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Plaza Bohemia at Alsina 2450: Sentimental y Coqueta and Lujos Sunday have new home

September 13, 2011

This is an update to page 140 of Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires, the Plaza Bohemia entry.

***Plus, some extra good news dated 16 October 2011. Via an email from the Sentimental y Coqueta organisers Daniel Rezk and Juán Lencina, I hear that the new Plaza Bohemia at Alsina 2450 now has a wooden floor. I will be trying it out very soon.***

The original update posted on 13th September.

Some months ago I wrote about the closure of Plaza Bohemia, also famously known by its address Maipú 444. All the milongas previously held there were left homeless at the time. El Maipú (Mondays from 6pm) quickly moved to La Nacional, where it now thrives. And, La Marshall (Wednesdays from11.30pm, and featured in Happy Tango on page 147) found fresh life at Independencia 572. Other milongas took a well-earned break, but they were missed.

Now, I’m delighted to tell of a newly opened venue for milongas, managed by Plaza Bohemia. Its address is Alsina 2450 and it’s the new home of the previously much-loved Sentimental y Coqueta (Tuesday from 6pm) and Lujos (Sunday from 6.30pm). Both these milongas were last held at Maipú 444. I’m excited to try them out in their new home as soon as I get the chance. Meanwhile, my friend Rachel at TangoTaxiDancers has given me a super little report of Alsina 2450, after her first visit to the new Sentimental y Coqueta. She says,

The layout is absolutely traditional, though tonight it wasn’t boys on one side, girls on the other – more mixed. It is about twice the size of Maipú 444 and a tad chilly – but it is winter here at the moment, remember! It is at the back of the building, so you walk down a long corridor to get in, passing a little courtyard which will delight smokers and probably provide some ventilation in the summer. It’s on the ground floor. There was a food menu - the empanadas smelt very good, but in the end I was busy dancing so I didn’t get round to ordering any. They had a good range of drinks on offer and an actual wine list. Glass of coke $8, bottled pop or water $10, and upwards from there. My guests won the champagne, which was nice!

I imagine that the floor can be a bit hard on the feet (it’s tile not wood), and I’ve heard that the milongas at Alsina 2450 are still fairly quiet, though this of course may change fast once word spreads. When milongas close for a while, their dancers are forced to seek new favourites… so, this could be your chance to stake your claim to a well-located seat before the crowds catch on!

You can find details of Sentimental y Coqueta, Lujos, and other dance events at Plaza Bohemia, including the telephone numbers for reservations, at the Plaza Bohemia website (plazabohemia.net) under Salon — you have to wait for the day of the week to cycle round on the left of the screen and then click on the picture of the organisers… rather novel, if slightly annoying; I prefer a simple list myself.

The photo at the top of this update shows you the smiling organisers of Sentimental y Coqueta, Juán Lencina and Daniel Rezk. May they smile on you, and may you enjoy many ‘Happy Tangos’ in their care! I am looking forward to visiting their milonga soon.

Many Happy Tangos to you all! Sallycat

Buy Happy Tango and start planning your tango adventure to Buenos Aires, today! Do join our Facebook page facebook.com/happytango for updates, because sometimes I post things there first.

The book remains very well received, as you can see from the latest 5* review from Alice Liddel at Amazon.com here. Yes there have been a few changes on the ground in Buenos Aires, but I continue to cover them here in these updates, and the vast majority of the book remains relevant, useful and “spot on”.  It continues to be a must-have read for tango dancers. Please do buy before travelling as the book is not widely available in Buenos Aires. Thank you!

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

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If you’re in Buenos Aires and need the book, let us know and we’ll do our best to help; sadly due to El Pipa’s recent death the bookstore in Salon Canning (mentioned in previous updates) has closed.

Monday El Maipú milonga moves from Plaza Bohemia to La Nacional

February 7, 2011

La Nacional (El Club Italiano)

Following on from my last update on the subject of the closure of the venue Plaza Bohemia at Maipú 444, I have news that the Monday milonga El Maipú (organised by Dany and Lucy) has a new home from today, Monday 7th February, at La Nacional, Alsina 1465 (first floor), in the barrio of Monserrat. You can see the confirmation at the website

lanacionaltangos.blogspot.com.

The milonga runs from 6pm to 11pm, and reservations should be made by calling 15-5317-0257.

La Nacional had just been renovated when I wrote Happy Tango and milongas were only just re-opening there; I gave it a brief mention in 10 More Places to Explore, on page 151, but perhaps it will need to be one of my 20 Places to Try First in the second edition of the book (planned for 2012).

La Nacional (the Club Italiano) is an historic building well-suited to Traditional-style tango of the type offered by the El Maipú milonga, and absolutely worth visiting at least once, whether you dance or not. The dance floor is of hard wood and can be a bit slippery (dusty), so you might want to wear suede rather than leather soles. The space is not as intimate as Plaza Bohemia. The salon is bigger and quite long and arrow, has a higher ceiling and can be pretty chilly even in summer (due to mega-strong aircon) so take a wrap, ladies, just in case you get seated in an icy blast. I often wonder about the ghosts in La Nacional, as the place can feel a little cold to me in other ways; while you are sitting out a tanda or visiting the restrooms, see if you can sense a spooky energy seeping from the nooks and crannies and hooking you back into times past.

Do stop outside in the street before you go in and stare at the stunningly beautiful entrance. It’s art nouveau and pretty impressive. I like the staircase too, makes me feel grand. In a way, it will be great news for keeping the historic buildings of Buenos Aires alive, if this venue gets filled with the buzzing energy of more milongas in 2011.

La Nacional is in Monserrat, on Alsina between Luis S. Peña and San José, and the zone can feel a little edgy and deserted after dark. But it’s very close to Plaza Congreso where it is really easy to get a taxi; turn right out of the venue on Alsina and take first right down Luis S. Peña and walk one block to the Plaza. The 60 bus also travels back into the city down S. Peña, so that’s a possibility for those who want to bus it in the direction of Barrio Norte, Recoleta and Palermo.

There’s no doubt that I’m feeling a bit sad at the closure of Plaza Bohemia, Maipú 444, and I am kinda wishing that perhaps it has not disappeared from our Buenos Aires ‘milonga map’ forever. But meanwhile, let’s support the Plaza Bohemia milongas as they embrace change and move into fresh spaces. More as I hear it.

Big thanks to the super-knowledgeable-on-all-things-tango-BsAs Rachel and Eduardo at TangoTaxiDancers for letting me know about the El Maipú move to La Nacional.

Buy Happy Tango online and start planning your tango adventure to Buenos Aires, today!

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

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Please buy before travelling, as Happy Tango is not generally available in Buenos Aires.

Christmas and New Year Tango in Buenos Aires, 2010/2011

December 21, 2010

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day fall on Fridays and Saturdays this year. If you’re visiting town over the festive period, and using Happy Tango as your guide, here are a few milongas from the book that are promising Christmas and New Year tango (but with some adjustments from their normal routine).

Remember that public transport and taxi availability will be reduced, especially on 24th and 31st (the nights of the traditional family meals and celebrations), so you might end up having to walk a bit further than usual; do take care as you go.

PS. Thank you to Nick, Justin, Ella and Jude for the super pic of the Christmassy Happy Tango reader above! I would love more photos of the book Happy Tango, with you if possible. Use the new Contact Us button to be in touch, or, if we’re FB friends, tag your photo with me, Sally Blake; All pics will be added to the Happy Tango around the world album on Facebook, and the new Happy Tango Flickr Album (coming soon) with credits to you, of course.

So, to the Christmas and New Year milongas…

*** Update 1.1.11, New Year’s Day options are shown in pink below — make a phone call or check the organiser’s website before setting out, to avoid disappointment! FELIZ NUEVO AÑO a todos, from Sallycat at Happy Tango***

In my Traditional* category:

Cachirulo (Tel. 49328594/49532797) in Plaza Bohemia, Maipú 444 — Saturdays 25th and 1st, open as usual. Friday 24th and Friday 31st, Plaza Bohemia is CLOSED.

La Baldosa in Salón El Pial, Ramon L. Falcon 2750 (Tel. 46017988/45741593) — Fridays 24th and 31st, cancelled, but the events are moved to Saturdays 25th and 1st, as a one off; if you are with a group of friends then this could be an interesting option, but it’s more of a couples/groups milonga than one for solos. (The venue is in Flores, and so quite far from city centre, so you will need to think about reserving a taxi to get back, as there may not be many on the streets; this website offers many radio taxi options radiotaxisyremises.com.ar some of which have individual websites.

Sueño Porteño (clubdetango.blogia.com) are holding a special New Years event on Friday 31st from 9pm, as they tend to every year, so that people have a place to share a meal with others should they need it (a lovely idea); Telephone 15-3003-9926 to reserve. This year the website announces the event to be in “Grisel”, Club Gricel.

In my Tourist-circuit* category

Parakultural (parakultural.com.ar) in Salon Canning, Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, Friday 24th open after midnight, and 31st open from 12.30am.

In my Informal* category

La Viruta (lavirutatango.com), Armenia 1366 — Fridays 24th and 31st, open after the brindis (toasts), which usually means from about 1am. Saturdays open as usual.

Tangocool (tangocool-buenosaires.weebly.com) in Villa Malcolm, Cordoba 5064 — Fridays 24th and 31st cancelled, but the events are moved to Saturdays 25th and 1st, as a one off.

Milonga10 (praktika8.milonga10.com) in Club Fulgor de Villa Crespo, Loyola 828 — Saturday 25th and Saturday 1st from 10pm.

In general, Friday 24th and Friday 31st are the most disrupted nights, but if in doubt, check the websites or make a phonecall before you leave home.

Happy (Christmas and New Year) Tango in Buenos Aires to you all!

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*For my definitions of Traditional, Tourist-circuit and Informal, read Happy Tango. In the book, I define and use these three broad categories in an attempt to guide visitors to the venues, milongas and prácticas in Buenos Aires that are most likely to be some of their ‘tango homes’.

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Buy the guide book for tango dancers Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires,and start planning your tango adventure in Buenos Aires, today!

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com

If you’re in the UK and need the book faster than the online stores can do it, or you’re already in Buenos Aires, use the Contact Us button and we’ll do our best to help.

ISBN: 9780956530608
Author: Sally Blake
Published by: Pirotta Press Ltd
Publication date: 30 June 2010

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