The Prettiest Milonga in Málaga...and an unexpected encounter

My last evening in Málaga

Milonga "El Jardín" by the Cathedral in Málaga

Before heading to Málaga I checked online for milongas, and threw a pair of tango shoes into my bag just in case, since I saw that there was a regular one on Thursdays. I almost didn't go out Thursday evening, since I was tired, and very tempted to just stay in and watch TV. A desire to eat dinner propelled me out, but I decided (after further reading online) that I would just bring along my tango shoes as a backup, but would not change my clothes into the dress I had brought and the alternate shoes instead of my sneakers. So I wandered back to Málaga's Cathedral, and its pedestrianized city center....which is completely dead at 10:00. Seriously, it's weird, even the restaurants looked more like restaurants at 10:00 PM in other countries....open, but with people finishing dinner, and few people arriving. I've noticed generally that out of season things tend to close early in Málaga (the Alcazaba and the Roman Amphitheater at 6:00 – which is ridiculous since it's light until 7:00 and a bit after now), and the side effect of being so completely set up for tourists is that the hours are very un-Spanish. (Mind you, the Cien Montaditos in the food court at the railway station outside of the tourist center was packed and jumping at 10:15 on Wednesday when I managed to squeeze in and find a seat, and the food court in the station is open until 1:00 AM though there aren't trains after midnight, but that's different.)

Anyway, I wandered through the beautifully lit but eerily still pedestrian zone, wondering if I was making a mistake, and if I would find the restaurant where the milonga was supposed to be dark and silent, as has often happened when I've searched for milongas in the past.

"Véte a la milonga, muchacha..."

Yes, for my tango peeps, I have finally gone out dancing for the first time.

This afternoon I checked out a milonga which the organizers sweetly described as "por la mañana" even though it runs from noon to 15:00 (I do love this culture).  I had found it on the internet, and recognized the location as being right along my side of the river, in the Plaza San Pol.  That meant it was all downhill or flat going, and mostly flat with only one serious hill coming back, and also that it was pretty far from the nearest metro, so it was an obvious bike milonga.

Twenty minutes picking my way through the Parque San Isidro and down past the Tanatorio to the river, and another twenty rolling of necessity slowly along the banks of the Manzanares among the hordes of people strolling, biking, skate-boarding, scooting, etc. through the warm summery sunshine brought me to the "Sala Cha3" a ballroom located in the basement of a theater that seems dedicated to putting on fairy tales for children.  (The side of the building is painted with larger than life Disney characters, and the flyers above the box office advertise A Christmas Carol, The Wizard of Oz, and similar.)  I locked my bike by the trash containers, and headed in the side door and down a red carpeted staircase to the "Sala Cha3."  (I was there one evening to dance years ago, but I don't think I've ever heard it pronounced, so I don't know if it's pronounced "Cha Tres" or "Cha al Cubo" (Cha cubed) or "Cha Cha Cha."  I'm assuming the logo Cha3 is to suggest the latter.)