| ACTIVITIES (with my
suggested time) §
|
CALORIES BURNT § |
THE TRICKS |
| MONDAY |
| Confiteria Ideal; 5pm to
9pm ..
|
Loss: 60 cal/hr =240 cal
|
Mincing around the dance
floor here in principle is not a fat burner. However, the
followers may be able to score extra burnt calories by
purposely straightening
their backs. Everyone may need to stare at each
other for dance invitations; scoring extra 10 burnt
calories. Perfect to exercise after a late lunch. It also
makes you forget about the fattening "liquid
diet" of happy hours drinking at a pub. |
| Salon Canning, from 11pm to
4am 
|
Loss: 90 cal/hr = 350 cal
|
This is a place for a
younger crowd, with some of them dancing open and nuevo
styles- extra bonus on fat burning. But Monday
is a slower night and with less people. The initial few
visits here may result in only sitting around because the
more active young dancers tend to be very cliquish.
The
live music performance on this night may be for
listening, not for dancing.
|
| TUESDAY |
| El Beso, 11pm to 2pm . ..
|
Loss: 70 cal/hr = 210 cal
|
This is a tiny and crowded
club with a single column positioned at the middle of the
dance floor. Hot meals are served here with desserts;
nice way to dine while watching, as the floor was too
crowded anyway. Ladies can burn calories big time by
trying to maintain their balance on the slippery floor
without tying their shoes with suction cups. Gentlemen
can burn calories by trying to maneuver around the crowd
and the column. Most of us trot across the street to
the next milonga of Porteña y Bailarin after 2am.
|
| Porteña y Bailarin, 1pm to
5am 
|
Loss: 100 cal/hr = 400 cal
|
There are two dance floors,
one at the front, one at the back. Atmosphere is
friendly, so chances are everyone get to dance a bit.
Extra calories will be burnt from being nervous for the
fact that whoever is dancing at the front dance floor,
that person will be watched by the tango maestros who
always presided over there. The floor configuration is a
bit awkward; both floors are too wide for one lane of
dance but too tight for two lanes; men will burn more
calories from traffic maneuver. |
| La
Catheral, 11p to 2am 
|
Loss: 90
cal/hr =240 cal
|
One funky
place this is! Dark, sinister and hip. The place probably
has not been dusted since the WWII. Few years back, the
hottest hours to burn calories were from 2am to 5am with
dancers migrated from El Beso. It is reported that it's
magic has waned in the recent year. So, if one is armed
with a few friends as dance partners, I recommend 11pm to
2am, when the floor is empty enough for any type of
dancing, including the experimental versions. If one
comes alone and is too shy to walk up to initiate a dance
invitation, one may easily find himself / herself sitting
in some old crooked chairs for a while, since the dancers
there tend to socialize in groups rather than to dance
with strangers. Extra kudos will be rewarded to those who
still insist on using their eyes for dance invitation in
such a miserably dark space. Calories will also be burnt
on maneuveuring at the rough and uneven timber floor.
Ladies can dance with another lady; more chance to sweat
out calories. |
| WEDNESDAY |
| Lo De
Celia, 4pm to 8pm |
Loss: ?
cal/hr (under study)
|
The
Saturday version is excellent, so I assume this will be
similar but on a tamer version. |
| Dancing at
La Nacional, from 11pm to 2am 
|
Loss: 90
cal/hr =270 cal
|
Depending
on the crowd that shows up, this place has in general
relatively good calibre of dance floor and interiors; the
room is big enough for uninterrupted traffic, and the
lighting level is reasonably bright enough to spot eye
invitations. |
| THURSDAY |
| Al Arranque, 5pm to 9pm. |
Loss: 80 cal/hr = 320 cal
|
This is an elongated hall
with most of the seating located at the front by the
entryway. The dance floor is located deep in the back
adjacent to a stage. Thus, the ladies who generally will
sit upfront by the dance floor will burn extra calories
from developing periscopic vision to spot dance
invitations from the gentlemen sitting behind her. The
lucky gentlemen who received an acceptance of dance from
their ladies need to jump hurdles over the ocean of
tables and chairs to reach the dance floor. |
| Niño Bien, 11pm to 12:30a,
then from 3am to 5am 
|
Loss: 90 cal/hr = 280 cal
|
This is a popular event,
most of the tango dancers in town, plus their cousins
twice-removed, would like to be here to see and to be
seen at the peak hours between 12:30am to 2:30am. So I
calculate the calories consumption based on dancing in
the less crowded hours before or after the "rush
hours". During the "rush hours", everyone
just mince around the floor with the flow, looking
pretty.
|
| Rouge, 11pm to 3 am 
|
Loss: 110 cal/hr = 440 cal
|
Today is for the younger
crowd who also will dance open and nuevo styles. The kids
tend to sit together as a group and dance among
themselves, any stranger first needs to spend some energy
in finding ways to be part of the group. Then, one will
have fun dancing with them in full energy to the swing
and salsa tunes in additional to the tango music. Less people
may show up at this milonga than in their Sunday nights.
Be prepared for some idle times.
This
Milonga features a ceramic tiled floor-- a perfect fat
burner, since we need to control our muscles to avoid
slipping and falling over.
|
| FRIDAY |
| Club Gricel, 11pm to 3am 
|
Loss: 90 cal/hr = 360 cal
|
For some reasons, this
place is very popular. The crowd is from early fifty and
up. At 3am, the place is still hopping. One can burn some
extra calories by moving swiftly to avoid the high heels
flying across from all four sides. Ladies may score bonus
points by trying to figure out the best way to decline
dance invitations from the eager gentlemen who would walk
up asking for a dance. The crowd loves cumbia and
swing, to the point where they would mob the floor during
all the entire Latin music intermissions. The
self-defense dance movements are more so important at
that time. Melt away extra 60 calories by ducking the
twirling elbows and darts- like heels.
|
| Salon
Canning, from 11pm to 3 am 
|
Loss: 110
cal/hr = 440 cal
|
This night
is their flag-ship event, it always features better
quality live band performances. More dancers will show up
as it is the beginning of a weekend. People start to
migrate to La Estrella after 3:30am. After 4am,
the DJ starts to play some modern non-tango music. Try
the nuevo style to dissolve more body fat.
|
| La
Estrella, 2am to 6 am (free entry after 3:30am) 
|
Loss: 130
cal/hr =520 cal
|
This is a
place for young kids, so you need to bounce around like
one in order to blend in. At the entry way, there is a
sign proudly announces that this milonga will play 70%
tango, 13% rock & roll, 13% salsa, and 4% folk dance,
I never felt that they ever played the tunes to this
scientifically calculated mix. In fact, I have never
heard them play salsa at all. The swing is a cross-bred
between Jive and Lindy Hop, but no throwing and spinning.
Their swing in fact is uniquely Argentinean. Much like
the young kids in Rouge, the crowds here tend to gather
as groups and only socialize among themselves. So score
some extra points: kill some brain cells to figure a way
to penetrate into these in-groups.
|
| SATURDAY |
| Lo De
Celia, 4pm to 9pm ....
|
Loss: 90
cal/hr = 450 cal
|
Good
opportunity to burn calories as there are a lot of good
dancers who are willing to dance, and the host is very
skilled in placing the male and female dancers in a way
to encourage eye contact invitations between them. The
atmosphere is genuinely friendly, everyone are encouraged
to remove their butts from the chairs to dance. Since the
customers here are around 50s and above, the swing,
cumbia, salsa dancing in their intermissions are much
"tamer"; any faster movement may risk breaking
their hips.
|
| Afiche,
10pm to 12am ...
|
Loss: 30
cal/hr = 60 cal
|
This small
restaurant is still unknown to many dancers, not that the
place is big enough to accommodate all of them if they
stop by. It has a loft interior; the ambiance is nice. Most of the
customers come in as groups or coupled. For a lone
dancer, it is quite challenging to blend in with them.
Very few calories may be burnt, as the singles are likely
to be left sitting.
|
| El Beso,
11pm to 3am |
Loss: 30
cal/hr = 60 cal
|
As
Saturdays are usually for couples in other milongas, it
is said that this milonga is THE place in town where
singles would hang out. Even so, I find it frustrating to
get any dance invitations. Everyone stares at each other
big time. I would not suggest this place to anyone new in
town who wants to lose weight, because instead of
dancing, one may find him/herself eating and drinking a
lot to replace boredom on a prime weekend night. Suggest
house cleaning instead; burn 3 times more calories. |
| La Viruta,
2am to 6am (free entry after 3:30am) |
Loss: 120
cal/hr = 480 cal
|
See
comments on Friday. |
| SUNDAY |
| Salon
Canning, 6pm to 2am to |
Loss: 80
cal/hr = 500 cal.
|
Most of the
mature crowd flock to here, as there are limited popular
indoor milongas to consider for this day. However,
mincing around during their peak hours from 9pm to
midnight does not burn much fat. Fortunately, there is no
decent food offered here that can attempt our appetite,
so one can safely spend the time watching the stream of
dancers trotting by during these peak hours, rather than
eating away. |
| La Glorieta, 8pm to 10pm
(for tango) 
|
Loss: 90 cal/hr = 180 cal
|
This is an outdoor milonga
at a Pavilion in a public park in the Belgrano area, with
a nice marble and granite floor. Be a frenetic and dance
there even if it rains to score maximum fat burning
potentials. During the cooler days, dancers wear layers
of clothes and peel them off as they are warmed up from
dancing. Arriving before 8pm, one will be
dancing with older gentlemen; younger folks arrive after
8pm. Occasionally, one can hop around to chacarera music.
If
tango is still not enough, try the open floor salsa
dancing at the same park. Then walk to the China Town for
snacks.
|
| Rouge, 11pm to 2 am |
Loss: 80 cal/hr = 240 cal
|
Sunday night features a
unique blend of 2 crowds: the mature ones and the young
ones, and they hardly mixed between them. The mature
tanguero tend to show up sitting alone and invite other
single mature tanguera, while the young troopers are
sitting at the big tables, inviting among themselves. The floor
at El Beso and the ceramic tiled floor here continue to
score the highest mark for the most slippery floor at all
time. Use the tummy muscles to hold oneself up!
|
| Tasso, 11pm to 2am |
Loss: 80 cal/hr (re-assessed
pending)
=
240 cal
|
This medium size club tries
to promote live band performances, with the crowd from
40s and up. I have only tried this place on my first day
of arrival. Between my jetlag and being a stranger that
no one knows, I found myself sitting and be bored half
the night. I will revisit this place and re-assess the
milonga. |
