La Catedral, Bohemian Tango Temple

Behind a nondescript door that looks like the entrance to an office building hides the cavernous La Catedral del Tango. La Catedral is a unique milonga (tango ballroom) where tango aficionados and novices gather to take classes, practice dancing and eat and drink together every night.

The unique space mixes the sacred aura of a cathedral and the cheerful bohemian clutter of a circus tent. The vibrant atmosphere features 12 meter high wooden ceilings decorated with large sculptures and hanging lights. In former incarnations the 1880 building was a grain silo, dairy factory and a refrigeration warehouse, before finally being converted into a cultural event space.

La Catedral grew out of an experimental rock band called ‘Los Enviados del Señor’ which performed tango music in classic rock ‘n’ roll garb. The crowds loved it, so the group moved into the Almagro building, which had sat abandoned for thirty years, and started rehabilitating the space. In the milonga’s early years they lived in the warehouse, each claiming their own nook.

“I had a platform in one corner, and sometimes there was a milonga, and if I didn’t feel like attending, I watched the dance floor…from my bed,” says one of four co-owners, Mario Bulacio. “It was like that for many years.”

Though the space originally put on shows and cultural events of all kinds it eventually focused exclusively on tango — with the occasional folklore class thrown in. Today La Catedral offers nightly classes, with performances featuring orchestras of varying sizes.

Classes, Milonga & Performances

The agenda on La Catedral’s website is not always up to date but the milonga opens every day at around 7 p.m. and stays open until 3 or 4 in the morning, depending on the crowd. Classes start at 8 p.m. and 10:30p.m. but are rarely punctual. Dance performances and orchestras almost always start after midnight, sometimes as late as 1 or 2 in the morning.

The best evenings to visit la Catedral are Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The group classes are best for beginners, though all levels are welcome; if a group of more experienced dancers attends the teachers will often divide the class into several categories by level. Private classes and group prices are sometimes available if visitors call ahead to inquire. There is no reserved seating as with more formal milongas, but visitors are encouraged to share the available tables, and the venue rarely runs out of space.

After the class is over visitors can continue to practice or sit down and watch the more experienced dancers twirl into the wee hours of the morning.

Food & Drink & Art

La Catedral’s kitchen offers affordable vegetarian options such as empanadas, pizzas and pastas, as well as wine, beer, fernet and other drinks. The vegetarian menu sets La Catedral apart from almost every other milonga in this carnivorous city.

“We agreed to this when we started, because it was in line with each of our personal philosophies. It was something very different at the time, inside the world of tango and tourism, because many people come to Argentina to consume meat,” says Bulacio. “In the beginning it affected us a lot because people didn’t understand. Now with the passage of time many people come here because they know it’s vegetarian. They know that the place offers the option of vegetarian and vegan food for tourists.”

Today La Catedral remains unlike any other tango venue in the capital: no two chairs or tables match, abstract artwork lines the walls, and a temporary exhibit is on display in the side room on the way to the restrooms. Above the bar hangs the four meter high ‘Corazon del Tango.’

Most of the artwork is by Bulacio, who studied art and architecture before turning towards music and tango. The resident cat, Tita weaves through the dancers, clearly used to the noise and the crowd.
The attendees at La Catedral are noticeably younger than in other tango venues in the city, partly because of the laid-back vibe of the place. “We are not a traditional tango venue. Neither our esthetic nor our approach are traditional,” says Bulacio. “We created this place with the idea to make a tango place that fit our identity. It’s not designed for tourists — and I think people like that.”

-Sam Harrison

La Catedral del Tango
Saramiento 4006
Almagro
Hours: 6 p.m.-4 a.m. everyday
Tel: (15)5325-1630

* 2×1 entrance until 10p.m.

⇒ Check out other Buenos Aires tango tours and activities to learn the dance or check out the city’s milongas with a local.

Amerika: Buenos Aires’ Largest LGBT Nightclub

Buenos Aires’ most popular gay club, Amerika has three floors of music and room for 1,800 people meaning here there is something for everyone — gay or straight.

The roots of the Amerika gay club scene harkens back to the days of Argentina’s repressive military government when it was still taboo –and even dangerous– to be gay in Buenos Aires.

At that time, the privacy of the clients was the name of the game. By the time Amerika debuted as Buenos Aires’ largest gay club in 2000, things had started to change and the owners of this mega club were only to happy lead the charge. Originally frequented mostly by gay guys, Amerika now has a reputation of being a definitively hetero-friendly club, where anyone queer or straight is welcome to let their freak flag fly.

Although not as popular with foreigners as many of the city’s other large clubs, here you’ll find a congenial straight-gay mix with loads of glam boys eager to strut their stuff, a smattering of lipstick lesbians and hetero kids eager to get in on all the dance floor fun.

Straight girls love this place because they can dance without being constantly harangued by the sometimes-relentless ‘machos’ of Buenos Aires. Secure straight guys swear this is one of the best places to pick up girls because the atmosphere is relaxed and the odds are in their favor.

On three dance floors, each with their own name; Caribbean, Continental and Crystal, you’ll hear techno, house, cumbia, and dance hits including an abundance of Lady Gaga among a varied crowd that isn’t afraid to let it all hang out. Those 18 years old and up are permitted entrance but the crowd tends to be 21 and over — sometimes way over.

Amerika has opened and closed a few times through the years for permit violations, and some gripe that the vibe changed when they started with a canilla libre (all-you-can-drink) policy a few years back, but its still a great destination to dance all night among the smoke machines and bubbles.

These days the entrance tends to be a little pricey for many young locals unless they can drink their weight in alcohol. The cover charge gets you free drinks all night — if you can manage to weasel your way past the thirsty and sweaty crowds to actually reach the bar.

Amerika-$$
Gascon 1040/corner Cordoba
Almagro
Tel: 4865-4416

• Hours: Thurs—Sundays from 12 am
•Entrance free for birthday boys and girls

The Roxy: Buenos Aires’ Rock ‘n’ Roll Temple

The Roxy of Buenos Aires is a house of worship for Porteño rockers and worthwhile option amongst the myriad of Palermo nightspots. Like its famous namesakes, The Roxy has a rock ‘n’ roll soul, but it also has something for those who prefer dancing the night away to funky beats. The club is split into two big rooms — one has a stage, usually occupied by a hard-rocking live band and the other features a DJ mixing dance music. So you can kick it with the hairspray and leather crowd, groove with the party people or, even better, mix with both scenes in a fluid and affable atmosphere.

It is refreshing to see some decent live rock in a crowded Buenos Aires nightclub, even though you’re more likely to hear covers rather than originals. Expect the usual Buenos Aires favorites; The Rolling Stones, The Ramones, Hendrix etc., to be suitably honored on the stage in all their sweaty, bare-chested glory with lighting, video displays and sound system on-par with rock venues of similar size worldwide.

The heavily-inked crowds are friendly enough and definitely how to party in true rock ‘n’ roll style, even if a few seem to be stuck in an 80’s time warp. Since not many tourists make it to the Roxy, foreigners can easily scam their way into the VIP area to throw back Quilmes beer with band members and a seemingly endless supply of groupie-types. Don’t worry if you don’t know anyone, a love of heavy guitar music is all you need to feel welcome (although some body art and piercings may help). You might even run into an Argentinean rock icon such as Gustavo Ceratti or Charly Garcia, who have been known to play and party (and in Garcia’s case, fight) here. Bands usually start their sets around 2-3 am and the party goes on into the sunlight hours.

The ambiance in the dance music zone is equally energetic, fuelled by some talented DJs and a fun-loving crowd. Expect to hear house music on the weekends from the resident DJs, although occasionally you’ll find theme nights (such as 70’s disco). While this isn’t one of Buenos Aires’s mega clubs in terms of size (the capacity is 1,500) the mood is a little more intimate, perhaps even ‘exclusive’. Here you can bust your best moves without stepping all over fellow revelers, as the dance floor is not crammed to subway-at-peak-hour extremes. The DJs start at 1am, but, as usual, you’ll feel a little lonely until the crowd rolls in a couple of hours later.

Check the website to see what acts are playing. On an average night expect to pay AR$20 for women and AR$30 for men to get through the door, although there may be a discount if you get there early. The bar here is well stocked, but once you receive the tab you’ll realize why everyone drinks elsewhere before arriving. The drinks add up, but you can’t put a price on partying like a rock star in Buenos Aires.

— by Dan Colasimone

The Roxy —$$/$$$
Casares and Sarmiento Avenues (Arcos de Sol, in front of the Planetarium)
Palermo
Hours: Fri & Sat: 12 am—5:30 am
Tel: 4777-0997

Azucar: A Sweet Place for Salsa in Buenos Aires

Mix a little salsa and a little sugar and you get Azucar, Buenos Aires’ most famous salsa club. azucar3

Delightfully cheesy with jungle murals and neon-lights, the flip side is that here you will never feel too fat, too badly dressed or too old to get out on the dance floor – in fact you’ll probably get dragged out for a few whirls, whether you want to or not.

The classes, given by Cuban instructors, are low-cost and usually included in modest entrance fee. Azucar is a fun place to salsa the night away, whether is be at the original Abasto location, across from Abasto Shopping Mall, or their more upscale disco in Belgrano.

Salsa dancing at Azucar club in Buenos Aires — Photos courtesy of Azucar

A popular night is Tuesday, when there is a free salsa and meringue class from 10 until 11:00 p.m. Afterward you can stay on and dance with other students and long-time Salseros until the wee hours.

Azucar Abasto
Corrientes 3330
Abasto
Tel: 4865-3103

Azucar in Belgrano

The Belgrano location of Azucar, with its restaurant, ‘Asere’ and three floors of action is twice the size of the Abasto location and hosts a more well-to-do crowd.

This location has classes everyday including weekends – on Fridays at 9:30 p.m., Saturdays at 11 p.m. and Sundays at 9 p.m. Check the website for more info.

Azucar Belgrano
Cabildo 2040
Belgrano
Tel: 4780-2447