La Calesita

Jeff and I had planned to go to the Calesita a couple of weeks ago, but the event had been rained off. This outdoor milonga only runs through the summer: I had never been there and Caro was only in Buenos Aires for a few more days, so this moonlit, balmy Saturday evening we could not resist the chance to discover its charms.

It is all the way out in Nuñes, so I had to take a break from my beloved colectivos and taxis were the order of the day. I had seen pictures of it in a tango magazine, couples dancing in the midst of coloured lights under the night sky and had imagined something like an urban backyard with a dirt floor. Imagine my surprise and delight when we stepped out of the taxi and Jeff led us by the light of the moon, through elegantly landscaped grounds with flowering plants and mature trees towards a glow in the distance.

We arrived at a clearing in the trees, where there was a gatehouse manned by a ticket seller and there, beyond it, was the most captivating milonga I have ever seen, a cross between Christmas and camping. My inner child was in rapture. I felt as my daughter must have felt, when as a baby, she saw the Christmas tree in our living room lit up for the first time: ‘Take it home, Daddy!’

Under a canopy of coloured lights radiating from the centre, a great urn of exuberant foliage presides over a circular, stone dance floor. The milonga is named for its appearance: calesita means merry-go-round or carousel. All around the dance floor is a wide bank of tables and chairs. By the entrance, drinks are sold and tables groan with mouthwatering artesanal snacks, way more enticing than the bog standard sandwiches and empanadas normally available at milongas, but we had already eaten chez moi.

I tend not to eat when I’m dancing: on my previous visit I never did at all, for fear of feeling lumpen or smelling like an empanada, but realised when I got home that I had lost far too much weight. Now when I start feeling weak and empty, I don’t hesitate to hit the pies. Clean those teeth and wash those hands after and that’s the duty to be fragrant dealt with.

We did as much watching as we did dancing, but just being there was so pleasant, it didn’t matter at all. By the time we left, a couple of hours later, all the tables were full. We went on to Peru 571, where Tanghetto was performing.