Long After Midnight at the Nio Bien: A Yanqui's Missteps in Argentina

When Winter, a 22-year-old college graduate from Texas, suddenly found himself in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2000 with no job and about $2,000 of savings, he never thought the importance of the tango, a century-old dance, would reshape his life as a man and as a writer of this insightful, comic memoir. He falls under the influence of the regulars of Niño Bien, a ramshackle milonga , a club where the tango is danced amid laughter, flirting and the raucous music of the bandoneón and the guitar. In his colorful, energetic descriptions of characters like Luis, the club owner, and El Tigre, a sailor turned tango instructor, Winter connects the dots between the social and political history of Argentina and tango music, chronicling the faithful bond between the pair. One element of the travelogue that captures interest is the strict code governing tango society, as El Tigre advises the author: “The first thing you have to know [is] that in the tango, the man controls everything.” Along with a hit-and-miss flirtation, Warner learns about the passion, lust and romantic nature of the tango that seduced a country. Winter, now an editor at USA Today , provides readers with an outrageously funny tale of dance steps and travel. (Mar.)