From the moment we began imagining Secreto, we always envisioned it as a point of connection. Not just as a tango show, but as a cultural space: a doorway for travelers from all over the world to experience tango in its most intimate and up-close form. We aim to spark curiosity so that anyone who visits us might feel inspired to take a class or step into a milonga, creating a place where tango experts and curious newcomers can meet and enjoy the exact same thing.
Building a Real Bridge
Along this path of integration, on the afternoon of Thursday, October 8, we opened the doors of Secreto at Gorriti 5801 (Palermo) for a special performance alongside milonga organizers, teachers, and local tango referents. Why do we do this? Because we believe that to present a living art, we need to know one another, listen to those who sustain the independent circuit, and build a real bridge between our space and theirs.
As Pablo Destito, artistic co-director of the project alongside Agustina Videla, explains:
“When we invite them, we want to open the doors to them and also to their community. For us, building that bond is special: those who sustain the milongas, teach, and dance are part of the exact same ecosystem as our show.”
Key Figures of the Buenos Aires Scene
Among the guests were Zulvy Ramírez and Mauro Mauceri (known in the scene as Zully y Mauro), a renowned couple of dancers and teachers with a strong presence in the porteña scene, who bring together teaching, music, and cultural management through Tan Tan Milonga. Joining them was María Laura Collavini, a teacher and organizer closely linked to historic spaces in the milonga community such as Cocoliche and La Glorieta de Versalles. Valerie Kattenfeld, dancer, teacher, and founder of BA Tango Guide, a key project connecting international visitors with classes and the social dance circuit, was also part of the afternoon.
From Spectators to Participants: Social Dance on the Floor
They had come as spectators to experience our proposal, but the we had a surprise prepared for them. Halfway through the performance, we decided to break the usual structure and invited them to rise from their tables, step onto the dance floor, and become part of the gathering.
Watching them share the space with the professional artists of our cast showed exactly what we strive for at Secreto Tango Society. Dancers of different ages and backgrounds sharing the dance in front of international travelers who were discovering tango in Buenos Aires for the first time. Social dance, stage talent, and curiosity coexisting in a single room.
Reflecting on that moment on the floor, Pablo highlights:
“That night, it was incredible to see them enjoy themselves and join the dance, with their different ages and stories, right alongside the artists of our cast and in front of travelers from all over the world. Something we constantly seek at Secreto became visible right there: for the tango show to also be a meeting place with the community that keeps this art alive.”
Why Milongas Are Essential
The October 8 gathering was not an isolated event, but rather an ongoing practice we seek to sustain from our space. Secreto is an unconventional show, designed for the spectator to experience the music without a stage in between, yet that intimacy would lose its meaning if we disconnected ourselves from the culture we belong to.
Milongas are essential for tango to remain a living culture and not merely a performance. In these social dance gatherings, masters, musicians, new generations, and people approaching the genre for the very first time coexist.
A Gateway to the Tango Community
Let there be no misunderstanding: we know that milongas do not need anyone to come and “save” them; organizers and dancers already keep this art alive every single day. Our goal is to contribute from our own place: making the most of our daily contact with audiences arriving from abroad to bring them closer to the local scene. Because we welcome a steady flow of international visitors, we have the concrete opportunity to function as a gateway, inspiring those who discover this music with us to go to a milonga, take a class, and keep exploring the city’s tango community.
The idea of “Society” in our name exists precisely for that reason: to create connections between those arriving at tango for the first time and those who have spent years building it from the inside.
Driven by this premise, new gatherings and projects will continue to take shape, consolidating Secreto as an active cultural space in Buenos Aires. We want our room to be a house with open doors: a place that maintains a close dialogue with the key figures of the scene while inviting new audiences to discover that tango is a living, approachable art.
