was in the Tango Street. I hadn’t seen her live before. She was due to appear at the Tangomarkkinat in 2005, but was ill and was replaced by Eija Kantola. I have seen her on tv singing a very familiar old song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9hUHROSITQ&list=UUvHQUmoFbr66MimHSFOmE1g
After that I went to the Tanssitalo, but it was even hotter and stuffier than the pavilion, and not well attended. Oskari and Lasse were there, and greeted me in a friendly manner. Johanna Pakonen sang Uno in the original Spanish:
Next day (Friday) my interview was in the paper. Copies were free in the mall, so I picked up six.
 |
| Eija Kantola |
 |
| Taina Kokkonen |
 |
| Saija Tuupanen |
 |
| Marita Taavitsainen |
The dance teachers came on to do a salsa demonstration. The Blomqvist family are not doing it this year, and are replaced by Susa Matson (one of the professionals from Tanssii tähtien kanssa) and some other young teachers I didn’t know. The highlight of the evening was of course Arja Koriseva. She did a brilliant foxtrot medley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZYLOu5MKkM
and yet another version of the classic Enkelin silmin. This included a yelp when she noticed someone bungee jumping from a cherrypicker. A lady in the audience recognised me from the paper. Then back to the pavilion. the chairs were now gone, leaving plenty of room for dancing. I took full advantage. Amadeus Lundberg came on and performed some very avant-garde numbers. I returned exhausted to the house at 2:15.
On Saturday I didn’t wake until after 10. Seija and Matti-Pekka came to the house to water the plants. They said I was now known to 60,000 people. I asked Seija where the broom was, as the sauna was now filled with leaves from my home-made vasta. In the afternoon a concert was held in the church. I went half an hour early, but people were already going in. Entry was 20 euros, and I made straight from the front. I remembered that last time my view was restricted by the piano, so this time I sat in the middle. Unfortunately Kirsti Ranto was playing her own compositions on the piano and was almost invisible behind the lid.
 |
| Mikd Pohjonen |
 |
| Me with Elina Vettenranta |
 |
| Me with Mira Sunnari |
When I left the church it was much cooler and starting to rain, though it didn’t persist. Amadeus Lundberg was singing Argentine tango in the katulava:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30VZDTJi_EA
He was followed by Heidi Pakarinen, and then I went to the pavilion. Jukka Hallikainen was singing humppa. I saw Mira Sunnari in the crowd and asked her to dance. She said she couldn’t dance. Difficult to believe for a Tango Queen. Perhaps she thought I couldn’t do humppa. Anja was there with her partner and said we should dance the next tango. Johanna Debreczeni and Jouni Keronen, accompanied by harmonikka player Taisto Lunkka, played old Finnish dances: polkka, jenkka, and masurkka:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7w1F0f2DFk
Johanna played the spoons. I had never seen the spoons as a musical instrument outside London before. Then I caught sight of Little Irja, and we spent the rest of the evening together. So I never got my tango with Anja, who seemed to have disappeared anyway. The new Tango Queen was announced: Maria Tyyster. Jari Sillanpää was performing at 1:15 but the place was packed out and Irja couldn’t see. I tried picking her up but she was surprisingly heavy for such a tiny person. She must be all muscle from all the swimming she does. Fortunately Jari was visible on a big tv screen. Eventually Irja’s husband came to collect her (no kiss this time), and I remained in the Tangokatu. The new King and Queen came on at 2:40 and sang Satumaa, after which I went back to the house.
Next day was the last day of the Tangomarkkinat. Maria Tyyster and Teemu Roivanen performed in the mall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh2wAw4QC7s
I was surprised, and pleased, to see Big Irja there. She said she had felt well enough to come after all, and had not told me as she was with a new male friend. nevertheless we danced a lovely tango to Ecstasy together. She is a very accomplished dancer in spite of her illness, and I was sorry when her partner came to reclaim her.
There was nothing on in the evening so I watched the recording of the Tango Queen finals. Piritta Venho and Maria Tyyster dominated the competition from the beginning. They were the oldest and youngest competitors, though there was only 12 years between them. They were the only two left at the end and each had to sing El Choclo with Lion King Teemu Roivanen. Though I am a big Piritta fan, I had to admit that Maria was the best, with far more interaction.
On Monday I got up at 6:15 and got the train to Helsinki. As it was an early flight I didn’t go all the way but got off at Tikkurila, the nearest station to the airport. The no 61V bus leaves from right outside the station and the fare is 3 euros. The girl at the baggage drop inspected my passport and then said “Buenos dias”. Perhaps she was confused about what language is spoken in the UK.
I never did get the Tangomarkkinat 2013 CD, and the 2014 one hasn’t been published either. I mentioned on Facebook that I wasn’t able to get Taina Kokkonen to sign her CD, and the lady herself sent me a message: bring it to the Kiuruvesi Iskelmäfestivaali. I replied that I was already back in Britain, and she replied, never mind see you next year. That’s promising!
posted by John at 10:24
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