La Ideal in Buenos Aires

Hints & Myths about Argentine Tango

La Ideal

A 1930s style cafe that was immortalised in Sally Potter's "The Tango Lesson", La Ideal in Suipacha, Buenos Aires, is a piece of tango history that lives on.

Walking up the stairs you step back in time and, as you step into the dance hall, 60 or 70 years have rolled away.

Its brown half-panelled walls blend with the smoke-cured creams and beiges of the pillars and ceiling. Chandeliers and fans add to the ambience.

Small, single tables at each end of the room are occupied by single dancers; male at one end, female at the other - each watching attentively for signs of interest. She looks good, but can she dance? He dances well, but are his leads from the "old school"? Ah, she is dancing now, and well; I'll wait until the tanda ends and catch her eye.

They should finish over there; I'll be there ready. Here she comes. Has she noticed? Yes. Let's dance!

And so another tanda begins in the Confiteria Ideal.