Buenos Aires Entertainment

Visitors to Buenos Aires will find that the city offers a wide variety of entertainment options. There are cinemas throughout the city, theatre performances, classical music concerts, ballet and opera, rock concerts and alternative music events, comedy shows and very long nights of tango. Dinner always starts late in the evening, with action at nightspots not getting underway until around midnight.

Nightlife

Buenos Aires seems to wake up when many other cities go to sleep. The city comes alive after dark, and locals love the nightlife. From the dimly lit and mysterious atmosphere of the tango salons to the big and brash techno clubs, there is an exceptional variety of nightlife to be sampled here.

Porteños often begin an evening out with a visit to the cinema or theatre followed by a long and late dinner. By around midnight, they’ll move on to a bar or two – and this is on a quiet night. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights you’ll find locals staying out really late, heading to the big dance clubs and bars in the neighbourhoods of Recoleta, Palermo and Costanera. By the time they start for home, the sun will be rising. 

If you visit in the summertime, you’ll notice that it’s quieter at night, because so many of the residents have gone to the coast and are enjoying the nightlife in places like Mar del Plata and Punta del Este, instead.

Theatre and music

Buenos Aires has many cultural activities and events to offer year-round. The highly regarded Teatro Colón is the focus for performing arts here, and is home to the National Ballet, National Opera and the National Symphony. There are an additional 40 professional theatres around the city, many of which are located along avenue Corrientes, staging Broadway-style hits, plays written in Argentina and musical reviews (although most will be in Spanish). You can buy tickets at the theatre box office or by contacting Ticketmaster at: +54 11 4321 9700.

There is an active music scene here as well, with many pubs and clubs (boliches), where local and international bands perform. You’ll find the action starts at midnight, and the clubs stay open until early morning. Listings are published in two newspapers: Página 12, in the section is called No; and the Clarín, in its section called Si.

It has been said that the tango was born in Buenos Aires, in the poor neighbourhoods and brothels of the southern part of the city. It was mostly lonely male immigrants, whose families remained in their home countries, who came to clubs or ballrooms for some enjoyment. Many tango lyrics, focusing on the ‘hard life’ were inspired by these men, who frequented such places as the Almacén de la Milonga, Café Sabatino and the Viejo Bailetín del Palomar.

The themes and the music resonated with the locals who shared the experience of the ‘hard life’. By the 1990s, the tango achieved international success, and a host of new recording and dance artists rose to fame in Buenos Aires. Tango Day is celebrated in the city on 11 December. If you’re interested in information on classes, events or exhibitions related to the tango, visit the official tango website of the city of Buenos Aires at: www.tangodata.gov.ar/ingles.

Festivals

There are a few festivals in Buenos Aires that are worth planning your trip around. The best source for information on these events is through an Argentine tourism office, or online at: www.bue.gov.ar/home/index.php?&lang=en, where you’ll find a section on activities and an events calendar. A few of the major festivals are as follows: 

• Buenos Aires’ Mardi Gras celebration is called the ‘Fiesta de las Murgas’, and while it is not as colourful as Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, it is a lively event, and is held throughout the month of February, every weekend. The various neighbourhoods have street bands in costume and stage competitions with plenty of loud music and dancing.
• The first major tango event of the year is the International Tango Festival, which is held in late February or early March. The last night of the festival is the most spectacular, when Avenue Corrientes is closed to traffic and thousands of couples dance the tango in the street. During the festival, there are more than 150 dancers who stage around 100 free shows and concerts. There is also a competition held - the Metropolitan Ballroom Tango Championship – in which tango dancers from all parts of Argentina compete.
• Yet another tango celebration, the World Tango Festival is held in the Sal Telmo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires each year during the first half of the month of October. Many tango-related events are scheduled.