Best conditions for a good tango community

My shared experience after dancing tango in 30+ countries around the world.

It’s always the same factors I see…almost almost always. Some of them are obvious, but some are not.

Read more: Best conditions for a good tango community

1. Weather

Tango always does better in cold weather areas.

Look in all of Latin America…where we imagine would be the best tango communities. Tango hardly exists anywhere from Mexico down to Central America. And in Mexico, it’s strongest in the colder high sea-level of Mexico City rather than beach places like west coast Acapulco or east coast Cancun.

Even most of South America does not have strong tango. At the top…Colombia is supposedly a good tango country, right? Well, nope…most of Colombia barely has any tango, especially in the hotter beach parts. You don’t find much good tango in Colombia until you reach the capital of Bogota which is upland and then Medellin (a mountain city). Which means colder weather.

Still not convinced?

Let’s look at Brazil. Mostly hot climate and beach or jungle. And no surprise, hardly any tango. But drop further south into the colder Argentina and wow wow, now you get nice tango!

My point is…you need cold weather. And why? My theory is that hot weather means people are more likely to go outside and do outdoor activities. When it’s hot as heck, nobody wants to wear clothes and go indoors in a hot sweaty environment…especially after a long day in the office. Only when it’s cold and less activities going on, are people more likely to stay inside and do tango. Also…other competing fun events are more likely to happen in hotter months.

Buenos Aires has that cold weather advantage in South America.

Try looking at the USA now. Biggest tango communities are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Denver, New York (and surrounding east coast cities like Boston and DC). It’s no surprise that the colder New York has the strongest tango community while a warm place like Miami has a much smaller community.

Compare in Canada as well…Vancouver vs Toronto and Montreal. Montreal the coldest one, has the best tango community.

Now let’s try Europe:

• Tango communities in the hotter Spain and Portugal don’t compare anywhere close to the ones in colder eastern European countries.
• Take Italy…the colder cities in the north have better tango than the warmer cities in the south.

Let’s try Asia:

• The colder Asian countries like Korea and Japan, parts of China…do so much better than the more tropical or beach places like southeast Asia.
• Even in China…it’s zero surprise that colder Beijing does better than in hotter Shanghai, Chengdu, or Hong Kong.
• In Vietnam, the colder northern Hanoi has a better tango community than the warmer southern Ho Chi Minh city.
• Australia, a big hot weather country has relatively small tango communities.

But of course, we know weather isn’t the only thing. So let’s look at other factors…

2. City cost of living

Tango communities do better in cities where living costs are affordable.

• Cheaper city means people have more time and money to pursue extra hobbies.
• Means people with less money can afford to dance tango. Students, artists, retired, or otherwise…simply a wider range of people who can afford a side hobby.
• People aren’t working as much and therefore have extra time.
• Also means dance venues are easier to find and rent.
• Also means big events are more likely to attract out-of-towners who then might stay around.

You can see proof of this throughout many tango communities. And the placement of tango communities in specific neighborhoods throughout large cites.

3. City size

The best city size for a tango community is probably mid-size. I would guess anywhere from 500,000 up to 1.5 million people. And if you have a big city, then the most central area needs around that many people.

Generally, you want the city big enough to have many people and good transportation…but small enough to get around quickly and that people are not so far from each other. The more dense, the more convenient. Bigger spread out cities will eventually fragment into spread out and separate tango events where you have dancers split into several groups.

Bigger cities do benefit from the increased number of people available, but then suffer from cost of living and people being spread out. If tango doesn’t catch on well, the community often dies out.

4. Culture

Tango does best in cities where people are either super friendly, or super competitive.

Cities with competitive mentality:

• Buenos Aires
• New York
• Paris
• Berlin
• Istanbul
• Seoul
• Moscow
• Beijing

Cities with friendly mentality:

• Belgrade
• Los Angeles
• Medellin
• Portland
• Shanghai
• Rome

What makes a city more competitive? I think the fast-paced big city or competitive work industries and social status oriented cities would make the city culture more competitive. I would also argue that males tend to be more competitive and therefore cities with more males will have a more competitive vibe.

What makes a city friendly? I think smaller cities where the pace of life is more relaxed, walkable, not so much rush to get places or prove yourself. Small city people tend to be more humble and not think of themselves or their city as the coolest thing on each.

Cultural factors that I ultimately feel DON’T matter:

• Whether a city/country is Spanish or latin-language based.
• Whether people are warm/touchy or cold/standoffish.
• Whether a city has many Argentinians living in it.

What other factors can help a tango community?

• List your thoughts below.