The arena dates back to 1932 when it began as an open air stadium for boxing matches and also served as a venue for carnivals and concerts. It was there in 1944 that Juan Peron met Evita, an actress at the time. He was on the fast track to become the president of Argentina.

The place where they met holds a special place in the nation’s heart and still hosts boxing matches, concerts and tango. In fact, it held the finals of the World Tango Championships this week.

The answer is Luna Park Stadium.

Earlier this week dancers from around the world flocked to Buenos Aires to compete in the World Tango Championships.

Declared by UNESCO as part of the world’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” Tango seems to be catching on across the globe.

More than 400,000 people participated in this year’s festival and international dancers shocked the public, beating the Argentinians at their own game.

For the first time in history, the top five ranking couples in Salon Tango were foreigners: This year’s champions were from Colombia with runners up from Venezuela, Italy, Japan and the Unites States.

By Melaina Spitzer

Earlier this week dancers from around the world flocked to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to compete in the World Tango Championships. Declared by UNESCO as part of the world’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” tango seems to be catching on across the globe.

At this year’s championships, international dancers shocked the audience in Buenos Aires with an impressive accomplishment. For the first time in history, the top five ranking couples in the “salon tango” category were foreign.

That includes an American pair of dancers: Brian Nguyen and Yuliana Basmajyan, from San Francisco. They never thought they could make it to the World Tango Championships. In fact, they never even planned on becoming tango dancers.

Brian said he started out doing breakdance and salsa. “I ran into tango by accident,” he recalled, “and from then on, I converted… because it really was the dance for me.”

Basmajyan told a similar story. And it wasn’t easy for either of them, because of their family backgrounds.

“I’m originally Armenian,” said Basmajyan. “I came over to the States at the end of 1998. And I’m coming from a very traditional family and culture. So this is against what our culture would normally do.”

Basmajyan said her family wasn’t happy when she decided to become a tango dancer. “I’ve gone through a lot of struggles, [but] now they feel more comfortable about the idea that I’m pursuing tango and hopefully it will get better with time. This is my passion and I want to follow my heart,” she said.

Nguyen can relate. His parents came to the US from Vietnam after the Vietnam War. And he said being Vietnamese-American comes with certain expectations.

“I’m expected to be an engineer or a doctor. But I didn’t decide to be any of those,” Nguyen said. “So of course my parents were mad at me for a really long time.”

Brian said his family is coming around now, encouraging him. But he can still feel their disappointment.

“My parents are always thinking, man, he should have been a doctor,” But, oh well. I push on because it’s my passion. “

And in Buenos Aires, Nguyen and Basmajyan’s passion was put to the test.

At the salon tango finals, the dancers were rushed to the stage to begin the competition. Salon tango is traditionally danced at milongas, or social tango gatherings. And unlike the highly choreographed “stage tango,” this competition was all about improvisation.

Ten couples took to the stage at once, gracefully circulating counter-clockwise before a panel of judges. Basmajyan stood out in her bright red velvet dress. And Brian’s slicked back hair was reminiscent of tango’s golden age, in the 1940’s.

After four rounds of competition, the scores were announced. A Japanese pair came in fifth. The Italians were fourth. And Basmajyan and Nguyen placed third.

Taking the equivalent of the bronze medal in salon tango was a big deal for the American pair, especially because they were only a hundredth of a point away from a three-way tie for the top spot.

The Colombian and Venezuelan pairs went on to compete in a dance-off for first place. And it was the Colombians who emerged as world champions.

Backstage after the competition, Nguyen said the win changes everything. “Now it feels really good!” he exclaimed. “I think everybody can relate to this. I mean, you go through life looking for a way to prove to yourself that you’re worth something. And I found that in tango.”

As to what they’ll do next, Basmajyan said it’s time to get down to work. “Get ready for next year, to compete again and dance more and travel more,” she said.

But first, Nguyen wanted to celebrate by pouring some wine into their third place cup.

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These women say this is the first time they’ve ever been to a theater. Some have never seen a movie.

As we pass into the theater, a few look confused as ushers hand out thick dark 3D glasses. The seats fill up so people sit on the steps and in the aisles. And then the lights go down.

Indigenous viewers are impressed by the 3D graphics in Avatar for many, it's their first time in a movie theater.

The movie tells the story of a planet called Pandora, home to the indigenous Na’vi. They’re fighting to protect their forests from a company set on mining a rare mineral called “unobtaneum.”

When it’s over, I speak with Mayra Vega. She’s 24 years old and head of the Women’s Association of the Shuar Nation. She says Avatar hit home for her people.

Mayra Vega, 24, Director of the Women's Association of the Shuar Nation, travelled overnight from the Amazonian city of Macas to see Avatar on the big screen.

“It left a huge impression on us. For example, the movies are almost real. It’s an example that makes us think a lot because the indigenous are defending their rights. We have to defend just as the indigenous so clearly defended in the movie. We had an uprising we had a confrontation with gases; it’s the same as what we just saw in the movie.”

Vega says just like in Avatar, the Shuar are fighting to protect their land from mining companies. And they’re not the only ones.

The Kichwa Community of Sarayaku took on CGC, an Argentine Energy company. Marlon Santi is President of the National Indigenous Confederation of Ecuador and a Sarayaku native. He sees the Sarayaku case as a real life Avatar story, where the indigenous triumphed over the oil company. But unlike in Avatar, they didn’t use violence.

The Sarayaku Case is one of the emblematic cases in the struggle for territorial and environmental defense, and for human rights.

Another case involves the Waorani: beneath their territory in Yasuni National Park lie 846 million barrels of oil. Yasuni is a biodiverse hotspot that’s often referred to as a grand lung of the earth. It is also one of the few places left on earth where uncontacted indigenous groups live in isolation. Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has offered to forgo drilling in this pristine environment… if the international community will pay Ecuador more than three and a half billion dollars … about half the value of the oil. But Correa has recently questioned the deal causing an uproar at home.

At a reception after the film Marlon Santi says he hopes the president will ultimately bow to public pressure and keep his commitment to preserve Yasuni. And he thinks Avatar could help with that.

“Honestly, this is the first time I’m seeing this movie, and it’s reality, what’s happening now just in another dimension.”

Veteran Achuar leader Luis Vargas tries out the 3D glasses.

Others say there was at least one thing in the movie that veered from their reality Achuar leader Luis Vargas says it’s where the white guy sweeps in to the rescue. But he says that’s to be expected.

“This is a Hollywood movie, so it’s practically a given that a mestizo comes to the defense and leads (the people) to triumph in the end.”

Still, he liked the film and his fellow Achuar leader Ernesto Vargas says he hopes another group will get a chance to see it.

“Think of how much better it would be if we showed this film to people who actually want to exploit petroleum. I think it would serve them very well, even more than us.”

As for Ecuador’s President Correa, he saw the movie with his children the day after it premiered in Ecuador. No word yet on what he thought of it.

For the World, I’m Melaina Spitzer in Quito, Ecuador.

Video produced by Siegmund Thies.

This city is the capital of Ecuador’s Napo Province. Ecotourists often gather here before heading out into the rainforest for birdwatching or river rafting expeditions.

Or if you prefer to hang out in this city near the equator, search out a local cafe for a cool colada.  That’s a sweet drink made of oatmeal, flavored with cinnamon sticks. Or a batido…that’s something like a fruity American milkshake.

So name this Ecuadorian city at the edge of the Andes if you can, a city surrounded by dense rainforest…that’s perfect for growing cacao.

The name of the city in Ecuador we’e looking for is Tena. Melaina Spitzer recently traveled there to sample some of the locally grown organic chocolate. The chocolate is produced by a workers cooperative called Kallari.

And in order to follow the trail of chocolate from bean to bar — she first had to put on her boots:

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This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

LISA MULLINS: I’m Lisa Mullins, and this is The World. If you want to move a ship’s cargo from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific or vice versa, the Panama Canal still has few rivals in the business. But that hasn’t stopped ambitious entrepreneurs from dreaming up alternatives over the years. The latest scheme is to create a route across South America, along a chain of ports and highways, and river ways. Supporters say the plan could spur trade between Brazil and Asia. Critics say it’s a foolish idea. Reporter Melaina Spitzer begins our story in the Pacific port city of Manta in Ecuador.

MELAINA SPITZER: On the docks of Manta’s harbor, fishermen heave a catch of giant Dorado out of a rustic boat. Manta has long been a fishing port, but down the harbor lies a symbol of the city’s future, a huge ship packed with cars from Asia. Manta hopes to become a major hub for Asian imports to South America.

PATRICIO PADILLA: Manta is really the nearest port of South America to Asia.

MELAINA SPITZER: That’s Patricio Padilla, the Manager of Manta’s Port Authority. He was at a recent gathering to discuss a bold idea for Manta, to make this harbor a competitor with the Panama Canal.

PATRICIO PADILLA: The idea is to have some cargo, that right now is crossing the Panama Canal and going around South America, and that cargo will go from Manta to Manaus.

MELAINA SPITZER: Manaus is a Brazilian city almost 1500 miles to the east. It has a major port that’s connected to the Atlantic by the Amazon River.  The idea to link these cities by land is part of a 70 billion dollar plan for a web of trade routes across South America.  Here’s how the Manta-Manaus Project would work. Ships from Asia would dock in Manta and unload their cargo onto trucks.

[SOUND CLIP]

MELAINA SPITZER: The trucks would carry the cargo up the highway to Quito, over the Andes, and down the other side to the Ecuadorian Amazon.  From there, they would go by riverboat, through Peru, to Brazil. A key link in the chain is the Ecuadorian river port town of Coca.

[SOUND CLIP]

MELAINA SPITZER: Coca’s marina on the Napo river is currently a quiet docking point for canoes and small petroleum boats, but if the Manta-Manaus project goes forward, it will become a major shipping hub. Carlos Torres is with Coca’s Ministry of Agriculture. He says the project could provide a big help to area farmers.

[SOUND CLIP]

MELAINA SPITZER: He calls the project a huge opportunity.  He says local farmers would be able to ship their produce to distant markets and reap more of the benefits without middlemen calling the shots.  But many in Coca say putting a major trade route through the jungle is just asking for trouble.  Carlos Sierra spent twenty years navigating the Napo River in large petroleum ships. He says cargo boats heading for Brazil may never make it out of Ecuador because the water is too shallow.

CARLOS SIERRA: [TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH] With this type of boat it’s really risky. They’ve hired me many times to rescue international boats, Brazilian and Peruvian boats that had gotten stuck because of water levels.

MELAINA SPITZER: The engineers of Manta-Manaus are hoping that dredging the river will keep boats from getting stuck. The Ecuadorian government has already bought up land along the Amazonian route and paid contractors to clear forests and farms.  But those who make their home along the river say dredging and logging will threaten their communities and the area’s plant and animal life. The Manta-Manaus route runs through or alongside 4 national parks in Ecuador.  Coca’s mayor, Anita Rivas, says this shows the government is only interested in one thing.

ANITA RIVAS: [TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH] They’re not thinking about the communities, or the river or the biodiversity in the river.  They’re only thinking about making money for the country.  We are tired of being the milking cow while others are being served the milk, and we are always the ones to lose out.

MELAINA SPITZER: Others are concerned about threats the project poses to human health.  Indigenous groups in Ecuador have already seen cancer rates shoot up, including among children.  Many scientists blame the contamination of fish and water supplies by oil extraction.  Manuela Ima, President of the Association of Huaorani Women fears that pollution from the Manta-Manaus project will bring similar risks.

MANUELA IMA: [TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH] For me this means pain of the ugliest sort. It can bring sickness, vomiting, cancer, flu. There are so many problems caused by contamination.

MELAINA SPITZER: Many indigenous groups intend to fight the trade route, and they say they’ve got the law on their side.  Ecuador’s new Constitution protects the rights of nature and requires the government to consult indigenous groups before beginning infrastructure projects that affect their territory. The Manta-Manaus project, many say, violates these rights. Money could also be a problem for the project.  It’s estimated that the route will cost as much as two billion dollars to build. International lenders have been reluctant to put out money for the project.  And some question if this project could ever really make money.  They say this complex system of shipping by truck and riverboat won’t be able to compete on cost with the Panama Canal.  Among the skeptics is Manta’s mayor, Jorge Zambrano.

JORGE ZAMBRANO: Manta-Manaus is not even a project, it’s an idea. I can have an idea right now, I wanna construct a big mall, but I don’t have the money to do it. It’s just an idea, an illusion, a dream.

MELAINA SPITZER: Still, South America seems ready to dream big, with many infrastructure projects across the continent already underway.  Zambrano just hopes that dream doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare for Ecuadorians and for the Amazon. For the World, I’m Melaina Spitzer, Manta, Ecuador.

LISA MULLINS: You can see photos that Melaina Spitzer took along the planned Amazon trade root. They’re at the-world-dot-org.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.

Fishermen toss dorado into a refrigerated truck on the docks of Manta

Melaina Spitzer: On the docks in Manta’s harbor, fishermen heave a catch of giant Dorado out of a rustic boat. Manta has long been a fishing port, but down the harbor lies a symbol of the city’s future – a huge ship packed with cars from Asia. Manta hopes to become a major hub for Asian imports to South America.

Patricio Padilla

Melaina Spitzer: That’s Patricio Padilla, the Manager of Manta’s Port Authority. He was at a recent gathering to discuss a bold idea for Manta – to make this harbor a competitor with the Panama canal.

Patricio Padilla: “The idea is to have some cargo, that right now is crossing the Panama canal and going around South America, and that cargo will go from Manta through the Amazonas River to Manaus. “

Melaina Spitzer: Manaus is a Brazilian city almost 1,500 miles to the east. It has a major port that’s connected to the Atlantic by the Amazon River. The idea to link these cities by land is part of a $ 70 billion plan for a web of trade routes across South America. Here’s how the Manta-Manaus Project would work: Ships from Asia would dock in Manta and unload their cargo onto trucks. The trucks would carry the cargo up the highway to Quito, over the Andes, and down the other side to the Ecuadorian Amazon. From there, they would go by riverboat, through Peru, to Brazil.

Coca, Ecuador

A key link in the chain is the Ecuadorian river port town of Coca. Coca’s marina on the Napo river is currently a quiet docking point for canoes and small petroleum boats. But if the Manta-Manaus project goes forward, it will become a major shipping hub. Carlos Torres is with Coca’s Ministry of Agriculture. He says the project could provide a big help to area farmers.

Carlos Torres: Local farmers would be able to ship their produce to distant markets and reap more of the benefits without middlemen calling the shots. It’s a great project, a huge opportunity.

Melaina Spitzer: But many in Coca say putting a major trade route through the jungle is just asking for trouble. Carlos Sierra, spent twenty years navigating the Napo River in large petroleum ships. He says cargo boats heading for Brazil may never make it out of Ecuador – because the water is too shallow.

Carlos Sierra: With this type of boat it is truly very risky. They contracted me many times to rescue international Brazilian and Peruvian boats that had failed and were stuck because of water levels.

Melaina Spitzer: The engineers of Manta-Manaus hope that dredging the river will keep boats from getting stuck. The Ecuadorian government has already bought up land along the Amazonian route and paid contractors to clear forests and farms. But those who make their home along the river say dredging and logging will threaten their communities and the area’s plant and animal life. The Manta-Manaus route runs through or alongside 4 national parks in Ecuador. Coca’s mayor Anita Rivas says this shows the government is only interested in one thing:

Coca Mayor Anita Rivas

Melaina Spitzer: Others are concerned about threats the project poses to human health. Indigenous groups in Ecuador have already seen cancer rates shoot up, including among children. Many scientists blame the contamination of fish and water supplies by oil extraction. Manuela Ima, President of the Association of Huaorani Women fears that pollution from the Manta-Manaus project will bring similar risks.

Manuela Ima: For me this means pain of the ugliest sort. It can bring sickness, vomiting, cancer, flu. There are so many problems caused by contamination.

Melaina Spitzer: Many indigenous groups intend to fight the trade route, and they say they’ve got the law on their side. Ecuador’s new Constitution protects the rights of nature and requires the government to consult indigenous groups before beginning infrastructure projects that affect their territory. The Manta-Manaus project, many say, violates these rights.

This Kichwa indigenous family will have to leave their home to make way for a new airport

Money could also be a problem for the project. It’s estimated that the route will cost as much as two billion dollars to build. International lenders have been reluctant to put out money for the project. And some question if this project could ever really make money. They say this complex system of shipping by truck and riverboat won’t be able to compete on cost with the panama canal. Among the skeptics is Manta’s mayor, Jorge Zambrano.

Jorge Zambrano: Manta-Manaus is not even a project, it’s an idea…I can have an idea right now, I wanna construct a big Mall, but I don’t have the money to do it and it’s just an idea, an illusion, a dream.

Melaina Spitzer: Still, South America seems ready to dream big, with many infrastructure projects across the continent already underway. Zambrano just hopes that dream doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare for Ecuadorians and for the Amazon.

For the World, I’m Melaina Spitzer, Manta, Ecuador.

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