Tango shows in Buenos Aires

[mare s.]

I've looked at Trip Advisor and most of the shows seem to be "Vegas" style productions with the audience packed in like sardines at long tables. Anybody have any suggestions for a good show? Has anyone any information on We Are Tango...they seem to be a bit less touristy (and more reasonably priced)?

[ceba]

I've looked at Trip Advisor and most of the shows seem to be "Vegas" style productions with the audience packed in like sardines at long tables. Anybody have any suggestions for a good show? Has anyone any information on We Are Tango...they seem to be a bit less touristy (and more reasonably priced)?

 

I looked at that show also, and it looks really fun. There are some reviews on Trip Advisor (you have to get them translated) and everyone loved it. I have 2 concerns though, it looks to me that this is only opened on Tues?? And we sail Tues. The other is, though I would love the lessons, my hubby would not! The show I have been considering is Piazzolla. Its still vegas style but I believe the theater is smaller. We would probably just go to the show and have a good meal in town.

[pmacher61]

I've looked at Trip Advisor and most of the shows seem to be "Vegas" style productions with the audience packed in like sardines at long tables. Anybody have any suggestions for a good show? Has anyone any information on We Are Tango...they seem to be a bit less touristy (and more reasonably priced)?

There are less glitzy shows at the Luis Borges Cultural Center in Galleria Pacifico priced at around 150 pesos or less depending on the show. The shows are different each night of the week. Some are only 2 or 4 people dancing to canned music, but some of the shows are much more elaborate. I liked Pasion de Tango. Check the Center out on line. http://www.ccborges.org.ar/indexi.htm

Cafe Tortoni also has less glitzy shows geared more to the local as opposed to international tourist. See http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar/html/index2.html

 

The "Vegas" style shows vary in quality from lush and expensive (Rojo Tango in the Faena hotel) to the more modest, but still quite professionally produced. I thought the show at Puerto Madero's Madero Tango starring Raul Lavie (Tango's Tony Bennett) was reasonably priced at about US$ 30 pp not incl dinner, but he and the other headliners that make the show a value only perform on the weekend.

You can google the subject and come up with a list of supper clubs offering dinner and a show. Most will run about US$ 100 pp for a steak dinner and standard seating (at the unofficial rates - i.e., 650 pesos pp). I would avoid Senor Tango. All others esp Esq de Carlos Gardel, Michaelangelo, Viejo Almacen are well rated.

I also recommend having dinner at a regular restaurant and taking in the show only. Here are a couple of sites listing the major supperclubs.

http://www.batourguide.com.ar/tango_shows_1405.htm

http://www.ohbuenosaires.com/emportugues/buenosairestango.htm

[wripro]

El Queredin is a much less touristy and smaller show. Also consider visiting a milonga, the tango clubs where locals go to dance. Much more authentic.

[dr__dawggy]

Many first time tourists want to do two things while in Argentina--Go to a Tango show and visit an Estancia. Obliging entrepreneurs hungry for coveted US dollars have gladly obliged by setting up tango and estancia 'experiences' for tourists. These venues are, well, touristy. Nothing wrong with that. Many of these experiences are quite entertaining and fun. You are, after all, a tourist who will probably enjoy watching gauchos perform tricks on horseback more than the more authentic experience of castrating calves if you opt for an estancia visit.....and you may well enjoy watching brilliantly costumed professional performers dance the tango than visiting a sweaty dance hall to watch locals dance the night away at a milonga.

 

With that out of the way, yes, most tango shows are on stage...some quite elaborate and others smaller, and more intimate. Most offer a dinner option...food is usually not the best you will find in BA, but with dinner often comes preferred seating. You may find a less than gourmet meal is worth the expense in exchange for a better seat. Or not.

 

There are so many options it would be impossible to list them all. My friend Marnie, a regular visitor and poster on Trip Advisor, prefers la Ventana. Here is what she said:

 

"Carlos Gardel is a more commercial, tourist-centered setting (ladies staged for photo ops, cut-out of CG for photo ops) with a filmed history of Tango and the contribution of CG himself. I enjoyed the film. The show was good, basically good Tango dancers and not too long. The food was fair.

 

"La Ventana was a better show (in my and DH's opinion) and included some singers (but good ones, not like el Viejo Almacen) and a wonderful balls-on-a-string juggling act (forgive me, what the heck are they called ?) of the Gauchos. A very entertaining show with very talented dancers. And the food was pretty good.

 

As you have decided to dine somewhere else, have you considered having a fine lunch that day and then maybe a picata and drinks for a lighter fare at the Tango show ? Then you will have no time constraints."

 

http://www.laventanaweb.com/index.php?idioma=en

 

Personally, I like shows in historic settings---la Ventana, Cafe de los Angelitos, Piazolla, and the smaller Taconeando all meet this standard. Cafe de los Angelitos is in a wonderfully restored historic cafe, and Piazolla is in an underground theater that has served many purposes over the years including a bordello (this adds to the interest, given the historic connection between tango and ladies of the night). Taconeando is in an older building on picturesque Balcarce street in San Telmos/Monserrat....Taconeando is smaller (smaller orchestra and fewer dancers) than the other shows and appeals more to locals and tourists looking for a less expensive option. Dinner and a show cost 90 dollars, about the same as the show-only option at many of the other shows.

http://www.piazzollatango.com/

http://www.cafedelosangelitos.com/

http://en.taconeando.com/house/

 

Pmacher has already mentioned the Borges Center...and if you can find a show that features dancing on the night you are in town, this is often a good option. Just be careful not to select a show that features only a singer or orchestra with no dancing, unless this is what you want. Another option: historic Cafe Tortoni offers a small, less expensive show.

http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar/index_ingles.html

http://www.ccborges.org.ar/

 

Milongas have been mentioned as an option. Some of the best milongas frown on non-dancing tourists in their midst but a few cater to tourists as well as locals. Confiteria la Ideal in downtown offers day time dance lessons followed by a milonga, where you can practice your newly acquired moves.

http://www.confiteriaideal.com/

 

 

an "insider tip" : Malbec, the wine for which Argentina is renowned, goes well with tango. Even a poor show begins to look good by the second bottle :)

[Santa Fe L&L]

El Queredin is a much less touristy and smaller show. Also consider visiting a milonga, the tango clubs where locals go to dance. Much more authentic.

 

I agree....we spent some time at a milonga cafe in B. A. I am sorry but I can't tell you where but it was easily walkable from the Sheraton and the English clock tower. I don't think the entrance fee was more than $5 equivalent and it was 'real' people dancing classic tango, not the fancy steps you associate with tango that most of us could never do. They were 'dressed' for the most part as if they were going out for an evening but it was mid-afternoon! Very enjoyable just to watch.