Bar El Chino

There's way too much to tell about Bar El Chino. Since the first time I read about it, I knew I had to go there. I've been watching the video about it for months before this trip. It makes me cry. It was my new favorite film. Now it's my new favorite bar.
Click on Read more below to read more and watch the video
 We start the evening being passed up by four taxis who will not take us to Pompeya (one of the many barrios, or neighborhoods, of Buenos Aires) just because they're not familiar with the area and so don't know their way around. We finally find one who is willing to find it for us. Our worries about our table being given away when we arrive 50 minutes late for our 10 pm dinner reservation melt away as soon as we walk into the brightly lit, nearly empty restaurant. We are all greeted Buenos Aires style, with hugs and cheek kisses all around. We feel like we have found a home. Later, when families start arriving for dinner, we realize why a reservation is necessary. By then the show has already started at midnight. People seem to know each other. No one - other than us - appears to be a tourist. The flooring reminds me of the linoleum from when I was growing up. This is not a "designed-for-tourists" place, in spite of a fabulous video being made about it. There are at least 8 different singers throughout the evening. When not serving food, our waiter is dancing. He is great - and obviously enjoys dancing with everyone. Bonnie gets asked to dance and is hesitant at first, but gets up and shows that she has at least had a few lessons! Later she and David dance together. I spot Ines at the bar. I remember her from the film and boldly walk up and ask her if she is going to sing. Yes, after the break she says. And sing she does! By my calculation from the remarks on the video site, she is somewhere around 80. And she is belting out the tangos! I could have listened to her all night. And we nearly did. Actually, I think that when we left at 3 this morning, we were the first to leave. I want to go back again and stick around to find out what time they quit. I'm sure it must be at least 5 am. We had invited Bonnie and David to go with us. They, too, are charmed by this amazing place. We are so grateful that it seems not to have suffered change from its celebrity. It would be worth living in the neighborhood to be able to become a regular!
Again, I can't get videos to upload here.
But here are some connections to sites about this place. If you click on the second link, and then click on "EL BAR" at the top left, you can see some of the video and hear some of the music that we love so much. If you click on the first link below, you can read about the film. Once there, click on "the characters" to read about my favorite singer, Ines:
About the video
About the bar & show