Tango and pizza, Buenos Aires

It’s hard to see a connection between tango and pizza – but they both show Europe’s influence on Argentinian culture.

The tango originated in working class and immigrant communities, and only became widely popular – at every level of society – after it was introduced in Paris and other European cities in the early 20th century.  The dance boomeranged back to Argentina and was embraced.

Today, one of the biggest touristic “must dos” in Buenos Aires is attending a tango show; D’s mother had seen the Carlos Gardel show previously and enjoyed it, so we booked the show plus transportation to and from our hotel, which was very convenient!  (There’s also an option to have dinner included, but perhaps unsurprisingly, the food isn’t known to be terribly good.)

The show was a real treat, more like a night at the theater than a tourist trap – many different tangos, including a scene reenacting a traditional 30s era milonga, interspersed with music (violin solos, a bandoneon trio) and singing.

I was on the edge of my seat for nearly two hours and wished that the show had lasted longer!  Note, in addition to skipping the dinner we also booked VIP seats, which were at the edge of the balcony for a great view – definitely recommended.

As for the pizza?

Italians represented the largest European immigrant group to Argentina – yes, even more than the Spanish.  And they brought their cuisine with them, including pizza.

We had lunch on our last day at El Cuartito, founded in 1934.  Inside, the walls are covered with sports posters – we even had a Michael Jordan sighting!

As far as the pizza, you can order a few types by the slice, including one that I’d read about topped with lots of onion: the fugazza.  (There’s also fugazzeta, onion with a lot of cheese, but I wanted something a little lighter before a long flight.)  D went all-in on cheese with the mozzarella and ham, topped with a single green olive.

We found one other reminder of Italy in Buenos Aires – goodbye is “Chau!” (pronounced like Ciao)

So – Chau for now!