Tango is an essential part of Buenos Aires and Argentina. Locals regularly attend milongas, a South American dance evening where tango, waltz, and milonga are performed. During the Buenos Aires Tango Festival, the whole city comes alive through passionate Argentine tango and its rhythms.
Festival Program
Workshops featuring the best dancers and musicians from all over the world are organized throughout the city. Beginners can attend free master classes for ten days. There are also classes for more advanced dancers. There is even a special database where you can find yourself a partner for dancing. For those wanting to dance until their hearts content, open nightly milongas are held throughout the city.
World Tango Championship
A significant part of the festival is World Tango Championship. Hundreds of dancing couples from more than 40 countries of the world come to Buenos Aires to show their dance skills. The preliminaries take place in May, with the best dancers of those rounds proceeding to the World Tango Cup.
The competition consists of two categories—salon tango (Tango de Pista) and stage tango (Tango Escenario). The first is characterized by slow, measured movements of the milonga. A special feature of the stage tango is the virtuosic technique and acrobatic movements, including ballet. The shows are usually held at the Usina del Arte.
Festival Venues
The passionate celebration of tango is scattered all throughout the city of Buenos Aires. However, there are some primary venues where a majority of the events take place. The list includes Usina del Arte in the La Boca neighborhood, famous for being tango's homeground, the Luna Park arena, Museo del Cine and many other places.
History of the Festival
The festival has been held since 2003 due to the initiative of the Buenos Aires mayor, who wished to showcase the beauty of tango to the whole world. Tango first originated in the immigrant neighborhood of La Boca, which is why many festival events are held in this historic area every year.
