You can experience tango in Buenos Aires with, for example, visiting an Argentinian tango show, tango restaurants, and shopping for tango souvenirs & local tango music.
Argentinian tango, which is one of the world’s most popular forms of performance tango, is a social dance and music style, profiled by nostalgia and melodramatic instruments.
Today, tango is one of the most important cultural national elements that connect the country’s people, and there is even an annual Tango Day, December 11th.
PHOTO: A view to NH Tango Hotel (entrance at Cerrito 550, Buenos Aires) facade, which is one of the many central Buenos Aires hotels using “Tango” in their name. Also in the picture is entrance to Tango Porteño (www.tangoporteno.com.ar), which offers tango dinner shows, along Avenida 9 de Julio.
PHOTO: The best pedestrian streets contain numerous shops selling tango music, including the pictured ‘Tango’s’ in Lavalle street.
PHOTO: ‘Florida Tango’ souvenir shop along Florida (pedestrian) shopping street.
For many, the best ways to experience the most authentic Buenos Aires tango culture is to visit live tango concerts, participate in tango dance courses, see tango shows, eat at tango restaurants and bars, and tour the city’s tango museums.
If you are also a friend of Argentinian culinary traditions, the easiest way to see tango shows is to eat at one of the many tango show restaurants, where you’ll see the dance and music show, while enjoying a fulfilling dinner.
Dance courses, which are organized especially at the city’s cultural centers and “milonga” places, typically take 1 to 2 hours per session, with a typical course lasting for 4-5 sessions. To learn the eight basic steps in tango, it takes only one (the first) session, however.
Visitors to Buenos Aires often take home tango related souvenirs, including tango clothing, tango shoes, and related apparel. Specialized shops that sell these items can be found, for example, from San Telmo and Abasto districts, and Buenos Aires’ microcentro.
For the most enthusiastic friends of the tango culture, right within the city center, there is a Tango Museum by Tango Academy (www.anacdeltango.org.ar, Museo Mundial del Tango), located on the same building as historical Café Tortoni, with entrance at Rivadavia 830. The museum is open from Monday to Friday, 2pm – 8pm.