Traveling Tango

And February starts

And to the milonga, we go!

Now it’s the beginning of February, I am pleased to say no only are we back dancing at our usual places, but we are discovering new places too.

So first, we’ll visit the familiar.

Nuevo Chicque is located in the Casa de Gallica building on Ave San Juan, just before avenida Belgrano bus stop on the bus route 102. This milonga happens on Tuesday and Thursday mid-afternoons weekly.

For years, this milonga has been well attended as it’s a friendly milonga that offers traditional tango seating. Men along the right side in two rows and women on the left side in two rows.

The entrance area and the opposite street side areas are reserved for couples who want to sit together. Tango tourists pay admission and watch the milongas from this side of the room, too.

Marcela Pazos, the organizer, greets everyone with a hug and a smile as she escorts you to your reserved seat that she has preselected for you.

Sometimes, you get the first front chair and sometimes the back row. I don’t have a clue as to how she makes these decisions. [Maybe it would be an interesting idea to interview her on this topic. Let me know your opinion!]

If you’ve never been here, the room is in the shape of a long rectangle having old and well maintained wooden floors. But there are still some divets that can catch your heel. So keep a watchful eye. Hanging on the walls are old dark landscape paintings, which recently were covered up by banners depicting some of the famous tango composers.

The Tdj, Danny Borelli Tango, is seated on the raised stage at the back of the milonga. He observes the dancers moving on the floor below him. As the dj looks around the dance floor, he is always taking the pulse of the crowd. From his perch behind his computer, he selects the music. He likes the older classic tango orchestras as I do.

Usually, the floor fills with the dancers as the music begins. Cabeceo or no Cabeceo partners are chosen, and they become the appointed dancers in this tanda.
Here, the dance style preference is Milonguero – close embrace. The crowd is generally above 50 years or so. As typical to any milonga, there are people dancing on the notes and after the notes.

Sometimes, musicality can be an issue for this age group, but today, all is great as many folks are smiling and dancing. Folks are enjoying themselves with a glass of water, when in the past the glass usually held champagne. A must do here is to order a slice of the homemade apple pie. Am told by friends, it’s delicious. Everyone’s chatting between the tandas, some with their neighboring person, while others are texting on their phones.

After further observations, looking around the space, I see a few frowning people and others whose facial expresses are sad faces, or is it the face of disappointment?

My question is, why would you show such behavior at a milonga?

The other observation I have never been able to figure out is why men, in particular, attend a milonga and don’t dance the whole time. They sit by themselves. Do they have fear of rejection, or is it the anticipation of rejection?

The same can be said of women who sit at their tables and sulk. They sit like flowers that haven’t been watered for a bit. All wilted. Maybe the air conditioning didn’t cool them off enough.

Before going to the milonga, I clear my mind of all the daily stuff. The shopping list. What needs to be done list. Iho to a milonga to immerse myself in the world of tango. When I’m at the milonga, my purpose is to dance a few dynamic tandas, sit, and catch up with other tangeros I haven’t seen in a while.

Ordering my token glass of champagne, I survey the floor. I drink the champagne and enjoy my glass as I continue to watch the dancers. I am here. I’m thoroughly enjoying the view of the milonga from my seat. Tango, waltz, and Milonga! Then the magic happens. The cabeceo. The nod. And off to the floor we go.

I will spend about 2.5 hours here at this milonga. Dancing. Chatting and most of all enjoying myself in the life of tango.

Tango es la vida!

La vida es tango!

Abrazo

A day in the life of a milonguera.

Ahh, the city of Buenos Aires stretches before my eyes as I sit on the 124 Autobus to go to El Beso.

It is only a 15-minute ride from my apartment located on Montevideo Street near Quintana to El Beso, but the neighborhood changes from residential Recoleta to a more commercial area, especially after we cross Avenida Cordoba.

Walking the two blocks to catch the 124 bus, I usually see the bus as it is passing by the corner, and it has already picked up its passengers who have waited on the corner. Luckily, this bus runs frequently.

It’s great to be familiar with Google Maps as you will find not only the bus schedule but also the best way to walk to a location or the best route for a taxi, too.

If you dig deeper into the maps app, you will learn that you control how you can arrive at a place discovering the options for best route, less walking, and even the route with the greatest accessibility.

Being able to be in charge of location information is one of the best ways of being able to take charge of your transportation needs.

While sitting at a wondow seat on the bus, I am looking out the window as we pass places that I know on Rodriguez Peña calle.

First, there’s Parrilla Peña, a great local parrilla [steakhouse] where service is excellent, and so is the meat.

Then there is the Farmaci Verde, a new discovered pharmacy that makes tinctures and other non-traditional medicines to order. In another block, we turn the corner, and the bus has arrived at our stop, Avenida Lavalle and Avenida Callao. The stop for El Beso.

Here on the corner, you’ll walk past Los Galgos, a typical old-school restaurant bar where you can get a drink, a coffee, or a snack or dinner, too. Highly recommend it as the atmosphere is fairly festive and service is typical of any restaurant in the area. Try sitting at the bar itself instead of a table as it’s fun to watch the bartender work.

Crossing the Callao Avenida, we pass Martínez Cafe, whose coffee is good, and you can drink it inside or at the newly installed outdoor tables.

We are walking today and using the diagonal street called Enrique Santos Discepolo to arrive at the corner of Corrientes, passing by a very good theater with a restaurant called Teatro Picadero in this diagonal alleyway.

Arriving at the corner of Riobamba and Corrientes, there are two coffee cafes. Both are good. A Havana Cafe and right next door is a Tuo Tempo. Both offer outdoor and indoor air conditioned seating, which, in my opinion, in the summer months is a viable option.

Finally, as we are crossing the street, we look up, and there is El Beso with its recently acquired new signage, which is officially recognized as the permanent home of the Milongas.

So, opening the door, there are strains of tango music. Depending on the day and time of the week and which organization is running the milonga, this will decide how you are going to be greeted.

My experiences have mostly been during the weekdays and are mostly very positive. There is a milonga on Thursday night that, in my opinion, is abysmal to attend as they are not welcoming or friendly.

One of my favorite milongas is on Friday afternoons and is called El Abrazo Tango Club. This milonga starts at 3 pm and runs until 8 pm. The hosts are two very amiable [amicable] people Zoraida Fontclara and Diego Alvaro. They have been running this milonga, and this year will be 28 years.

They are all that you want, in folks who organize Milongas, friendly always asking if all is good, have quite a variety of male taxi dancers available, and a very good DJ.

Now that I have arrived here, I find my seat. I catch the eye of the waitress and order my copa de champan. It’s time to put on my dance shoes and watch the dancers. I look to see old friends and acknowledge them. I am watching the floor, looking for my first cabeceo of the afternoon.

I am in my happy place.

I am a tango dancer.
I write tango stories.
I am a tango photographer.

My name is Ruth Offen. Welcome to travelingtango.com

Traveling Tango

And February starts

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A day in the life of a milonguera.

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