TTanguero
Forum Master
It's often invisible, as there will be one price shown but locals who show the discount card will pay a lower price. That's the system at Parakultural, for example.
Leaders. How was your Tango journey?
- Thread starter Pharaoh
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yes but milonga pricing is minuscule. It’s something like $2 vs $4 for non locals which isn’t a big deal. Imagine having to pay US/EU prices at restaurants, i.e having to pay $50+ for a steak just because you’re a tourist and “can afford it” when locals get it for $10.
Well there are touristy restaurants with inflated prices too.
sure as there are in every city but it’s not so egregious to give a tourist 5x the cost as the local sitting at the next table.
TTanguero
Forum Master
I don't think it's far off that in the grand cafes – tourists and locals pay totally different rates for the same food and drink.
Not sure what kind of places you went to, but I’ve been to a lot of restaurants/cafes in BA and none of them were particularly expensive (5x expected prices) except for obvious high end places i.e Don Julio or Omakase sushi restaurants.
Anyways the point is I’m all for paying artists their worth, but charging tourists a crazy multiplier because they think “they can afford it” is very lame. It’s like taxi drivers trying to scam tourists at the airport by quoting 3x the usual price (do you also this is justifiable because “tourists can afford it”? Or with your opposite view that it’s only 3-5x cheaper for locals since they can’t pay the full price?)
My restaurant analogy is really that if you don't agree with the pricing, no one is forcing you to pay for the service.
Of course the large amount of tourists distorts the BA scene, but you can just dance where the locals dance and eat where they eat and have a great time
Yes, but if one goes to BA to learn and get better at tango, then it’s going to be a small shock to discover that one may be priced out of doing that due to gringo pricing (we all know group classes can only get you so far).
It actually may be more cost effective to go to other S American countries like Colombia, Brazil or even Peru and learn from maestros there even if the cost of living there is slightly higher than BA since they don’t up charge you for their services.
The other route I have taken is to seek out unknown/new teachers in BA where their prices are more rational but this requires some more effort + their teaching level is also unknown + you have to be decent in spanish. I’ve had good results with this approach though and this may be my main method for learning from new teachers for my future BA trips.
TTanguero
Forum Master
"I don't think it's far off that in the grand cafes"
Yeah, i was wondering about specific ones, since the grand cafes i’ve been too didn’t have any crazy tourist upcharges. I get handed a worn down menu in spanish with local prices.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
I find that kind of offensive, actually. If you did that in NYC, there'd be a lawsuit. The same in stores, you pay the advertised price, everyone does.
well nyc museums are free for locals
the difference is you’re expected to pay a lot in nyc for everything and also it’s not some hidden thing
opendoor
Forum Master
In return, I regularly paid the entrance fee during the pandemic, even the milongas did not take place.
TTanguero
Forum Master
Cafe Tortoni and Confitería Ideal for sure, since I've been there with locals who told me about the dual pricing.
Great ambience, below average food