The Secret Society

The milongas are empty.  Tourism is down.  The locals have no money.  I don't think I have ever seen them this empty.  Not even in January on a hot weekend.  The tourists are complaining.  "Where are all the locals?"  I am getting emails and messages on Facebook.  "Is there a secret society where the locals go to dance?" they ask me. 

Tango is too expensive for the locals.  It used to be we could go to dance every night and maybe in the afternoon.  Now, no matter how much you love tango, you can only go maybe twice a week.  The entrance to a milonga is 20 pesos, something to drink another 10.  If you have to take a taxi home, at the least it is 20 pesos.  A 50 peso night.  For an American this is $12, for a European, 10 euros.  For us, it is still 50 pesos. Who can go more than one or two times a week?  The tourists go home, they go back to work.  We are still here.

Their Tango Disneyland is being ruined. One night at Niño Bien a guy from the states sat and complained to me about the lack of Porteños in the milonga.  He told me how he had been coming twice a year for 4 years to Buenos Aires.  He waved his arm at the floor, "Why would I come back for this?" he said to me. Sorry to rain on your parade. 

Shoe stores charging more than 450 pesos for plastic and cardboard shoes.  Authentic tango shoes.  How do they all stay in business?  Everyone is a teacher.  If you are born in Argentina, then it must be in your genes.  It doesn't matter if you can teach.  It doesn't seem to even matter if you can dance.  It only seems to matter if you are Argentine and have the right connections.  Chantas everywhere.  At the very least they get a paid vacation.  Maybe.  Who really pays?

What happened to tango?  What happened to the elegance of the dance?  To the overcrowded milongas stuffed with locals?  Where people danced until 6 am in close embrace to only tango music without a question.  Where a maestro was looked up to.  Where the occasional foreigner came to learn and respect a dance that was steeped in tradition.

Tango Disneyland.  Where the locals can no longer afford to ride.

Comments

[Chris, UK]

> this would mean greater social engagement with
> the native audience eg by linking in to the
> contemporary tango-equivalent music of the culture

Uh??

There is no "contemporary tango-equivalent music of the culture" in the UK - there is no popular home-grown music for couple dancing at all. Hence that tango is as popular as it is!

[David]

well. actually. I have been to a few milongas that are free... and there are no tourists... maybe a secret sociaty afterall?

Just keep on telling the tourist to all go to La Viruta and/or El Catedral and the rest of us can have fun in the other places.

[Kirra]

Gentrification of the milongas and tango in general has happened in Bs As. Sad to hear this. I hope the charm returns.

****Me too, but I have my doubts. I still love to dance and will continue to do so. Thanks for reading my blog!****

[Happyseaurchin]

sorry to hear about this...

there is also a negative aspect that i have felt the brunt of
here in the uk...instead of home-grown tangueros leading the way there's a lot of competition amoungst the argentine teachers and of course they attract all the beginners

imho
if we allowed a certain level of home-grown tango
this would mean greater social engagement with the native audience eg by linking in to the contemporary tango-equivalent music of the culture and then
a greater range of argentine expertise could be supported
including a healthy referral rate back to argentina of course :)

*****Not sure how this relates to what I wrote. The issue I wrote about is economic.******