Perhaps 150 milongas take place weekly in dance halls and community centres across Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. But despite the popularity of tango dancing, the future of milongas is in danger due to a weak economy and high inflation cutting into incomes, reports The Economist. 

At least 17 milongas closed this year due to a descend in the attendance, confirms Julio Bassan, president of the Association of Milonga Organisers (AOM). Entrance fee to milongas is around 100 pesos ($6.25), the cost of a cinema ticket. That puts some people off. 

A milonga is a dance as well as an event, a forerunner to the tango that mixes Cuban, African and European influences. In tango’s heyday, some 70 years ago, milongas attracted thousands of dancers. They used to follow conservative patterns of dance and music, although young milongueros prefer modern tango, which mixes the music of classical composers like Carlos Gardel, who died in 1935, with electronic beats. As reported in The Economist.