Milonguero

A milonguero is a person who spends time dancing social tango. The word comes from milonga, an Argentine word meaning tango dance hall or tango dance event.

The term was used from the 1870s to mark a man who spent much of his time dancing tango of any style. Since the early 20th century the term referred to a man immersed in the tango culture specific to Buenos Aires. A milonguero frequented dance halls, dancing to the music of tango, milonga and waltz. Such a man was "raised and groomed on tango" and his "reverence for the dance and its traditions" strongly influenced the way he danced. The term milonguero was used by others to distinguish a skilled and courteous dancer, not a term for oneself. After the 1955 coup ousted Juan Perón in Argentina, the tango was repressed, a sort of "dark age" for tango dancing, ending in 1983.