Piazzolla Tango with Ambiance & Passion

See the tango in the city where it all began, Buenos Aires. I did and this was the best show I ever experienced in Buenos Aires.

The show takes place in the historic Guemes Gallery, designed by Francisco Gianotti in the early 1900s. A very romantic and sensual escapade performed in the gallery’s Astor Piazzolla Theatre, named after the famous Argentine tango composer and musician. While you watch the dancing and listen to the music, enjoy the rich interior of the gallery, decorated with bronze sculptures and intricate wall designs.

Feel the ambiance in this beautiful and intimate old theatre.

A  theatrical performance at Piazzolla Tango. Picture courtesy Piazzolla Tango. 

A magnificent cultural heritage that was carefully choreographed. The dancers will blew you away with their passion and you feel like travelling back to the past.

Address: Florida Street 165, C1005AAC Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Phone: (0)11 4344 8201.

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Milion - Stunning venue, Conscious clientele

With it's style conscious clientele, this is one of the most stunningly set venues in Buenos Aires, inside a turn-of-the-last-century mansion in an enormous beaux-arts façade easily missed while walking the congested streets near the Galleria de Arte. This is a place I always visit for dining when i Buenos Aires.

Picture courtesy of Deltasky

An unmarked entryway leads to a receiving hall and dramatic staircase running the interior of the building and adjoining the various entertainment spaces to each other. Staff is confined to each individual venue, meaning that few guests don't come to realise they're in the right place until well up the staircase. A distinguished high ceiling cocktail lounge offers a sultry atmosphere of a dark, candle-lit corners and ornate settees among the buildings numerous glass doors and partitions. The main bar features abstract artwork. An upper lounge area is open for special events and the occasional 'underground' – or perhaps above ground party attended by BA's fashion elite.

The ground floor  is home to the in-house restaurant with speciality in Latin-fusion cuisine with a trendy twist, but head upstairs to the bar, where a glamorous set of locals is invariably ordering drinks and getting to know each other.

There's also an outdoor patio, and drinking and socialising flows down the marble staircase leading into the garden.

History
Milion house is an early last century buildings in the neoclassical style known as "hotel particulaire". Built in 1913, the building was originally home of the Allemand family - the last of whom died in 1992. Its architect remains a mystery, all we know about him is that he was a member of the family Allemand.

After its last resident died, the house was closed for seven years. a space for promotion of arts and entertainment, a commitment that began to develop in early August 1999 and still continue working and renovating.

The garage and residence of the driver has now become an atelier in which projections are made cinema more than anything experimental. From the garden is the counter back with Carrara marble staircase leading to the terrace plane nobile.

Address
Milion
Paraná 1048, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Phone: (0)11 15 4815 9925

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Gran Bar Danzon - Chic

Bar Gran Danzon is legendary in Buenos Aires. A club like feel with dim lighting and and good food. I used to go there in evening, but stayed after midnight when the Buenos Aires crowd was there listening to the music and looking hip in their mostly black fashionable outfits.I usually enjoy a great cigar in the glass smoking room vis a vis the bar.The wine selection is amazing.

 A trendy crowded place where chic internationals sip cocktails and stick around for dinner and the live jazz show later. The bilingual staff were awesome. One of my favorites in Buenos Aires.

Ambiance and reasonable prices.Daily happy hours the first two hours after the bar opening. This means double drinks at the price on one. This gem is hidden from tourists and a must visit. 

Hours: 
Mon-Tue 7pm-2am 
Wed 7pm-2:30am 
Thu 7pm-3am 
Fri 7pm-3:30am 
Sat 8:30pm-4am 
Sun 8pm-4am 



Photo: Courtesy Just Karen

Address: Libertad 1161, City of Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina,
Connoisseur

Buenos Aires - A city of passion

Rodney Bolt in The Telegraph writes about Buenos Aires: "Buenos Aires is often billed as the Paris of the South, and it certainly has the appropriate sophistication, the fin-de-siècle grace, and the couture.

Along Caminito, a street in the tough La Boca neighbourhood, houses are painted in bright pinks, yellows, blues ?

But the real magic of the city lies in something essentially Latin. Trying to discover just what that something is can be the most fascinating part of a visit. Marlene Dietrich came close when she said: "Latinos are tenderly enthusiastic. In Brazil they throw flowers at you. In Argentina they throw themselves."
"We don't have a middle road," agrees one young porteño (a person from Buenos Aires). "We love or we hate."

The rooms at Legado Mitíco, my hotel in the Palermo Viejo district, were named after revered Argentines – the mystical writer Jorge Luis Borges, tango star Carlos Gardel, Evita Perón, of course, as well as a couple of military heroes, and even the comic-strip character Mafalda (an acerbic six year-old). Curiously, though, no Maradona. Perhaps the footballer didn't quite fit the hotel's stylish image, or maybe the omission was out of sensitivity to English guests' feelings."

See the full story at The Telegraph here.

Spectator

Cafe cultures in great cities

Many great cities share having a cafe culture. Beirut, Buenos Aires and Montevideo, all of them are enjoying a culture of coffee. They are very different cities, but all of them have an architectural heritage which create a special atmosphere.

In 2002, I’m sitting in a cosy Italian café in Beirut, drinking my American Coffee, working and enjoying the whir of the espresso machine in the background. On my left is a big window looking out to the sidewalk. I see people walking to work, to the market, to the bank. I’m contemplating moving over to that big comfy couch over there and snuggling up with my laptop to finish my work. It took the barrista only a few minutes to make my American Coffee, which is normal since it’s not “rush hour”. It’s before noon, and there aren’t many people in the café. Yesterday it took 10 minutes. People order their drinks and then settle down talking, some with their computers. Beirut  has recovered from a 17 years civil war and the city center is refurbished keeping its old architecture and style. They call it Paris of the middle east and it is a buzzling place where people "show off", specially the girls with their flashy handbags and mobile phones (always the latest model). The waitress takes her time and we have time. Sometimes people go up to the counter and chat with the barrista. It’s always fun to eavesdrop.

In 2008, in Buenos Aires, I enter the cafe on the corner and pick a table near the window. Eventually the mozo, waiter, approaches me and I ask for “un cortado” – a cortado is kind of like a coffee macchiato. He soon returns with a full tray, and one at a time, he sets my cortado, a small glass of sparkling water, a little plate of cookies and the sugar on the table. I say “Gracias” like I always do, the waiter says “No, a vos” and I take my first sip, slouch onto the table like everyone else in the café, and look out the window. I'm thinking about the spectacular Tango Show I enjoyed in city center the other night. The impressions from the show is still clouding my mind, I was very taken by the experience and the sensual atmosphere.  I could spend hours here looking at the buzzling life. I eventually decide it’s time to go, and try to catch the waiter’s eye. Once we lock eyes, we nod at each other and he comes to the table (just like in a milonga). I ask for la cuenta, the check, and pay him, then leaving for a another adventure.

In 2010, in Montevideo, I am walking through the historic center on my way to the bank, and to meet someone important. I realise that the coffee I made at home just didn’t do the trick, and it would be nice to have just a teeny bit more caffeine. I have 15 minutes before I have to be where I’m going. I duck into a bar (where you get coffee), go to the cash register, tell the cashier I want “un American Coffèe”, and pay. I bring my receipt to the barista, who presents me with a little cup with my dear Coffee in less time than it takes me to say “coffeè”. The turn of the century architecture create a special atmosphere, taking you back in time, which I enjoy. I down my coffee standing up before I continue to my destination. I haven’t even spent 10 minutes in the bar.

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