New Years Tango, San Telmo, Plaza Dorrego

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New Years Tango

From the book, "Stranded In Chicken" by David Rice

David Rice traveled the 

Americas  by bus following the

 Pan American Highway 

much of the way when he 

backpacked from 

Antarctica to Prudhoe 

Bay

I flew back to Santiago and hopped right on a local bus to the first class bus terminal where I got an overnight ticket 950 miles due east to Buenos Aires. When I arrived in Buenos Aires I walked around the terminal to the Metro, locally called the Subte, to head to the San Telmo area, the region where the Argentine Tango originated.

My hostel was within a block of the metro station.
 Nearby on the corner of Defensa and Humberto the Plaza Dorrego becomes an outdoor nightclub on weekends were Tango is serious entertainment.

The clubs get rolling at around midnight and the party goes until dawn for the Portenos, as the people of Buenos Aires call themselves. Tables crowd the

whole square and the center becomes a dance floor as couples demonstrate the Argentine Tango in all its nuances. They then invite everybody to dance

the tango.

I love to watch the dance and was encouraged to try myself a few times, inviting a lady who was standing nearby. We both laughed as we went through the motions and tried a few dances in a vain attempt to master the complicated steps. We then

sat back down and had a drink and enjoyed the show.

I have danced all my life but the tango is difficult to learn, especially when it includes several regional versions. Without my felt hat and suspenders I just couldn't let my inner dancer free.

See David Rice's book on 

Amazon

I spent five days in the hostel and toured the city and included the Plaza de Mayo where Juan Peron and Eva often stood to address the people. The grieving women of Buenos Aires, The Madre de la Plaza de Mayo, still march through the city on

Thursday in front of the notorious Pink Palace. They still demand to know where their loved ones had gone during the, "Dirty War."

From Colonia I caught a bus to Montevideo the next morning. I wanted to visit the capital of Uruguay and I also needed a visa for my return to Brazil as I headed north.  The Brazilian immigration official, however, just wasn't too friendly and she insisted that I needed a return transportation ticket to get the visa. Usually I am able to talk my way around this and make the official understand that I am passing through and I am able to get the visa without having a return ticket.  The officials do this because they want to be sure that you have a way out of their country. At the border crossing, however, no inspector ever asks to see your return ticket. 
The Brazilian official in this instance did not relent as we talked, so I decided to go north without passing through Brazil. I returned to Buenos Aires, via Colonia, where I spent Christmas.

I visited many beaches along the way, David Rice

When I reached Buenos Aires I booked into a different hostel closer to the tango action at the Plaza Dorrego. A considerable upgrade it turned out, Hostel San Telmo offered a free breakfast and much more comfort.

On December 27, I went out to the Recoleta Cemetery to see the burial place of the Perons. I continued my tour of the city museums and sights including downtown which has great shopping areas with pedestrian-only streets and upscale shops.

Many of the buildings reminded me of French European architecture.

At other times I went to San Telmo and just sat on a bench and ate white chocolate ice cream while watching the people go by.

I had a surprise one day when I met the German man who I traveled with in Panama on the sailboat through the San Blas Islands. It really didn't amaze

me to run into him again, I know that more than likely I will run into the same people several times on a long trip. We all travel the same trail: the backpackers trail around the world. All the sights are on the same trails, we all head to the same places. I have run into the same people four or five times in different countries on long trips.

I also reacquainted with a couple that I met on my first stay in Buenos Aires, a Dutch couple who were traveling around the world by air. I joined them for New Years champagne and tango dancing on the Plaza Dorrego where we met another traveler from Australia. We sat in the square and watched tango dancing while we drank red Malbecs and Champagnes at the old bars with their open windows. We then danced to the music while doing our best Argentine tango. We partied for what felt like long into the morning but when we left Plaza Dorrego for our hotels, the local people were just starting to get warmed up.

I toasted the New Year and said my farewells to Buenos Aires. I looked forward to the last leg of my journey, a bus north on the second of January heading to a town called Villazon where I planned to start my trip home. I was feeling elated at the dawn of a new year and the end of an exciting trip. Every bus ride and

boat ride had been flawless, every person that I met, happy and friendly, how could I know what a downer I was in for next.

David Rice, "Stranded In Chicken"