Original Post

It takes 18 to Tango

A glimpse into one night in Buenos Aires

AMY BOYLE

MAR 4, 2023

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The corner seemed familiar, but not because I had been there before. The sun set just a few hours ago and the heat of the day is beginning to wane. It is summer here even though my geographic bearings have yet to adjust. I am grateful for the slight drop in temperature.

Our group of 18’s excitement to enter the establishment is palpable. The street lights glimmer off each pebble on the cobble stone as I scan for a place to sit in case we have a long wait. To my relief there is a lone bistro table and chair, good to know! We had just left a previous engagement and our social muscles are well lubricated. Many of us had dressed up for the evening. The choice of my ridiculous three and half inch high heels may look great, but have not been used at any other time on this reporting sojourn. Our group stands in clusters (clicks if you will), but what we all have in common at this moment is the possible high point of our trip, tango night.

Bar Sur gives off speakeasy vibes. Maybe it’s this particular night or our virtual familiarity with the establishment introduced to us in an episode of Parts Unknown hosted by the late Anthony Bourdain. That episode began in black and white and I am beginning to feel that I am going to time travel.

The doors are opened and we file in - There is only one main room. The black and white tile floors are revealed as the shotgun front to back of the room is surrounded by bistro tables and chairs. The 18 of us find our partners for the night and sit down. These partners may be our classmates we have spent the whole week with thus far, but a few tables by choice or happenstance, mix it up. Our conversations are quieted a bit as we wait to learn how the night is going to unfold. The walls are not overly decorated, however there are Art Nouveau stencils that grab my eye and the mirrors behind the bar add a sense of a larger space. Each table has a singular candle whose cut glass holder creates a beautiful pattern on the tabletop. Wine is poured and the show begins.

The music played by a bassist, piano player and violinist is haunting, nostalgic and enticing. I look around the room to see my classmates each with different levels of interest, yet all locked on to the fancy footwork that sweeps you away in the moment. We cheer and eagerly look forward to our photo ops with the dancers. How is it that the whole week of parachute immersion could end so choreographed yet feel so authentic?

While the Argentinian tango is for two people what this night represents is 18 of us coming together. There are characters who lead and those who follow, but at the end of this trip it truly took all 18 of us to tango!