Argentina - You Know When You’ve Been Tangoed

October 28-30

Hello everyone!

If you were asked about Argentinian culture and identity, you’d probably be able to generate quite a long list: meat, wine, football, medialunes, politics just to name a few. One key element may spring to mind even before this, however: tango.

Tango show at Café de lose Angelitos

Having a tango lesson in Buenos Aires

To simplify, you could say dancing. People like me were introduced to the tango through hit TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing. But in Argentina, and Buenos Aires in particular, there’s a lot more to it. 

Singing and live music are also key components 

Artwork around the city often focuses on tango

Tango is said to have been the soul of Buenos Aires since its inception in the late 19th century. It merged a wide range of ethnicities and musical influences. Historians have suggested that it started in brothels, though no one is sure. What is sure is that it became - and is - a dance enjoyed by all stratas of the city’s society.

Many of the theatres where tango is performed are also quite old

The wide variety of ethnicities included European immigrants, 'criollos', Africans and natives

Tango is seen as quite a sultry and romantic dance. That made it quite interesting to learn that it was originally performed between two men. They would practise steps whilst waiting for a lesser-spotted woman to emerge and be swooned. Argentine Tango had some golden eras - the 1920s and 1940s in particular - when politics was more stable and less militarised. 

It’s estimated that in 1914 there were more than 100,000 more men in Buenos Aires than women

The tango show we watched played on fashion from the time

It’s not just the moves that make the tango, however. Music is a huge part of it, with instruments such as the bandoneón, a special type of accordion, used for the purpose of making people move. The music has apparently changed over time, with the introduction of elements of rock and jazz music.

Cellos and violins are also important

Music can be found around the city, such as this small band

Tango can be found across the city, but its real heart is probably the district of San Telmo. Walking through its bustling market on a Sunday morning, you get clues about the importance of the dance. Apparently in the evening the streets come alive with spontaneous dances and milongas.

The San Telmo market was declared a national
historic monument by the city in 2000

Purses and bags made in part from small vinyl records 

Many theatres will put on tango shows: an all-singing, all-dancing performance in a beautiful building. We visited a place called Café de los Angelitos to watch the professionals get to work.

This place first opened in 1890

It is known as one of the city's 'Historic Bars'

From up on a gilded balcony, we had the perfect view of the dancers on stage and the band in an alcove above them. The show, over an hour in length, went on a journey of colour, noise and brilliant dancing.

Our view of the stage

Here you can see the band above the dancers

Being all in Spanish, and without much context, I couldn’t possibly guess at the ‘plot’ of the tango story. So I’ll let the pictures and videos do the talking for me.

The movement was incredible. We watched and applauded mostly with impressed astonishment. The positive emotions, however, had a tiny bit of trepidation every-so-slightly swirled in. The reason? Well, it was our turn the next day…

Our turn to dance, not sing. Wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Our studio!

I’d organised a tango lesson for the four of us. Ankles and knees had recovered sufficiently for us all to head to a dance studio someone’s apartment to take our first steps towards Strictly stardom.

One of many examples of me not looking up

Any more than four and it would have been a bit tight for space!

Our teacher, Viktor, led us through a sequence of 8 steps for a leader and follower. Once these had been perfected, or at least completed successfully, a couple of slightly more challenging moves were added in. This was the point at which I realised my ankle can’t yet do a 360° spin.

Mum and Dad smashing their steps

Look at that knee bend!

We may not be gracing the beautiful stage of Cafe de los Angelitos anytime soon, but we had a great time learning to tango. An important part of the city’s identity, we can proudly say that we tried to do as the porteños do: twirling away their day to the tango.

High kicks by the pros...

...and smiles from the amateurs with Viktor

Those who can tango: immense respect

Love you all,

Matt

Argentina - Brrr-uenos Aires

October 25-29

Hello everyone!

After a week with Hannah’s parents in El Salvador, we hopped on two flights to head south to see my mum and dad. Quite far south. In actual fact, to the southernmost point I have ever been on Earth…

Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires

Hola padres! They've been in Peru and Chile.

Bienvenidos a Argentina. The world’s eighth-largest country, one synonymous with sport and culture…and one that was surprisingly cold considering it is supposed to be heading towards summer here.

Blue and white are colours associated with patriots from the
1810 revolution, and was adopted by the new country of Argentina in 1816

We flew via Bogotá. Two flights, over 10 hours total, and no food provided. Cheers Avianca.

The notion of ‘cold’ is subjective, of course. It was colder in most of the UK than it was for the week we spent in the country’s enormous capital city: Buenos Aires. However, 12°C is comfortably the coldest temperature I have experienced in 2025. Time to dust off the gilet!

Don't get fooled by that blue sky!

Floraris Generica, an installation of a metallic
flower that opens and closes each day 

The name of Argentina’s biggest and grandest city translates as ‘fair winds’. There was a fair amount of wind, particularly in the first couple of days. However, it only rained briefly on the first day, allowing the opportunity to explore. 

El Ataneo Grand Splendid, often voted one of the most
beautiful bookshops in the world, used to be a palatial theatre

Probably a cool - but not so safe - way of traversing the capital

And boy is there a lot to explore here. We were spending a week based in the capital, with occasional day trips getting us out of the sprawl of people in the Greater BA area. They number almost 16 million, with many more commuting in and out daily from even further afield. With that in mind, it was a pleasant surprise that traffic didn’t seem…well, as bad as El Salvador, for one.

Many large adverts were dotted around the city

Aside from a couple of screams of joy on Sunday evening,
we wouldn't have known an election had finished.
Google did. Well done, Google.

Traffic did build up later in the week -
imagine if there were only 2 or 3 lanes...

Part of this is due to having very wide roads. Avenida 9 de julio, for example, is commonly said to be the widest avenue in the world. 140 metres wide. Within that - and many other wide roads around the city - are dedicated bus lanes. Though we didn’t use it as there weren’t any major bus stops or subway stations nearby, public transport here seems decent and regular. Arguably more regular than a hop-on, hop-off bus…

Avenida 9 de julio

Yellow buses were more frequent. We needed
red. Red seemed to be less punctual.

Within that 140 metre expanse are something else that make the city quite pleasant: trees. Lots and lots of trees and little green-tinged plazas. Though I’m sure there are many areas of Buenos Aires that make the city resemble a concrete jungle, I was impressed by the amount of greenery around the city. It makes everything seem that much friendlier and more beautiful.

Lots of greenery, particularly in the north of the city

There is a distinctly European vibe to many buildings

The buildings add to the beauty, as well as nod to the heavy European influence on one of Latin America’s historically important cities. Along Avenida 9 de julio you will find the Colón Theatre, said to be one of the most spectacular in the world. A little bit further inland is the Barolo Palace, a Gaudi-esque concoction that is said to tell parts of the famous Inferno by Dante Alighieri. 

The present theatre opened in 1908

When completed in 1923, Palacio Barolo was
the tallest building in South America

The most famous buildings here are around Plaza de Mayo. One of these is the Metropolitan Cathedral. Its outside boasts a facade which seems more Greek than Christian. One famous inhabitant, José de San Martín, rests here permanently in a mausoleum. Another man, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, worked here for a while before moving to another job and changing his name. You'll probably know him better as Pope Francis.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Buenos Aires was
the second largest Catholic city in the world

San Martín is seen as one of the liberators
of South America - his mausoleum is
always protected by two guards

The first Latin American Pope was Archbishop
of Buenos Aires from 1998 until 2013

Another iconic building is the Casa Rosada: the Pink Palace. The location has been important for centuries, being close to the spot where Buenos Aires established itself as a fort soon after the Spanish did the conquistador thing in the 16th century. Some of this history is available in a small museum behind the Casa Rosada. With no internet and any English descriptions being hidden behind QR codes, it was a test of my Spanish.

The official workplace of President Milei, though he lives elsewhere

Booklets promoting Perónism

The presidential palace itself was built in the second half of the 1800s. The reason for its distinctive colour has two theories: a sweet one (it unified warring ‘white’ and ‘red’ factions) and a practical one (paint was often mixed with animal blood to help it last in a humid environment). Its balcony has had many famous speakers, notably Eva Perón.

A monument and giant flag can be found in front of the Casa Rosada

A portrait of two people whose political
views have shaped Argentina since 1945

The First Lady and powerful figure behind her husband, Juan Perón, is buried in a large and ornate cemetery in an area in the north of the city called Recoleta. Owing to her popularity, both at the time and in subsequent generations due to the success of Evita, the cemetery is one of the most popular attractions to visit in the city, along with Casa Rosada. Many of Argentina's wealthy elite from the past are buried here, shown by the decadence and abundance of expensive stone on show.

Eva Perón was First Lady for six years
until her death from cancer in 1952

Eva's body went on a bit of a journey before settling here,
ending up in Milan and Madrid before returning to Argentina in 1974 

This is not the grave of a famous person but has an infamous
story - you can read about it here

Apparently Diego Maradona has also addressed adoring Argentinians from the Casa Rosada. Later in his career, after returning from wowing European crowds, one of the greatest football players in history returned to Buenos Aires to play for one of its two iconic teams: Boca Juniors. They play in an area of town called La Boca, a short way south of the Casa Rosada.

For balance, this is the stadium of the other team, River Plate.
The Monumental is the largest stadium in South America
and hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup Final.

Street art for the God-like figures of Maradona and Messi

Key elements of La Boca include its
port heritage and football team

The story behind their world-renowned colours is fun. Boca Juniors originally played in red and white, just like their rivals River Plate. They played a match, with the winner keeping the colours. River won 2-1, leaving Boca to ponder the makeup of their next kit. Those in charge decided that they would adopt the colours of the next boat to arrive at the nearby docks. Shortly after, a Swedish ship docked nearby, giving Boca Juniors their blue and yellow colours.

Other notable Boca players have included Carlos
Tevez, Juan Riquelme and Martin Palermo

Boca Juniors' stadium is called La Bombonera, or 'The Chocolate
Box', due to its unusual D shape and steep stands

La Boca itself is said to be a relatively poor neighbourhood, though it possesses some beautiful and vibrant areas. Buildings in its Caminito district in particular are a rainbow splash that, like the trees lining the avenues further north, make Buenos Aires seem more pleasant and liveable.

Caminito is named after a tango song from the 1920s

The area is famous for colourful buildings and street art

Living in a place is very different to experiencing its highlights as a tourist. We had snippets of traffic and wild driving. We saw people sleeping on the streets. We know that it would be even colder in its winter months of June and July. But Buenos Aires has generally been a beautiful, safe, surprisingly calm city in which to stay and explore for a week. 

Impressive artwork in La Boca

Stunning location for a bookshop

One of the many green spaces within Avenida 9 de julio

Vamos!

Love you all,

Matt