Boedo Tango -- Who Knew?

Last night our normal Saturday routine of dancing at Los Consagrados was discombobulated when all the milongas at Region Leonesa (Nino Bien) were closed. The entire building was shut down due to "problems," which may have been ordered corrections not carried out, bribes not paid, or that someone forgot to pay the electric bill.

In any event, tango in Buenos Aires continues, and so we moved our base of operation to Norma y Hector's Cachirulo, Maipu 444, where we had the forethought to reserve a table. Because it was a zoo! The 300+ dancers from Los Consagrados had to go someplace, and many filtered to Maipu. (Unfortunately Saturday is a tough day for tango, as there aren't that many milongas to choose from, especially if you don't have a date.)

From 8 p.m. on, lines of people (mostly women) waited to get in and then had no place to sit. But it was fun, even if there was no room to dance in that small salon, especially the way Ruben dances. But Howard, Flo and Cristina played musical chairs at our table and we drowned our sorrows in a couple of bottles of Federico Alvear demi-sec champagne.

But on the way back home to Boedo, we decided to check out a new milonga on Avenida San Juan, which is just 3 blocks from my apartment, and upstairs over the Carrefour supermarket.

What a wonderful surprise! The place is absolutely huge, as large as the supermarket downstairs, with 3 wooden dance floors, and several different areas for sitting, all beautifully decorated in a sophisticated way. The smoking section is a mini-Caminito with cobblestones and twinkly fake stars overhead. (Here I am holding my breath with the handsome owner, Luis.)


There were a surprising amount of people, couples, singles, birthday parties, who obviously knew what we hadn't. This is a gorgeous new milonga not allowed by Carrefour to put up a sign outside or to post fliers around the neighborhood. So you have to know. But once up the stairs, you are warmly welcomed and are for sure going to have a good time.

Ruben and I had another bottle of Federico Alvear Champagne (ten pesos cheaper than at Maipu), and a pizza. While the bar menu is extensive, the bar snack selection is minimal: pizza, empanadas, tostadas, sandwiches de miga, and a picada. But there is also a restaurant which is open daily for lunch.

The milonga is open Friday and Saturdays at 10 p.m., and will soon open on Sunday afternoons at 6:00 p.m.





I always wondered why Boedo, the barrio de tango, didn't have anyplace to dance. The milonga in the Salon Mallorca one block from my place, closed after only a month last year.

But now there's Boedo Tango. We'll be back!

Note to tour operators: this is fantastic for large groups.

Boedo Tango
San Juan 3330
4931-4028