More Tango Dancing

Monday night was another perfect night of Tango dancing. Matias met me at school and mentioned that he'd discovered a little place that has Tango on Monday nights, and asked me to come along. Who was I to refuse, right?

The joint was an old house (around 150 years old) that had been converted into a little restaurant. The inner courtyard had been tiled with special tango-dancing tiles, and so people sat in the restaurant that surrounded a little open-air tango floor. It was super super cute. We drank a bottle of Argentine Tempranillo - a wine that isn't as common as the Malbec's and Cabernet Sauvignons, but definitely just as worthy of praise. But then again... I'm partial to Tempranillo's anyway.

The combination of the wine and the heat from the day made dancing a little harder than on Friday night, but it was no matter because half way through the night we were pleasantly surprised with a live band that doubled as a circus show. Of course, the band played tango music, but there were members of the troupe that did cirque du soleil style tricks for a good hour. I didn't understand all the acting that happened simultaneously, as it was all in spanish, but I got enough to be entirely entertained.

Tuesday night we went back to the same place. We weren't lucky enough to have another impromtu tango/circus performance, but we did get some torrential rain. If you remember, this is a restaurant with an open-air courtyard. Yes, open-air. After finding ourselves thoroughly drenched within 15 seconds, the crowd moved inside, pushed the tables to the corners, and cleared the restaurant floor for more dancing. Nothing in this country can stop the tangueros from dancing.

I liked this place especially because it was entirely full of locals, and seeing as it was a Monday and Tuesday night that we were there (Monday and Tuesday nights in Argentina are the "days of rest" for the nightlife, so anyone that goes out on one of those nights is serious about whatever he or she is doing), the dancers were especially good. I couldn't decide which couple to stare at since they were all incredible. The people here really take Tango seriously. I think it's great. It's an art that is so special to Argentina.