Carnival and Tango Dinner Show

In total, I attended two special events in Buenos Aires: the Carnival and a Tango Dinner Show.

You can find out exactly where the carnival is celebrated in the streets by searching on the internet. Due to the distance, I decided to celebrate it in Palermo. Although it had some similarities to the carnival in Germany, it was different from the carnival parades at home. In Palermo, it was celebrated at an intersection where a small stage was set up and an area of about 100 meters in length was blocked off.

One after another, the individual carnival groups from different neighborhoods advanced towards the stage, singing and dancing, and marched out after about 20 minutes. However, I could only see a real difference in the color of the costumes and quickly got bored. I can imagine that the carnival groups had the time of their lives, as they walked from one neighborhood to another all night and danced. But as a spectator, it felt like seeing the same thing the whole time. What was also new to me was that foam spray bottles were sold to children, which other people sprayed for fun. Unfortunately, I did not attend the big carnival parade on Monday on Avenida de Mayo, which is the most important day of the Argentine carnival.

However, what I did attend was a Tango Dinner Show at Puerto Madero. My ticket included my pick-up, the show, a three-course menu where I could choose between different dishes, a seat close to the stage, free soft drinks, beer and wine, and a tango dance lesson after the performance. For the appetizer, I ordered Empanadas, for the main course, I had a sirloin steak with salt potatoes and chimichurri, which tasted really delicious, and for dessert, I had Flan with Dulce de Leche and cream.

At my table, there were seven Brazilians besides me, none of whom spoke Spanish and only one of them spoke English, so I spoke in Spanish the whole time and received a Portuguese reply. Somehow, communication worked. The tango show itself guided us through the history of tango and was told by singing and dancing performers.

The performance ended at around 0:30 and the dance lesson began. However, it was a bit short, so we only learned basic steps. Nevertheless, I did well and the dance teacher even asked me if I dance regularly. At the end of the dance lesson, all participants received a certificate and were allowed to take photos with the professionals.

However, if you don't want to book a dance lesson, you have the option to choose between different packages that only include the show or the show and the meal. At Lopez Hostel, I was also responsible for informing and advising our guests about the different offers of the tango show. For me, it was an experience that you should have if you want to know more about Argentine culture, and I would definitely recommend it again.