A Gringo in Buenos Aires » Nightlife

Peñas Folklóricas in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tim Gringo in BA — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:00:20 +0000

Think you know everything there is to know about Argentine cultural traditions? Well here’s something that you might not have heard of: peñas folklóricas.

Let’s explain those two words. A peñas is an Argentinean folklore party, or if you prefer, a ‘wine-sloshing musical shindig.’ And folklórico is a kind of catch-all term that refers to almost any traditional music that isn’t tango.

Peñas folklóricas then, are nights of musical entertainment incorporating food, wine, traditional guitar music, singing and dancing. Food, wine AND culture – that’s got to be the ultimate entertainment Triple Threat, amIright? It’s also not uncommon for musical instruments to be handed out to members of the crowd after a peñas folklóricas show so that the party can continue until morning. How cool is that!

Peñas folklóricas are particularly typical in the province of Salta, but unsurprisingly you can find them in Buenos Aires as well.

Should you wish to get along to a peñas, you might try one of the following venues:

* La Peña del Colorado (Guemes 3657, Palermo). This is a laid-back and unpretentious place with exposed brick walls, rustic music memorabilia and a great line in empanadas and tamales. The music is generally excellent with some highly polished acts making an appearance. It’s not 100% folklórico here though; you will hear the odd tango. The crowd at La Peña del Colorado is student-heavy and always keen to stick around after the show in order to grab an instrument and keep the party going, so don’t rush out the door as soon as the last act winds up.

* La Casa de los Chillado Biaus (Uriarte 2426, Palermo). This one is a bit hard to find as it’s behind an unmarked, always-closed door. Open that door though, and you’ll find a relaxed little gem run by two brothers who often play a bit themselves before the main act comes on. Crowd participation at La Casa de los Chillado Biaus – at least to the extent of clapping and singing along – is mandatory, which lends a fantastic atmosphere. Very fun indeed.

* La Trastienda Club (Balcarce 460, San Telmo). La Trastienda Club is a famous Buenos Aires cabaret-style nightclub. It occupies the ruins of an old (1895) mansion and holds 400 people seated and another 1,000 standing. No, it’s not exactly small! At La Trastienda Club they feature folklórico acts along with tango and rock. Check their website (www.latrastienda.com) to find out what’s coming up.

* Los Cardones (Borges 2180, Palermo, Buenos Aires). Yet another peñas folklóricas, Los Cardones features a nightly and ever-changing roster of artists (check out www.cardones.com.ar to see what’s on). As with many other peñas, the party at Los Cardones continues long after the official act has wrapped up, so don’t be in too much of a hurry to leave if you don’t want to miss the fun.

But wait, there’s more: Los Cardones also offers folk dancing classes on Fridays between 19.30 and 21hs for just 16 pesos a pop (email Karina Caceres: karinacaceresfolk (at) for more information). There are definite style points in living in BA and learning a dance other than tango, no?

So: the next time your friends tell you that they’re tired of parrillas, asados, tango, bars and clubs, just take them to a peñas folklóricas instead. The fun will take care of itself.

Niceto Club, Buenos Aires: Club Spotlight

Tim Gringo in BA — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:00:28 +0000

Since it’s opening in July 1998, Niceto Club immediately became the musical referent in the area of Palermo. After many years, today is to be considered the only place in Buenos Aires where such a big diversity of styles, artists and audiences converge. Many local and international artists have performed in its stage and booth, whereas in the two dance floors it hosts many parties ranging from pop and rock to reggae, hip hop, electronica, tango, soul, funk and more…

Thursday nights there’s one main option to go in Buenos Aires: Club 69. Hedonism and sense of humour converge with Argentina’s top techno and house spinners, b-boys and a series of performances all night long by “La Compañía Inestable del 69″. The B-side features alternative sounds to the main dancefloor. A must-see-live-experience.

Friday night features the wide-genre party Invasion, where guest djs and bands switch from the B-side to the front room. Rock, pop, funk, live shows, acting performances, urban art… anything can happen among the multi-style crowd searching for good times around Palermo.

Saturdays choose between monthly and bi-monthly events such as Magic (BA’s trance night), Brandon Gay Day, Piso Compartido, Vh1 parties, Canada’s own Mutek festival local events or Dynamic Reggae Soundclash for instance, each one a whole experience itself. On top of that, Niceto Club as a live music venue is as strong as any. Just about anybody on the up and up or already there, plays Niceto. Whether it be reggae, rock, pop, jazz, electronic tango, check out their monthly agenda and go go go.

International acts swing through town and rock the place too. Niceto has always given space to avant-garde new acts and classic bands to perform in BA. Among them in the last years: Kid Loco, Erlend Oye, The Evens, Melvins, Battles, Benjamin Biolay, The Buzzcocks, Joanna Newsom, Elefant, Goldie, Akufen, Mad Professor, Bad Brains, Jahcoozi, Mouse on Mars, Yelle, Camouflage, Zombie Nation, Stereo Total, The Wailers and Brazilian Girls.

Legends of Argentine Music, Part Two

Tim Gringo in BA — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:25:32 +0000

Fito Páez is the youngest of the four artists that we are profiling in this two-part article on legends of argentine music. He was born in 1963, making him a spring chicken of just 47 in 2010.

Like Charly García, Fito Páez was an early starter, forming his first band at 13 and beginning to play live just a year later. He gained notoriety as a songwriter with his 1984 album Del ’63 and as a result released another album in 1985 and yet another in 1986 in partnership with Luis Alberto Spinetta.
Fito Páez’s most interesting record is his 1987 album (yes, 1984-87 was a busy four years!) Ciudad de Pobres Corazones. It’s a dark, angry and heavily political album that was driven by the event of the assassination of his aunt and grandmother in Rosario. Despite the anger that’s evident in every line, it shows the depths of Páez’s talent as a lyricist.

A young Fito

Paez recorded his biggest album in 1992, and it’s perhaps this album you should hunt down if you want to find out what he’s all about. El Amor Después del Amor sold more than 750,000 copies and attracted crowds of 40,000 people when he toured with it.

One of the most recent albums penned by Fito Páez was El Mundo Cabe en una Canción, which won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Rock Solo Vocal Album at the Latin Grammy Awards in 2007.

Joining the ranks of legendary deceased Argentine musicians in January 2010 was “The Argentine Elvis,” Sandro.

Sandro was born Roberto Sanchez (generic name, no wonder he changed it), and began his musical career in the 1960s as an unashamed Elvis clone, complete with a dark mane of hair and pelvis thrusts. However, he didn’t become as fat or dead as Elvis (he was 64 when he died), and so in time he established himself as a credible and respected crooner and ballad singer.

The Argentine Elvis: Sandro

Two of Sandro’s biggest hits were Asi (“Like This”) and Dame Fuego (“Give Me Fire”). Track them down if you want to know what Sandro was all about, and/or get an Argentinean woman in the mood for love (or both, why limit yourself). Again like Elvis, Sandro recorded dozens of albums over his career and starred in a total of 16 films (I haven’t seen any of them, but I bet they’re really cheesy).

In 2005 Sandro was presented with a career achievement award at the Latin Grammys.

Finally, it remains only to say that not only was Sandro a legend of Argentine music, he also continues to be the answer to many a pub-quiz question, as he was the first Latin American artist to sing at Madison Square Garden in New York (in the 1970s).

Legends of Argentine Music, Part One

Tim Gringo in BA — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:17:30 +0000

If you’ve never heard of Argentine tango singing sensation of yesteryear, Carlos Gardel, then clearly you’ve either been in Buenos Aires for less than a day and a half or you’ve been walking around with your eyes shut and your hands clamped tightly over your ears. El Zorzal Criollo (which means the “Creole Thrush” – no, I have no idea what that means either, it sounds like an STD) is just that famous in Argentina. Hey, he even has a subte station named after him!

That’s Mr. Gardel. You probably already know all about him. But how much do you know about the other legends of Argentine music: people like Charly García, Mercedes Sosa, Fito Páez and the smoldering “Argentine Elvis,” Sandro? Not much? Well don’t worry, because by the end of the second part of this article you’ll know so much that’ll you’ll be able to edit their Wikipedia pages! (*Note: this promise should not be taken seriously. Editing Wikipedia pages is a complex and dangerous business best left to the professionals.)

Ok. First Charly García. Charly was born in 1951 and formed the folk-rock band “Sui Generis” with friend Carlos Alberto “Nito” Mestre when the pair were still in their teens. Sui Generis quickly became popular with teenagers in Argentina and they had big success with their second LP, Confesiones de Invierno (“Winter Confessions”), which was released in 1973. Sui Generis then morphed into more of a rock band. They broke up in 1976 after playing huge farewell gigs at Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires.

Cross dressing Charly

After Sui Generis Charly García went on to form “Serú Girán,” who enjoyed huge popularity in the late 1970s. After they broke up he began a solo career (in 1982).

The ups and downs of Charly García’s various bands, his life and his career are simply too convoluted to go into at length, but check out if you can two of the most famous songs from his solo era: Yendo de la cama al living, which is a metaphorical song about repression, and Yo no quiero volverme tan loco, which is about teenage rebellion.

Charly García is still going strong today at the age of 58. He celebrated his 58th birthday with a concert in at Velez Sarfield’s Stadium in October 2009 and is still of the same tour right now.

The second of our Argentine music legends is Mercedes Sosa, who died last year (2009) at the age of 74. Described as an “electrifying voice of conscience,” she was nevertheless something of an unlikely star – a short, stout, dark-skinned woman who dressed in peasant clothing – but she possessed an amazing voice and charisma to spare.

Mercedes Sosa

Mercedes Sosa was a folk singer whose songs had always championed the poor and repressed, so in the early years of the military junta in Argentina (1976 to 1983) she became an icon. She criticized the government and held sold-out concerts that were in effect anti-regime rallies with a soundtrack. Unfortunately this led to the banning of the playing of her songs on the radio, death threats, bomb threats against her concerts, and eventually a ban on her live performances. As a result, in 1979 she was forced to leave Argentina and live in exile in Europe. She returned in 1982 however, and by this time she was simply too famous for the regime to touch. She gave a series of concerts at Teatro Colón to celebrate her return home.

After the military regime fell in 1983, Mercedes Sosa’s fame continued to grow and she toured the world, recording and performing with artists including Sting, Pavarotti and Shakira (…who definitely would have made a strange pair on stage together).

If you’d like to listen to some of Ms Sosa’s work, try the albums Romance de la Muerte de Juan Lavalle (“Ballad of the Death of Juan Lavalle”) and/or Mujeres Argentinas (“Argentinean Women”), as these are the two albums from the 1960s that really established her as an artist.

(Cont’d in Part Two with Fito Páez and Sandro.)

Buenos Aires Boliches: Nightlife in BA

Tim Gringo in BA — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:58:17 +0000

Perhaps more than any other, Buenos Aires is a city of the night. Many of the best things to do here are night-time pursuits, and locals find doing them in the depths of night utterly normal and natural. Meeting your grandmother for a coffee at 1am? Normal. Meeting friends at a bar at 2am? Normal.

Of course if you’re really determined to go an entire night without sleep, then you need something to do to fill that pesky 2am – 7am period. Enter boliches, the Buenos Aires nightclubs that rule the small hours of the day with an iron fist (made of cocktails and house music).

The best thing about the boliches in Buenos Aires is undoubtedly the almost complete lack of pretension. Everyone seems happy to chat to everyone, without the snobbery that you get in other cities. People generally don’t drink to excess either, which means that things stay civilized even at 7am when everyone’s trying to get a taxi home. In other parts of the world that time of the night generally resembles the 5th circle of hell, so that’s quite an achievement.

Really, you can’t say you’ve ‘done’ Buenos Aires until you’ve spend at least a couple of nights dancing until the sun comes up! You can use this guide to help you plan your assault on the wee hours. Note that a lot of clubs have email lists which, if you join them, will get you free entry if you arrive ‘early,’ which usually translates to ‘before 2am’. Unless you’ve really gone native that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Note that most of the clubs listed here don’t open until the small hours of the morning, but we’ve listed opening times as if the day before extended until 7am the following day (which, to be fair, is pretty much how Porteños view things). Anyway, by ‘open from Friday at 2am’ we mean the 2am that follows Friday night, not the one that follows Thursday night. Claro?

Fifteen of the best

1. The Roxy Disco (Arcos del Sol, Avenida Casares 4000)

For people who like Rock n Roll, The Roxy is the place to go. As much as Buenos Aires is know as a Club/Electric hotbed, at its heart, it is a Rock and Roll City. The Roxy attracts a younger crowd of locals – no tourists to speak of. The DJ´s will play all your favorite songs. At one moment you might be listening to the Beach Boys and the next moment AC/DC. For those who don´t like the idea of clubs, think of The Roxy as a bar that plays your favorite rock and rolls songs, only MUCH MUCH LOUDER. Unpretentious and a very positive vibe, The Roxy is usually left of of any tourist guide book, but if you miss it, you are missing one of the best clubs in Buenos Aires. It’s open from 1:30am on Friday and Saturday nights.

2. Niceto Club (Niceto Vega 5510)

Niceto is one of the stalwarts of the Buenos Aires clubbing scene, and its enduring success is a testament to how consistently good it is. By far the best-known night of the week at Niceto Club is Thursday, when the baroque Club 69 takes place, but don’t neglect Friday nights either, when the hipsters of Buenos Aires show up to dance to Indie Rock and Electro. Opening hours are from 12:30am on Thursday and Friday nights and from 1am on Saturday nights.

3. The Basement Club @ The Shamrock (Rodríguez Peña 1220)

A nightclub playing electronic music situated in an Irish pub – is nothing sacred? Apparently not, but the funny thing is that the combination works. Unsurprisingly The Basement Club is only small, but its mix of cheap drinks, glitter ball, good tunes from a rotating roster of DJs and interesting mix of laid-back expats and locals always ensures a fun time. Open from 9pm Thursday nights and from 1am Friday and Saturday nights.

4. Pachá (Avenida Costanera Rafael Obligado)

You know Pachá – it’s the club franchise with branches all over the world, most famously in Ibiza, Spain. The Buenos Aires branch is as impressive as you would expect from a global brand – it’s all-white on the outside, with a great location on the river. Inside there’s a large main dance area serviced by multiple bars and also a patio where more mellow tunes features. It’s a reliable option, though the crowd can be a little more stuck-up than in other venues. Open from midnight on Friday nights and from 1:30am on Saturday nights.

5. Jet Lounge (Avenida Rafael Obligado 4801)

A sexy and sophisticated club with a death-grip on Thursday nights. It begins each night with the vibe of a lounge bar (think cocktails, sushi and gorgeous people), but the dancing and partying ramps up later on. Don’t expect anything cutting-edge in the way of music, but it’s consistently danceable. It’s open from 12:30am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

6. Crobar (Paseo de la Infanta, Avenida del Libertador 3883)

You won’t get any points for originality for going to Crobar, but to most of us that’s less important than simply having a cracking night out. Crobar is famous and popular because it gives you just that. Friday nights feature international DJs and consistently good house/electronic music. Crobar is open from 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

7. Alsina (Adolfo Alsina 940)

The cavernous Alsina nightclub is best known for its Saturday night event, State. It puts on world-famous DJs such as Sasha and Carl Cox for your listening and dancing pleasure. With a capacity of 3000 it’s the perfect place for a night out if you have a group of two or three hundred. There’s a balcony with sofas upstairs for when you need a rest. On Saturday nights Alsina is open from 1am, and when that finishes the party re-starts on Sunday afternoons at 3pm, so you can get one last weekend session in before a well-earned rest.

8. Bahrein (Lavalle 343 y Reconquista)

A multi-level, multi-room nightclub in the microcentro. Its rooms include the ‘Funky Room’ (which plays commercial stuff), ‘XXS’ (where you’ll find darker beats and a sweatier vibe) and a chillout area. You can hear drum ‘n’ bass at Bahrein on Tuesday nights, when the well-known ‘+ 160’ club night takes place. Bahrein is located in a grand old ex-bank, so if you like clubbing in a place with vaulted ceilings and multiple chandeliers you’ll be like a pig in sh*t. Open from 12:30am on Tuesday through Saturday nights and from 9pm on Sunday nights.

9. Fugees 99 (Bolivar 1190 y San Juan)

Feel like getting your wigga on? Fugees 99 in San Telmo is just the place to scratch that rap and hip-hop (what is the difference?) itch. It’s an entirely more underground and intimate experience than the Buenos Aires superclubs like Pacha. The music is excellent, the drinks cheap and the spontaneous breakdancing not infrequent. Its open from 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, but the party doesn’t really start going off until around 4am.

10. Levitar (Godoy Cruz 1715)

Small and intimate, Levitar’s not-so-famous DJs play typical electronic music that’s reminiscent of the Berlin scene (or so I’m told). It has good vibes, and an outdoor terrace that’s really indoors and therefore perfect for smokers (don’t pretend that’s not important smokers). Levitar is a bar/boliche, so you can go there early if you like, but it only tends to really get going late (like 5am).

11. Cocoliche (Rivadavia 878)

Cocoliche is a cool microcentro spot that’s a favorite amongst the more hardcore Buenos Aires clubber. It’s a big-name club but still underground. Its dance floor is huge and its laser lights will keep you entertained whatever your state of inebriation. Open from 11pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

12. Asia de Cuba (Pierina Dealessi 750)

During the day Asia de Cuba is an Asian restaurant, but when night falls it slips into a phone booth and emerges as a boliche. It has a cool, smooth, upmarket kind of vibe, as you would perhaps expect in Puerto Madero. The people are generally very attractive but it’s dominated by tourists. If you want to go for the dancing/clubbing as opposed to dinner, don’t go before 1am (probably a good idea, as the restaurant is expensive and doesn’t get good reviews).

13. Caix (Complejo Costa Salguero)

Sure you COULD go to Caix at a normal time, say 2am on a Friday night, but that’s not really what it’s all about. Much better to head there at 10am on a Sunday after eight hours of dancing somewhere else. Yes, Caix is an after-hours club on Sundays. It has five dance floors to choose from. It’s open from 12:30am to 6am Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays…and 9am to 3pm on Sundays.

14. Kika (Honduras 5339)

Two rooms at the very cool Kika aim to please everyone by playing pop music in one and house in the other. It’s a mid-sized place, perfect for when you don’t want to waste time looking for your friends after you’ve had a few drinks. There are plenty of bars nearby (it’s in Palermo) where you can meet and wait until ‘the right time’ to go in (that is, 2-3am). The crowds are generally young and beautiful, especially in the VIP section. Kika is open from 1:30am on Friday and Saturday nights, earlier on Tuesday nights (see below).

15. Voodoo Motel (Dorrego 1735)

Why not spend your clubbing peso somewhere a little newer…like Voodoo Motel, which opened its doors recently, in 2008. On different nights you’ll hear house, electro, techno, cumbia and reggaeton, and some live performances mixed in with DJ sets. It’s very cool. Open Saturdays from 8pm.

Daily Club Recommendations

Picking a club earlier in the week isn’t so hard, but as the weekend approaches the options multiply and it starts to get hard to choose. But never fear! Just turn to the following list and you’ll be fine:

* Monday: La Cigale (25 de Mayo 722)

La Cigale is in fact more of a bar than a boliche, but come on, it’s Monday night! Don’t worry, you can still stay until 4am and they have DJs (or sometimes live music). It’s a French-themed place with a lovely turquoise bar. Happy hour runs from 6pm to 10pm. If you can’t make it on a Monday, Tuesdays are French Soirée Nights featuring techno, trance and French expats. Open from 6pm to 4am Monday to Friday and from 9pm to 6am on Saturdays.

* Tuesday: Hype @ Kika (Honduras 5339)

Hype at Kika rules Tuesday nights. And why not? International DJs play beats from hip hop, dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass, and a big crowd comes to pack out the two rooms. You won’t find anywhere better on a Tuesday. Go before 1:30am to get discounted entry.

* Wednesday: Museum (Perú 535).

Museum on a Wednesday night gets pretty trashy, so unless you enjoy seeing them get groped you might want to think again before taking your Significant Other there, but for singles it’s a lot of fun. The interior of Museum is beautiful, as you would expect from a building designed by Gustave Eiffel. The fantastically popular after work event kicks off at 7pm and goes until 10pm; then it becomes a full-blown boliche.

* Thursday: Club 69 @ Niceto Club (Niceto Vega 5510)

Club 69 is a theater company who put on a transvestite show (…with B-Boys) at Niceto Club every Thursday night. It’s been running for 11 years now, which gives you an idea of its popularity. It draws a big crowd of mostly tourists and a fun night is pretty much guaranteed.

* Friday: Crobar (Paseo de la Infanta, Avenida del Libertador 3883)

Crobar is a classic Buenos Aires boliche, and Friday nights is what it does best. You won’t see transvestites, a sweaty after-work crowd, French expats or Goths with multiple tattoos, but you will get a night of great house music from top DJs in pleasantly boisterous surroundings. ‘Nuff said.

* Saturday: Mandarine (Avendia Costanera Rafael Obligado)

Mandarine has been through a lot lately since it changed its name (it used to be called Mint), but now it’s well and truly back, and Saturdays (from 1am) are the best nights to check it out. Big crowds will help you get your dance on.

Because it’s Saturday night we’ll throw in an alternative: State @ Alsina (Adolfo Alsina 940) is the place to be when you want to see international DJs with a few thousand of your closest friends.

* Sunday: Amerika (Gascón 1040)

F*ck yeah! Technically Amerika is a gay disco, but all are welcome and there’s always a huge crowd with plenty of people of every sexual orientation. Two dancefloors and four bars will help you forget that it’s really Monday morning. Open from midnight.

Buenos Aires Tango & Milonga Guide

Tim Gringo in BA — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:35:35 +0000

Like sushi and Japan, samba and Brazil, and beer and Germany, tango is a cultural artifact that both defines and is defined by a country. Tango was born and grew up here, and given its huge cultural significance, it behooves all of us expats or tourists to give it the ole college try! This guide will help you to do just that.

The history of tango

Tango in Argentina had its genesis in milonga, which was the style of dance that immediately preceded tango. If you recognize that word, it might be because the word milonga also refers to a place or an event where the tango or milonga is danced and it’s also the name for a piece of music to which the milonga is danced. Confused yet? Perhaps it’s clearer to say that it’s quite possible to dance the milonga to a milonga at a milonga!

Milonga music had its roots in the European music that was brought to the Rioplatense region by European migrants. It was up-tempo and involved improvisation from the musicians. It had its heyday in the 1870s. Over time steps were developed to go with the music, and this was the birth of the milonga dance style.

The tango came along a little later, during the late 1800s. It was influenced by the milonga, but also by the Cuban habanera (a slow, graceful style of music and dance), by the Uruguayan candombe (a musical style based on the drums), and by Africans living in Buenos Aires.

Some experts think that the tango evolved from the milonga in order to give less skilled dancers a way to participate in dancing (though anyone who has ever tried to learn the tango may question that!). Certainly the tango is danced at a slower tempo and rhythm than the milonga. The tango also has a sadder tone: the music is about loss, longing and other melancholy feelings, while the milonga is altogether a faster and less sensual affair.

Tango quickly became the more popular dance, though for a long time it was associated with gangsters and the rough, immigrant underclass of Buenos Aires. Due to the large numbers of overwhelmingly male immigrants in Buenos Aires there were many more men than women in the city, and so tango musicians were employed to entertain queues of men in the brothels, who danced together while awaiting their turn. Needless to say this didn’t improve tango’s image!

In the early 1900s tango was still struggling for respectability in Argentina when it was taken to Paris by Argentine sailors. It quickly became a massive hit in France, and by 1913 it was a worldwide craze. Ironically, this international popularity meant that it suddenly had cachet with the middle and upper classes of Argentina, who quickly embraced it.

One effect of the newfound popularity of tango among middle and upper class people was a change in the subject matter of the lyrics of tango music. The lyrics of tango music up until this point were too bawdy for the sensibilities of these classes, so they were abandoned in favor of much more poet and beautiful lyrics. This focus on the music also led to great tango singers starting to emerge.

The ‘golden age’ of tango in Argentina is generally agreed to have begun in about 1932. This era combined great tango orchestras with singing superstars like Carlos Gardel and a massive enthusiasm for dancing tango. Tango gained widespread, mainstream popularity in Argentina, and it was very also popular in Europe and the United States. For over two decades it flourished.

The golden age ended in 1955 with the coup that installed a military government in Argentina. Meeting in large groups to dance tango were impossible, as the government imposed bans on public gatherings. These were the dark ages of tango, and it wasn’t until the 1980s, after the return of democracy to Argentina, that tango had a revival in Argentina and took off again – a tango renaissance, if you like.

Today tango in Buenos Aires is part tacky tourist spectacle and part sacred tradition. It is naturally more associated with older people, but there are plenty of young exponents as well. Tango has been exported to the world, but many enthusiasts in other countries move mountains to come here, to the acknowledged beating heart of tango, to learn from the masters. And you’re already here…so get yourself to a milonga ASAP!

Five Great Tango Shows in Buenos Aires

There are many, many tango shows in Buenos Aires. The format is usually a dinner show with a variety of dancers and musicians performing over a period of somewhere between 1.5 and 3 hours. Some are located in venues that have been tango salons for decades, while some inhabit newer facilities.

Unfortunately, perhaps because they are put on for solely for tourists, most tango shows seem to be more concerned with extracting the maximum possible amount of money from the audience rather providing a great experience. But then that’s tourism the world over, and there are definitely still some good ones (like the five listed below).

Keep in mind that tango is both a dance and a style of music, so a tango show is rarely 100% dancing: expect some musical numbers without dancing to accompany them.

1. Bar Sur
The tango show at Bar Sur in San Telmo is on the ‘not so touristy’ end of the spectrum…but it is still undoubtedly aimed squarely at tourists, as you can tell from the rather pricey cover charge and similarly expensive drinks. The food is also only average. On the other hand, the show offered at Bar Sur is very good, and as there are only nine tables in the place it has a nicely intimate feel.

2. La Ventana Tango Show
Like many tango shows the food at La Ventana is barely average (in fact you might want to skip the dinner), but the excellent show makes up for it. The performers include solo couples, groups of couples, two different orchestras and a gaucho dancer, among others. The show is presented in nice surroundings in a grand old building in San Telmo.

3. Complejo Tango
This dinner tango show starts with a basic tango lesson, which is a nice touch if you haven’t had any experience with dancing tango before and want to try it. The food is fine as long as you stick to the basics (steak and pasta), all the tables offer a good view of the stage. The show is small and basic but entertaining, with a live band, singers and three couples dancing.

4. El Viejo Almacen
El Viejo Almacen (‘the old grocery store’) has been a San Telmo tango hall since 1969. Be warned that perhaps even more so than others it’s more of a ‘mixed talent’ show – there are quite a few musical numbers without any dancing. Also, the food is both bad and expensive. On the upside the performances are excellent and the venue is historic and nicely intimate.

5. Tango Porteño
This is a larger, grander, more Broadway-style show. It combines a live band with a multi-media show about the history of tango and some good dancing. The choreography, lighting and production values are generally much better than at the smaller shows.

Five Buenos Aires Tango Schools

Watching tango is all well and good, but wouldn’t you rather get involved? Many people have come to Buenos Aires, fallen in love with tango, and through dedication and a great teacher have become very good at it.

Just as for milongas and shows, there is no shortage of ready, willing and able tango teachers in Buenos Aires. The best way to start is with a group class and then move on to a private teacher if you decide that you like tango and want to devote the time to really get good.

1. La Academia de Susana Miller

This tango academy is located at Club El Beso, which is just off Corrientes at Riobamba 416. It holds classes most nights of the week, and often they’re conveniently followed by a practica (that is, a practice dance where protocol is relaxed) and then a milonga. Susana Miller doesn’t teach all the classes – she’s too famous for that! – but the school has plenty of other excellent teachers. With generally a great atmosphere and a friendly vibe, this school is one of the best. For more information you can either call El Beso on 4953-2794, or if your spoken Spanish leaves something to be desired, email them at elbesotango@yahoo.com.ar.

2. Escuela Argentina de Tango

This is an ‘official’ tango school in name only (there’s no such thing), but it attracts many well-known dancers, teachers and musicians. Escuela Argentina de Tango operates out of multiple locations around the city and runs classes every day of the week, so you’ll need to call 4312-4990 or check out their website at www.eatango.org for more information.

3. Classes with Cacho Dante

The very well-known Mr Dante holds friendly group classes in Recoleta, on Av. Las Heras 2416 (1st floor), on Mondays from 9pm to 11pm. His classes work like more a supervised practica than a class, but he keeps an eye on everyone and makes lots of suggestions based on what he sees. There’s a video of him giving a lesson here. Note that the classes are always completely in Spanish. Call 4432-7756 or email cachodante@yahoo.com.ar.

4. Tango Brujo

Many classes are taught here, but some of the best are the ones at 1pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. Classes are in a cozy dance studio and are smaller than some other schools, which obviously suits some people better. Classes are given in English as well as Spanish and are professional and very non-threatening. The address is Esmeralda 754. Call 4325-8264 or email info@tangobrujo.com.ar.

5. Praktika 8

Find the Praktika 8 tango class at Loyola 828 in Villa Crespo, Tuesday nights from 8pm to 9:30pm with, conveniently, a great milonga afterwards. Classes are divided into beginner and intermediate, and it’s cheap. Praktika 8 tends to attract a younger and less formal crowd. To get in touch, call 15-4066-5831 or send an email to info@praktika8.com.ar.

Five Buenos Aires Milongas

As mentioned above, a milonga can be either a venue or an event. Salón Canning, for example, is a tango dance hall and so a milonga. Parakultural is a milonga which is held at Salón Canning on Mondays, but other venues on other days of the week.

Milongas often start with a dance lesson. After this things proceed in sets called tandas. A tanda is 3-5 songs of one type played in a row. Usually couples will dance to whole tanda together. After each tanda comes a piece of music called a cortina (curtain), which is not to be danced to. This is when the couples thank each other and then switch partners. It’s not uncommon for the dancing to stop now and again for a musical performance of some kind.

Milongas usually repeat on a weekly basis, so if you find one you like you can be pretty certain that if you go to the same place on the same night a week later, it’ll be the same event.

1. Salón Canning
This milonga was restored a few years ago and as a result it has a nicely luxurious look and feel. It also has a high-quality, polished dance floor, good acoustics and good organizers. It’s a great venue to take visitors to if you want to impress them. On the other hand Salón Canning is well-known to tourists, which can rob it of a little authenticity and lead to some of the men there being more interested in picking up a gringa than dancing. It can also get very crowded, particularly between midnight and 2am.

2. La Confitería Ideal
La Confitería Ideal is of course many different things. It’s a coffee shop, a famous tourist attraction (/tourist trap), a beautiful old building and a movie set. And also, it’s a milonga. The very best dancers don’t come here anymore, but that shouldn’t matter. If you’re a beginner there are classes every day of the week (check the website for details), or you just want to watch no-one will mind. You can also take photos of the dancers as long as you observe etiquette and do it mostly from your seat.

3. La Catedral
This milonga gets points for sheer originality. Unlike many milongas it’s not located in a shabby old dance hall or a beautiful Art Deco building, but rather a factory which has been converted into a big tango salon strewn with beat-up old furniture and strange artifacts. A big portrait of Carlos Gardel smiles down from the wall behind the high stage area. It all has a sort of grungy appeal. La Catedral attracts a young crowd and plenty of foreigners, particularly on Tuesday nights when they have a beginner’s lesson.

4. La Milonga del Indio
This charming outdoor milonga takes place in Plaza Dorrego every Sunday at 8pm. The stallholders of Sunday’s regular Feria de Antigüedades pack up, the tourists leave, and a low-key milonga takes places under strings of lights. Great.

5. La Viruta
A classic and very popular Buenos Aires milonga. Friday and Saturday nights are always packed, so if you want some space go late (like 3:30am). Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the nights when you’re most likely to hear some Electo Tango

Daily Milonga Guide

They say that there are 15-30 milongas in Buenos Aires every day of the week. One a day will probably do as long as it’s the best of the night! Read on to find out which milonga to choose on each day of the week.

* Monday: Parakultural. A friendly, informal, slightly chaotic milonga. It’s held at Salón Canning, which is at Scalabrini Ortiz 1331 in Palermo. The music is particularly good, as is the food, and the venue has a beautiful wooden floor (many milongas are not so blessed). Between 7pm and 9pm there’s a class for all levels, and between 9pm and 11pm there’s a class for intermediate and advanced dancers. Note that Parakultural is a roving milonga which occurs in other venues on other days of the week.

* Tuesday: La Catedral. This milonga, at Sarmiento 4006 in Almagro, has a lesson every Tuesday night followed by dancing. It’s a little hard to find, as it’s upstairs and there’s no sign out the front, but once you find the entrance (right near the corner of Medrano), just stride up the stairs and you’ll find your way in. Once inside you’ll notice that it’s located in the top level of an old factory. It’s a big though atmospheric space, with lots of old couches and techno-grunge oddities adorning the walls. Very popular with foreigners. Also good on Friday nights.

* Wednesday: La Garufa. Since late 2009 there has been a new milonga every Wednesday night at Ciudad Cultural Konex (which is located at Sarmiento 3131 and which you might know from its Monday-night event La Bomba de Tiempo). There’s a class starting at 8pm and a milonga from 11pm. There’s a very mixed program at Ciudad Konex including performances, bands and orchestras and exhibitions of tango photography. It tries (and succeeds) to blend the traditional with the cutting-edge of tango.

* Thursday: Niño Bien. A big, popular milonga with a reputation for a great atmosphere. It’s located at Humberto Primo 1462. It attracts a broad range of dancers including a lot of tango stars – unless you’re an aficionado you of course won’t recognize them, but unsurprisingly they’re amazing dancers. The only drawback of Niño Bien is that because it is so well known, it gets very crowded.

* Friday: La Viruta. Held in the basement of the somewhat homely Armenian Cultural Center at Armenia 1366 in Palermo. The crowd is a young and friendly mix of expats and Porteños. Often traditional tango music is mixed with other styles, like electronic, salsa, swing, rock n roll and Chacarera. Live music and demonstrations are common. Classes are from 7pm to 8:30pm and from 10:30pm until midnight (there’s a salsa class in between). The practica starts at midnight.

* Saturday: Milonga de las Morochas. You’ll find this milonga at a club called El Beso, located at Riobamba 416. It’s a smaller, more intimate venue that attracts foreigners and locals alike. The décor is a strange mix: 1940s nightclub with abstract / modern art flourishes. This is also a very popular spot on Tuesday nights. Starts at 11pm and runs until 6am, which is late even for a milonga!

* Sunday: Matinee at Confitería Ideal. If you’ve designated Sunday as the one night to get to bed early, then opt for the matinee milonga on Sundays at the famous, Art Deco, Confitería Ideal (Suipacha 384). The dance floor is upstairs (downstairs it’s a coffee house). It starts at 3pm and goes until 9pm. Confitería Ideal is a great place just to watch tango, but you will of course be expected to buy a drink.

Tango Electronica?!? What is it All About?

Tim Gringo in BA — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:17:33 +0000

Tango is, of course, an obsession in Buenos Aires. If you’re living in San Telmo – the heart of tango territory – it’s not uncommon for locals to start a conversation with you by asking “so, are you here to learn tango?” And it’s not just the dance that’s an obsession, but everything that goes with it as well: the clothes; the milongas, and most of all, the music. Given this obsession, it’s not surprising to find elements of tango have mutated in ways that take them beyond their traditional forms. One of these mutations is ‘tango electronica,’ also known ‘electrotango.’

For the hip BA expat, tango electronica represents a more up-to-date form of tango music, and consequently one that might appeal more than the old-timey versions. If you think it sounds interesting, read on for the best ways to listen to the bleeding edge of tango music.

A little bit of history

With instruments such as the bandoneón, the double bass, the piano and the violin, the traditional tango orchestra produces a sound that is lush, melodious, complex and grandiose, with a tempo of about 120 beats per minute. These groups, usually sextets, have been creating traditional tango music for over a century, with a ‘golden age’ between 1935 and 1952.

Tango electronica, on the other hand, is a much more recent invention. Paris-based group Gotan Project were one of the first to test the idea of adding electronic elements to tango music around the year 2000, and since then many other groups have followed suit. Some groups add electronically-generated sounds to traditional tango music in a subtle way (Gotan Project are normally placed in this category), while others have made the ‘electronica’ part of ‘tango electronica’ much more dominant.

3 of the best tango electronica albums

Intrigued? Then your electrotango education should begin with the following three albums:

1. La Revancha del Tango. This is Gotan Project’s 2001 album. It’s a mix of tango and chillout sounds, creating a sexy and hip lounge favorite. It’s credited with bringing tango to an entirely new audience.

(An aside: You’ve probably heard of Gotan Project before, but did you know that ‘Gotan’ comes from a Lunfardo wordplay on ‘Tango’? Tango Project was the name of an influential tango album that was released in the 198s.)

2. Bajofondo Tango Club. This self-titled 2002 album from Bajofondo Tango Club is an excellent introduction to tango electronica. Bajofondo are an Argentinean octet who mix conventional tango music with drum ‘n’ bass, French house, and trip-hop. Tango singers both past and present are sampled. This album won a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album…even though it actually has vocals! (Guess the judges really liked it.)

Interestingly, the band Bajofondo won’t be happy to be mentioned in this company: “We don’t like the label ‘electronic tango’ because we try to make a contemporary music of Rio de la Plata from Argentina and Uruguay,” says composer Gustavo Santaolalla on the band’s website. Whatever, che!

3. Emigrante (electrotango). Another very influential tango electronica album, this one comes from the four-person group Tanghetto. Released in 2003, it was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2004 and went platinum in Argentina in 2006. It melds acoustic and electronically generated sounds and has a theme: immigration, both to and from Argentina.

Finding live tango electronica

Albums are all well and good, but what about live tango electronica? Actually that’s a little harder to find. You can look out for gigs from bands such as Gotan Project and Bajofondo, but otherwise you’ll have to go to a milonga or a practica (wear your dancing shoes!). To hunt for one that’s likely to throw electrotango into the set list, try the www.NeoTango.info website, in particular the listings page at www.neotango.info/neotango_listings/index.htm, and the forum located at www.neotango.info/forum/index.php.

5 Great Bars to Mingle with Locals in Buenos Aires

Tim Gringo in BA — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:26:02 +0000

Buenos Aires is a popular city for expats for good reason. It has a good climate, it’s cheap for what you get, it’s interesting, and it’s in a time zone only a couple of hours different from the eastern states of the USA. The only problem is that about a billion people realized all of that long before you did, and means the entire city is crawling, crawling, with expats.

That’s not always a bad thing. But sometimes you feel like you want a night out where you don’t spend all night talking to people you could just as easily have met back home. Here then, are five great Bar options for the nights when you’re in the mood to meet and drink with some locals.

La Puerta Roja
Chacabuco 733

La Puerta Roja in San Telmo is an utterly no-nonsense drinking establishment. This bar has very reasonable prices (aided and abetted by a four-hour happy ‘hour’ from 6-10pm), a pool table, an interesting selection of drinks (try the Chili Bomb), and simple and filling food. The crowd is a nice mix of locals and expats living in the area.

A word of warning: it’s best to stay away from La Puerta Roja on a Saturday night if you are looking for more of a local scene, as this is when the Buenos Aires Pub Crawl crowd comes through, which tends to have a lot of foreigners.

Bar Guebara
Humberto 1° 463

Various described by the blogosphere as ‘a dive bar’ or ‘a-hole-in-the-wall,’ Bar Guebara has a pleasantly bohemian vibe that draws the indie, Converse-wearing Argentinean set (seriously, is every Porteño issued with a pair of Cons for their quince dulce?) like bears to honey. Beer is sold in pitchers and good old rock ‘n’ roll dominates the tune selection. It fancies itself as a bit of a cultural center as well as a bar/pub – paintings and photography from local artists decorate the walls.

Carnal
Niceto Vega 5511

The key feature of this Palermo bar is its rooftop terrace, which sizzles in summer both with the heat and with large crowds of frisky, style-conscious locals. In nice weather it’s maybe the best place to drink outdoors in the entire city. If you’re new to the city, you’ll be surprised at how friendly and unpretentious even a trendy crowd of Argentinians at a trendy place like this are.

Museum
Perú 535

Museum is a cavernous bar that transforms into a heaving nightclub after 10pm. The building was designed by Gustave Eiffel and is impressive, but you’re unlikely to notice, especially if you go on a Wednesday night, when it becomes full to busting with a well-lubricated after-work crowd. It’s good fun, and full of locals, but be warned that (regardless of your gender) you will get hit on by a frisky Porteño at least once every five minutes. Great if you’re looking for that kind of attention, not so great if you’re already partnered-up.

Word of warning: If you are dead set on being totally free of expats/tourists (is that even possible?), Museum is becoming more and more popular each month with foreigners, especially Wednesday nights.

Salon Pueyrredón
Avenida Sante Fe 4560

Although it could be considered a punk bar, Salon Pueyrredón attracts an eclectic crowd of Porteños who all share a love for live music. Although you are bound to see the occasional dog collar, multiple tattoos, Mohawks and some black leather, Salon Pueyrredón is a major testing ground for local rock bands which makes it a popular bar for all kinds of locals. This doesn´t discredit its notoriety as a punk bar entirely, as drinks are served strong and cheap.

After the live music is done DJ´s spin a great collection of mod, brit pop, new wave and punk tunes.

Do you know of any other great bars/clubs it mingle with locals in Buenos Aires? Leave a comment below and let us know!