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What’s Viejo Almacen tango show like?

Nick MacWilliam

By | September 8, 2014

Best tango show in buenos aires

“…there seems to be an air of authenticity here, which can be lacking in the beautifully-crafted but ostentatiously-enhanced performances at some of the glitzier shows.”

Reservations can be made same day or in advance with the Landing Pad BA staff under the Viejo Almacen Tango Show listing.

Since I first arrived in Buenos Aires, El Viejo Almacén has been an overriding presence in my life. The San Telmo venue, on the corner of Avenida Independencia and Calle Balcarce, is steeped in tango folklore, encapsulating the music’s age-old appeal and serving as a reference point for locals and tourists alike when it comes to negotiating the city’s tango tangle. It is also located directly between my apartment and the nearest cash machine, making it somewhere I pass a great deal, far more often than I probably should.

A bit of history

Dating from 1769, when Buenos Aires was part of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata, the building enjoys protected status due to its historical value. It began life as a warehouse (almacén is the Spanish word), but over the subsequent years it went through various guises; a customs house in the early 19th century, the British hospital during the mid-1800s, a shelter for injured soldiers in the 1865-68 war with Paraguay. It was later taken over by a Russian immigrant named Mrs. Kravnik who opened a music hall that quickly became a meeting spot for San Telmo bohemia.

But, in the story of El Viejo Almacén, it is the name Edmundo Rivero which resonates loudest. In 1969, Rivero bought the building and opened the famous venue, naming it in reference to its humble origins, a move which also reflected tango’s working-class traditions. It quickly took off, as international politicians, celebrities and even royalty came to see the finest dancers from across Argentina. I suspect the Viejo Almacén’s location also played a key role in its rise to fame. At the heart of San Telmo and just a stone’s throw from La Boca, the locale straddles two barrios which most exemplify the city’s classical allure, even if the neighboring tower blocks have somewhat crapped on the aesthetic.

The food and drink

Success, of course, brings expansion, and the unpretentious original has been joined by a swankier restaurant on the facing corner. Set across several floors, there’s space for at least a couple of hundred. Smaller shows take place within the polished refinement of bare brick walls, wooden floors and immaculate waiters. The menu represents the five bastions of porteño dining: meat, fish, chicken, pasta and vegetarian. I have a weak penchant for anything that once ‘mooed’, and the bife de chorizo, a little on the too cooked side, is washed down with a very agreeable Malbec.

The tango show

Once dinner, dessert and wine are over, it’s across the road to the original premises. My only previous tango show experience, while fun, was like going to a Broadway show, all bright lights and glistening pomp across an expansive stage. This is much closer to the tango atmosphere I had imagined. Candlelit tables are randomly scattered throughout the moodily lit venue, all with a good view of the diminutive stage. Drinks, included in the admission, are quick to arrive.

Best tango show in buenos aires

The band are first onstage, sat in front of a large mural of the venue’s façade, and looking like they’ve just been dragged from the nearest tavern. In my book that’s a definite plus, the finest musicians have always been fond of a tipple, and these guys don’t disappoint. Their delicate notes flutter through the air like tuxedoed butterflies, where they meet my second glass of champagne in a collision of contentment.

If those virtuosos are sharp, the dancers when they emerge are positively razor-edged. Every micro-movement is intricately planned as couples weave in and out of each other across the confined stage. I’m amazed that nobody ploughs into anyone else, nor do they fall over at any point. It’s like watching those macho school kids who repeatedly stab knives between their fingers. It’s tense and eye-popping, yet you remain convinced of their absolute self-faith. As someone who is liable to bump into anyone dancing within a five-meter radius, I can only applaud in admiration.

As with other tango shows, what you get at El Viejo Almacén is a series of dance set-pieces and singing numbers, interspersed with a musical interlude here or there as the girls are busy squeezing into another revealing outfit and the guys are re-slicking their hair. The mood of each number is set by the musical tempo – joy, melancholia, sizzling eroticism – and the dancers respond with similar emotion. They clutch one another closely, pirouette through the air, slide hands up fishnetted thighs. The aura of intimacy, enhanced by the stage’s size and close proximity to the tables, is projected across the audience. The punters, by way of response, gape at the entwined bodies and reach for the champagne glass.

One of the nicest aspects is that, to my utterly uncultured, amateur and ignorant perspective, there seems to be an air of authenticity here, which can be lacking in the beautifully-crafted but ostentatiously-enhanced performances at some of the glitzier shows. It can be seen in the faces of the dancers, the informal but respectful atmosphere, and the venue itself, whose stone walls and shadowy corners are from another era. There may be shows with a greater ‘wow’-factor but few which so encapsulate tango’s roots, those of a cultural identity formed in the late-19th century arrival of immigrant communities. Rich in context and performance, El Viejo Almacén combines the music’s ongoing appeal with a sense of history, and should appeal to aficionados and novices alike.

 
To see what I thought about the other tango shows:
Cafe de los Angelitos
Esquina Carlos Gardel

Related: What tango show to see in Buenos Aires?

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