Sometimes I’m glad I’m not a leader. There’s too many things to think about. First of all, you are responsible for the health and safety of the follower you hold in your arms; secondly, you are responsible for the initiation of moves that interpret the music; and thirdly, you have to navigate a dance floor full of potential hazards. At times, it must be akin to navigating the video racetrack on your PlayStation.  I wonder, how do the local dancers handle having to deal with crowded dance floors with dancers that have received licences from various parts of the world, to “drive” followers.

Floor etiquette has been briefly touched on in this blog before and will undoubtedly come up again. There is an abundance of codes that are out there for the general safety of the dancers, much like road rules which are in place for each country in the world. Having just watched my own country successfully change a give way rule (with a disappointing amount of entertaining anecdotes), it has made me think about how knowing the road rules of one country does not make a capable international driver. Does that apply for the milonga rules of this world as well?

After some lively discussion, I have concluded that perhaps it is helpful to take note of the traffic within Buenos Aires to glean tips for navigating the late night milonga floors. I should mention that I do not drive in this wonderful city, having respect for the fact that the conditions here are different from my own country and I would probably end up causing an accident through my over cautiousness.

If you have not driven (or been driven) in Buenos Aires, you are in for a treat. My first visit to this fair country included several hair raising taxi rides with three of us squashed in the back of a car with no seat belts, holding on to the backs of the seats as our driver wove his way through the traffic at about 80km per hour down one of the largest boulevards in the southern hemisphere. I guess it would not be so bad if it had only been our driver, but watching other taxis doing the same thing alongside us made us question whether this was a game of chicken or not. Perhaps the drivers do it for entertainment – but I digress.

Most road rules apply world wide as do milonga etiquette applying to most (if not all) milongas throughout the world. Of course, you must drive/dance with respect and care for others that are out on the road/floor. Roads have lines painted on them to assist drivers and technically there are two or more (depending on the size of the space) “lines” of dance that flow in the anti clockwise direction at a milonga. On the road, if you do not indicate your intention to change lanes, you will end up with annoyed drivers behind you sounding their horn or yelling some form of abuse. On the dance floor, this type of changing lane action will more than likely send a glare your way if you seem unconcerned about your faux pas.

So general traffic/milonga rules seem pretty stock standard and transposable between countries. Looking a little deeper into the individual parts of the traffic led to some very interesting parallels between the local traffic and the milongas – (please note that this is only the opinion of a humble blogger musing whilst out for a drive with a friend).

Traditional milongueros could be the buses of Buenos Aires. They have been on these streets for years and know more than a thing or two about navigating the traffic. They can deftly and swiftly manuevour themselves through the flow of traffic, generally sticking to the outside lane or at least their chosen lane.  Working the edge of the floor is no problem for them as they know the size of their cargo intimately, taking it carefully through the narrowest of gaps and squeezing between the limits of the sidewalk and other traffic with ease. Beware to any observers or pedestrians that encroach on the dance floor or road. These milongeuros take no prisoners and will rightfully use what is theirs – i.e. the entire dance floor.

The colorful and personable taxis are probably more akin to tango nuevo dancers. Varying in age range and sophistication, these guys move about the floor with speed and fancy maneovours which are sometimes not found in the handbook of traditional tango.  Zipping in and out of the traffic, their weaving can be more dynamic than the buses, often with a flurry of changes in direction and speed, going from go to whoa in 0.5 seconds.

There are the usual traffic jams that cause back logs during rush hour  (the moment when everyone piles onto the floor to dance to the popular song), and leaving your seat early on in the tanda can ensure you get at least a free run for the first 20 seconds. Parking is made easy by the owners of the milongas who direct you into the correct table, similar to the way so many men are often on the street waving their arms about to help you into a parking spot.

Okay this entire post takes quite a bit of imagination and is the musing of someone with time on their hands, but the point is that this city has a spark and energetic vibe to its charm that lives on its streets, in the people, in its traffic and in its milongas. All of which should be experienced.

Photo credit and copyright to Guillaume Menard

It’s often lonely sitting on a plane during short haul flights. Small talk can finish rather quickly after the excitement of the free wine and cheese platters, and hence there isn’t much left to do except plug yourself into your iPod and drift into a dream state while flicking through well thumbed airline magazines or staring out the window at the passing clouds.

Whilst flying over the rather aptly named ‘weather bomb’ rain clouds covering my home country the other weekend, I needed something to calm my nerves and take me completely away from the bouncing around the aircraft was doing. Heading into the last week or so of my time at home, my desire was to prepare myself for the journey back to the city I’ve fallen in love with – Buenos Aires.  Lying in wait on my iPod under the obvious name of Tango Music, is a selection of well known tracks that never fail to transport me immediately back to the cobblestoned streets and river port of Buenos Aires.

As most travelers discover, a trip can be more enjoyable if a little effort is put into learning the basics of the language of the region. While music is arguably described as a ‘universal language’, listening to the music of a different region can also increase the spectrum of understanding a traveller can have when immersed in a new city. As music, memory and culture are inter-twined (to put it simply), it can enhance a travelers knowledge and sense of a city or country before even visiting.

So I have collected a play list of songs that you might enjoy listening to before heading off to Buenos Aires,. This list is by no means definitive and is not a list of the Top 10 of all time. It is a way to introduce Tango music to your world and who knows, you might just hear your favorite amongst the tango music played at one of the tango shows.  There will be some of the songs that you connect with and others that don’t create a response within you. Some may encourage you to look up the lyrics and others might make you cringe. As music tastes are subjective, I’m open to people commenting on this post to express their favorites, songs that they think epitomized Buenos Aires for them.

So go ahead. Plug in your iPod while you’re driving or ironing or next time you’re flying, and let the tango work its way into your blood prior to your visit to this fair country.

TANGO

Aníbal Troilo: Quejas de Bandoneón.

Juan D’Arienzo – Pensalo bien

Miguel Caló – Que falta que me haces

Angel Vargas  - Tres Esquinas

VALS

Alfredo De Angelis/Dante y Martel – Pobre Flor

Osvaldo Pugliese – Desde el Alma

Pedro Laurenz – Mascarita

MILONGA

Edgardo Donato – Ella es asi

Francisco Canaro – Reliquias Porteñas

Juan D’Arienzo – Milonga, vieja milonga

MODERN

Otros Aires – Milonga Sentimental 

This contemporary orchestra has taken a traditional tango and re-interpreted it by adding electronica beats.

This article was inspired by the list of songs over on the TangoClub webpage http://www.tangoclub.co.nz/music.html. This group has some savvy tangueros who have gained an incredible amount of knowledge so their recommendations are of a high calibre.

Photo credit and copyright: Rebecca Travaglia

From the moment you step into the lobby and are ushered up the large staircase, the exquisite architecture and attention to service whisks you away from the hustle and bustle of 21st Century Buenos Aires, and places you into the romantic era of the 1930s.  Its hard not to be initially be overwhelmed by the opulence and sheer luxury that Gala Tango offers and delivers on. But its intimate setting and staff leave you with a sense of comfort despite the lavish gold adornments and numerous chandeliers.

The opulence of Gala Tango is accentuated by the large revolving tiered chandelier which hangs over the marble bar.  A former conventillo (a house where several families lived at one time), it has been renovated and is large and spacious with easy wheelchair access. Upstairs from its sister show ‘La Ventana’, Gala Tango was established by the same owners in 2007, due to demand for an exclusive, elegant and refined tango experience. The intimate setting allows between 70 to 80 guests each evening and the company is made up of around 17 performers that dance and perform each evening.

The stage lines one wall of the room and each table has a clear view of the dancers as the floor rises slightly during the performance. Such a close view allows the guests to admire the sheer athleticism of the dancers during the evening. The gold and cream French colour scheme flows down to the smallest detail including the scrolls on the piano and gold frames around the television screens that play vintage videos of tango orchestras. Gala Tango successfully transports you back with romantic visions of the 1920s and 1930s.

Each of the staff were welcoming, with our English speaking waiter attentive but not overbearing,  allowing us time to enjoy our drink and food. Salmon coloured peach champagne is delivered to each couple as we are seated. Unlike other tango shows, Gala Tango offers its guests the chance to learn a few steps of this beautiful dance and get a sense of the sensuality of the dance. Each partner learns with one of the dancers from the company before the couple is joined together, giving a short performance of their own.  Soon after our entrees arrived, two professional dancers convinced our dining neighbours to enjoy themselves unabashed by our peering eyes, and pose for the final tango photo – fedora and all.

The menu covers a selection of Argentine food, meaning a vegetarian option was not currently listed on the menu, but the waiter immediately accommodated the needs of the vegetarian at the table with the suggestion of home made spinach and ricotta ravioli in a gorgeously thick fileto (tomato) sauce. The menu lived up to its gourmet reputation, delivering with divine steak and beautiful presentation. The wine list (beer and wine for the entire evening are included in the price) offered an extensive variety of wine sourced from Argentine bodegas and our chosen Malbec was spiced and smooth to perfection.

The lights dimmed and a booming voice announced the start of the show just after dessert has been served. The intimacy of the performance allows every smile and flirtatious glance of the performers to be noted. Notably, the five piece orchestra plays at a suitable level of music, drawing you into the magic of the bandoneon without feeling like you are overwhelmed by noise. The four dancing couples fill the stage and miraculously execute high kicks and ganchos (leg hooks) within millimetres of each other. The drama and play of of the interaction between dancers is alive and believable, drawing you in to wonder exactly how the man will choose between the two beautiful women flirting with him. With several costume changes, individual couples perform with flair and precision, bringing multiple personalities to the stage.

Gala Tango show offers not only dancing but also singers. Both a female singer, dressed to the nines in a revealing gold sequined dress, and male singer give strong performances in their delivery, their voices melding together during one duet.

The audience is treated to a 15 minute performance of traditional folkloric dance and music. Bringing strength and testosterone to the floor, the gaucho’s traditional malambo (name of the dance) left more than one person impressed, receiving a strong round of applause. The highlight of his performance was using the boleadoras (leather rope with the hard balls at the end). Both one audience member and the bandoneon player flinched as the tiny hard balls on the end of two strings swung dangerously close to them, and a cheeky smile given by the gaucho seemed to do little in adding to the audience member’s confidence. Of course, the performer’s high level of skill and control was obvious, and the gaucho went on to create a complicated staccato rhythm using the boleadoras and his boots. However, it is difficult to control the loudness of the staccato noise created as the balls hit the stage, and this was a little overbearing during his finale.

At one and a half hours, the show is just long enough to retain interest without over saturating the guests. The costume changes are varied and the dances include playful milongas, a more rhythmic dance pattern, admist the dramatic and sensual tangos. The finale includes a rousing spanish rendition of ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’, displaying the patriotic pride that the Argentine nation are renowned for.

A high level of professionalism is seen throughout the entire performance and the waiters offer a sophistocated level of service throughout the night. Overall, Gala Tango successfully delivers an exquisite evening of tango and dinner for anyone looking for that special tango experience.

It was as quick as lightening and by some miracle, left my foot unscathed. While extending my leg and foot behind me, the follower closest to me was led into the rock step, extending her foot backwards and rebounding forward again.  The golden spike of her dazzling Comme Il Faut shoe slipped down between the sole of my foot and the arch of my shoe before somehow extracting itself almost immediately.

Some may wonder how it is that with so many couples on a dance floor (and almost 50 % of these people wearing potentially dangerous high heels), there are not more collisions, splayed legs or blood on the dance floor. Well, floorcraft is one of the key lessons that a tanguero must learn for both leading and following. It has as much to do with skill as with attitude.

In essence, floorcraft requires an observation and awareness of other couples on the dance floor and is the choices of step and direction that you make during your dance. Followers and leaders have different requirements to successfully navigate a crowded dance space and there are plenty of websites that offer lists of rules to follow. As dancers will agree, these rules are not for the sake of being pendantic. They are there to ensure a safe and enjoying evening on a crowded dancefloor, stemming from respect for others and respect for the dance.

Leaders: You need to imagine you are driving a car. You stick to your lane, you remain aware of all others drivers on the road, what the car is doing behind you and whether the car in front is going to put its brakes on. You avoid tailgating and avoid dangerous manuovers like pulling out into the other lane and reckless overtaking. Remember all these and you are well on the way to being a respectful dancer at a crowded milonga.

Followers: If you’re wearing heels, you need to be aware of the amount of people on the dance floor. Taking a bigger step backwards than required may lead to a large gouge out of a leader’s leg. And keeping your heels on the floor during sweeps and boleos will lessen the chance of your heel coming into contact with someone else’s leg.  Many followers enjoy dancing with their eyes closed but sometimes the leader may appreciate you being the eyes behind him incase there is a reckless dancer on the floor.  Simply applying a slight pressure to the back of the leader can indicate ‘beware!’ and assist them in avoiding a collision.

As you sit back sipping your malbec and watching the milonga, you will notice that all dancers move in an anti clockwise direction (referred to here as the current). Sometimes you will notice two ‘lanes’ of dancing – an outside lane and an inside lane. While sometimes the couple will turn around, the leader always faces the direction of the current and the follower dances backwards in the flow. Bumping into people is to be expected on a crowded dance floor, and most people are apologetic, immediately making eye contact and nodding or smiling in apology.

While there are plenty of flashy and complicated moves that are part of the tango vocabulary, any dancer will tell you that some of their most memorable and ‘connected’ dances will be when someone puts more emphasis on the connection rather than the moves. And this does not require much more space than a table.

Don’t believe me? Well, back in May last year, Seoul hosted a week long Tango Festival and this performance was given at the Farewell Milonga. Ricardo Viqueira hails from Buenos Aires and in this performance, shows why he is one of the masters of tango. Details on why they were challenged to perform on a table are sketchy but it goes to show that the beauty of tango can also lie in the simplicity of movements and the interpretation of music within such a small space.

Enjoy.

2011 Seoul Tango Week Farewell Milonga – Ricardo Viqueira y Fish

Interested to read more on floorcraft? Check out these pages:

http://tangocorazon.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/on-the-dance-floor-floor-craft-101/

http://www.totango.net/floor.html

http://barefootango.com/going-dancing/tango-floorcraft

I can still conjure up the elation I had after my first successful cabeceo at a milonga in Buenos Aires. It felt like I had finally spoken the language. Sitting at the corner of the floor, I had been waiting for several tandas (set of 3 or 4 songs), smiling and trying to look relaxed as if this was all part of the evening. Inside I was a bundle of butterflies and eager to get out onto the floor. As the music of the cortina (a piece of music played between tandas to signal the end of a tanda) finished, I tried to look casual while scanning the room for anyone looking towards me. I caught the eye of a milonguero (dancer) I had seen on the dance floor several tandas earlier. Smiling, I returned his gaze with gentle indication and gave a small nod after he mouthed ‘Bailas?’  (you dance?) to me. I waited nervously as he made his way over and held out his hand to indicate that it was indeed me that he had indicated an invitation to dance. Delighted, I led the way onto the dance floor and thus began my understanding of the joy of the cabeceo.

The subtle art of cabeceo is the traditional and respected way to ask for a dance at a milonga. As you sit and watch the dancers at a milonga, you may be fascinated at how a man and a woman on opposite sides of the dance floor can come together to danc without having exchanged a word. So the story goes, the cabeceo minimises public embarassment from rejection and eases congestion as invitations to dance can be conducted quickly and simply from your chair. It is suggested that back in the early 20th Century, eye contact was made between two dancers and the man made his way over to the table to politely ask for the dance. If there had been confusion and the woman rejected the man, he had to leave the milonga and she had to remain seated for the entire tanda. If she accepted another dance, the man and his friends would never ask her to dance again.

Since then, the cabeceo has evolved (it is rare for a man to leave a milonga after one rejection) and has the potential to  make dancers from other countries a little nervous. Occasionally foreigners get lumped into a ´not respecting tradition’ pile because they use the direct approach of walking up to a table and asking someone to dance. Coming from New Zealand, I understand this. The tango community at weekly milongas can be small and everyone knows almost everyone so you become friends and feel comfortable asking directly.

But there are codigos (codes) to be followed and as tangueros, dancers should follow them. Adapted from websites online, here is a quick list of tips to help you understand the beauty of the cabeceo.

1. Watch the dancers. This is important for both men and women! It is a risk to choose to dance with someone that you haven’t seen dancing before for many reasons and it is not a good idea to judge a book by its cover.

2. Have your choice of partner (with back ups) decided. Of course your decision may change depending on the music that begins to play, but this should be relatively easy if you’ve already taken heed of Tip 1.

3. Use a purposeful stare without being intense. Men: if eye contact is not made or you get the feeling that you are being ignored, move on to your second choice. Women: Do not make extended eye contact with those you have no intention of dancing with. Also, make sure you indicate interest to those you do want to dance with by a smile or a simply nod of the head. NB: If you do make eye contact with someone you do not wish to dance with, make no reaction and look away.

4. Once the invitation has been sent and recieved, Men: walk over to the woman (not directly through the middle dance floor) and stand in front of the woman. Women: remain seated until the man is standing in front of you and it is clear that the invitation was for you. NB: it is possible in a crowded milonga for tandas to be accidently ‘stolen’ due to a miscommunication between two women. Women, when it appears a man is looking at you, they may be actually be looking to the woman beside you. So it is best to wait until the man reaches you and you are absolutely sure the dance is for you.

5. When the dance is finished, it is respectful for the man to accompany the woman back to her seat before returning to his own.

Naturally, there are humourous and awkward stories that arise from when a cabeceo goes wrong, but these simply add to the colourful tapestry of the life of a milonguero.  Be sure to share them.

Websites of interest:

http://www.tangoandchaos.org/chapt_3search/6cabeceo.htm – Contains an 8-step tutorial from Alejandra Todaro on ‘How to Cabeceo’

http://www.totango.net/cabeceo.html – contains stories and discussion about the cabeceo

It was probably the worst day possible to choose to make the trek down to La Boca. On paper it looked great. The city of Buenos Aires offers many free concerts and events for its citizens during the summer and La Boca was hosting free performances by tango singers and dancers over the weekend. Since I had failed to make it to La Boca since arriving, it seemed a great opportunity to enjoy Calle Caminito with the music that had come from its streets.

What we failed to take into account was that it is Carnival weekend – a weekend where every barrio in Buenos Aires closes off one of its streets to host music, dancing and festivities. This left several main arteries for BsAs traffic, severed from 6pm in the evening.  Add to this the thousands of people making their way to watch the Boca Juniors game at the stadium, locally known as, La Bombonera, and you have a recipe for traffic jams.  As you can imagine, the streets were packed with blue and yellow flags and shirts, a cacophony of moving colour as the lines of people snaked towards the stadium.

Armed with a bucket load of patience, we avoided the scarf waving arm flailing groups of young men that line the streets encouraging people to park their cars and struck gold with a parking spot extremely close to the stage and Calle Caminito.

Calle Caminito (little street) is one of the most well photographed and world famous streets in La Boca. Renowned for its colourful houses and picturesque cobblestoned streets, this is part of the oldest barrio in Buenos Aires, La Boca, and located in the southeast part of the city on the river. Immigrants from Spain and Italy arrived in droves to Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20^th Century and most of the 4 – 6 million people ended up here. Homes were constructed from whatever materials that could found from the scrap yards and painted with whatever paint could be found or bought from the shipyards.

To my surprise, La Boca was not aflood with the usual amount of tourists that frequent this area. There were no stalls with art, no market, no tango dancers to pose with, no (often overpriced) souvenirs to fill our bags with. But for me, that was perfect. I had not visited La Boca in the entire time I had been in Buenos Aires, even during my initial visiting trip a few years ago. I thought it would be simply filled with over priced street art, tourists posing with tango dancers and fake facades.

But underneath it all, it isn´t. Calle Caminito and the surrounding area is not a fake set for tourists, it is simply a living representation and preservation of how the barrio La Boca was so many years ago. I became very engaged in reading about the history of this city, how immigrants needed to live with coming to a new land, how they tried to make a living for themselves and how they tried to brighten up what must have been a very dark time for them.

Add to this the strong belief that tango grew from these very streets and you begin to see a very interesting juxtaposition. La Boca is one of the poorer neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires and it is easy to see how the tango gets its dark and gritty nature from. While sometimes hidden under jeweled sparkly heels, fedoras and dresses with thigh-high slits, tango has a sadness and longing sentiment within it, that is understandable when you see how La Boca must have been. I remember once being told that a bandoneon is an accordion that had been left in the gutter on the street and rained on for many years, with the seasons passing over it. I could imagine this type of loneliness being something immigrants must have experienced, and standing on the cobblestoned streets, looking out at the river mouth, I began to see how complicated their lives must have been.

I was brought back from my musings by the concert. The stage was beside the river and while the quality of the performers was high, so was the sound as the sound technician took liberties with the volume switch. Unwilling to risk our ear drums for the sake of the music, we retreated inside the closest café, taking a seat near the window to enjoy the view as the sun set and allowed the evening to descend.

Things to Know

In regards to the history of this area, I highly recommend this old, but indepth blog post. It gives interesting information about the building of Calle Caminito and the history of the area including why La Boca lays such a claim to being the birth place of tango. http://www.buenostours.com/caminito

The colourful streets of Calle Caminito and the immediate surrounding area are popular tourist haunts. Be careful with your belongings and be sensible when it comes to personal safety. It is also recommended that you do not stray away from these few popular streets, as the surrounding neighbourhood is not considered safe to be in. Even locals suggest not hanging around these streets after dark.

There are several buses that run to La Boca. The subte´s closest stop on Linea C is Constitucion. A safer option is to take the same line until San Telmo, and catch one of the buses that travels down to La Boca from there. It is not recommended to walk. The bus routes include 29, 64, 152 (lead straight to Caminito) and 33 (passes one block behind).

Verano en La Ciudad is Buenos Aires´ summer season of outdoor events for the city citizens to enjoy. If you are here over the holiday period, check out http://www.airesbuenosaires.gob.ar/home12/web/index.php/es/index.html  for all the details of upcoming events.

The entire atmosphere had me pinching myself to see if I was truly experiencing this. Several large cheese ladened pizzas had arrived for the table to share, complete with one large green olive per slice. Honestly, Argentine pizza is the most serious pizza towards cheese that I have ever come across. Do not even look at this thing if you are on a low-calorie diet. They use cheese with reckless abandon and it can be one of the most addictive and delicious things ever. Our table contained the familiar blue label of Quilmes beer and plenty of bottles of water.  With the place so crowded, I was locked in the middle of the table with my back up against the wall. I admit that I was a little smug with satisfaction that I had remembered every good mother´s advice about going to the toilet before you leave the house, as there was no conceivable way to make to the bathroom besides climbing on the table. Spanish words warmed up the room quickly as friends greeted each other with embraces and kisses and we squished up to give more space to accommodate the arrivals.

Saying that the tiny corner bar was packed was an understatement. Waiters could not make it to the front of the crowd so orders, beer and empanadas were passed with good humour from table to table. The sense of festivity pervaded the air and I knew this wasn´t just a gathering of strangers to watch some music. This was a community and neighbourhood banding together to support and share an evening with each other.

A hush settled over the crowd, sent out like a ripple from the front door. Everyone stood up as the door opened and a gentle old man slowly entered. Even resident tango singer Cucuza Castiello and guitarist Moscato Luna faded out slowly in honour of this entrance. Soft applause ushered the gentlemen to his chair and patrons created space where there was none before to let him pass. A grin broke out on his face as he warmly greeted friends and fans alike. His smile lit up the room and will forever have a place in my heart and memory.

This is Alberto Podestá, the last reigning king of the original tango singers. A charming gentleman from a fabulous era, he has a cheeky smile of a rascal that easily conveys the mischevious and wicked sense of humour within him. It goes without saying that this smile is usually extra bright for the women in the room, with the usual additional twinkle in the eye, but it´s all part of the culture here.

We were gathered at El Faro, a local bar and café in Villa Urquiza. Established in 1931, its name means ´the lighthouse´ which its website suggests could be because it was a beacon of hope during the difficult times in the 1930s. It proudly declares its loyalty to the tango spirit that haunts these historic cafes, continuing to provide the local neighbourhood with tango music, performances and good home cooking.

I will admit I initially felt a little out of place. My spanish at the time was still limited to greetings and the familiar phrases of where I come from and what I was doing here. But as Podestá began to sing, this was forgotten as my body seemed to understand the music without needing to understand the words. Listening to tango music sung or played live, readily communicates the sentiments behind the songs without an explicit need to understand the lyrics.

I still feel the goosebumps on my arms whenever I remember the swelling opening notes that issued forth from within Podestá. I sat, entranced by his melody and interpretation of the songs I had been hearing on my ipod for weeks. Nothing compares to the emotion and expression of live performance and this was no different.  As a tourist to these parts, I had come to Buenos Aires to stay and experience how the porteños live their tango. Surrounded by people from all walks of life, I could feel the energy of the room swell with love and pride when Podestá began to sing ´Por Una Cabeza´. This song was made famous by Carlos Gardel in 1935, and for the younger generation, in the infamous scene in The Scent of a Woman starring Al Pacino.  Many people joined in, their chorus of voices supporting but never overwhelming the strength of Podestá.

The evening left me swept up in the romance that this city possesses and as we turned ourselves out into the street afterwards, the night seem less dark and the stars seemed brighter, just like how tango describes the swoon of the heart.

Things to Know

I was fortunate enough to find out about this gig through my friend, a local porteño in the tango scene. Podestá does not perform on a regular basis, but recently he has been singing at several milongas around town. These are advertised by flyers on the street so keep your eyes open for these stuck up on payphones or any flat surface available.

El Faro is worth a visit during the day for café and medialunas or in the evening for beer and empanadas. It is listed as one of the Notable Cafes in Buenos Aires. Resident artists Cucuza Castiello and Moscato Luna perform regularly (every second Friday) and are incredible performers that should not be missed, offering a high level of musicianship and love for tango music. Visit El Faro´s website for more details including the menu, photos and what shows are on.  The only two days it claims to be closed is Christmas and New Year and is open from 6.30am until 21.00pm Mon – Sat and 8.00am – 14.00pm on Sundays.

http://www.elfarocafebar.com.ar/

Collectivos 108, 111, 110 and 168 run from the centre of the city, or Recoleta, to nearby El Faro. It is also possible to take the subte Linea B until Los Incas and walk for about 20 – 30 minutes if it is a nice day. It is located in a residential suburb with some very old houses so it is worth digging out the map to wander around what Buenos Aires suburbs used to look like 20 years ago.

(Photos credit and copyright Rebecca Travaglia)