There are so many milongasVenues where people meet to dance tango. Think of it as a tango nightclub. in Buenos Aires that the Argentines invented the verb ‘milonguear’ (“touring milongas”). If you’re lucky to visit Buenos Aires, you’ll find it hard to avoid them – but why would you do that? Experiencing a milonga first hand will change your perception of tango forever. There are so many, that at first, it can be brain frazzling to try and make sense of it all and decide on where to go.
Wonderful Buenos Aires milongas
Try as many as you can, with a bit help from your new friend (cafeine, that is), go and experiment, have a great time and above all: respect the milonga, respect the dance floor, respect other dancers. Then come back and give us all the gossip! There will be plenty.
Below I’ve listed the milongas I like and a short blurb about my experience in each of them. Ask anyone else and they’ll tell you something completely different! This is fine, enjoy gathering information and forming opinions. Tango is nothing if not honest, ever changing and passionate.
Monday |
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Salon Canning |
Salon Canning boasts the best wooden dance floor in Buenos Aires. It’s smooth and in my opinion, just slippery enough. It’s also square, which makes it easier to manoeuvre (or so I heard from a local milongueroA person who regularly frequents milongas, someone who is passionate about tango. friend). True, Salon Canning can be a little bit intimidating at the beginning but it quickly grows on you. They usually have very good live music and dance performances. Probably my favourite milonga – the one I tend to resort to if I need to recover from a bad night somewhere else. |
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Bendita Milonga |
A nice little milonga, young and friendly. Better to wear jeans and to leave your flashy new tango shoes at home. |
Tuesday |
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Salon Canning, Mina Milonga |
If you didn’t get enough of Canning on Monday. Same venue, different name. |
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Milonga 10 |
A small venue, with a very good level of dancing but quite exclusive. Even if you don’t get to dance, you’ll still enjoy watching local porteños dance, most of them professionals or aspiring professionals. |
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Wednesday |
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La maldita milonga |
Same place as the Bendita milonga, but on another day. One is blessed (bendita), the other cursed (maldita)! |
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Thursday |
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Nino Bien |
A beautiful venue, the right place to boast your new outfit or your new shoes. Appropriate knowledge of the basic milonga etiquette is more than preferable. |
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Cochabamba 444 |
This is more of a local venue. It is very friendly, casual with a good level of dancing (loose the head turning dress or suit for a pair of jeans if you want to blend in). |
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Friday |
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Salon Canning, Milonga Parakultural |
You really don’t have to go to Canning everyday of the week but you can if you want to. |
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La Baldosa |
A local milonga, a little bit out of the way but very enjoyable for it’s cute, localised feel. The regulars will chat the night away at this milonga. It feels almost homely. |
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Club Sin Rumbo |
An interesting milonga to experiment. A very traditional and formal milonga. It might be hard to get in and you might want to go with a teacher. Perfect knowledge of the basic milonga etiquette is required. |
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TangoCool! (práctica) |
A friendly practica, with lots of space which tends to attract more Nuevo couples. |
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Saturday |
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La Milonga del Mundo |
The temple of tango this is. Slightly out of the way but unmissable. The practica on Wednesdays is especially highly recommended. |
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Milonga 10 |
Some porteñosAn inhabitant of Buenos Aires, usually big-hearted, friendly, chatty and a proud. say it’s the best milonga in town on Saturdays because it doesn’t host a bad tandaA set of 3 or 4 songs played in milongas. and I couldn’t agree more. Beware of couple-itis on Saturdays. The place is very small so if you go alone, go early so that you can grab a table – better get yourself a comfortable seat on a Saturday if you go to a milonga unaccompanied, that’s all I can say. |
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Sunday |
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Torquato Tasso |
A local, friendly milonga. |
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Everyday |
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La Viruta |
A great place to finish the evening as it is free from a certain hour (1 am during weekdays and 3am during weekends if I remember well), which means that seasoned milongueros tend to all gather there after their respective milongas have closed. A fun place to go, although the dance floor is not the safest – beware of ganchos, boleos and what have you. Highly recommended: Sunday morning breakfast with delicious media lunas and café con leche. Wednesday and Sunday late nights (e.g. 3 am) are good times to go as professionals tend to gather there to unwind. |
My experience is just a tiny portion of all the milongas in Buenos Aires but my feet begged to rest after these, so I did. Also, new milongas appear all the time: just how many milongas can one city host?! For a complete listing of Buenos Aires milongas (to the best of my knowledge) go to: http://www.buenosairesmilongas.com/
Everything you need to know about Tanguito’s classes (pdf file)
Check our other milonga pages: Buenos Aires milonga survival tips that will save you time and embarassment (maybe), and a milonga anecdote.
