February 5 -- Dancing in Buenos Aires:

Part 1: I went to a hippy-ish music school's performance the other night, which turned out to be 2000 people dancing to some amazing drumming and electronica together, for 4 hours straight. One of the best parties of my life! Top 10, easy. Some of you may recall that I used to throw underground parties, so my party vibe standards are pretty high. If you find yourself in Buenos Aires, check this out:

La bomba de tiempo ("Time Bomb")
Ciudad Cultural Konex
From the event program: "A group of drums and percussion instruments leaded by Santiago Vázquez, each Monday they improvise and make audience dance. "


Part 2: Tango!
On a tip from the owner of Palermo House, I checked out a tango hall, rather than a tango show. The tango hall is a dance hall, where both couples and singles go to dance, not to watch professionals dance. The quality of dancing was excellent, and I liked the authenticity of seeing real couples dance for themselves, not for others.

The physical space at the tango hall was stunning.



Called La Catedral Club Social y Cultural, it is a place for "amigos del corazon del tango."

La Catedral looks like a warehouse from the late 1800s. It is fairly under cover; you enter through the ground floor reception, which appears to be an abandoned office building. Then you walk upstairs to see a wide open, dark and sultry space, with 30-foot ceilings and a huge, simple red chandelier over the dance floor.

Some couples always danced together, and some seemed to change partners often. The tango is very expressive, making it fun to watch how differently each couple dances it. One tiny 70-year-old gentleman (in full 1920s suit and fedora) seemed to be the alpha male here. Virtually all of the ladies danced with him at least one dance, even those with partners. He had a twinkle in his eye, and danced like he was 40 years younger. I hope I am having half as much fun as he is now when I reach that age.



Overall, something cool is indeed happening in Buenos Aires right now. I wasn't in Prague in the 1980s, so I can't make that comparison myself. But others are saying that today's BA has a level of "opportunity" that reminds them of Prague. The other day, I met Nate and Tom, a couple of US-expat DJs trying to make their mark here in Buenos Aires. They were kind enough to hook me up with a very cool Superbowl party. They also later got quoted in a NY Times travel article on the boom in BA.

Here's a photo of Tom (right) and his boss, the owner of Kim y Novak (left).