South for the Summer: Tango

Milonga at Confiteria Ideal. This couple is so into it!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tango of Buenos Aires and the culture and music that goes with it, definitely deserves its own post. Its probably the most unique form of dance that I have come across in my travels. With Salsa, Merengue, even Samba its possible to witness them or a form of them in CA in clubs, or on TV. But Tango, was something that I was completely unfamiliar with and absolutely fell in love with. Not only is the dance beautiful, but it’s also the most intensely romantic and dramatic dance I’ve ever seen performed.

In BA you can find people performing it on the street for tourists and others to watch. The very first time you see someone dance it, its exhilarating. My mom and I managed to see three different kinds of Tango shows/events. The first we went to was called a Milonga, which was held in one of the oldest cafeterias in BA, called Confiteria Ideal. A Milonga is where regular people come together to dance Tango. The tables are all set up around a dance floor that sports a live Tango band, and a host that sings. We paid 30 pesos to get in, sat at a table and watched as others danced. Some were really very impressive (check out the videos below).

The second Tango event we went to was a professional tango performance that was accompanied by dinner at El Viejo Almacen. The dinner and show included pick-up and drop-off at our apartment, a three-course dinner with wine, the show, and champagne during the show. The dinner was great, we had an awesome waiter, the food was fabulous, and the wine was delicious. But the show, the show was unbelievable! The dancers were absolutely amazing. I’d never seen anyone move quite that fast; they were even doing acrobatics on stage. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for anything better, it was well worth the money we paid. Unfortunately, you weren’t allowed to take video during the performance, so all I have are pictures that hardly do it justice (they’re a bit blurry b/c they were moving so fast).

The third tango performance we saw, we caught by accident. On Sundays, in the San Telmo district, they have an antique and art fair that my mom and I attended. San Telmo is also a very picturesque part of town, with some of the oldest buildings, cobble stone streets and old cafes and restaurants. Honestly, when we arrived at the market, I thought I had just turned the corner and ended up in Montmartre in Paris. After browsing through the art, jewelry, photos, and vintage clothing, my mom and I decided to pop into one of the café’s that line the square for a beer. The café we ended up eating at was super cute and ended up having a stage on which a couple were doing a tango performance. My mom and I shared a plate of the best raviolis I have ever had and enjoyed the Tango performance. It was a really great, relaxing afternoon.