El Viejo Almacén and the Tango Temple of Edmundo Rivero

Why is it significant?

Standing at the corner of Balcarce and Avenida Independencia, you gaze upon the whitewashed, low-slung colonial corner of El Viejo Almacén, one of the most revered sanctuaries of tango music in the world.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Standing at the corner of Balcarce and Avenida Independencia, you gaze upon the whitewashed, low-slung colonial corner of El Viejo Almacén, one of the most revered sanctuaries of tango music in the world. Originally constructed in 1798 during the Spanish Viceroyalty as a rural customs post and general store, known as a pulpería, this humble single-story building with thick brick walls and heavy quebracho wood ceiling beams served over two centuries as a British military hospital, a customs warehouse, and a neighborhood tavern for dockers and sailors.

Look at the bronze plaque on the corner wall: it immortalizes May 8, 1969, the historic date when celebrated Argentine tango singer and composer Edmundo Rivero inaugurated this intimate venue.

Rivero, renowned for his unmistakable resonant deep bass voice and mastery of classical guitar, purchased the crumbling colonial tavern to create an authentic temple devoted to preserving the artistic purity of tango without commercial compromises. He christened the venue after the opening lines of the 1924 tango Sentimiento gaucho: In an old general store on Paseo Colón, where those go who have lost all faith. On this intimate wooden stage, the absolute royalty of tango performed: the legendary bandoneonist Aníbal Troilo, avant-garde pianist Osvaldo Pugliese, composer Horacio Salgán, and Rivero himself. Heads of state, visiting kings, poets, and actors from Marcello Mastroianni to international dignitaries crowded its candlelit tables to hear melancholic lyrics sung in authentic lunfardo street slang. Across the street, a bronze statue honors Edmundo Rivero cradling his guitar.

When evening falls and the antique streetlamps flicker to life, the mournful melody of the bandoneón seems to emanate from the very brickwork. Pausing before the white stucco walls where Edmundo Rivero once sang, you can almost taste the red wine and hear the whispered poetry that made this corner immortal.

Walk north along Calle Balcarce for five blocks to finish our walk at the Basilica of Santo Domingo.