A Taste of tango

So Peter and I have been in BA for almost 2 weeks now and I feel like we haven’t seen the city. We are days, maybe hours, from launching a website we have been working on for a loong time. It’s an idea I’ve had for years and it feels great to finish it. I’ll be announcing it here any day. But all the work has made it hard to get out and into the city. So as a break, last night we went out boozing with two of our Porteno roommates (theres 7 of us total), to some local spots in our area of town. Javier and Diego took us to a few underground places, one of which was one of the coolest bars I think I’ve ever been in. It was on the top floor of what looked like a converted barn. It felt like a high school gym inside. But it had been made into an hidden tango club. There was a huge glowing human heart, made of paper mache or fabric hung over one end of the bar, and at the other was a huge piece of installation art that looked like it fell off the set of Rent. In the middle was a scuffed dance floor with a sole spotlight in the middle. It was nearly deserted except for two couples on the floor. The music was full tango, full of violins and accordions, and so dramatic and beautiful that you worried about dropping a tear on accident. The couples moved in perfect harmony and as they passed in and out of the spot light, you could see little highlights of their characters; a swirling skirt, some white socks above an ankle. The Rent art, glowing heart, music, and dancers made the whole place absolutely surreal and for a little second you forgot that you were boozed and just stopped to stare without thinking about it. It was the kind of thing I think you will only find in Buenos Aires and I am very happy that we decided to come here.