Written by: Anthony Cronin
Official version
My first time playing here was in January 2015 at what I think was the first Nochecita. It was also my first time visiting Frankfurt except for the airport. When I met the organising team I was immediately taken by the warm welcome. I was first invited to dinner before my set at Ilaria’s where was served the most amazing lasagne crafted by Tatjana. DJing in Frankfurt for the society is high on every DJ’s list as places to play and rightfully so, not only is it full of wonderful dancers who know their music, the room is has a splendid layout and sound system. It was not until August 2018 that the stars aligned and I came back to play the Tardecita, this was a wonderful sunny afternoon where sunlight flowed across the room while the music played. Of course the big disappointment was no sign of Tatjana’s lasagne, which only means one thing I need to come back again soon to this wonderful society and DJ again. Frankfurt is blessed with a wonderful society, join it, partake in it, give your energy to it. You are blessed to have one of the jewels of Germany as your local milongas.
The Truth
My first time playing here was in January 2015 at what I think was the first Nochecita. It was also my first time visiting Frankfurt. I had no idea what to expect. When I met the organising team I was immediately taken by the warm welcome. I was first invited to dinner before my set at Ilaria’s where was served the most amazing lasagne crafted by Tatjana. DJing in Frankfurt for the society was high on every DJ’s list as places to play, and I was about to find out why.
Not only is it full of wonderful dancers who know their music, the room is has a splendid layout and sound system but the real secret is backstage behind the DJ. Here I could not believe my eyes at the ‘DJ Snack Table’ filled with gourmet food, Kristal champagne, Belgian Chocolates. Also there was Richard from the society acting as a barista if I needed Italian coffee. Richard showed me a bowl of what he said were ‘sweets for inspiration’ with a wink and what must have been a 4-kilogramme bowl of cocaine that was straight out of the Scarface movie! I don’t remember much about my set except people were on the floor dancing a lot. The unicorns dancing in the middle of the Ronda were throwing impressive voleos. The only other thing I remember to this day is Tatjana’s lasagne and that I was back home in Ireland before I knew it.
It was not until August 2018 that the stars aligned and I came back to play the Tardecita, this was a wonderful sunny afternoon where sunlight flowed across the room. Of course, the big disappointment was no sign of Tatjana’s lasagne, but I was looking forward again to the DJ snack table backstage.
When I went backstage, I was shocked there was only a little table with nuts, fruits and chocolate and still mineral water sitting there. I noticed Richard sitting in the corner looking glum and asked what happened? “GDPR” he said with a frown and handed me a stick of fresh celery to chew on. “GDPR! What’s that?” I asked in confusion. Richard explained GDPR came out in 2016 and stood for German DJ Protection Regulations and it meant the society was responsible for ensuring the DJ’s were kept healthy, safe and warm and also responsible for their actions after the milonga. He explained how one DJ had left the milonga and tried to break into the ECB HQ with a paperclip and toothpick to get to the secret unpublished Troilo shellacs he believed were in the vaults and got as far as the main vaults triggering alarms as far away as Helsinki. After this the EU decided it had enough and brought in GDPR. He then started talking about the good old days of champagne and caviar as I made my apologies and left for the DJ station.
So I took my celery and still water and started DJing. The room as per the last time was pleasure to DJ, wonderful dancers embracing the music in the warmth of a summer afternoon. It was wonderful to see many old friends there and familiar faces, the unicorns were sadly missing this time.
All of this means only one thing I need to come back again soon to this wonderful society and DJ again to get some of the Lasagne and see if the unicorns are back. Frankfurt is blessed with a wonderful society, join it, partake in it, give your energy to it. You are blessed to have one of the jewels of Germany as your local milongas.
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