A piropo, defined by google translate, is a "compliment." Piropos are what you hear on the streets of Buenos Aires if you're any kind of feminine. Unlike in the United States, these piropos are flattering. Many American women may feel uncomfortable with these (especially if they do not speak Castellano) but I believe this to be because in America, strange men saying things to women in the street are usually insulting. Case in point: I was at the beach returning to my car and a jeep full of younger guys yells at me, "get a tan!" On the other hand, once I was in San Telmo with my Canadian and Italian friends, three blondes, and an older gentlemen says to us, Mira las rubias, tan lindas! Que vivan las rubias! Look at the beautiful blondes. Long live the blondes!
Last weekend after two hours of street performance, I went to the symphony to rest my feet. Music is emotion and I was so moved that I thought of the following piropo, in English, but to be honest to the definition of piropo, I'll first share it in its Spanish form:
Si pudiera morirme así bailando con vos, la transición al cielo sería imperceptible.
translation: If I could die like this, dancing with you, the transition to heaven would be seamless.
Sometimes I'll find myself on a different plane of existence when I'm dancing. The partner* and I become two balls** of energy and the feeling of being swept away is so strong that I become scared and bring myself back to earth. But I'll keep searching for it; I am challenged to push the limits to see how high it will take me.
*I use "the partner" instead of "my partner" because I'm not comfortable with thinking of a person as "mine." I'm jealous and if I were to begin to conceive of someone as "mine," I would be heading down the wrong path.
**One would think that ideally he would merge with the partner and become one ball of energy moving around the dance floor, but I don't believe this is the appropriate level for it, not with dance. This idea of two energies ("souls" or the true nature of each person, what I am referring to when I say "ball of energy") becoming one, in my mind, is reserved only for the most intimate, multidimensional relationships. However, at a level further removed from one's core, this merging can occur. Only it's not merging of two energies, it's merging of two dancers who become one unit circling the dance floor.
