Travelingtango goes …

San Martin de los Andes

21st Annual San Martin de los Andes Tango Festival 

A group of regulars always dances at Julia’s Doynel’s Sueno Portenyo milongas on Sunday nights. When Julia learned she was invited to recreate her tanda of the Bonbons, she invited all her supporters from her Milonga to attend.

My partner, Maximo, shared his adventure stories from years ago, driving his motorhome in this part of Argentina, so I was prepared for an adventure. 

We found out that 16 other people were involved in this expedition. I have traveled in Argentina, but this is a new location. It is a beautiful city at the base of the Andes on the famous route of 7 Lakes via Highway 40.

We responded that we wanted to go, so the travel agent in charge of this trip was contacted. We chose to stay at a 4-star hotel that included a breakfast buffet. Paying for this was as easy as transferring money using a debit card.

We were all set and ready to go. About a month later, when it was time to go, the travel agent sent us boarding passes for the plane, a copy of our room, and transportation receipts.

We all met very early at the Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires, which is much more convenient for departures than the other airport, Ezeiza. With only carry-on bags, we boarded the plane via the steps provided after showing passports and boarding passes at the various inspection points and the gate.

I was surprised to see that our seats in the second row of the airplane were big, overstuffed First Class seats, which were very comfy for a two-hour ride.

We Arrive in San Martin

Arriving at the tarmac in San Martin, we departed through the door using the steps provided, as this airport is located in a small rural community surrounded by the Andes.

Once our driver located us, we entered the front seat of the large white passenger van to wait until all our group members were seated in the van.

After driving for about 30 minutes, I got my first glimpse of the area. From the front seat, I saw the distant snow-covered mountains and the Lanin Volcano, which straddled the border of Chile and Argentina. 

Arriving in San Martin, we were deposited at our hotel and told we would meet later that evening to attend the tanda of the Bonbons. 

We stashed the luggage at the front desk, as our room wasn’t yet available. We walked toward the lake that was the base of this community. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day. 

The Beauty of the Outdoor World

This community lives outdoors, as the streets are lined with many cold-weather clothing stores, rafting companies, and ski rentals. We walked until we found a cafe for coffee. The cafe was great, almost better than most cafes in Buenos Aires.

Upon finishing our coffees, we returned to the hotel, walking six blocks, and discovered that our room was available.  

As we knew it would be late at night, we chose to nap for a few hours, as we were tired from getting up at 5:30 in the morning. 

Hours later, we emerged, looking for the location of the milonga.  Unfortunately, this location will change several times before arriving at the correct location of the senior center.

Entering the space, we noticed a small L-shaped room with red-covered picnic tables scattered around the room with an aggregate floor.

After greeting friends, it was time for our first tanda. The floor was very sticky; fortunately, someone brought talc powder, which made dancing easier on the ankles and knees.

The Tanda of the Bonbons

With tango music playing and dancing, the time passed, and then it was time for the Tanda of the Bonbons. Julia explained this to the crowd, saying that this dance is where women choose a piece of chocolate and decide which person will get it. This chosen person will then dance a tanda with their respective giver of chocolate. 

Many women love this as it allows a woman to pick her favorite dancer, which differs from the traditional role of the man asking a woman with a head nod. Typically, Argentinian women do not ask a man to dance, but this task becomes more manageable with the chocolate bonbon.

What fun this was to watch! So many women are enjoying their moment.

After this tanda, the regular milinga continued. We danced until 1 in the morning, walking back to our hotel in the colder weather of the evening. 

Over three days, we toured the area, stopping at various vantage points to admire its beauty. We visited a ski slope, and on another day, we had lunch in the distant city of Villa La Angostura.

The Tango Festival

We attended the 21st edition of the San Martin Tango Festival in the evenings. The festival is held in a large gymnasium with a ceiling decorated with colorful banners and a floor made of aggregate. Large rectangular banquet tables with white folding chairs are on both sides of the room.

Different regional groups had a whole table. For example, Bariloche and a town in Chile had tables. All tables had placards specifying the group. Our group was in front of the room, near the speakers and the DJ table.

Our group danced a lot but mixed minimally with the other groups. The space was not very inviting and was chilly.

On the ride back to our hotels, we spoke about this in the three successive evenings.

We from Sueno Portenyo are a friendly and inviting group of milongueros from Finland, Italy, the United States, and Argentina. 

For three days, we shared both champagne and the milongas, as we were getting to know a few folks. Mostly, we had only seen each other at the Sueno Portenyo Milonga. This was a wonderful experience.

The connections developed here will continue to other milongas in Argentina and other countries, as we are no longer strangers.

Abrazo