On Sunday night I went with my friend Lola to the milonga at La Nacional, but this was a special charity milonga. There was no fixed price to get in, and you just donated whatever you wanted. I put just a bit more than I would normally pay, but some people must have been extremely generous because they raised 90,000 pesos, or almost $1,400. The money goes towards education in the rural areas of Argentina, so it was a good cause. They do this every month for a different charity — sadly I’ll have left by the time next month’s rolls around.

At one point during the evening there was a break from the dancing, and we were treated to two exhibitions. One was a couple dancing a very nice tango, and the second was this exhibition of a folkloric dance called the Chacarera. Its origins are in the mountains, and it’s a very lyrical, romantic dance of flirtation between the couple.

As I have just over three weeks left before I leave this time, I’ll be going to a lot of milongas between now and then!