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La Catedral  is sleepy every night, except Tuesday, when it looks like a beehive during pollination. Feet are flying, bodies are twirling, smoke is swirling, and the chat and charm is sweeter than a honeycomb. Well-dressed dancers expertly execute gaunchos and voleos that would make the curmudgeons at El Beso frown. Food, dance, smoke and ganja; how can anyone resist? This is Buenos Aires. They come in droves from all parts of the world and they seek the path to La Catedral.

Salon Canning is very cliqueish, however, there is a wide enough variety of foreigners and locals on a Saturday night to ensure you won’t be sitting, unless that is your desire. What more is there to say? An ample dance floor, a good mix of dancers, local and foreign, a hosted bathroom, all the ingredients of a good evening. Unless of course you get asked to dance by a dance instructor and then left in the middle of a tanda. Now the entire dance hall will have reservations about dancing with you! That can certinly ruin what began as a promising evening. I have no idea what prompts that behaviour, but, I’ve seen it. Someone perhaps didn’t show interest in dance stratum or classes……oops! Should have taken the class on tango ettiquette. Oh wait, it’s the dance instructor who needs that class in ettiquette!

El Beso is hopping on Saturdays – too much so! Very often you have to stand in the hallway, which management strives to avoid as they want you seated at a table so that you can order a drink. This is one place where drinks are not optional. A nice mixed crowd, with mixed age group, though leaning more to the upper age range. Salon style dancing, and Nuevo is highly discouraged; great selection of music on any night. Friday night is not the night to ‘pop in,’ unless you are in the mood for gay milonga, which can actually be very entertaining to watch, and also something to experience. One gains a new respect. Some of the men actually are more adroit at executing those voleos than many women I’ve seen; their balance is better too! And their ambidexterity makes them wonderful leads for a woman. I’ve also danced in Seattle with a woman lead; a rather distinguished gentleman she makes. She bears a striking resemblance to Julie Andrews’ Victor Victoria.

Villa Malcolm reminds me of the parties we used to have when I resided in Guyana, with the make-shift tent-style awning, someone sitting at the door in a sophmoric desk and chair. The attendees filter through a narrow opening, ducking to avoid being hit in the head by a flopping piece of vinyl, and holding thier breathe to squeeze through the doorway. Inside looks like a huge space donated ot the cause because it is badly in need of some designing imagination to utilise the space and enhance the furniture to accomplish something more pleasant. What it lacks in design it makes up for in lighting. A psychedelic display of lights makes for an overly stimulating evening in addition to the disorder of the swelling crowd and the prosaic arrangement of the furniture.

Nino Bien is in my view the best hangout for locals and foreigners; and it sports a good mix of both. The best night is Thursday.

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