La Puerta Roja is recognized only by its red door, as it is not signposted. It is reminiscent of  a sixth form college common room with poor lighting, shabby walls, worn leather seating and a pool table. Yet still it is a comfortable and cool place to hang out.
It offers a large range of spirits and a small selection of wine and beers. Pizzas and sandwiches are also served. Despite its inconspicuousness it attracts a mixture of locals and travelers. Large crowds from hostels come regularly as part of  “the buenos aires pub crawl” to invade the joint.

• Want to Indulge Yourself? Head to Bariloche
• Spotlight on Belgrano, Buenos Aires – An Insider’s Favorite Hangouts
• Sublime Submarinos
• Review of Job’s Bar in Palermo
• Board Games & Ambiance: Acabar in Palermo Gets the Night Started

Inexpensive at $19.99, the walking tours to Palermo, San Telmo and Recoleta are easy to download and chock full of dynamite information for independent travelers who want to roam at will.

Started by two former college roommates (of course), MPTours.com has created a travel experience that caters to the five senses and explores architecture, culture and history in the world’s most dynamic cities without the lag time that often occurs in tour groups.

Your audio guide speaks to you as a friend, and clues you in to much more than just the must see sights. Actually, the best part is the dynamics of everything else—the local flavor is such that you leave the barrio feeling like it’s your new home.

MPTours got its start in Buenos Aires and has set its sights next on a city that could be BA’s sister city: Rome.

We can hardly wait.

• Interview with Alan Patrick of Buenos Tours (Part 1)
• Your Guide to the Best Bars & Clubs in Buenos Aires
• Interview with Alan Patrick of Buenos Tours (Part 2)
• “Por la Calle” Urban Design Tour Coming to Buenos Aires
• Architecture Students from Rosario to Visit 50 Cities

In 1976, Jose Gonzalez’s politically active parents fled an Argentina on the brink of brutality. They were offered asylum in Sweden. Tonight, Jose Gonzalez is at La Trastienda and though his catalogue of songs is totally in English, his banter is the pure Castellano of his parents’ native country. Suddenly, he’s witty and self-assured, not only during his catalogue – that is unusually rich for a relatively new singer songwriter – but between his amazing songs as well. I’m seeing a more open side of Jose Gonzalez, making me think that maybe he just doesn’t let his hair out down in English?

Gonzalez is touring to support his second release, In Our Nature. His debut, Veneer, subtly altered the acoustic pop landscape with its powerful, James Taylor-esque, wave of message-embedded-in-melody. In his way, Jose Gonzalez is a self-contained, global, warrior for peace. He plays his simple songs and stops time for a moment. Well, that’s what he did at La Trastienda this week in Buenos Aires. His voice, his rhythmic guitar, his buena onda was contagious and thick with purpose. Luckily, he was lighthearted in Spanish and managed to clear the air with a few words between songs.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msKl3h49jHI]

Three years ago, Jose Gonzalez debuted Veneer in New York City at Joe’s Pub downtown. I’d memorized the record and looked forward to seeing him live, but he was stoic and stilted and it was one of those “no breathing allowed” kind of rooms. So I held my breath and got pretty bored as the show wore on.

I heard snoring behind me and, surpressing a snicker, looked over my shoulder only to see Lou Reed from the Velvet Undergroud, classic piece of rock history that he is, dead asleep and possibly drooling into his cupped hand that supported his sleeping face. That woke me up and kept me entertained until the end of the show. I kept looking back and there was Lou, knocked out. The show ended and he woke up. I asked him how he’d enjoyed Jose’s show. “It was great,” he said. It had been a very mellow show. I bet Veneer made for nice dreams.

When Veneer had its US release, there was a retrospect of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Veneer was on my Ipod when I attended the show and I listened as I looked. Somehow, the expressionist painter and printer, most famous for “The Scream,” was well served by a Jose Gonzalez soundtrack, and the two Nordic artists synchronized perfectly. I’ll forever see Munch’s haunting paintings when I hear a song from Veneer.

From his introverted style of presentation and the themes found in his music, I likened Jose Gonzalez to my impression of Munch. I believe Jose wouldn’t mind – he’s quite Scandinavian and all artist. But here in Argentina last week, the audience saw a warmer, more approachable side. He was his parents’ child – the Jose that may have grown up here, had there not been dictators and desaparacidos. Smiling and in his element at La Trastienda, his rhythmic guitar and sweet vocals graced us with his songbook – that of a Swede named Gonzalez, on tour in Buenos Aires.

• Famous Argentina Musician Fito Paez Gives Intimate Concert
• ‘Dirty War’ Parents Jailed for Kidnapping Case 30 Years Later
• Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Reunite with New Album, Two Concerts
• Guitar Show 2008 Brings Together Famous Guitarists
• “Ballet Argentino” Fuses Difference Worlds of Dance

Alessio describes the venue as “pure flamenco,” and Lo de los Montoya was buzzing on the music scene before it even opened. The Montoyas, a gypsy family in Argentina, are famous in the flamenco community for their mastery and skill of the music and dance, and any establishment associated with their name provides an unofficial stamp of approval. Since its inception, Lo de los Montoya has enjoyed a steady stream of famous and extremely talented flamenco dancers and musicians. Alessio, who personally selects the dancers and musicians for the evening, but does not publicize the individual names (the bar is about the music, not the individual), believes that this bar will be a regular stop on any flamenco star’s route through Buenos Aires.

While the proprietors have no intention of turning the establishment into a culinary Mecca, the imported cheese, traditional tapas, and gypsy stew- served at the caprice of the owners and as part of a pre-set dinner menu- are simple but fulfilling. The white wine sangria (also called Clericó) is also a must-order. This unpretentious attitude toward the dinner menu goes hand-in-hand with Alessio’s hospitable attitude; he has been known to purchase and store wines for customers who voice a preference for certain brands or grape varieties. This attitude is also reflected in the beautiful and slightly mysterious waitresses- aspiring Flamenco dancers themselves- who are attentive and amiable.

Alessio believes that Lo de los Montoya is the first step in a three-stage process to enrich the flamenco community in Argentina. He has plans to open a flamenco academy that will rotate professors and teach beginning, intermediate, and advanced dance classes. He also hopes to eventually sell imported guitars, fans, and other flamenco gear produced by the best Spanish brands. This all stays in line with his desire to build a business based on pure flamenco.

While Argentines wait to hear more from Alessio and the Montoyas, Lo de los Montoya continues to promise an intimate and homey atmosphere, excellent Spanish tapas and home-cooked food, and a flamenco experience like no other in Buenos Aires.

Lo de los Montoya
Bolívar 911, San Telmo
4361-4568
Open every day until late
Shows on Wednesdays through Sundays, starting around 22.30
For reservations: Reservas@LosMontoya.com

• Teenage Street Performer Wows Tourists With Flamenco Talent
• Singer Concha Buika Performs Latest Album
• “Tsonami” is a Wave of Chilean Music in Buenos Aires
• New Documentary Café de los maestros Celebrates Tango
• The Beginners Guide to Tango in Buenos Aires, by Tangocherie

In San Telmo, the many antique stores sell riches of the city’s past. I am an antique fiend, but shopping here is bittersweet – a palpable reminder of the city’s economic woes. If you are looking for a keepsake of your trip – one that gives back as well as takes – try the Casa de San Antonio de los Cobres, in the gorgeous Pasaje de la Defense courtyard shopping area at Defensa 1179. Duck in off the street to the sunny patio, a 2-storied shopping area with worn tiled floors, fountains, and verdant plants.

A non-governmental organization, Casa de San Antonio de los Cobres works on issues of social justice with a small community in the country’s northwest. The store sells beautiful artisan tapestries of llama and sheep wool, made by indigenous peoples of San Antonio. The handmade vests, shawls, carpets, and blankets are unique and exquisite, wonderful place-based artisan goods. Profits from sales support projects in health and education in the pueblo. And, of course, a tapestry packs nicely in a suitcase – much easier to transport than a crystal chandelier.

Casa de San Antonio de los Cobres
Defensa 1179- PB local 32 – San Telmo
Buenos Aires – Argentina
Tel: 4300-7513

• ‘Intimacies’ Takes Top Prize at BA Film Festival
• See La Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires
• Hunting for Antique Treasures in Buenos Aires
• Argentine Countryside – Gran Buenos Aires
• Hundreds of Angry Cows Paralyze Downtown Buenos Aires

The Spanish are said to have founded Buenos Aires here in San Telmo, where Park Lezama now stands. Altos de San Pedro Telmo, as the neighborhood was called in the 18th century, was home to Buenos Aires’ wealthy families. They built their mansions in the style of the French and Spanish – with courtyards and terraces and lengthy pasajes, courtyard passage ways, that often stretch through an entire city block.

In 1871 an outbreak of yellow fever killed thousands of city residents and the aristocrats fled to higher ground, making Recoleta their new home. They left their fine architecture behind, and newly arrived immigrants moved in, turning mansions into tenement housing – conventillos. Today, San Telmo is a middle-class neighborhood in flux, with many longtime residents being slowly priced out as foreign investment continues to reshape the city.

Antique shops and art galleries lure tourists in to comb San Telmo’s streets in search of bohemian works of art and European craftsmanship at Argentine prices. The Feria de Antiguedades, held Sundays in the plaza, draws the biggest crowds and as it closes up its booths for the day, the mid-day fair is replaced by an evening of tango in the square.

There’s live music in many of the bars surrounding Plaza Dorrego and candombe drummers often perform in the street with dancers or other musicians. San Telmo is home to a few boliches as well as the occasional underground party, organized with live music and a small cover. Those parties are less common since 2004, when a fire in a nightclub took the lives of close to 200 people.

The tragedy sparked awareness of fire hazards in venues and resulted in the commercialization of nightlife with big, expensive boliches as the popular destinations. A mural in Park Lezama behind the merry-go-round acts as memorial in a neighborhood full of history and where the writing’s on the walls.

• Residents Protest Palermo Fair
• Architecture Competition to Capture Spirit of Argentine Bicentennial
• Buenos Aires Cumbia To Santiago Dance
• Ditch the Tour Guide, Download a Walking Tour to Buenos Aires
• Palermo Residents Fight to Preserve Barrio’s Unique Personality

Recently, I caught their most popular local tango band, La Chicana. La Chicana is a modern Tango band fronted by a couple – a female vocalist and male guitarist and accompanied by percussion, bass, violin, and accordion. The band plays frequently at El Tasso when when they’re not on tour. The couple have excellent chemistry on stage – she’s saucy and smart and he’s smitten and sarcastic. The lyrics tell stories of love, life, and struggle with a nostalgic tone. There’s even a tango written for their dogs.

Other acts in the Festival include Nicolás Ledesma, Pablo Agri Sexteto, El Yotivenco, Néstor Marconi Trío, Julio Pane, Hugo Riva, Rodolfo Mederos Trío, Horacio Molina, Astillero and Ariel Prat, Soledad Villamil, Susana Rinaldi, Víctor Lavallén Orquesta Típica, Mariano Mores, La Petitera, Sexteto Mayor, Leopoldo Federico Orquesta Típica, Rubén Juárez, Lidia Borda, Ariel Ardit, María Graña, Adriana Varela, and Selección Nacional de Tango.

• Argentina’s Orquesta Tipica Opens Atlantic Jazz Festival
• Indian Culture Festival Begins Friday
• Ushuaia’s International Festival to Debut New Philharmonic Orchestra
• Argentine Tango Festival in Prague
• 14th Annual Guitars of the World Festival a Nationwide Event

ATG: I read a bit about your tour on your site and then had the opportunity to ride the A line for the first time. It’s such a great thing to do!

Alan: Yeah, the A Line is fantastic! I love the old wooden carriages. I’m sure in the US or the UK they wouldn’t let them run because of the fire risk. Luckily things are a little bit more easy going down here. And of course, the A Line makes me feel a little bit more at home, because it was built by the British.

Alan: Although in fact, they used Irish engineers. I’m half irish too, so I like to throw that fact in. I won’t go into how you can tell Irish engineers were used, otherwise everyone will think I’m a sad trainspotter.

ATG: Hows that? You’ve piqued my interest now…

Alan: Well, it’s to do with the gauge of the railway tracks. they are the Irish gauge, which a lot wider than the British gauge.

ATG: That’s cool.

Alan: Apparently the wider gauge helps with the stability of the trains when they go round corners. Not that there are many corners on Line A of the BA subway! But stability is something you want in a train system for sure.

ATG: What site do you think leaves the most lasting impression upon visitors? Is the A line a winner?

Alan: I’m not sure I should reveal my greatest secret… but I’ll give you a hint at what impresses people the most…

ATG: K, what’s that?

Alan: On my weekday tours I sneak us inside a tall building and take people up to its rooftop terrace for a view of Buenos Aires from above. Its a great view. But you’ll have to take my tour to find out where it is.

ATG: I will have to do that! How did you prepare your tours? Did studying philosophy play a role in prepping to be a tour guide?

Alan: Well, my tours don’t take much preparation these days because I give them so often that I know the route like the back of my hand and the facts and figures are all eternally etched into my brain.

Alan: I actually think the best preparation is making sure I am well rested so that I can put on a good performance. I think being a good tour guide is a little like being an entertainer… you have to perform well to keep people happy and interested over the full 3 hours.

Alan: There is always a mountain more to learn… which is why I always try to keep learning and discovering new things about Buenos Aires to help make my tours better. Even if you are the most informed tour guide in the world, there always comes a time when you have to do a little bit of bluffing for the occasional left-field question that comes at you.

ATG: What’s the most unusual request you’ve ever had from a tourist?

Alan: Show me a TELO. I didn’t oblige that one. I was engaged at the time. For the uninitiated, a TELO is the Argentine version of a love motel.

ATG: Besides inviting you to a Telo, what is something you’d like to dissuade your public from doing while they’re in Buenos Aires?

Alan: I really encourage tourists coming to Buenos Aires to avoid the bus tours. They herd you around to the different areas of the city like cattle. It’s like woooooosh there goes the Obelisk… did you see that? And then they throw you off the bus so you can spend 5 minutes in Recoleta cemetery, looking at Evita’s tomb and nothing more. Walking tours give you the chance to get up close and personal and to see things at a more relaxed pace.

We’d like to thank Alan for his time and his insight, it was great to get into the head of a great (and friendly!) Buenos Aires tour guide.  If you’d like to take one of Alan’s tours, then check them out here.  And don’t forget to tell him we sent you.  [Update: Alan's Cemetary tour was named "best Cemetary tour in the world" by The Guardian newspaper!]

• Interview with Alan Patrick of Buenos Tours (Part 1)
• Interview with Alan Patrick of Buenos Tours (Part 3)
• Buenos Aires Pizza in all its Glory
• Adventure Tour Company Offers New Argentina Package
• Plans to Expand Subway E in Buenos Aires Crystallize

Nothing much of interest was playing that hot summer night at our local movie Cinemaplex. But we could both agree to settle on a movie that had a picture of Richard Gere and lovely Jennifer Lopez on the billboard. It was called Shall We Dance.

I don’t like to dance but I don’t mind watching Mrs. (or is it Miss?) Lopez in tights. About half way through the movie I realized the degree of my wife’s enthrallment in Mr. Gere and the romanticized tale of Tango being presented in such a touching style. I was surprised when even I began to shed a tear at the end of the movie.

Tango. This was all my lovely wife could speak about. She researched it, rented tapes, bought shoes, and of course she made me sign up for tango lessons. To my disappointment, my tango teacher was not as exotic as Jennifer and I soon lost interest after my 4th class because I didn’t manifest into Richard Gere.

But my wife’s interest increased to the pitch of, “I want to go to Buenos Aires” on a daily basis. Finally I relented. A place I had never been, a language I had never spoken, and all because of a few dance steps I knew very little about.

I rented an apartment in San Telmo for 2 weeks at more than a third less than the cost of a hotel. After we paid the landlord, I unpacked and took a stroll around the neighborhood looking for tango. The first thing I noticed was the age of the architecture. It reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Wrought iron balconies and super sized windows. I saw about 5 interesting restaurants on my lap around my block as well as a few extraordinary women. I did not identify any immediate signs of tango but I kept seeing an old picture of a man that looked to be somebody famous and debonair.

The following day my wife and I went shopping for antiques and other unique items. We saw a sign for tango classes in a window and signed up for a 2 hour class at the price of $20 USD. The class was a living nightmare. Not only could we not understand what the teacher was explaining, we found the instructor to be very strict and rude. And the other students were taking it very seriously and laughed at us. It was a disaster and I swore I would never dance again.

The next day, as we wondered the cobblestone streets of the tango district, I saw a tango nightclub that was painted exotic colors and I bought 2 tickets for a show and dinner. This dinner had courses the size of free samples at our hometown grocery. And once the show began, I kept wondering where the rest of the band was. Were they out back smoking? The whole cast included 6 people. About half way through the show, the spotlight turned on us at and the MC began asking us questions in Spanish. I turned red and my wife and I felt very embarrassed as the crowd around us laughed at a joke we did not get.

Enough tango I told my wife. She suggested we take a city tour and found one in English for 20 pesos. This was her first good idea. I learned a lot that afternoon about Buenos Aires and the fascinating politics that could give most people whiplash. Our guide informed us about a Day Of Tango Tour that would guarantee a positive result and a deep look into the tango of Buenos Aires. I protested hard. My wife made a reservation anyway and at the last minute, I agreed to accompany her. Mostly due to fear about her dancing alone with Latin men.

This tour started out in a great café in the city. Then we walked through the old tango district and I finally learned about what I had been looking at the whole time. I learned who the man in the picture was, Carlos Gardel, and I discovered the history of the dance. Men created it and danced with each other in the beginning. They set the roles of women in a submissive stance thus making tango a manly dance. I could appreciate that.

We went to several areas of the city before we got to our tango lesson. We purchased tango shoes handmade at 1/3 of the cost of those in the US. Our teacher was very sweet and patient with us and as we danced, others began to join us. Amazing women about 30 years younger than me found themselves in my arms, looking up to follow my interpretation of the classic music. I got to kiss each one on the cheek after a 3-minute jaunt around the dance floor. Somebody put a tango hat on my head and my wife began taking pictures of my giant grin and me. It ended all too soon with more kisses and hugs and laughs. And I did indeed find that I had manifested into Richard Gere. Perhaps even a little better looking.

Well, the Day Of Tango Tour was paying off nicely. We went back to the hotel and changed into evening attire and were escorted to a historic restaurant where Carlos Gardel watched over us from his familiar pose in the black and white picture. We had the bife de chorizo and were glad we did. Then off to a real tango show. The kind I had expected to see. And after hearing about it all day, and learning the moves, I could really appreciate what I was witness to on the stage. The talent was incredible, and they were all so young. This time, the band was a proper band with a few accordion players who could really squeeze the thing into some expressive melodies. The music was great, the show was great, the day was fantastic and it all ended too soon.

Finally we had found tango in Buenos Aires, and had enjoyed ourselves immensely. When we returned home the first thing I did was sign up again for tango lessons and asked my wife, “Shall we dance?”

“Si!” she said.

• Another Tango in Paris: 4th Buenos Aires Tango Festival
• Argentine Movie at Number One Weekend Slot Nationwide
• The Beginners Guide to Tango in Buenos Aires, by Tangocherie
• “Ballet Argentino” Fuses Difference Worlds of Dance
• Gay Tango Breaks Boundaries in BA Dance Scene

As a professional dancer of other things, I know the value of learning from the ground up and I’m in no rush as long the dance class feels organized. My body needs time to adjust to each level and my mind needs to register each advance with confidence.

So there I was, on the corner of Salta and Venezuela, in the depths of Monserrat, bordering Congreso and San Telmo, as recommended by a New York salsa dancer friend of a friend visiting Buenos Aires. It was a rainy, windy, sloppy night and I wasn’t sure what was to come. The neighborhood was daunting and the restaurant where the class was being held looked so dark inside the first set of double glass doors that I wondered if anything was going on at all. But I am bold, especially when it comes to finding a new heart’s desire, so I let the wind push me in and there I was.

Behind a second set of doors, the class was in full swing. ‘Gregorio de Cuba‘, his voice booming over the music, was commandeering a room stuffed with salsa-dancers-to-be as they moved to the right, moved to the left, turned, and turned again, moving their hips and shimmying to the relentless and subtle complexity of the Salsa beat. The DJ upstairs was turning up the volume, hair was whipping about, and the guys were a-sweat. It all looked pretty damn authentic.

I paid, put my things in a corner by the bar, and jumped in. The steps at first were easy to follow. The salsa rhythm is one I know and I can always follow the basics, which we were doing, every which way. At once Gregorio screamed, “only the hips, stop moving your arms” and I realized that I was truly in a class that was “puro Cubano,” unlike so many of the other classes I’d attended here where it was more about ’show’. What had I been thinking all those years I lived in Miami, so close to Cuba and not searching out a class like this?

The salsa music stopped at Gregorio’s imperious command and he began explaining the differences between Salsa, Son, Mambo, and Cha Cha Cha. He pointed out and analyzed the different sounds inside the music, the Tumbadora doing its “and one”, the cow bell defining its own rhythm, the scraping of the Guiro (that large, dried gourd accompanied by a stick) and the relentless Claves keeping rhythm and guiding the dancers’ feet. All of these different elements, so essential for understanding when to step, when to pause, what to accent, and how to move, became more audible as we listened to the various rhythms.

We then began the exercises that I would come to know so well. Changing from Salsa to Son to Mambo in a heartbeat… going into Cha Cha Cha and pausing dramatically, like holding one’s breath, only to find the top of the beat for joining in again.

We split up into groups, me with the beginners of course, and began to put the knowledge into greater play. The women lined up opposite the men to begin the discourse of coupledom. It was pure bliss.

Unlike Tango, a serious dance that tests the interplay between men and women with its refined sensuality and delicacy of response, Salsa is a game of provocation and fun. In Gregorio’s salsa class, we learn to play with the men as they play with us. At the drop of a hat, Gregorio yells for us to change partners, and we do. Here is a different body, another type of lead, a sure smile… we meet, we fall into the groove, we’re turned and spun and then we’re on to the next in line.

As I improved, I moved into the intermediate level, all the time jealously eyeing the advanced students and the intricacy of their moves – the variety of turns, never letting go of their partners hands, the amount of steps with incredible names that everyone seemed to know, for once they were yelled out, they were done with no thought.

Tornillo, Enchufe, Sombrero, Dile que no, Dame una, Adios, Setenta, Vacilala! Each move called by Gregorio, with the guys following each call and the women keeping their arms loose and tractable, their eyes on each partner, and their legs willing to maintain the ever present beat. They were dancing the circle dance called Rueda de Casino, similar to the American square dance, with a caller calling out each move. With the constant rotation of partners as the circle spins and pulsates, Rueda is a whirlwind of ecstatic movement where the beat remains constant as the turns become more and more complex.

I was learning all about this, finally from the ground up and was beginning to feel secure with what I was soaking in. It wasn’t going to be left to chance anymore, with me imitating the movements instead of really feeling them. I was getting to the place where this dance could almost feel organic.

In the last few weeks I’ve indulged myself and moved to the more advanced class. Or perhaps I should say, I’ve decided to challenge myself by moving up, which is what I need to do. I fumble and lose the rhythm when an intricate pattern is thrown my way, but I’ve learned to follow, and follow I try, with a laugh and a toss of my hair when I don’t quite get it. And when I arrive in the Rueda to dance for a brief amazing instant with Gregorio or one of his assistants, I’m in heaven as I’m expertly guided from one turn to the next, feeling like I’m on fire.

Almost best of all, the people are so welcoming. Everyone is there to have a good time. No one takes themselves too seriously. We stay after class and practice what we’ve learned or sit by the bar, watching. It’s a little bit of Cuba right in the heart of Buenos Aires, and the only thing left for me to say is “Hay, que rico!!!!”

• Cuba Gives Argentina Tourism Award
• WORKUBA 2008 Brings Latin Dance Expertise to Argentina
• Gay Tango Breaks Boundaries in BA Dance Scene
• El Niño Bien: A Child of the Tango Tradition
• Buenos Aires for Hedonists and VIPs