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.

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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.

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

The Dance Today Review

January 16, 2011

Dance Today reviews Happy Tango Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires, January 2011

Click the ‘full screen’/'open in new window’ icon, on the far right, and you should see the review in full.

Published here with the kind permission of Dance Today (www.dance-today.co.uk) magazine.With thanks to Carole Edrich who wrote the review, Julie-Anne Cosgrove the photographer, and Nicola Raynor who is the editor of Dance Today magazine; you can subscribe to Dance Today magazine here.

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 the Happy Tango updates from Buenos Aires direct to your Facebook feed; click here and then click ‘Like’.

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

Miguel Angel Z. and Happy T. in Dance Today magazine!

January 3, 2011 | 2 comments

If you’d have told me, on October 3rd 2006 (the night of my first ever tango lesson), that a fantastically positive review of my tango guide book Happy Tango would be appearing in the same classy UK dance magazine as Miguel Angel Zotto in January 2011, I would have said, Oh yeah riiiiiiiiiight! Ha bloody ha!

But, thanks to the twists and turns of my dancing life, and to the generosity of writer and photographer Carole Edrich and Dance Today magazine, Miguel Angel is on the cover, and I’ve got a whole page inside…

In the January 2011 edition of the mag, Happy Tango gets an absolutely top-notch review by Carole, Julie-Anne Cosgrove’s stunning photograph of mine and C’s tango feet is featured, and YOU can write in to the magazine to win a signed copy of the book — if you haven’t yet splashed out on Happy Tango, here is your chance to WIN a copy, courtesy of Dance Today!

I haven’t actually touched the magazine review myself, as I never saw it before it was published, and it’s now in the UK with my sister and I’m in Buenos Aires. But, I couldn’t wait until I could link to the PDF (I will do so from this post, eventually, when I am able). For now, I am publishing a preview, courtesy of Sykpe webcam photos snapped on 1.1.11 — anyone who has read Happy Tango, or my blog Sallycat’s Adventures will know that the number 11 is my lucky number, thus Happy Tango features the fabulously empowering Sallycat’s 11 Rules for Happy Tango in Buenos Aires, as celebrated by Carole in her review.

I don’t think that 2011 could have started in a happier way for me professionally, and I am struck by the generosity of Carole and Dance Today in offering to write a review of the book for me. They were not put off by the fact that my book was published independently and had no big guns behind it; they gave my art a chance. I, in turn, took the risk of trusting in the quality of my book; they might not have liked it.

I know it’s not always easy to buy a guide book online, when you haven’t seen it, when it costs you your hard earned cash, and when you wonder if the author has actually managed to create something useful as well as beautiful, or perhaps whether she can write at all… I hope that this affirming review will pump confidence into the book’s journey, and into the minds of its target readership — tango dancers and tango travellers across the globe, that is, you. It sure has given me something to celebrate at the start of 2011. And I am grateful.

Why not treat yourself to a subscription of Dance Today in 2011, or request it from your newsagent? I certainly plan to.

Here’s wishing Carole Edrich, Nicola Rayner (the editor of Dance Today), Miguel Angel Zotto, and YOU, a very very Happy New dancing Year!

ps. If you are the author of a blog or the editor of a magazine and would like to review Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires for your publication or on your website, please use the Contact Us button to get in touch; if it looks like a review could benefit all parties (me, you and Happy T.), we can arrange to send you a PDF copy of the book.

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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

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!


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

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!

Happy Tango Update 3: La Garufa, Tango Crew and Loca!

December 1, 2010

This is an update to Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires, 10 More Places to Explore, pages 152 and 153.

In Buenos Aires, perhaps it’s the newer milongas and prácticas that are prone to most change — less years in a venue, and/or the use of venues not solely used for tango, can mean location moves as organisers seek to find the magic formula of landlord, space, character, night of the week and clientele that will make the dance event a success and sustainable in the longer term.

So far, since the publication of Happy Tango on 30 June 2010, we’ve seen the Informal-style* Práctica X move to a new home (and you can find my previous blog post about that here and the Práctica X website with the latest address and programme here).

Recently I’ve heard of these other changes affecting a couple of the places listed in Happy Tango’s 10 More Places to Explore. Do scribble any necessary details on to your The Week at a Glance chart on pages 156 and 157 of the book!

First (this information about Loca! updated 9th January 2011), the Informal-style* Milonga Loca! of Sunday nights is on vacation in January 2011 and not operating until further notice. You can find the latest information at the Loca! website locamilonga.blogspot.com and you can join Loca’s Facebook page for updates, too. It’s always a good idea to check the organiser’s website or make a phone call before setting out to dance in Buenos Aires.

Second, the famous Parakultural have turned their organisational attention from the Informal-style* Wednesday night milongas in C.C. Konex to focus on a new (and I’m anticipating, Informal-style*) offering in Club Fulgor de Villa Crespo. The ‘Tango Crew” programme begins TONIGHT, Wednesday 1st December 2010, with the inauguration event. Visit the Parakultural website parakultural.com.ar or the Tango Crew Facebook page for more details. Parakultural continue to host their mega-popular Tourist-circuit-style* milongas in Salon Canning on Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights (so, no change there). Meanwhile, C.C. Konex remains home to La Garfua: Zona Milonga en Konex on Wednesday nights (organised by Gustavo Ameri), and you can see the December programme at the C.C. Konex website or join the La Garufa Zona Milonga en Konex Facebook page for future updates.

Finally, while we’re talking about changes, let me mention one small name and website matter affecting the entry for Club Fulgor on page 145 of Happy Tango. I’ve noticed that the Informal-style* Praktika8 and Milonga10 (also in Club Fulgor, Tuesday and Saturday respectively) are increasingly referred to generically as Milonga10 these days… on the Caseron Porteño Tango Map Guide, for example. There is also a new website that brings everything together at praktika8.milonga10.com. The original separate websites (as given on page 145 of Happy Tango) do redirect to the new webpage (for now), so you shouldn’t have missed out on any news, but it might be worth making a note of the most current web address and remembering that when people say Milonga10 they might mean either Tuesday or Saturday in Club Fulgor.

So, that’s the latest update to Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires. Don’t forget you can receive notice of these blog updates by joining Happy Tango’s own Facebook page… for those not too familiar with Facebook, you’ll need an account, then go to the page at http://facebook.com/happytango and click the ‘Like’ button at the top of the page: once you’ve ‘Liked’ a Facebook page in this way, you’ll get all updates from it conveniently posted to it direct into your own Facebook feed. Very handy.

Now, armed with this latest information, dear readers, and especially if you are a fan of the more Informal-style* milongas and prácticas in Buenos Aires, go explore!

Many Happy Tangos in Buenos Aires to you all!
Sallycat.

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*For my definitions of Informal-style and Tourist-circuit-style (and, of course, Traditional-style, too) you’ll have to 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’. People tell me that it works!

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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

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, do recommend it to someone else who would enjoy it too. Thank you!

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Thanks go to Francine Z. of the blog Alfajores y Stiletos for the photo of Happy Tango in the hands of a happy customer at the top of this page.

Happy Tango Update 2: Tango Schools and Tango Shoe Stores

September 29, 2010

For readers already carrying Happy Tango in their tango shoe bag, here are three snippets of good news, each adding a little extra to the details already included in the first edition of Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires.

As I am in the UK right now, these updates have reached me via friends in Buenos Aires, and I’ve confirmed them by checking the various websites involved… if you have anything to add (after visiting and trying them out for yourself) that may help other Happy Tango readers, please leave a comment on this post, or on the relevant post on the book’s Facebook page. Useful feedback is always welcome.

Escuela Tango Brujo: re-opened for tango classes (and closed again**!)

** On 2 December 2010 I called at Tango Brujo to look for shoes and discovered the whole building empty. It seems that the revival I mentioned in the following item was short-lived. A notice in the November edition of magazine el Tangauta announces a break of activities (farewell?) and so for now that appears to be the end of classes, clothes and shoes from Tango Brujo, for a while at least. I will keep an eye on Esmeralda 754 but if you go down there today expecting a tango school or indeed anything else tango related, you will be disappointed.**

My original post (for the record)…

This is great news for fans of Tango Brujo and is an update to Happy Tango, Appendix A: 10 Tango Schools, the Tango Brujo entry on page 203. The school has re-opened for business, and has a new Blog dedicated to the tango school and its classes at http://www.escuelatangobrujo.blogspot.com/.

I remember the day I went to make my final check around the 10 Tango Schools that I was including in the first edition of Happy Tango; this popular one was closed for renovation, with no firm date for re-opening… I’d mentioned it a few times in the book, and I was a little panicked — Should I include it? What if it never re-opens? I thought; perhaps you can imagine my concerns as a first-time guide book author. So, now, I’m glad I trusted my instincts and left it in. It seems it’s back and alive and kicking at its usual address, Esmeralda 754 in the Microcentro. Check the Escuela Tango Brujo Blog to get an idea of the school’s character and, once in Buenos Aires, call in to find out if its style (described on the website as a ‘traditional and modern experience’) could suit you.

El Amague, Tango Escuela estilo Milonguero: the locations for tango classes and práctica

Days before I had to close changes to the final version of Happy Tango, El Amague Tango Escuela became homeless — yet another scenario to set the heart of a tango guide book author all a flutter… could I include it without an address? I decided I could because the school’s website is usually kept up to date. I trusted that El Amague’s dedicated owners would find a new location for their classes, and I kept it in the book. Once again I made the right decision. The school, which teaches ‘estilo milonguero’, is going strong, and I am delighted to make this update to Happy Tango, Appendix A: 10 Tango Schools, the El Amague entry on page 202.

Classes are held on Mondays and Thursdays from 8pm at Alsina 1774 PB1 (update January 2011, the Friday night classes and práctica are no longer operating). Full details can be found (and you should always check them before setting out) on the El Amague Blog at http://www.elamague.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!

GretaFlora: a new tango shoe store to open in Recoleta

This is an update to Happy Tango, Appendix B: 10 Tango Shoe Stores, the GretaFlora entry on page 207. From the 1st October GretaFlora will be the proud owners of a new shoe store in Recoleta at Uruguay 1295. The Palermo store remains at Acuña de Figeroa 1612, so ladies, you will have a choice of where to buy their gorgeous shoes that bear flowers and gents, you get a double dose of luscious leather too (small update, having visited the new store on 2 December 2010 — no gents shoes there, and the ladies shoes are beautiful but are mainly soled for the street and not for the dance floor, because apparently the Palermo store has the dance shoe focus; what they do have in the Recoleta shop are a huge range of gorgeous clip on flowers so you can dress up a plain pair of shoes if you are the creative type, but they have these in Palermo too, so I still say if you are a tango dancer, try the Palermo store first!)

Here’s the flyer from GretaFlora and I am sure they will not mind me passing it on to you.

So, there you are. Three small but important updates to enhance your tango travels, brought to you by Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires.

Many Happy Tangos in Buenos Aires to you all!
Sallycat.

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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

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, do recommend it to someone else who would enjoy it too. Thank you!

.

Thanks go to Bill Froud for the super photo at the top of this post. I always dreamed that people would carry Happy Tango in their tango shoe bags while adventuring in Buenos Aires. Bill sent me this pic to prove that my dream has come true!

Happy Tango Update 1: Práctica X

August 9, 2010

Dear Happy Tango readers,

This is an update to the content of the first edition of Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires, 7 Informal Place to Try First, Práctica X, page 144.

The Práctica X website practicax.net confirms the news that Práctica X (Tuesday nights from 11pm, classes from 9.30pm) has a new home. It’s now to be found at Diaz Velez 4820, Parque Centenario (map here); this is the venue called Viejo Correo (Old Post Office), normally known for its Traditional milongas. This historic tango venue sure has a cosy feel and is quite a bit smaller than La X’s former spacious and more contemporary home, so I imagine that dancers might be forced to tone down the bigger of their moves. The floor in the venue is of black-and-white hard tile - pretty, but not too easy on the feet.

My friend in Buenos Aires, tango-blogger Mark Brooker of walkjivefly.com, has visited the new X and you can read his full impressions of the first night of the new set up, here. I asked Mark to take a look at Happy Tango’s write-up of the old X and tip me off as to the additional stuff you now need to know.

Mark agrees with me that size may indeed matter to those who were accustomed to dancing large in the old venue, though says that that the general vibe of Práctica X still fits my Informal-place profile (see Happy Tango for full details of that). Seating is mainly at either end of the venue which has a long-ish, narrow-ish feel, and there are some seats down the sides of the dance floor. Mark advises caution if you sit around the dance floor, though, as flying heels might come too close for comfort on busy nights; both ends of the room have movement (might help with getting dances) as the loos and bar are at one end and the entrance at the other. Pizzas are available in addition to empanadas in case you’re hungry. When arriving by taxi: ask for Diaz Velez y Otamendi. When leaving you can hail a taxi right outside.

Before leaving for a night out at Práctica X you should check the website at practicax.net for the latest information and programme, and Práctica X also have a Facebook page at facebook.com/practicaX.

Thanks go to Mark Brooker for this update. Mark is a fellow Brit and long-time reader of my own blog Sallycat’s Adventures. He was one of Happy Tango’s man-on-the-dance-floors-of Buenos-Aires Beta-readers. He has given the book a thorough test drive and a very enthusiastic thumbs up. I am grateful to him for sharing his impressions of the new X with Happy Tango readers. If you haven’t already seen it, do check out Mark’s blog Yet Another Dance Addict: Observations on anything and everything but mostly on being in Buenos Aires to tango.

Many Happy Tangos in Buenos Aires to you all!
Sallycat.

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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

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, do recommend it to someone else who would enjoy it too. Thank you!

The Happy Tango Updates Blog

July 24, 2010

Buenos Aires is a fast-changing city and its tango scene is no exception. Between editions of the book, relevant updates (that can be confirmed) will be occasionally be posted here on The Happy Tango Updates Blog. However, there is a disclaimer – impermanence rules supreme in our world, and so, all information must be used with the proviso that even these blog updates could become out of date. You are advised to check a couple of current sources (and you will find plenty of suggestions for these in the book Happy Tango) before setting out to any Buenos Aires milonga.

Thank you for buying Happy Tango: Sallycat’s Guide to Dancing in Buenos Aires. If you would like to share your experience of using the book, please use the Contact Us button to get in touch.

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, do recommend it to someone else who would enjoy it too. Thank you!

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