Same Place... Different Milonga (Practica)....Tango as it is Danced in Baires

How is Tango danced in Buenos Aires...well, it depends on which night you go,



and in the same city...in fact in the same room...




videos above were found here along with many videos of various milongas in BsAs as well as a great number of sights worth visiting there(click on uploads... there are 409 videos at the time of this post)

by these people (seems to be a very good resource if you are travelling to Baires)

And from a different source (this is what I found when I visited this location in 2009 The most traditional milonga I have ever seen...also the sweatiest)



(Notice that the music remains traditional from video to video)

El Tango Es Uno!

A Little More on Rio Platense (Castellano de Argentina)

I had fun learning a thing or two about Rio Platense at this site,


Che Boludo: A Gringo's Guide to Understanding the Argentines

Enjoy!

Awesome video by Lyn Alwise

Castellano Lesson (Don't Take Too Seriously)

I didn't write this, but, it is absolutely funny and more or less true,and pretty much describes my experience trying to speak Spanish in Buenos Aires.

(it came from here.)


For everyone who invested two, or five years learning Spanish, or for those who took the time on a crash course or just spent hard earned income buying phrasebooks, congratulations.

All your efforts and money will be completely useless in Argentina. But there is hope for you. It's not hard at all to learn the Argentine Language, in fact it only takes a few minutes as the following short read will demonstrate. Take the following Spanish language sentence:

Oye, ¿quien eres tú? Vienes aquí a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

(This translates to: "Hey, who are you? You come here to pick up women on the streets and to dance tango with them.")
But saying it like this will render you an ignorant tourist at best, or an inferior sub-human from a neighboring country next to best. With these simple ten, 12 steps below you will be able to make yourself understood in the Argie tongue:

1. Replace "oye" with a 1000% Argentine word, che. No one knows where this word came from, but many say it is derived from brazilian homosexuals, ironic since today virtually none of them are around. Wonder what happened to them?

/// Che, ¿quien eres tú? Vienes aquí a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

2. "Che", following Argentine etiquette, is ALWAYS followed by the word "boludo", s term to express respect and friendship. Its closest translation in English language is believed to be "asshole".

/// Che boludo, ¿quien quien eres tú? Vienes aquí a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

3. Quien is spelled the correct educated computer age way in Argentina, "kien"

/// Che boludo, ¿///// kien eres tú? Vienes aquí a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

4. Replace "eres tu" with sos vos. Unfortunately, all those verbs in Spanish which had you eating the corners of your textbook are officially worthless. Argentines use an entirely different 2nd person singular pronoun (vos instead of tu), and that means all verb endings change too, so the conjugation of the verb 'to be' is not eres, but sos. Enjoy learning all 25,000 verb endings all over again!

/// Che boludo, ¿ kien //// /// sos vos? Vienes aquí a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

5. "Vienes" must be replaced with venís. Again poor you, using the subject pronoun vos, has the effect of completely changing the spelling of verbs.

/// Che boludo, ¿kien //// /// sos vos? ////// Venís aquí a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

6. Take out "aquí" and use acá. Aquí is absolutely forbidden from use, as in Argentina this word sounds too much like Spanish, a language spoken in Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia.

/// Che boludo, ¿///// kien //// /// sos vos? ////// Venís //// acá a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

7. Here your options are a bit more open for you. You could replace "coger mujeres" ("to pick up women" in Spain and Latin America), with recoger mujeres, which is the correct way of saying "to pick up women" in Argentina. Another choice should be "buscar" mujeres (to look for women), which would fully disclose the appreciation of the chances a stranger has on getting chicks unless he handles the local language. On the other hand, you could leave "coger mujeres" alone, if your intention is to F-CK the chicks right there on the spot, which was probably what you were thinking anyways. But if you want a bit more privacy, we do advice to replace "coger" with "buscar".

/// Che boludo, ¿///// kien //// /// sos vos? ////// Venís //// acá a ///// buscar mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

(ps ALWAYS replace "coger" with "tomar" or "agarrar" when saying you want to "take" a bus. In Spanish-speaking nations coger el bus is the correct form of saying "taking the bus". In Argentina saying this will probably lead to a response like "sure, go ahead, I guess you can do so through the muffler".)

8. "Mujeres" is a far too formal expression not a single Argentine would deign to pronounce. A more appropriate word would be "minas" (chicks), a slang which has also the benefit of expressing properly the high consideration Argentines have towards the feminine gender.

/// Che boludo, ¿///// kien //// /// sos vos? ////// Venís //// acá a ///// buscar /////// minas en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

9. In Argentino, all nouns have their syllables switched so that "tango" became "gotan". So always reverse the syllables of all nouns, it's simple and you won't go wrong in your quest to fit in!!(But it isn't REALLY necessary, unless you want to be a real moron. If you do you are almost Argentinian!!!! KANGRETULAYSHUNS!!)

/// Che boludo, ¿///// kien //// /// sos vos? ////// Venís //// acá a ///// buscar /////// minas en la calle y bailar ///// gotán con ellas.

10. If you are in Buenos Aires, Uruguay and some other areas, further rules have to be applied. To be precise, within the borders of the described regions one should consider all territories below the Tropic of Capricorn, when Saturn fulfill its duty in the fifth house of Uranus, and Mars is conjunction with Titanus. And, of course, during full moon. In Main Argentino you have to pronounce the "ll"s correctly, so switch out "calle" with "ca-sshe", and "ellas" for e-sshas.

/// Che boludo, ¿///// kien //// /// sos vos? ////// Venís //// acá a ///// buscar /////// minas en la ///// ca-sshe y bailar ///// gotán /// ///// con e-sshas.

11. You can leave "en la calle" ("on the street") alone, as this is how every local and tourist ends up when their girlfriend or wife finds out they were carrying out the commands of this sentence. And presto!

12. You are speaking Argentino.

Spanish: Oye, ¿quien eres tú? Vienes aquí a coger mujeres en la calle y bailar tango con ellas.

Argentino: Che boludo, ¿kien sos vos? Venís acá a buscar minas en la ca-sshe y bailar gotán con e-sshas.

See, no difference at all!

(Don't take this too seriously)

FloorCraft and Buenos Aires Taxis

Riding around in a cab in Buenos Aires is, to say the least, an eye opening experience.

The paint means nothing to the average driver there. Lanes, well if a car might fit in a slot, the cab driver is going there. Tailgating, a miss is as good as a mile! No wonder almost every cab has a rosary hanging from the mirror.

Don't get me wrong, these are very good drivers and they do this all day and night, every day and night, it's just that the average person driving around in the United States may have different ideas about what good driving is.

Just remember these things when you visit the Milongas in Buenos Aires, and you must be prepared to deal with the dancers there and their ideas about what is, and is not, acceptable behavior on the dance floor (in some cases I'm sure you will be dealing with the same drivers). I'm just glad nobody has thought of giving all of the leaders horns to blow continuously!

Luckily for me I have attended the crowded floors in Denver during the twice annual festivals there several times especially the Mercury cafe during the Friday Milongas. It turns out that this is the perfect environment to learn how to dance in tight situations (The first time went to this Milonga during the Denver Memorial Day Festival 2005 it seemed as if the goal was to keep me personally from moving more than a few feet during a tanda, and turns, forget it, I was almost a statue, what a nightmare). Over the years I have learned to love this type of crowd (even to the point of being disappointed when the Milonga was less crowded).

Great training for navigating in Buenos Aires!

Thanks Tom!

Observations of Buenos Aires Tango 3

1. Afternoon Milongas, I found the afternoon Milongas very disappointing. The quality of dancing at these events was generally poor compared to the late night Milongas.

2. Plaza Bohemia, Maipu 444, I really enjoyed this venue and attended two different Milongas here three different nights during my two week visit (Cachirulo twice, and
Shusheta once). I have noticed that when you return to a Milonga more than once you are greeted and recognized by the hosts and the dancers, this is a very good feeling when you are a stranger in a strange land. As I was leaving Shusheta the hostess grabbed me as I was going down the stairs and insisted that I dance with her (she is very short and very round), she also invited me to attend another milonga that she was hosting at a different venue, I didn't go but I certainly enjoyed the hospitality.
I was seated in the same spot both times I attended Cachirulo, at first I thought it was a poor location but as it turned out it may have been one of the best seats in the house for Cabeseo, I was directly behind a large number of women and could see most of the other followers in the place (also right beside the entrance to the ladies room, every follower in the room knew exactly where I was sitting).

The only bad thing about the place was the quality of service by the two young waitresses whom were far more interested in texting people than waiting on tables (seems that poor work ethic is a problem no matter where you go).

3. A note on Buenos Aires Women, There seem to be more beautiful women per square inch in Buenos Aires than in any other place I've ever been, a trophy wife walking down the street on every block, people in general are far less prone to obesity than they are in the United States.

Observations of Buenos Aires Tango 2

1. After my last post I now have a NEW favorite Milonga in Buenos Aires, Lo De Celia. I went there last night and the place, and everyone there that I met or danced with, was fantastic. This place has an energy that is totally unique, it's the mixture of the lighting, the stone floor, the cool green colors, but mostly it was just the people there that made the evening so terrific.

These people know how to have fun!

I got there around 12:30am and finally left at 3:30 or four, wishing I could have spent more time there.

I danced with one woman who may have been the best dancer I have encountered here, not once but twice.

This is the reason Tango is so addictive, every once in awhile the moons and planets all line up and nothing can go wrong, if that ever happens to you you are a goner!

2. I really wish that I had gone there last Saturday instead of going to La Viruta, that place is not a Milonga it is a night club. They did dance tango there about 50% of the time, but the place has no soul, like I said it feels like a hip hop club without the hip hop music. Just a bad experience (is there such a thing?).

Lesson learned!

3. Practica X (equis) WOW! What an incredible rush, to dance big after dancing nothing but close embrace six hours a day for a solid week, this dance is kind of a hoot! I did feel like sort of an outsider at this practica due to the fact that most of these people all are very familiar with each other, and not with me, but of course that feeling went away after my first tanda (no tandas there, no cortinas, just lots of room, and tons of incredible dancers).

For people who do not like this style of dancing, all you have to do is look around this room and notice that all of the young energetic people, (natural leaders), are here, doing this style, to realize that this is going to have a major impact on Tango as we know it. I personaly think it is for the better!

Question: Why don't they dance like this at the downtown Milongas?
Answer: The venues aren't big enough.

Question: Why don't they get larger venues?
Answer: Money$$$$$

Question: How do you get more people into a smaller space for less money and more profit?

Answer: Close embrace.

Don't get me wrong! I also love close embrace with a passion, I just enjoy really expressing myself in this style just as much!

Observations of Buenos Aires Tango 1

1. I had absolutely no trouble getting dances at any time using cabeseo.

2. The venues here are much smaller and not as crowded as I have been led to believe.

3. The tango I learned in the states works very well here, I am very pleased with the fact that I can lead any follower here with ease, and I have received numerous compliments on my dancing.

4. The tango danced in most places here is very simple and straight forward, of course the Nuevo venues are the exceptions.

5. Argentine followers compared to followers where I come from are much heavier (feeling) and far more off balance and axis, I would place all but a few of them that I danced with in the intermediate category at best.

6. Navigation on the dance floor is far superior to navigation in the states.

7. I went to every Milonga on this trip by myself and did not reserve my seat, from what I saw it would have made almost no difference (from the stand point of a solitary leader).

8. The performances I witnessed at both Practica X and TangoCool were possibly the best I've seen and I don't even know who the dancers were.

9. The best all around Milonga that I attended here was El Beso. The level of dance there was far better than anywhere else that I went. I saw several well known milongueros there and was very impressed with the way things were done overall.

10. The worst Milonga I attended was Gricel, very poor dancers, poor selection of music, dark with a funky feel to the place. When I got here the hostess tried to seat me way back in a corner of the room even though there were empty tables everywhere (this was late in the course of the Milonga)I insisted on a better seat and she gave in. I did meet a very nice woman from Ireland there that I have been running into all over town ever since that night so it wasn't a total loss!

11. I also attended a Milonga called Viejo Correo, this was a very good and interesting experience. Everyone there was at least 70 years old, excepting my self, the place is deep and narrow. Everyone there was Argentine excepting myself as well. Seating was strictly segregated, with the men on one side of the room and the women on the the other with only enough room for a passage between the opposing tables (about three deep on each side). Couples were seated on the other side of the dance floor completely isolated. It felt very odd and sort of like a junior high school dance. Everyone there that I talked to or danced with was extremely nice, even though I felt like I was under a microscope the entire time I was there I would not have missed that experience for the world. I was not that impressed with the quality of dancing there but it was a genuine insight into the way milongas may have been back in the fortys and fifties.

12. Getting around the city is not that difficult as the cabs are everywhere and very affordable compared to any other spot I have ever used taxi service. The subway is also very efficient and dirt cheap, about $0.30 a ride. I used Manuel Tienda Leon to get from the airport into town it cost about $45 AR (about $12 US).

13. It is worth while learning at least some Spanish before coming here, most of the locals do not speak English beyond the very basics. You should at least learn how to tell the cab drivers where to go and know how much money to give them.

14. Use the ATMS for currency exchange, they are all over the place.

15. The most annoying thing that I have encountered here are the people trying to hand out ads on every corner (if you have ever been to Las Vegas you know what I am talking about) next time I'll bring my taser (just kidding, sort of).

16. Don't let anyone fool you, the food here sucks! especially if you like vegetables, these people don't have a clue. Find a large supermarket and cook your own food.

More later!

Buenos Aires Milongas addresses and contact information

Here is a Link that gives addresses and phone numbers for many Buenos Aires Milongas on different days of the week.

It was created by Shuhrukah Merchant.

Does anyone have any information as to email addresses for these milongas so that a person might get reservations that way?

Mixed Messages about Buenos Aires

I've been thinking about taking a trip to Buenos Aires for a couple of years now and after talking to several different people I've gotten varied responses about what to expect

"Expect nothing"

"Go with a group"

"Men have a different experience there than women"

"You a good dancer, you'll have a great time"

"If I were single like you I'd go down there for awhile"

"Don't go with a group, you may as well just go to a festival as do that"

"It's hard for a foreigner to get a lot of dances, especially with the non foreign women there"

"Take a woman with you"

I've decided It's time to find out for myself so I bought ticket today

I'll be there April 7 - April 20

Tango is not for the meek!