Tango, opera and the avant-garde: the arts of Buenos Aires

About Tango, opera and the avant-garde: the arts of Buenos Aires

By the ULTIMATE Buenos Aires Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Buenos Aires is a city of readers, theatre-goers and dancers. Its museums run from the Argentine and European paintings of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes to the Latin American modernists of the MALBA, the contemporary exhibitions of the Fundación PROA in La Boca and the Colección AMALITA on the docks. Its stages run from the Teatro Colón to the theatres of the Avenida Corrientes, the Complejo Teatral and the Cervantes. And tango, born in the port neighbourhoods in the late 19th century, is still danced every night in the city’s milongas.

The museums

The MALBA, on the Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, shows the Colección Malba–Costantini of Latin American art; its exhibition Viva Frida runs until 15 March 2027. The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes is in Recoleta; the Fundación PROA faces the Riachuelo at Caminito; the Colección AMALITA stands on the docks of Puerto Madero; the Museo Moderno is on the Avenida San Juan in San Telmo; and the Museo Xul Solar keeps the house of the painter on Laprida.

The stages

The Teatro Colón for opera, ballet and the Filarmónica; the Complejo Teatral de Buenos Aires, with the Teatro San Martín on the Avenida Corrientes; the Teatro Nacional Cervantes on Libertad; and the Usina del Arte, a concert hall in a former power station in La Boca.

Combine the MALBA with the Japanese Garden and the parks of Palermo, and book the Teatro Colón for a performance, not just a tour.

Tango

Watch it at a dinner show, El Querandí, Rojo Tango, Tango Porteño or the Café de los Angelitos, or dance it at a milonga such as El Beso, where classes are held every day.

Our advice: at a milonga, sit and watch first; the cabeceo, a nod across the room, is how a dance is asked for.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Tango, opera and the avant-garde: the arts of Buenos Aires before you go.