Tango dancer Anahí Carballo believes any two can tango. Here is her guide to Buenos Aires's queer tango scene, from Muchaches in the barrio to the Tango World Championships. A dance characterised by stern expressions, passionate clutches and elegant, entangled steps, the tango is part of Buenos Aires' DNA, where it earns international accolades at elegant ballroom competitions and draws crowds at informal milonga dance events in the city's colourful barrios (neighbourhoods).
The original "forbidden" Latin American dance, tango originated with European immigrants who arrived to Buenos Aires' ports in the 1900s, quickly becoming popular with the city's lower classes. Same-sex tango was originally common between men as it was considered improper for women to dance. But, as the dance gained status in the ballroom arena with men-women couples, same-sex dancing partners became taboo.
In the last two decades, tango has returned to its same-sex partner roots in Buenos Aires with the Tango Queer movement. Argentina was the first country in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage in 2010 , and the country's push for progress has led to an ever-growing array of LGBTQ+ centred tango events . We talked to Anahí Carballo , director of Tango Cuir studio – the only LGBTQ+ dance studio in Buenos Aires – to discover the city's best spaces for experiencing queer tango culture.
The daughter of professional dancers, Carballo grew up seeing the dance as strictly heteronormative. "I had.
