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Dance tango in Uruguay. Especially if you are a beginner or intermediate tango dancer, the tango scene in Montevideo is much friendlier than Buenos Aires.
The tango milonga—or dance scene—in Montevideo is much more friendly and less intimidating than in Buenos Aires. It is frequented by a small group of mainly locals. So when they see a new face, people will come up to you to find out what you are doing there and to ask you to dance! This is very different from the competitive atmosphere in Buenos Aires. There is also a lot more space on the dance floor, useful for beginners. So especially if you are a beginner or intermediate dancer, Montevideo is definitely the place for you to improve your technique.
Oops, don’t catch any Uruguayan hearing you say that. Tango is a heritage shared by Argentina and Uruguay. It is a quintessential part of music and dance from both countries, and it’s actually more accurate to refer to tango as rioplatense* – meaning that it is from the Rio de la Plata or River Plate region. In fact the world’s most famous tango is half-Uruguayan, half-Argentinian.
You can find a milonga to attend any night of the week in Montevideo. There are at least two milongas, or tango salons, open every day. Beware! Most milongas start about 9.30 pm during the week and 10.30 pm on weekends, but most dancers don’t get there until hours later. On the weekends most people arrive about 11 pm and dancing goes on till 4 am. There are a few afternoon milongas.
There are several open air milongas including on New Year’s Eve too. Entrance fee to the milongas is usually charged at the door and it is modest, anything from no charge to 150 pesos (less than 5 USD). If you take a class before you will normally not have to pay for the milonga.
13 July 2022- Pre-pandemic the best resource was an app and website called Hoy Milonga. You can use it to find milongas and classes in any part of the world. The app is now paid. We’re checking to find if it continues to be a good way to find milongas in Uruguay.
I don’t dance myself but I have a very good friend who does, and she shared insider observations regarding the character of each milonga which you can read in The Guru’Guay Guide to Montevideo in an extensive chapter on tango in Montevideo. You’ll find out which milongas are frequented by “tangueros de ley” (old school tango dancers who are strictly orthodox in their attire, etiquette and dancing style). Which are more “hippie” — including dancers wearing their street shoes, even tennis shoes (sacrilege!). And which monthly milonga is held in a crumbling Art-deco mansion frequented by members of the national ballet that’s not to be missed… You will also find collected contact details for each milonga in English (yessss), where to take dance classes, dance class etiquette and recommended tango teachers (thinking specifically of you as a non-Uruguayan).
Photos: In a testament to truely how NOT-for-export the Montevideo tango scene is, I was unable to find a single Montevideo milonga photo for commercial use, till I got lucky enough to stumble on Leo Alvarez‘s photos of the Hijos de Galicia milonga in Parque Rodó. Thanks, Leo!
[Article first published: Mar 14, 2016 and last updated at the date above]
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18 Responses
hi, we are travelling to Urugway in Feb. Unfortunately, will spend only one night in Montevideo (Monday).
Could you please recommend a place for a tango show, local, autentic? We are not dancers but would love to feel the atmosphere of the place.
Hi Kasia, I would go to the classic Lunera at Joventango in the Mercado de la Abundancia. It’s a milonga. You can watch the locals dancing and people are very friendly. Enjoy! Karen
Great! Thank you very much for the recommendation. I have seen that a lot of places are closed on Monday thus asked for an advice. Looking forward to see Urugway soon :)))
Baar Fun Fun
Update 1-29-17:
I went down to La Conjura Bar at about 1:45 PM. The metal overhead door was shut tight and there was no indication that they were going to open up for Tango anytime soon.
Hi Jorge, a quick look at La Conjura’s facebook page tells me that they are closed throughout January for the summer holidays. If you are still looking for tango, tonight JovenTango has their classic cafe concert on from 8pm.
Thanks for that info. Do you know what time they usually hold the performances?
I’m not confident enough to get up there and dance but I would like to see the performance.
Hi Jorge, at 8pm every Sunday. Noone will force you to dance at a milonga! The nice thing is that here in Uruguay, you can just sit and watch the dancers if you don’t dance.
Hi, I´ve wanted to know if there are any Tango Dinner Shows in Montevideo. We are travelling late November. Any help is really apreciated. Many thanks.
Hi Sandra, there are a couple of shows. Let me get back to you on that.
I’m really looking forward to discovering the Montevideo tango scene this November 🙂 Flight booked and just started reading your guide, so I think I’m all set! I was just wondering.. is tango also danced in other parts of Uruguay?
Marie, that’s so cool!! Montevideo is definitely the largest city in Uruguay by far, having 50% of the entire country’s population. I can try and find out for you. All the best, Karen
congratulations,felicitaciones
Legazcue
Eres la bailarina? Que honor que hayas visitado la pagina! Gracias!
Muchas gracias.soy el padre de la bailarina Laura.Cordiales saludos y exitos
amilcar
Un honor igual! 🙂 Felicitaciones por haber producido una hija tan talentosa. Para mi, un honor ademas fomentar la cultura tanguera del Uruguay. Cariños – Karen
Excelente artículo, gracias por mostrar nuestra cultura. Me gusta mucho su guía, muy completa. Excellent article, thank you for showing our culture. I enjoy very much your guide.
I always love getting the thumbs-up from fellow Uruguayans (I consider myself an honourary one after more than 15 years living here 🙂 ) Thanks for taking the time to comment! — Karen