Crete Supports the Tango, Pole Dancing, and Anything But the Island’s Heritage

I woke up this morning and checked my emails only to find another press release from the Region of Crete, fortifying my growing opinion Crete and Greece are led mostly by fools. To wit, now the Tango dance is of paramount importance to people who seem to have totally forgotten who they are. What you are about to read will be a scathing criticism, probably not critical enough to suit those it’s aimed at.

Crete’s Ancient Tango Celebrated

Let’s begin with the press release about a very nice festival from the cultural association TANGONEÓN from July 11 to 14, 2024. “TANGONEÓN TANGO FESTIVAL — Under the stars” has the full support of not only the government of Crete but also sponsorships. It seems like a wonderful event to promote. Everyone loves the tango, right? And to cite the press release from the Region of Crete directly:

The festival will be a great celebration dedicated to tango and the club’s long-term contribution to the cultural profile of Crete. The event is addressed to tango dancers or lovers of tango music, inside Crete and outside, to tourists related to the world tango community and to new people who want to know tango, in one of the most charming spots of the city during the summer months , the Venetian walls of Heraklion.

Now here’s the thing. The Tango, the Watusi, or tap dancing do not have any transition connections to Greece or Crete. The tango is a beautiful and sensual dance created in the 1980s on the Rio de la Plata River that separates Argentina and Uruguay. Originally, the dance was performed at brothels and bars in port cities to entertain swarthy sailors, deviants, and drunkards. Since then the tango has become more refined, and far more widespread. Still, the dance is not something one would easily associate with an island with a history dating back to before written time. That said, here goes the critique of the region of Crete’s mostly idiotic announcements and celebrations.

Rich Cretans — Poor Choices

Almost a year ago, a Cretan Hound (Kritikos Lagonikos) named “Peristeris” took the stage for the first time at an international dog show. Cretan Giannis Perrakis’s dog was awarded Best of Breed at the 2023 World Dog Show, and a legendary 5,000-plus-year-old dog breed was introduced to the broader world. At the time, the Cretan Hound Club approached the Region of Crete to get help sending this wonderful dog to Geneva. As a member of the club myself, I approached local entrepreneurs in my own network like Karatzis Group CEO Antonios Karatzis, to get some support behind a noble effort to perpetuate one of the world’s most endangered animal species.

Karatzis and other local business people were not interested in the dogs or the hundreds of people involved with them. That was fine. Rich or poor people, even companies owned by Cretans, should not be obligated to do anything but get richer. Karatzis and his like a free to “Tango” their way to the tippy top, if they choose. Greece is a democracy, right? The companies sponsoring this upcoming Tango celebration, Cretan companies like Zaros, Haraki, Siganos Wine and Spirits, Digenakis Wines, Super Market Xalkiadakis, Minoan Lines (which I also contacted about the Geneva event), and others are ready to Tango this evening, but contribute to or support in any way the rescue of an endangered Crete legend? Forget about it.

Well, Cretans being ignorant of their deep heritage, people with more money than brains, and even animal lovers turning a blind eye to a worthy cause is, well, just the way the world works. But here’s the thing: the Region of Crete is obligated to serve all the people of Crete. And, above all else Stavros Arnaoutakis is duty-bound to try and preserve this history, tradition, and legacy of the island we call home. He’s not doing his job, end of story. The small groups of Cretans clinging to their heritage for dear life are keeping tradition alive. When the Cretan Hound Club approached Arnaoutakis’ administration about supporting the World Dog Show debut of the legendary Kritikos Lagonikos, the response 12 months before the event was:

We don’t sponsor dogs.

Then, with time growing short the club approached Nikolaos Sirigonakis, Regional Vice-Governor of Heraklion about helping to send one of the best of the Cretan breed to Geneva. This time the response was also negative, only for another lame reason. Sirigonakis said the Region of Crete could not help because the world’s most famous dog show was being held abroad.

Political Pole Dancing

I guess Governor Arnoutakis and his clan will be welcoming international pole dancers to Heraklion next. This would be a bit more appropriate since the erotic dance seen in strip clubs began as an Indian sporting event known as Mallakhamba, which originated 2nd century BCE. This would have been when the Kritikos Lagonikos dog breed was only about 3,000 plus years old. As for not sponsoring people, places, or things abroad? Well, there’s ITB Berlin, the World Travel Awards (don’t test me here Stavros), Wines of Crete in London, scores of tourism campaigns, and dozens on dozens of examples of the region’s support for “special” Crete subjects abroad.

Finally, I recently took it upon myself to create a not-for-profit campaign to help the keepers of this ancient dog breed overcome Greek governmental nonsense. A pet law passed over massive objections from the Greek public threatens Europe’s oldest dog breed with extinction. You see, only forty of fifty pure Kritikos Lagonikos dogs exist. Most of these live on Crete under the care of a small group of enthusiasts who are the keepers of the breed.

For thousands of years, when Rome was not even an idea, these same types of “keepers” kept one of the world’s most fascinating dog breeds going. During Ottoman times, the Turks put bounties on these dogs to have them killed off. You see, the hounds were bred to be that good at hunting. The probable descendants of the coveted Egyptian Tesem, Kritikos Lagonikos, were, and are, the perfect hunting dog. Now, the “alledged” proud Cretans so interested in this island’s future, get ready to watch two famous Turkish Tango dancers perform. If the irony were any thicker, I’d choke to death as I type this.

On a final note to those roasted in this post, I do hope each of you felt smacked right in the eyeballs by my words. You see, you are used to criticism and don’t care. So I am sure things need to be said with more vigor. Oh, and as for fans of the Tango, the Tangoneón festival will certainly be a marvelous event. This story is not meant to be a negative reflection on these people or the dance. It’s actually one of my favorites. It was just not performed anywhere before humans learned to write.

Stay tuned….