Casa del Tango

Style of place: Cultural institute

Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service

Calle Neptuno No.309, entre Águila y Avenida de Italia (Galiano)

(+53)7863 - 0097

Open 10am-8pm, Performances 5-7pm Mon

Owners Wilki and Adelaida have turned their home into one of the more distinctive and eccentric venues in Havana, offering dance classes in tango and salsa, along with a floor show and dancing later on. The main room is a shrine to the dance, packed with old posters, sheet music and other memorabilia.

Everyone agrees that tango arrived in Havana in 1920 when Argentinean tenor José Muñoz, member of an opera and zarzuela company, sang three tangos to save the day when the show seemed doomed to failure. Perhaps because it was influenced by the Cuban habanera, tango has been a favorite in the Island, reinforced by old movies still shown on TV of famous Argentine movie stars and singers Carlos Gardel and Libertad Lamarque, radio shows dedicated to this genre, and to the perseverance of a number of Cuban musicians and singers, including Berta Pernas, Santiago Marrero, pianist Rey Díaz Calvet and young trovadora Liuba María Hevia.

The Casa del Tango, which developed spontaneously and has no link to any Cuban state institution, has for decades preserved recordings, posters, documents, photographs, sheet music, and other memorabilia, all related to this music genre. Every Monday, from 5 to 7 pm, tango devotees attired in woolly scarves and felt hats in pure Buenos Aires style of the 30s and 40s?defy the torrid Cuban climate and attend the shows at this legendary music venue.