La Milonguita, Fruto Dulce in Villa Malcolm, Plaza Bohemia at Alsina 2540, and Taconeando tango shoes

February 2, 2012

This is a summary of a few recent changes to places mentioned in my book Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires.

If you want these updates faster than I post them here on the Updates Blog, please join the Happy Tango Facebook Page or visit it regularly; I post things there as soon as I hear of them. These Updates Blog posts tend to come a little later when I have enough news to warrant a full article.

There’s another reason to click the ‘Like’ button on the Facebook page. This blog is for updates to the content of Happy Tango. On the Facebook page I also post news of events in Buenos Aires and of places that aren’t in Happy Tango; so, if you want even more than I offer you in the book, you will find it at facebook.com/happytango, and to get the status updates direct to your Facebook feed you need to ‘Like’ the page.

So, here’s my latest round up of updates at the beginning of February 2012.

La Milonguita (Centro Montanés, Sundays, page 138 of Happy T.) is taking a break — it is closed, so don’t travel there — until further notice, because of some changes at the venue Centro Montanés. Here is the announcement in Spanish from the organiser, originally posted on the La Milonguita Facebook page here. Further news is expected mid February. Keep an eye on the website of La Milonguita.

News of La Milonguita's January break

Fruto Dulce Tangos is the new and very popular Informal-style* milonga in Club Villa Malcolm on Wednesday nights (replacing TangoLab, mentioned on p143 of Happy T. and which left Villa Malcolm some time ago).

I can’t help loving the Fruto Dulce Tangos brand image of sweet and delicious looking fruits. I have visited the milonga and I think it would be a great place to go with a few friends, or perhaps in a couple as it definitely has a romantic air… low (and disco-style from time to time) lighting. I thought the music seemed a rather romantic selection too, though that may just have reflected my mood, so go with an open mind! Dress is smartish and there is usually a dance exhibition later in the night. You can snack on pizza and the like from the Malcolm kitchen; because the floor is hard-tile not springy-wood you could need a pick-me-up to power your tired feet. Fruto Dulce Tangos have a Facebook page where they publish their events.

Fruto Dulce in Club Villa Malcolm

The new Plaza Bohemia at Alsina 2540 is gradually filling all the nights of the week with milongas and other dance events. Of the milongas mentioned in Happy Tango, Sentimental y Coqueta (Tuesday from 6pm) and Lujos (Sunday from 6.30pm) – both Traditional-style*, are gaining in popularity in this venue. Find out what’s happening on each night here at the venue’s website, and there are also lots of photos to give you an idea of what to expect.

Finally, if you are tango-shoe shopping for ladies shoes and want to visit Taconeando, their showroom has moved from Arenales Street in Recoleta to Avenida Cordoba 4030 on the edge of Palermo. Their website still has the Arenales address (today 2nd February) so perhaps it’s best to friend Taconeando Zapatos de Tango on Facebook for the latest news.

Taconeando advert

I do hope that Happy Tango is continuing to bring you many Happy Tangos in Buenos Aires. Certainly it was wonderful to read the recent blog post from tango dancer and teacher Kamila Lukaszewicz at kamilastangoembrace.blogspot.com and to meet her and hear first hand how useful she has found Happy Tango to be. Kamila is using the book in Buenos Aires right now!

If my book Happy Tango has helped you, please pass word of it on to other tango dancers. You could leave a great review on Amazon here or here. You could contact me, via the Contact Us button on this page, for some Happy Tango postcards to display in your tango community. You could share this website or the book’s Facebook page. Any one of those would be absolutely great! Do tell people too that updates are regularly published here and on Facebook too, so the book never really goes out of date. There will be a second edition of the book in due course, but that will inevitably need updates too. That’s guide books for you, eh?

Thank you all for your support and wishing you joy always!

Sallycat

*For my definitions of Traditional and Informal, read Happy Tango. In the book, I define and use 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’.

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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If you’ve enjoyed reading Happy Tango, please recommend it to someone else who would enjoy it too. Thank you!

Christmas and New Year Tango in Buenos Aires 2011/2012

December 23, 2011

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

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

Make a phone call or check the organiser’s website before setting out, to avoid disappointment!

In my Traditional* category:

La Milonguita (milonguitabaile.com.ar)— Sundays 25th and 1st open for dancing from 8pm, but in Club Sunderland and not in its usual venue Centro Montañés which is closed.

Sueño Porteño (clubdetango.blogia.com) — Open on Sunday 25th, for a specially themed milonga “ROJO” – you are invited to wear red. As far as I know, also open on Sunday 1st January. In the same venue, Boedo Tango will be open on New Year’s Eve Saturday 31st for a special dinner with dancing to “todo los ritmos (all rhythms)”, for more details see their website boedotangoresto.com.ar here.

Plaza Bohemia (plazabohemia.net in its new location at Alsina 2540) — Open for a special dinner on 31st December, telephone number for reservations in the photo below:

Club Gricel (clubgriceltango.com.ar) is open on Sunday 25th December.

Cachirulo — Saturdays 24th and 31st (Villa Malcolm), CLOSED.

In my Informal* category

La Viruta (lavirutatango.com), Armenia 1366 — Saturdays 24th and 31st, offering a book-in-advance “Tenedor Libre (All you can eat buffet)” in La Viruta, details in Spanish here. Begins at 8.30pm with welcome drink. At 1am doors open to everyone else for a night of dancing. For dancing tango on the Saturday night of Christmas Eve 24th into Christmas Day 25th, La Viruta may be the only option. If I hear of others I will add them, of course.

Milonga10 (facebook.com/MILONGA10) in Club Fulgor de Villa Crespo, Loyola 828 — Saturday 24th and Saturday 31st CLOSED.

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*For my definitions of Traditional and Informal, read Happy Tango. In the book, I define and use 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’.

.

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

Join the book’s Facebook page for all these Happy Tango updates from Buenos Aires direct to your Facebook feed; click here and then click ‘Like’.

If you’ve enjoyed reading Happy Tango, please recommend it to someone else who would enjoy it too. Thank you!

Práctica X in La Viruta

November 29, 2011

Quick update.

Práctica X (page 144 of Happy Tango, 7 Informal Places to Try First) now operates monthly rather than weekly, and the new venue is the very Informal-style La Viruta, at Armenia 1366, Palermo (see page 142 of Happy Tango). The next of these events will be held tonight, Tuesday 29th November from midnight to 4am, and the exhibition dancers will be:

FABIAN PERALTA y LORENA ERMOCIDA
JUAN PAULO HORVARTH y VICTORIA GALOTO.

There are classes beforehand, for Intermediates and Advanced, at 10pm.

For all the news of tonight’s Fiesta and to stay up to date with future events and their dates, visit the Práctica X website or join the Práctica X Facebook Group or the Práctica X Facebook Page.

If you haven’t already joined, please visit and Like the Happy Tango Facebook page where I post all news as it reaches me (and usually before I write a blog post about it here), news of one-off events or festivals taking place in Buenos Aires and any last-minute news about tango events or milongas. You can comment there too, with feedback about the book or about any changes you have noticed that I haven’t yet covered in these updates. Like the Happy Tango Facebook page and get all these updates direct into your Facebook feed, but visit the page regularly too to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Meanwhile, Happy Tango in Buenos Aires to you all!

Sallycat

Buy Happy Tango and start planning your tango adventure to Buenos Aires, today! Please buy before travelling as the book is not widely available in Buenos Aires. Thank you!

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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 death earlier this year, the bookstore in Salon Canning (mentioned in previous updates) has closed.

Snippets of News: El Amague, 2×4alpie, Tango Moda, Cultura Tanguera and Tango Imagen

November 13, 2011

There’s nothing worse than heading to an address in a guidebook only to find the place has closed down or doesn’t have the products that you trekked half way across the city to find. I understand this. Heaven knows, I’ve experienced it myself a few times. It was always my plan to try and avoid this kind of experience with Happy Tango, by structuring the book to be useful over the long term. This appears to have worked: my 11 Rules for Happy Tango in Buenos Aires remain relevant; the A-Z still advises wisely; and the majority of the places mentioned in the book are still going strong.

However, since I’ve been back in Buenos Aires this time round, I’ve noticed a few changes that I want to pass on. I include links to relevant websites or Facebook pages where available. Please check a second source before setting out, just in case something changes after I write this today. Impermanence is the only certainty.

El Amague tango school is now holding classes twice a week in Palermo at Niceto Vega 4762 First Floor, Monday and Thursday 8.30 to 11pm, and on Fridays in Congreso at Bartolomé Mitre 1849, 8:30 to 11pm. This is a tango school (milonguero in style) that seems to move often, so always check their blog before heading to a class. Find it at http://www.elamague.blogspot.com/

2×4alpie shoes are now focusing primarily on men’s tango shoes and practice/trainer-style shoes for the ladies. Unfortunately for me (who believed their heeled-tango-shoes for women to be the most comfortable and versatile on the planet) the only women’s shoes in the pipeline are flats. The women’s flats to come are super-comfortable (I have tried a prototype) but are not available yet; more news when they are. Meanwhile men can enjoy a great range of styles (with the unique 2×4alpie interchangeable sole) at the store at Scalabrini Ortiz 1753 Depto 3, Monday to Friday 2-7pm and Saturday 3-7pm.

Tango Moda tango-clothes store is no longer in the stunning Palacio Barolo. The clothes can instead be found at the recently opened Cultura Tanguera at Rivadavia 1392, along with a bar and a dance floor and a regular schedule of group tango classes. So far there’s no easy way of knowing the class schedule other than visiting the place and picking up the printed marketing flyers, but perhaps they will publish a schedule on the website one day soon. An alternative tango-clothes place, not mentioned in Happy Tango, is Tango Imagen in Abasto at Anchorena 606; they will design something for you or you can buy off the shelf; visitors I meet seem to have enjoyed spending their pesos there, so perhaps you will too.

If you haven’t already joined, please visit and Like the Happy Tango Facebook page where I post all news as it reaches me (and usually before I write a blog post about it here), news of one-off events or festivals taking place in Buenos Aires and any last-minute news about tango events or milongas. You can comment there too, with feedback about the book or about any changes you have noticed that I haven’t yet covered in these updates. Like the Happy Tango Facebook page and get all these updates direct into your Facebook feed.

Meanwhile, Happy Tango in Buenos Aires to you all!

Sallycat

Buy Happy Tango and start planning your tango adventure to Buenos Aires, today! Please buy before travelling as the book is not widely available in Buenos Aires. Thank you!

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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.

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:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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.

La Nacional, the new Maipú? El Maipú, Mi Refugio, Yira Yira, J.L.

April 23, 2011

***Post updated January 2012 to reflect one or two changes in Buenos Aires.***

La Nacional

At the time it closed its doors in March 2011, there were popular Traditional-style milongas being held almost every night in Plaza Bohemia, Maipú 444 (as well as the more Informal-style La Marshall, the Gay-friendly Milonga, now in El Beso on Fridays and Club Independencia on Wednesdays). Plaza Bohemia was featured in Happy Tango’s 7 Traditional Places to Try First (page 140), and many Buenos Aires tango dancers and visitors, including me, were sad to see it go.

If I were writing a new edition of Happy Tango now, I’d have to replace Plaza Bohemia in 7 Traditional Places to Try First with a suitably significant Buenos Aires tango venue, wouldn’t I? And, I think I’d have to choose the Asociación Nazionale Italiana at Alsina 1465, or ‘La Nacional‘ as it is most regularly known. I already gave you a glimpse of it when I told you that the 6pm Monday milonga, El Maipú (organised by Lucy and Dany) from Plaza Bohemia had moved there: click here for my post with its gorgeous photo of the ceiling inside this historic space. This picture (above) of the outside shows one of my most favourite parts of the building, the entrance. Who can resist walking up the steps underneath that canopy at least once? I confess that I have succumbed to its charms every week that I’ve been in Buenos Aires in 2011 and 2012.

I think that when something fades or dies, it makes space for something else to shine. It seems to me that the loss of Plaza Bohemia has shone a fresh light on La Nacional, and now a whole raft of milongas seem attracted to it. The place is kinda buzzing, which is great news for such a beautiful building, and it seems to be one of the new and most popular old-places in town to dance. If you are heading to Buenos Aires for a tango vacation, you probably shouldn’t miss it.

Some nights (like Mondays) are very popular, and reservations are therefore wise. It’s got a good kitchen, and if you get a bit peckish, I suggest that you try at least one empanada caprese (a yummy little pastry pie stuffed with tomato, cheese and fresh basil). It is a good idea to take a jacket or a wrap because the aircon can be icy, but, at the more traditional milongas (where men, women and couples are seated in separate areas) you will have to muster your magnetic energy and your best cabeceo technique, and look ready and willing to dance, because the place is attended by those serious about their dancing and competition can be a little fierce. Seat location can matter because the room is long and there isn’t much scope for men to walk around, thus you are restricted to inviting/accepting those within your eye range; however, when you enter the salon, you should wait just inside the door for the host to come and seat you. It’s wise to change your shoes and look your best before entering, the restrooms are just outside, as is the desk where you pay and can leave your coat for a couple of pesos. The dance floor is smooth wood, and the acoustics are full and warm so that the music fills the high-ceilinged space and the hearts of the dancers.

Here’s the latest run down on the La Nacional milongas, all held in the salon on the first floor. Which will you try first?

Monday from 6pm: El Maipú (reservations 43008007)

Wednesday from 7pm: Mi Refugio (reservations 15-59631924)

Friday from 11pm: Yira Yira (reservations 15-31725077)

Saturday from 8pm: J.L. (reservations 15-63601984)

La Nacional now has its own website, visit lanacionaltango.com (if you don’t like websites with music, turn your sound off first!).

The venue La Nacional is in Monserrat on Alsina between San José and S. Peña, just one and a half blocks from Plaza Congreso where taxis are plentiful. At night, turn right on leaving the venue, then right again onto S. Peña for the Plaza, and keep your eyes ‘open’ and walk with purpose, just to be on the safe side. If you want to catch a bus back into town (say to Callao y Corrientes to eat pizza) or on to Plaza Italia and Palermo, then the famous 60 heads down S. Peña and the bus stop is almost on the corner with Plaza Congreso; $1.25 pesos will take you anywhere along that bus route that you need to go; a taxi to Palermo will be more like $30+ pesos from here.

Many ‘Happy Tangos’ to all who host milongas and who dance in La Nacional during 2012, thank you from me for doing your part to breathe fresh dancing-life into this atmospheric and historic tango salon. May it live forever, and may it certainly be going strong when I do come to update Happy Tango, so that it can feature in my 20 Places to Try First, for the visitors who want a more Traditional-style milonga experience; for now, it certainly fits the bill.

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.

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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.

Maipú 444 milongas (El Maipú, La Marshall, Cachirulo, Sentimental y Coqueta and Lujos) plus a word on La Milonguita in Centro Montanés

February 24, 2011

***Updated 21 April 2011 to reflect recent changes***

A Happy Tango reader comments on the Happy Tango Facebook page,

I feel sick to my stomach and heartbroken. My favorite venue has closed and I never gave it a proper goodbye.

And I reply,

Neither did I. Just breezed out of there after some incredibly intense tango with some of my fave dance partners, changing my shoes and laughing with my girlfriend in the ladies, kissing the organisers and saying I’d see them in 5 weeks (UK trip), winking at the last man I danced with (very naughty), letting the dark curtain fall back behind me, chattering excitedly as I clomped down the carpeted stairs towards my Monday night pizza… Maybe, giving the space my passion for tango on that last night was the best goodbye of all; it knows that it was loved by our tango hearts and perhaps it is good that there weren’t goodbye tears there, just joy and the energy of the music filling the air. I will be keeping my ear to the ground for its future and will let you know. Just so grateful to have danced there at all.

Me and C. dance merengue in Maipú

Yes, it seems that Maipú 444 (Plaza Bohemia, page 140 of Happy Tango) really has closed. Sold, and with no plans for tango there in the future. I’ll walk past when I’m back in Buenos Aires to pay my respects and whisper my thanks through the doorway and up the stairs that were climbed, over the years, by so many expectant tango-hearts and stepped down by so many tango-tired feet. I’ll tell you what I find there, but, until I’ve actually seen its locked door for myself, there’s a teeny part of me that won’t quite believe it’s over. Perhaps you feel the same.

Meanwhile, here is a quick summary of the state of play for the milongas that were most recently being hosted in the place so often fondly referred to as ‘Maipú’, and that now continue life somewhere new.

Monday: El Maipú has moved to La Nacional at Alsina 1465, first floor, in Monserrat (6pm-1am, reservations 1553170257).

Wednesday: La Marshall (gay-friendly, and featured on page 147 of Happy T.) moves to Club Independencia, first floor, Avenida Independencia 571/2 from Wednesday 2nd March; from April 2011, La Marshall no longer operates on a Saturday, instead they hold a Friday night class and milonga in El Beso, 416 Riobamba; see their Facebook page.

Saturday: Cachirulo moves to Club Villa Malcolm, Cordoba 5064, from Saturday 5th March and continues in El Beso on Tuesdays. You can see the Facebook status update from the organisers of Cachirulo confirming this, here, and you can see the ad for the new Saturday Cachirulo in Villa Malcolm on page 79 of the B.A. Tango magazine edition 206 (in PDF) here. This YouTube video, by Tango Zen Chan Park, showcases the inauguration of Cachirulo in Malcolm: Inauguración de Milonga Cachirulo en Club Villa Malcolm, el 5 de marzo 2011, by Tangozenhouse; you will see why it is always a good idea to reserve a seat at this popular milonga.

Lujos has no new home for Sundays yet, but continues in El Beso (as usual) on Thursdays, and Sentimental y Coqueta (previously Tuesdays) has no new home either.

Off the subject of the Maipú milongas, other little change to the milongas in Buenos Aires is that La Milonguita (Centro Montanés, page 138 of Happy T.) now only operates on Sundays, not Fridays; Sunday was perhaps always its most popular night, and can be packed; it has a strong local vibe, and unless you are arriving after midnight (when a few people start leaving), you’ll need to reserve. Stay in touch with La Milonguita, via the website milonguitabaile.com.ar. Rather splendidly La Milonguita hosted a contest to find the most bewitching piropos (compliments with touches of smarm and even a flash of thinly-veiled lust) in honour of Valentine’s Day 2011; if you speak Spanish, you can enjoy the fabulous entries and winners here. You can also see that I got a little mention for my excited enthusiasm for the event, here on Facebook. It’s so good to support ventures that seem to me to be absolutely in the spirit of ‘Happy Tango’. Centro Montanés is now home to the new milonga Vida Mia on Friday nights.

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

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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

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:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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

Cachirulo Saturday, on the move from Plaza Bohemia, Maipú 444

February 5, 2011

News has spread fast on Facebook today that there will be no Cachirulo milonga in Plaza Bohemia (page 140 of Happy Tango), at Maipú 444, tonight 5th February and for the remainder of the month. It will open again on 5th March, but it will be held in Club Villa Malcolm (page 143 of Happy Tango). You can see the Facebook status update from the organisers of Cachirulo confirming this, here, and you can see the ad for the new Saturday Cachirulo in Villa Malcolm on page 79 of the B.A. Tango magazine edition 206 (in PDF) here.

It seems that the move to Malcolm was planned (as evidenced by the ad in B.A. Tango), but that the cancellation for February may have been a surprise (and it certainly was to me!); rumour is that Plaza Bohemia, Maipú 444, may have closed its doors (temporarily?). I can’t confirm this at the moment, but to be sure of having the latest information, do phone the appropriate milonga organiser before setting out to Plaza Bohemia this week. You can find recent telephone numbers from page 78 of the B.A. Tango magazine, link above.

I am grateful to dear Tina Tangos for letting me know that the Saturday Cachirulo is on the move. Meanwhile, Cachirulo in El Beso continues on Tuesdays from 8pm.

.

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

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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

Happy Tango on sale in Salon Canning’s bewitching bookstore

January 22, 2011

***Very sadly, since this post was written, El Pipa passed away. I leave it here in tribute to him and his fabulous Salon Canning store, which is no more.***

Salon Canning is one of the most famous (and most visited by foreigners) tango venues in Buenos Aires. It hosts tango classes by the famous, and milongas by several different organisers, one on every day of the week. In the book Happy Tango, it is featured, on page 127,  as one of my 6 Tourist-circuit Places to Try First. Some love Canning, and some find it too hectic or too cavernous and stay away after the first visit. But for sure, if you are coming to Buenos Aires to dance tango, you’ll want to go and see it for yourselves, at least once.

Salon Canning is also, rather marvellously for my purposes, home to one of the most fascinating tango-book-and-memorabilia stores in existence, and I’m delighted to report that it’s now stocking my book Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires.

The store is run by the well-known tango personality, El Pipa (the man with the pipe), and it’s rather intriguingly (and unusually) located in the entrance to the Canning men’s room and has been for the last ten years. Yes, really.

You’ll be pleased to know, though, you don’t actually have to enter the mensroom either to see or buy Happy T., as El Pipa’s stock spills out into the cubby-hole entrance to ‘the Gents’, and overflows, with style and bewitching impact, into the Salon Canning corridor. You’ll pass it on the left as you walk in to buy your tickets for the milonga. Or you can visit the store without having to go to the milonga at all; El Pipa’s shop can be visited by anyone, whether they dance tango or not. Walls overflow with tango souvenirs: trendy tango-shoe bags, tango T shirts, tango postcards, tango CDs, tango DVDs, and copies of possibly every tango book that has ever been written (in English, in Spanish and even, in the case of my friend Margareta Westergård of TangoMar, in Swedish!), including my essential guide book Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires.

When I and my super-effective part-time PA (oh it feels so good to say that) visited El Pipa this week, he made us chuckle by proudly giving us the full guided tour of the men’s baños, from where he operates a retail hub that I think even Mohamed Al Fayad of Harrods fame, might admire. Pharmacy, newsagent, kiosko, bookstore, clothing outlet… all packed into a few square metres, and all immaculately arranged with the love and care of a man with a mission and a passion for the products of tango.

Our inside-the-den photoshoot necessarily had to take seconds rather than minutes, because, obviamente, it’s a challenge to show your sparkling urinals off to dos chicas lindas when you’ve got a constant stream of milongueros passing through to do business on a Wednesday afternoon. Much laughter resulted as men I dance with, in other places on other days of the week, caught me snuggling up to El Pipa in the gents’ loos, but hey, that’s Happy Tango for you — guaranteed good times in Buenos Aires, for those with the heart to want to discover them.

So now, if you haven’t managed to buy the book before you arrive in Buenos Aires, you can get it easily once in town. Head direct to Salon Canning at 1331 Scalabrini Ortiz (corner with Cabrera) during milonga hours on any day of the week except Thursday (when El Pipa’s store is closed), take $100pesos with you, and snap up a signed copy of the marvellous and highly useful (as proven by all these fantastic reviews) Happy T., before it sells out. When shopping, don’t miss the chance to do the full toilet tour (men) or pop your head around the door (ladies) and see El Pipa’s desk and all the items set out for sale on and around it; believe me, this is a Buenos Aires tango-treasure you would be mad to miss.

If you’ve already got your own copy of the book, and you’ve enjoyed it, and you find yourself at El Pipa’s store… do me a favour and tell him he’s stocking the “super-est tango guide book the world has ever seen”. That should help ensure it gets a great position among the tango books on his walls, and thus increase its chances of being noticed by all tangueros who may need it. That’d be fab.

Enjoy your travels in Buenos Aires, and may many ‘Happy Tangos’ be yours!

PS. A word of update to page 143 of Happy Tango. The Informal-category práctica TangoLab is no longer operating in Club Villa Malcolm on Wednesdays; it’s moved further out of town. Please check the TangoLab websites tangolab.wordpress.com or TangoLab’s Facebook page for the current address.

Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires is also available from:

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

Click a link to buy Happy Tango from:

amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.fr
amazon.de
amazon.co.jp
barnesandnoble.com
BookDepository.co.uk
BookDepository.com
whsmith.co.uk

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