The legendary “Milonga del Indio” in Plaza Dorrego is currently at risk.
We want to let the whole Tango community throughout the citiy of Buenos Aires to be know about the danger faced by the legendary Milonga del Indio in Plaza Dorrego.
It is well-known that in Plaza Dorrego, the people of San Telmo and the whole city of Buenos Aires have a space to meet and develop one of the most original creations of Argentine popular culture: the Tango.
Every Sunday for the past twenty years, thanks to the vision, organisation and constant presence of the dancer Pedro Benavente, also known as El Indio, Plaza Dorrego is transformed into a popular, open and free milonga, where many dancers from many generations have danced their first steps, and continue to dance regularly.
This has all happened without any public support or subsidy. It is maintained by Pedro and by a group of neighbours who help with the organisation. The only funding is from members of the public who contribute when the hat is passed around.
It is well-known that in Plaza Dorrego, the people of San Telmo and the whole city of Buenos Aires have a space to meet and develop one of the most original creations of Argentine popular culture: the Tango.
Every Sunday for the past twenty years, thanks to the vision, organisation and constant presence of the dancer Pedro Benavente, also known as El Indio, Plaza Dorrego is transformed into a popular, open and free milonga, where many dancers from many generations have danced their first steps, and continue to dance regularly.
This has all happened without any public support or subsidy. It is maintained by Pedro and by a group of neighbours who help with the organisation. The only funding is from members of the public who contribute when the hat is passed around.
With those contributions, we have been able to buy the temporary dance floor, the lights and the music equipment.
Obviously many of us believe that this milonga which is already an icon of the San Telmo neighbourhood and more generally of the City of Buenos Aires, which features in all of the cultural and tourist maps of the city, should have official support. But that is a separate issue. The current situation is rather more delicate:
The square has been occupied increasingly over the past few years by tables belonging to the bars which surround it. These bars have now started to dispute the right of the milonga to occupy this public space. For some time, we have been subject to complaints, refusals, verbal aggression, and more recently physical aggression on the part of the managers of these businesses. The have brought men with sticks, who have broken some of our equipment in an attempt to intimidate us.
Obviously many of us believe that this milonga which is already an icon of the San Telmo neighbourhood and more generally of the City of Buenos Aires, which features in all of the cultural and tourist maps of the city, should have official support. But that is a separate issue. The current situation is rather more delicate:
The square has been occupied increasingly over the past few years by tables belonging to the bars which surround it. These bars have now started to dispute the right of the milonga to occupy this public space. For some time, we have been subject to complaints, refusals, verbal aggression, and more recently physical aggression on the part of the managers of these businesses. The have brought men with sticks, who have broken some of our equipment in an attempt to intimidate us.
We have also been subject to several complaints to the police, saying that we have no right to occupy the space that we have occupied for twenty years: in effect, that the people of Buenos Aires do not have the right to cultural expression in a PUBLIC place, because a few fat cats want to take over the square with their businesses that charge exorbitant prices which only tourists can afford.
Apart from the obvious injustice, this attitude is suicidal for business! Tourists don't just come to San Telmo for the fashionable bars, they come for its culture, its architecture, above all because of its place in the Tango legends of the city.
The situation has got so bad that the police came and threatened to arrest some of the organisers recently. In the light of this, we ask the people of San Telmo and the wider city, especially the Tango community, for a show of solidarity so we can get this harrassment to stop.
Apart from the obvious injustice, this attitude is suicidal for business! Tourists don't just come to San Telmo for the fashionable bars, they come for its culture, its architecture, above all because of its place in the Tango legends of the city.
The situation has got so bad that the police came and threatened to arrest some of the organisers recently. In the light of this, we ask the people of San Telmo and the wider city, especially the Tango community, for a show of solidarity so we can get this harrassment to stop.
All we ask is for your physical presence in the Square next Sunday at 6pm. We will meet there to do something we all love: dance the Tango.
With our presence, we will show the bars that our milonga is not just a business, it is much more than that. It is a genuine product of Argentine popular culture, which the people of Buenos Aires, especially the Tango dancers, are ready to defend. The police, who find themselves in the middle of a dispute between the bars and the rights of the neighbours, must take into account that the milonga is not just a fleeting fancy on the part of the neighbours. It is a form of exercising a legitimate right that belongs to everyone in our culture.
Thank you in advance for your support and for your presence on Sunday March, 21th.
The organisers of the Plaza Dorrego milonga.
With our presence, we will show the bars that our milonga is not just a business, it is much more than that. It is a genuine product of Argentine popular culture, which the people of Buenos Aires, especially the Tango dancers, are ready to defend. The police, who find themselves in the middle of a dispute between the bars and the rights of the neighbours, must take into account that the milonga is not just a fleeting fancy on the part of the neighbours. It is a form of exercising a legitimate right that belongs to everyone in our culture.
Thank you in advance for your support and for your presence on Sunday March, 21th.
The organisers of the Plaza Dorrego milonga.
