SANTA FE santafetango.org community site
SALT LAKE CITY wasatchtango.org community site
DENVER (and ASPEN) tangocolorado.org community site
Tom Stermitz teacher and festival organizer
Nick Jones and Tara Fortier teachers
aspentango.com Heather Morrow, teacher
DALLAS/FORT WORTH TejasTango community site
George and Jairelbhi Furlong teachers
AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO tangousa.info communty site
Jennifer Bratt teacher and Comme il Faut distributor
HOUSTON Houston Tango Festival festival

USA-CENTRAL

CHICAGO tangoparatodos.com and tangonoticias.com community sites
Somer Surgit and Agape Pappas teachers
Burak Ozkosem teacher and festival organizer
chicagotangofest.com festival
MINNEAPOLIS Tango Society of Minnesota community site
Florencia Taccetti teacher
ANN ARBOR The Michigan Argentine Tango Club community site
KANSAS CITY Ko-Arts.com Korey Ireland and Mila Vigdorova, teachers and organizers
Tango Lorca tango music group
ST. LOUIS tangostlouis.com community site
Mike Tennant teacher
Roxanne McKenney teacher

CANADA

VANCOUVER allvancouvertango.com
TORONTO tangotoronto.com
Toronto Tango Festival festival
Elizabeth Sadowska teacher, dance studio owner, Comme il Faut shoe distributor
Debirah Designs Comme il Faut shoe distributor
MONTREAL milonga.ca
Studio Tango tango studio
Tomas Howlin teacher
Bulent Karabagli and Marika Landry teachers
Mylene Pelletier teacher, Comme il Faut shoe distributor




BUENOS AIRES RECOMMENDATIONS last updated 4/12/07
Tova Moreno's recommendations for learning, dancing, dining and shopping in tango mecca.

You'll first want to pick up a copy of the weekly publication El Tangauta (BA Tango is similar and will work also, but it isn't as nice looking or as well liked) to find out where/when to dance, what teachers are in town, when their classes are held, and shoe store info. El Tangauta can be found at many tango venues and shoe stores, but in the event that you arrive in Buenos Aires directionless and are not needing shoes (but do go shoe shopping right away if you want shoes so that you'll have time to accomodate any special orders if needed), go to any of the tango schools mentioned below. They usually have copies of el Tangauta, and you can take classes or get a class schedule while you're there.

Read absorbing excerpts from Carrie Whipple and Lara Triback's Buenos Aires journals on Carrie's site. I mean it! Read them! Note that Lara's first few days there were more typical than Carrie's. Everyone we know absolutely loves Buenos Aires, but most find it hard to break into the milonga scene at first.

GETTING AROUND
To get to and from the airport, you may want to call a remise. Dante's your man. He's dependable, he speaks English, and he dances tango.

Taxis are the easiest way to get around and aren't very expensive. Many people have told me to be careful and only take the Radio Taxis with the lights on the top of them. Believe them if you choose.
If you want to be a little more frugal, or learn the local ways then you'll take buses (80 centavos) or the subway (70 centavos). The Subte is good if it happens to go the way you want to go. Unlike our Boston subway which looks like a game of tic-tac-toe with tracks crossing each other, the Buenos Aires subway looks more like fingers on a hand, where the routes originate in the same area and spread out from there without crossing. You may find the buses more useful, but they're also more difficult to figure out, partly because Buenos Aires has so many one way streets. Unless you get lucky enough to be told which bus to take (and don't trust that you'll be able to figure out how to take the bus back to where you came from), you'll need to buy a little book called the Guia "T" from one of the kiosks on the street and learn the routes yourself. You'll have to get someone in the city to show you how to use it because it's a bit too complicated for me to detail here.
But even if you don't plan to ride the bus that much, if you want to be the kind of tourist that knows when a taxi is taking the long way around, you should get a Guia "T" because it's maps are very good.

WHERE TO STAY
I've stayed in San Telmo, Congreso, Once, and Palermo. I like Palermo best. In general it's a more expensive than the other places I've stayed, but since I'm often found shopping and eating in Palermo, and some of my favorite milongas are there, it makes the most sense for me.
If someone told me, "Sorry, Palermo's not an option. Choose somewhere else.", I'd probably opt for San Telmo, although the constant taxiing would probably drive me slightly batty. San Telmo is just as far from the center of town as Palermo is but in the opposite direction. But San Telmo has charm. It's beautiful and kind of run down.
If you don't care so much about charm, and being centrally located is more important to you, then choose Once (also can be called Abasto), Balvanera, Monserrat, or Congreso. You'll find that different maps call these areas different things. Good luck.
If you want to stay in the area that feels most like the urban US (why would you, though?) and you don't mind paying for it, you'll probably want to stay in Recoleta.

TEACHERS for Group and/or Private lessons
Some schools to check out are La Escuela Argentina de Tango, the DNI school, and Tango Brujo. They all offer multiple classes a day for all levels of dancers. At Tango Brujo and DNI you'll also find tango shoes and clothing for sale, and DNI also offers yoga classes.

For more teacher recommendations, check out Andres Amarilla's recommendations here.
We also highly recommend classes with teachers who are not on Andres' list, notably: Mariano 'Chicho' Frumboli, Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa, Ezequiel Farfaro and Eugenia Parilla, Claudia Codega and Esteban Moreno, Geraldine and Ezequiel Paludi, and Melina Brufman and Claudio Gonzalez.

MILONGAS AND PRACTICAS - Where and when to go
There are lots of milongas to choose from every night, my favorites are:
Monday - El Motivo practica at Villa Malcolm, Salon Canning (listed as Parakultural)
Tuesday - Practica X, El Beso or Porteno y Bailarin, sometimes Salon Canning and El Catedral (there's also a practica at Tango Brujo from 7-9pm, but it's the "other kind" of BsAs practica, the one that's like a class, so arrive on time)
Wendesday - Tangocool at Villa Malcolm, La Viruta, La Nacional, La Marshall
Thursday - Nino Bien, sometimes El Catedral is good
Friday - Tangocool at Villa Malcolm, Salon Canning
Saturday - Bien Pulenta, Sunderland Club, Cachirulo
Sunday - La Glorieta, La Viruta

The practicas vary in their times, but most get going around 10 or 11pm and end around 1am. Friday's Tangocool is notable because it goes until 3am. And watch out for El Motivo on Monday - it ENDS at midnight. (I was always forgetting and getting there between 11 and 12:30!)
Oh, and you should know that the word 'practica' means two different things in Buenos Aires. If it's called a practica but it's total time is two hours or less, then it's really structured like a class, so you should plan to get there on time. If it goes longer than two hours, then it's really like a casual milonga, so arrive whenever you want, and don't practice too obviously if you're using it as worktime instead of dancetime.

Most of the milongas don't really pick up until around 11pm and they go until 4 or 5 am, but if you arrive between 11pm and 2pm you don't always get a seat.  The best thing to do is to call earlier in the day to make a reservation. But whether or not you have a reservation (unless you arrive after 3am when a lot of tables have freed up) at least allow the host to seat you. In Buenos Aires people generally feel a sense of ownership to the chair they've been 'assigned' for the evening and will only share it with you if they really like you.
(Truthfully, I don't really enjoy dancing in many of the milongas until after 2am anyway, because they're just too packed. So I'll often either go to a practica and then a very late dinner or ice cream before heading to the milonga. Or I'll take a nap until 1 or 2am, and only arrive at the milonga once it's a little less crowded.)

MILONGAS AND PRACTICAS - How to be
Try, if possible, to dance with people that make eye contact with you from far away (it's called cabeceo) instead of coming up and asking you directly. Usually the people that ask you directly don't dance as well as those that 'cabeceo' you.
(I almost never accepted a dance if it was verbally requested, unless I already knew that the asker is a good dancer. In my opinion, it's much better to risk turning down a good dance than to accept a dance that I might regret. It may be sad, but it's true that people are judging whether they want to dance with you based on who you dance with and how good you look dancing, so if you dance with someone below your level for an entire tanda then better dancers may not ask you. It's all a big game, so you'd better learn to love it and get good at it. It does take skill just to play the "invitation to dance" game well.)
Cabeceo is much easier to do if you have a good seat, so as I said before it's a good idea to make a reservation, and to get to know the milonga's host. If you're in the back of a packed room and can't see the dance floor well, you may only get verbal invitations. (If I ever ended up in a bad place in the room, or even just to get a better sense of who was there, I'd make sure to roam a bit and make sure I was seen and that people knew where I could be found.
Honestly, I was almost never at milongas at times when I needed a reservation, but if you go to the milongas at peak times then you'll be glad you called ahead.)

At the more formal milongas you'll want to be discreet about changing into your dance shoes in the milonga. You may instead want to change your shoes in the cab or in the bathroom. Just look around and see what others are doing. At the informal milongas it really doesn't matter, so many people change into their shoes at their table.

RESTAURANTS
Traditional Argentine fare is pretty much grilled meat, pasta, empanadas, and more grilled meat. I like meat, but I don't like eating the same thing day after day. So...

Ethnic food in Palermo Hollywood Palermo is where you'll find most of the good non-Argentine ethnic food. All of these restaurants are fabulous even just to BE in. Argentines have an amazing sense of style. These are all kind of expensive, though, and you might need a reservation.
- Green Bamboo, Vietnamese. The medallions of lomo and the dessert called the Blue Dramont were my all-time favorites. I went back so many times they knew me by name (and by my poor Spanish!). (Costa Rica 5802)
- Sudestada, Southeast Asian. I didn't make it there on my last trip, but if I remember correctly, it's one of the few places where you can get spicy food. (Guatemala 5602 tel. 4776-3777)
- El Manto, Armenian. It has a delightfully austere interior and tasty, traditional food. (Costa Rica 5801 tel. 4774-2409)
- Olsen, Scandinavian. I've only been there for Sunday Brunch (thanks, Michael!), but it was a delight to find. (Gorriti, 5870 tel. 4776-7677)
- Thymus, Inventive Argentinian? (Lerma 525 tel. 4772 1936)
- Bio, Vegetarian. I didn't ever make it there, but heard great things about it from vegetarian and chef friends. (Humboldt 2199, at Costa Rica)

Argentine fare in San Telmo In San Telmo you'll find a couple of delicious parilla restaurants for all you meat-loving people. But, do beware of ordering unidentified cuts of meat, unless you enjoy steamed intestines. :) Lomo and chorizo are always safe and tasty.
- Hippopotamo is delicious, not expensive, and has fun ambiance. (Defensa and Brasil)
- 1888 is one of the more elegant parillas we came across. It's tasty and - I think - not very expensive. (Defensa between Finochietto and Caseros)
- Desnivel was recommended to me so many times that I feel the need to mention it here, even though I've never eaten there. (Defensa 855)
- Cafe San Juan is a tiny, yummy, reasonably priced restaurant loved by locals (and by Ellen Mayer, who cooks all the incredible food at Providence Tango). It's menu changes daily, depending on what's freshest and it has a great selection of wine. (450 San Juan)

Vegetarians, good luck in the Carne Capitol!
- Bodhi has an all vegetarian, all you can eat buffet. Very inexpensive. (corner of Chile and Entre Rios)
- And look here for the list of all nine vegetarian only places in the whole frickin' city! (Including Bio, mentioned above in the Palermo Hollywood section.)

Other restaurant recommendations in Buenos Aires
- Te Matare Ramirez, Aphrodisiac. For a dining experience with a very risqué menu (supposedly all aphrodisiac), male waiters with deep voices, romantic low light, and live music (or sometimes lesbian porn or a sexy puppet show) this is the place. We had such an incredible time laughing and talking with our friends that we didn't even notice how expensive it was until we got the bill (it's very pricey). (Paraguay 4062 tel. 4831-9156)

- Katmandu, Indian. On your way to Villa Malcolm or Canning, on Avenida Cordoba there's an Indian restaurant I love love love. (I dream about this one vegetarian dish with cheese and potatoes, but I can't remember the name of it. Sorry!) (Cordoba 3547 tel. 4963-1122/3250)

- Sucre, Fusion. It's way out in Belgrano, but it's well worth the trip if you can afford the menu's prices. (I ordered a vanilla-scented whitefish that everyone at our table agreed was divine.) Belgrano is worth checking out anyway, and perhaps you're headed in that direction because of the Sunderland milonga?

- Cafe Tortoni, Argentinian. It must be mentioned here since you may want to make a pilgrimage at some point, but it's not awesome. If you eat their basic overpriced cafe fare you may need to (as we did) go elsewhere to get your french fry fix. The delicious, greasy fries you find all over Buenos Aires are regrettably absent at this cafe. (Our cab driver, upon learning of our gastronimic needs, drove us directly to La Palacio de Papas Fritas. How apt.)

CLOTHES SHOPPING
For a high concentration of the most fashion-forward clothes in Argentina, go to Palermo and walk around. Palermo Viejo is comparable to Soho in NYC - only the shops in Palermo are more affordable. Not cheap, though. More like a good sale in the US. There are great boutiques scattered all around Palermo, but their highest concentration is near the intersections of Honduras and El Salvador, Malabia and Armenia. Once you get into one good store ask for a shopping map so you can find all the others. Don't try to go on Sunday, since many of the stores are closed. Here are the addresses for couple of good shops to get you started:
Tienda Tres (Armenia 1655) women's clothes
Salsipuedes (Honduras 4815) women's clothes
Mariano Bress (El Salvador 4645) shoes for men and women
Piel (Gorriti 4721) handmade lingerie for women
Juana Ana Bastid (Malabia 1977) sweaters for men and women (she can do special orders in less than a week!)

There are a lot of good shops along the Avenidas Santa Fe and Cordoba, major streets that run parallel to each other. There's also good shopping in the malls such as Alto Palermo (near the Bulnes Subte) and Gallerias Pacificos (La Escuela Argentina de Tango is in this same mall).

If you go to the Rodriguez Pena location of La Escuela Argentina de Tango you'll notice that there are fun shops all along there, such as Unmo, at 1024 Rod. Pena.

And one other store I love for women's clothes is Maria Vasquez, with locations in some major malls: Alto Palermo (tel. 5777-7209), Unicenter (4836-1629), Paseo Alcorta (4807-4644).




TANGO CLOTHES REVIEWS
Most of the companies that sell "tango clothes" use cheap, synthetic fibers that are not nice to embrace and exhibit designs that are at least several years behind current fashions - and on top of all that are priced exorbinantly for their quality. (Look first for clothes at all your favorite 'regular' stores.) But in the tango clothes world, here are a few good sources:

Tangoleva has many classy designs. Most of the garments, however, are made out of stretch fabrics, which I think is a downside. (Although stretch fabrics are easy to fit and very comfortable, be careful when led in boleos or you may find your stiletto heel quite stuck and have to hop around a bit while you try to free yourself!)

Tanguero stay-dry shirts for men - so that you don't sweat all over your partner! (If you wear these shirts, you'll get more dances...)

Chelsea Designs, based in Portland, Oregon, makes fashionable tango pants for men and women.



TANGO SHOE REVIEWS
Since the arrival of Comme il Faut (see below) women's tango shoes ROCK!!! Until Comme il Faut came on the scene a few years ago, tango foot-fashion had been stuck somewhere in the mid-1980s (when tango started to become popular again). Imitators of Comme il Faut's success are popping up all the time now, and still many of the old favorites manage to stay successful with their out-of-date but nostalgic styles.
Men's tango shoes are just starting to catch up to fashion...

HEELS for WOMEN
Comme il Faut (Arenales 1239 Puerta 3 Dto. M) is fondly called the "Manolo Blahniks of tango". This was the first company to offer tango shoes that firmly broke away from the traditional tango mold. (You know the classic look: black with criss-crossing straps, red accents, a tapering heel and a closed toe.) Despite the fact that they don't allow photographs of their stock on the internet, you'll see the style everywhere on fashionable feet in almost every milonga in the world. They were even featured in Vogue magazine in May 2005.
These shoes can only be purchased at the Comme il Faut shop in Buenos Aires or through North American dealers such as: JuliaBella in Washington, DC; Jennifer Bratt in Austin, TX, Ciko Tanik in New York, NY (646-346-0449 or ciko_ciko@hotmail.com); Carrie Whipple in Portland, OR; Mylene Pelletier in Montreal, Canada; and Debirah Designs and Elizabeth Sadowska in Toronto, Canada.

Neo Tango designs tango footwear in modern, sexy styles. Some people prefer Neo Tango over Comme il Faut. I used to like them both equally, but on my recent trip to Buenos Aires I was very disappointed by their selection. They also sell men's shoes. (Sarmiento 1938)

Tara Tango Shoes are built to be elegant and comfortable. They are designed by Robin Tara in Maine, and manufactured in Uruguay, and they do live up to their high-quality reputation. If you have foot trouble and need "comfortable heels" (an oxymoron?), fall in love with their yummy styles, or want one pair of shoes that will last you for years, then it just might be time to buy some Taras. Their website doesn't show all the great color choices, so if you like fushia and green shoes, buy them in person at a tango festival.

Aurora Lubiz makes some fun, elegant, and sexy styles. Although many of her shoes would be fashionable on the street as well as the dance floor, they are NOT Comme il Faut knock-offs. (I think that's awesome!) I own one furry leopard-spotted pair and always get complements on them. She has VERY limited hours, so don't go without checking on times. (Bolivar 553 - 1 A San Telmo)

Madraselva makes only modern styles, and appear to be directly inspired by Comme il Faut. I have not tried them because I think most of them look poorly proportioned. (Corrientes 3190, in the Abasto Plaza Hotel)

Tango Brujo has both traditional and modern styles, and sells some of the few low heels on the market. Some of their styles are pretty, some a little clunky. (at Esmerelda 754)

Darcos has a large selection of shoes on display in their Suipacha store, but all of the styles that I liked they didn't have in stock in my size. They seem to fit women best who have slightly wide feet. I must say, I think their proportions aren't as beautiful as Comme il Faut.

SHOES for MEN AND WOMEN
Fattomano has a line of high-quality traditional men's and women's shoes and has recently made a couple of more modern, elegant women's styles (not pictured online). Fattomano makes many of their shoes to measure at their in-store workshop. It's easy to customize fabrics, colors, and styles. (They even welcome full re-designs.) However, one word of caution - they are infamous for not having shoes finished when they say they will, so plan accordingly, check back, and if you're visiting Buenos Aires, do not plan to pick up your shoes on the last day of your stay. ;) Also be careful of the time of day you go since they're closed for several hours in the middle of the day. (at Guatamala 4464)

Susana Artesanal (Tomas de Anchorena 537) is another well respected shoe company. They have some well-proportioned traditional shoes, and some really sexy modern styles. I see them on many people's feet, so they must be happy with them, however, I have been very unhappy with my purchases there.

Neo Tango (Sarmiento 1938) Neo Tango's women's shoes are described above. Carlos has a classy pair of their men's shoes which he wears often without complaint.

Tango-Wear is a web-based business that offers some of the best styles of the Argentinian shoe manufacturers. They don't advertise what brands they are, but it looks like they sell some awesome Neo Tangos that you can't get on Neo Tango's own website (but that you can probably get in the store in Buenos Aires). They've given their shoes great names like "Preocupado" and "Estoy nublado" (even an "Invierno de Boston"!) And they're selling for much cheaper than many of the other good shoes you can get in the States!

GuaranteedFit.com is also web-based. Very expensive compared to Tango-Wear and they have several of the exact same styles as that company!

Jorge Nel is a popular shoe company. I do not have direct experience with his shoes, but have one friend who only wears Jorge Nel heels (she even sends him leather hides to make shoes in unusual metallic colors!) You can sometimes find his shoes at the bigger tango festivals in the US.

Viviana Tango Shoes offers both traditional and contemporary shoes. I owned a pair of her shoes and wore them often because they were both pretty and comfortable. Viviana lives in Washington DC, so if you like to try on your shoes before purchasing them (and can't get to Buenos Aires) you can make an appointment with her or find her at one of the tango festivals in the States.

Flabella (Suipacha 263) is an old standard. They have some new styles that are really nice and well-proportioned. I tried a pair on that felt so good on my feet (and a friend had the same experience) but they just didn't have the color I was looking for. They're definitely worth a look.

Tango 8 (Anchorena 602, near Abasto) offers many of the same styles as at Neo-Tango, Flabella, Tango-wear, et cetera, but here you'll find a higher pricetag (at least online, perhaps their storefront is along the lines of normal prices in Buenos Aires).

Arika Nerguiz sells elegant traditional shoes. I haven't tried them, since well, we know how I feel about out-of-fashion - I mean, traditional - shoes.

Tango Brujo (at Esmerelda 754) has both traditional and modern styles, and sells some of the few low heels on the market.

DRESS SHOES for MEN
Disappointingly, no one has yet come out with shoes for men that are actually fashionable today. I look forward to the company that does...but until then wear the best pointy-toed tango shoes you can find or buy some fun sneakers. Since you can't choose for fashion, you might as well choose for quality. Fattomano (at Guatamala 4464) is one great option, particularly if you want to design the shoes yourself.
The rest of the shoe stores (listed above) sell pretty much the same styles, colors and fabrics for men - regardless of which store you're in! So, once you find a fit you like (by road testing them), stick with that company.

DANCE SNEAKERS for MEN and WOMEN
Sansha, man. They're streamlined and cute. Dynamo is the classic tango sneaker, but they've got a lot of other styles. If you happen to be a man with largish feet, you're out of luck here (try Bloch).

Discount Dance Supply has a lot of different sneaker styles, including Bloch (popular, but I find them clunky) and Sansha.

Tango-Wear and GuaranteedFit.com both sell dance sneakers similar in style to the ones listed below.

There are several companies in Buenos Aires that make cool dance sneakers. One of them is Tango Brujo (at Esmerelda 754), but their website does not show sneakers, only dress shoes, so you'll have to contact them if you're interested in the sneaks.

Another company, one that Carlos bought shoes from, seems to be without a business name. We bought them from a man named Fabio - he often dances at Villa Malcolm and sometimes brings shoes there to sell. This nameless company does only custom shoes. Carlos's pair were ready on time (definite points in their favor) but beware of inflated prices for foreigners - they tried to charge us $120US (major negative points). By asking around, we found out that the locals are paying somewhere between $30 and $60US depending on the materials. Don't expect to pay as little as that, but we finally got them for $80US - still expensive for sneakers until you consider that they're handmade.

Or, get regular street sneakers with flat soles (Merrell and Puma both make some good ones) then take them to a cobbler to have dance suede applied to make them nice and pivot-y. Presto, dance shoes!