Este trabalho explora e problematiza as relações entre iniciação, segredo e saber sagrado - questões que em termos da perspectiva da performance se traduzem respectivamente como preparação dos perfomers, dialética entre o que se mostra e o que não se mostra e a aquisição de competência performática - nas aulas de tango milongueiro em Buenos Aires. À luz dos conceitos propostos por Michael Taussig (1999) em Defacement: Public Secrecy and the Labour of the Negative o "não saber" dançar o tango por parte das mulheres se interpreta como uma ignorância sagrada que preserva a magia do tango e o lugar dos homens como únicos geradores do movimento feminino.

The article explores and criticizes the relations between initiation, secret and sacred knowledge -concepts that in terms of performance theory are translated respectively as the training or performers, the relationships linking what is shown and what is not shown, and the acquisition of competence- in the context of tango lessons in Buenos Aires. Knowing how not know to dance is a central part of the performative competence acquired by women attending those classes. Under the light of concepts outlined by Michael Taussig (1999) in Defacement: Public Secrecy and the Labor of the Negative the "not knowing" how to dance tango by women is interpreted as a sacred ignorance that preserves the magic powers of the tango and the place of men as the sole creators of women’s mobility.

The article analyses one of the ways in which the inhabitants of Buenos Aires conceive that which is memorable, source of positive identification and origin of feelings of communitas by examining their commemoration of the 68th anniversary of the death of Carlos Gardel. It underscores the central role that miracles, mimesis and direct bodily contact play in the preservation of the memory of the star, who incarnates both the tango and its world-wide success. The case of Gardel is presented as an example of the centrality that real persons of extraordinary value have in the organization of local memory and collective identity. Since they are embedded in concrete human bodies, they reveal problems in the local adoption of globally accepted concepts of historical and cultural heritage.

Analizando los modos en que los porteños recordaron a Carlos Gardel en el mes del 68 aniversario de su muerte, el artículo intenta dar cuenta de una de las formas en que los habitantes de la ciudad de Buenos Aires conciben aquello que es memorable, identifican aquello en que se reconocen como porteños y singularizan aquello frente a lo cual experimentan sentimientos de pertenencia colectiva. El trabajo señala la centralidad que el milagro, la mimesis y el contacto directo con su cuerpo desempeñan en la preservación de la memoria de Gardel, quien encarna tanto al tango como a su éxito en el mundo. El caso de Gardel se presenta como un ejemplo de la organización de la memoria y la identidad de los porteños en particular y los argentinos en general en torno a personas reales a quienes se les asigna un valor extraordinario. Al sostener su profundo enraizamiento en cuerpos humanos concretos, tornan problemática la adopción local de los conceptos globalmente aceptados de patrimonio histórico y cultural.