san telmo | Wander Argentina

Mansion Dandi Royal: San Telmo’s Tango Hotel

The Mansión Dandi Royal in San Telmo is the place to stay for the tango infatuated looking to dance their way through Buenos Aires. It’s especially geared toward those who adore the sultry dance but perhaps don’t speak Spanish, and want to have someone else take care of the details. It’s also a great anniversary destination for a couple who met on the dance floor.

At first blush this theme hotel can seem like a kitschy gimmick, in the business of ‘tango for export’, but it’s set in a classic 1903 mansion oozing architectural detail and the instructors at the on-site tango school are the real deal. The school is directed by Héctor B. Villalba, a dancer of traditional Argentine tango for 60 years, and a guru in the San Francisco Bay Area tango scene.

The 30-room hotel has three gorgeous ballrooms with original hardwood floors for classes and events. Each room has a hand-painted mural depicting a tango scene, but some of the rooms are rather four-star quality in an otherwise five-star experience. Those who can afford it may want to opt for the higher priced rooms.

The best value is the three-night package, which includes airport pickup, one private dance class and one group class, transport to an authentic milonga to practice or a Broadway style tango show with dinner. Every Wednesday evening in the high season the Dandi Royal Academy also hosts a milonga open to guests and the general public.

Visitors who just arrived in Buenos Aires for the first time may be a bit startled when they go out to explore the scruffy surrounding neighborhood as it’s 100 years past it’s heyday, but it’s the barrio that birthed the tango, so you’re right where you should be. Those who stay over the weekend can check out the nearby San Telmo Street Fair a few blocks away.

Multilingual receptionist, Fabian Mecle is especially adored by guests and thanks in part to his warmth and attention to detail, the Mansion Dandi Royal receives a number of return visitors. Others, having gotten a taste of tango at the Dandi on their first trip, stay elsewhere with the confidence that they can handle the milongas on their own.

The Dandi Royal is not for everyone – those who shudder at the thought of showing up in a minivan to their first real Buenos Aires’ milonga for instance. And those who have studied ballroom style or Tango Nuevo should be prepared to erase everything they’ve learned and get ready to immerse themselves in the spontaneous style of classic Argentine tango.

If at the end of your stay, the Dandi’s 10a.m. checkout time seems too early, congratulations– those late nights mean you’re well on your way to becoming a real milonguero.

Mansion Dandi Royal and Tango Academy-$$$$
Piedras 936
San Telmo
4361-3537 / 4307-7623

Porteño of the Week: Fashion Designer, Noelia Radío

Noelia Radío
Mom, part-time waitress at Cava 71, clothing designer/vendor
From: Avellaneda (province of Buenos Aires)
Age: 28

Q: How long have you been selling here at the San Telmo street fair?

I’ve only been doing this since last December. Before that I was living in Bariloche and making handmade dolls.

• Why did you decide to move back from Bariloche?

I broke up with the father of my daughter and Bariloche is too expensive to rent an apartment by myself. So it made sense to come back.

• What do you like about making and selling clothes in the street fair?

I like that the people enjoy my clothes. I like to see how it fits on them. I’d like to do this full-time but the hard part for me is the selling. I don’t like being pushy.

• Who are most of your customers?

Most of the people that buy from me are Europeans and Americans. There are a lot of them here on Sundays. Eight out of ten people that buy from me are foreigners.

• Do people try to bargain with you a lot since you sell on the street?

Mostly the foreigners will try to bargain with the price, Argentines never do that.

• How do you feel about people bargaining for a lower price?

If they’re short five pesos that’s one thing, if they want a 20 pesos discount it’s different. I don’t make any money if I take that much off the price. What’s weird is, if I explain that, they’ll still buy in the end.

• Which nationality haggles the most?

Brazilians probably, but they’re still cool about though.

• What do you like about the San Telmo street fair in particular?

There’s cool people here, we’re friends with the other vendors it’s like a little group. We share mate and things, hang out; it’s a good time.

• Aren’t the police giving the sidewalk vendors a hard time in San Telmo now?

Yeah, we sometimes had problems when we were on the other side of Independencia (Avenue)— you could only set up after 4:30 or so. Over here they don’t bother us.

• How much did you make today?

I made 300 pesos, which is good, last Sunday I only made 40 pesos.

• What’s the most surprising thing you’ve seen working in the market?

Well not much would surprise me; I’ve seen everything here. This is San Telmo! A little while ago the half-naked travesties came by promoting the club that they have on Sundays.

What would you call your fashion style?

(Friend’s interjection): Ridiculous!

No, she’s kidding. I don’t know.

• And this hairstyle?

I don’t think it’s a style — I just cut my own hair!

Victoria Hotel — An Authentic Bargain in San Telmo

The Victoria Hotel is a San Telmo institution and one of the best deals for budget travelers to Buenos Aires.

WA-BAhotels-victoria5 — ‘For families and gentleman’

This historic, family-run hotel sits on the narrow and lively Chacabuco Street, but once you enter its sturdy confines you’ll find a tranquil old-style pensión with rooms surrounding an open patio full of plants.

For some reason the San Telmo hotel ‘for families and gentlemen’ doesn’t make it into the listings of many popular guidebooks anymore, and maybe that’s why it’s still so affordable.

A private room with a shared bathroom costs a mere AR$80 (under US$10 as of November 2013) for one and AR$150 (under US$20) for two. A room for one with a private bathroom runs for AR$150. The reasonable rates are quite a contrast to the numerous ‘tango hostels’ in the neighborhood, which charge about the same rate for a bed in a dormitory shared with strangers.

Here you’ll inevitably meet the hard-working owner, 87-year-old Victoriano Prieto, who continues to oversee the hotel. He took over management in 1959 here, eight years after emigrating from Galicia, Spain.

The international array of guests here includes experienced travelers and tango aficionados mostly from Europe and a handful from Japan. Housed on the third floor of the hotel are long-term guests — mostly a mix of students, travelers and families from neighboring Latin American countries.

There are shared kitchen and laundry facilities available for all guests. The first floor courtyard has wifi and is a lovely place to sit outside and lunch with visitors or catch up on email.

Jose Prieto, Victoriano’s son who works the night shift at the hotel speaks English, and can help visitors find local restaurants, shows and milongas that are economical and off the tourist trail.

“We think we offer a good deal here. This is a unique place,” says Daniel Daglio, Prieto’s son-in-law who also works at the hotel.

San Telmo Lounge Album — The Victoria is pictured on the cover of the 2004 album, Madrugada en Backdedonia by the tangotronica group, San Telmo Lounge

The Victoria may also be more secure than the more transitory hostels on the surrounding blocks. No one messes with the Victoria — they have their ears on the ground.

The front door is locked from 10 p.m. and guests are given a key.

The Victoria is a safe, affordable option for savvy travelers who are beyond the typical hostel age and willing to forfeit a bit of luxury for an authentic Argentine hotel experience.

The Victoria has partnered with Wander Argentina to offer exclusive online booking through our website.

Victoria Hotel
Chacabuco 726
San Telmo

Braths Brew Bar

Updated 2016

True beer lovers in Buenos Aires tend to get excited when they discover any pub offering quality alternatives to the usual generic lager varieties.

Connoisseurs in San Telmo will be happy to know they now have a place to go to get real handcrafted beer: Brath’s Brew Bar (formerly Breoghan’s) on San Lorenzo pedestrian street.

This pub is small and quaint; it’s probably not a bar you would go to pick up girls or boys, or watch a big sports game (although there is one TV in the corner), but what it does offer is some tempting food, an Irish/Welsh-style Pub setting, and of course, the main selling point, great beer.

Brath’s has its beers handcrafted locally, and while that means that you may never be sure exactly what varieties will be available each month, you know that the product is going to be good. Try a pint of one of their brewed specialties such as the Golden Ale, Old Red Ale, or Cream Stout and pay just a few pesos more than you would for the hangover generator known as Quilmes.

The menu contains daily specials such as matambre a la pizza (flank steak with a tomato sauce and cheese topping) and pastas, as well as an interesting variety of sandwiches, but what really stands out are the picadas (antipasto platters). A wide variety of fine cheeses as well as some alternative tastes like smoked wild boar and deer make for some very interesting combinations. You’ll be looking at more than AR$100 for some of the large platters, but splitting one with a group of friends is not going to break the bank.

~~Breoghan~~ Brath’s Brew Bar $$/$$$
Pje. San Lorenzo 389
San Telmo
Tel: 4362-4750

Hours: Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat: 6p.m -12 a.m.,

Sun 12 p.m 10 p.m

• Closed Tuesdays

Porteño Corner: Bakery Worker, Elba Huerte

Elba Huerte
Age: 64
From: Remedios de Escalada, Province of Buenos Aires
Counter server, El Pan Nuestra Bakery
Mexico 702
San Telmo

Q: How many times a week can you eat media lunas (sweet croissants) or facturas (pastries) for breakfast and not get fat?

This, I don’t know, but there are people who eat them everyday. They do make people fat — it’s not diet food, but I tell the clients that they’re low-fat just to make them feel better!

• How long have you worked here?

I’ve worked here since we opened in this location in 2005, but I’ve known and worked for this family for over 40 years. Three partners — two brothers and a nephew own this business, but I worked for the brothers’ dad in a bakery in Belgrano beginning when I was 16 years old.

Then for about 20 years I sold clothes in businesses and I had five people working under me. I made good money but it was tiring after a while. I like this better.

• Why do you like this job?

I like the contact with the public.

• How are the people different from when you started 48 years ago?

Oh my! Before people had good manners and respect, these days that doesn’t even exist. And you might think it’s just the young people but the old people are rude too! They have a bad day and they take it out on us.

The other day a 70 year-old man yelled at me because the price of bread went up. Like it’s my fault that the government increases the cost of wheat! I think the people should say good afternoon, please and thank you. I mean, we’re polite so the people should be too.

• Why do you think the people are ruder than they used to be?

I don’t know. It’s not just the way people raise their kids because the adults have bad manners too, but I do hear mothers saying, ‘I want my daughter to treat me like a friend.’ Your daughter should never be your friend! My daughter certainly does not talk to me like I am her friend; I deserve more respect than her friend.

The foreigners are generally more polite even though I don’t get why they buy one cookie at a time.

• There was a police officer hanging out in here but you said that they didn’t do anything when the bakery got robbed, what’s the story?

For me, the cops are just as corrupt as the crooks. This cop comes and talks with us for a while, it’s safer while he’s in here, but I don’t trust the cops. The cops and the crooks work together. I’m not saying ALL police, but the majority.

It’s like a priest, you know one nice priest and you are fond of them and then you hear about all these priests molesting children. What are you suppose to think? I don’t trust doctors, judges or politicians either. What does a president do? We vote for them and they get into office and then they stuff their pockets and forget what they promised us. I don’t know what’s happening with the world. It’s like corruption is a contagious infection.

• It seems that you give a lot of free bread out here. What’s the policy on that?

We give out bread to anyone who asks. Alicia, my co-worker, is in charge of bagging up the bread we give away. We give bread to kids and old people, and right up the street here there is a hotel for juvenile delinquents without families. They come and ask for bread quite a lot. We give it to them so they don’t rob us. So we give bread to everyone— even the crooks!

• So they don’t rob you then?

Well no, they don’t rob us, they just send other people to do it.