Last night was the opening of the new art and theater center dedicated to Astor Piazzolla. The October 19 edition of La Nacion contained a feature article about the reopening of the palace in Galeria Guemes that originally opened in 1915 and has been closed for 30 years. Tango Entertainment SA invested more than a million dollars in renovating this space originally constructed by architect Francisco Gianotti as a tribute to Martin Miguel de Guemes. It was the tallest building in Buenos Aires in 1915. A popular attraction was using the telescope in the tower for 20 cents.
Piazzolla Tango is located below street level. Walk to the center of the main floor of Galeria Guemes where you will find the stairway leading to this palace. The center has a cafe, museum with memorabilia of Astor Piazzolla, an art galeria, and a dinner/theater. The admission is 5 pesos to see the theater, museum and galeria. The cafe has a stage where tango shows will be presented with lunch. I was informed that there will be a milonga held on Friday and Saturday nights. I was invited to attend the milonga last night at 10:30pm which took place in the cafe. You will feel you are taking a step back in time when you enter. A girlfriend and I arrived early, unaware that there was a special reception being held for the tourism trade. We were pleasantly surprised to be invited to dine and see the show choreographed by Milena Plebs. The food was excellent and the service was impeccable. We had the pleasure of dining with two gentlemen who work in hotel management. There is a staff of more than 100, many of whom speak English. The musical arrangements of Cristian Zarate and his sextet are new and interesting. The costumes were done by Mini Succheri. Roxana Fontan and Guillermo Fernandez provided the vocal interpretatons which this audience seemed to enjoy more than the dancing. I was pleased to see among the cast of dancers Roberto Reis and Lucila who are my favorites on stage. I won't be surprised if Roberto choreographes a show in the future. He is a talented and creative dancer with the experience to do it. And I'll be the first one to buy a ticket. After the show, we went to the cafe where the milonga was in progress. Another show was presented on the cafe stage with live music. The space is elegant but the music of DJ Oscar Marcelo never inspired many to get up to dance on the glass floor. The music abruptly ended at 1am with dancers anticipating more music. Centro de Artes y Espectaculos Piazzolla Tango Florida 165/San Martin 170 (two entrances) Galeria Guemes 0810-333-TANGO [email protected] www.piazzollatango.com Pichi de Buenos Aires
