Clay's Dance Studio

2nd Annual TodosTango Festival in Todos Santos, Mexico. Thu-Mon, Mar 29-April 1, 2012

Background Information

Last January 2011, Marilyn Martin and I held the first ever tango festival in Todos Santos Mexico. Although a small turnout--perhaps a total of 40 people participated--a great time was had by all. Here's a few of the comments we received:

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!!!
...great way to enjoy paradise.
This was the most fun tango festival I have ever attended.
(Click here for all reviews.)

This year, we are scheduling the 2nd Annual TodosTango the week just before Easter--i.e., March 30, 31, and April 1. Our goal is to:

Enjoy tango together with friends in a quaint little Mexican village.
Bring tango to the local Mexican and expat community of Todos Santos at an extremely affordable price.
Have experienced tangueros like yourself show up and provide inspiration and instruction.

Thus we have created a special weekend of inexpensive tango classes milongas, and receptions (see schedule).

This is a great opportunity for you to get away from the winter cold and enjoy a few days of hiking, surfing, whale watching, tennis, eating, shopping and relaxing in sunny Mexico, while still getting in one of the most important activities in life--dancing tango.

Village of Todos Santos (L.A. Times article)

Todos Santos is a small dusty Mexican village on the Pacific coast side of the Baja California Peninsula. At one time financed by sugar production, beautiful colonial style buildings and homes were constructed, but fell into ruin in the 50's when both sugar prices and the water table dropped. In recent years new agriculture, artists and crafts people have moved into the area and are restoring the town creating beautiful hotels, B&Bs, galleries, gourmet restaurants, quaint Mexican cafes and easy access to whale-watching, bird-watching, surfing, tennis, pristine beaches, fishing, hiking and biking.

Flora del Mar--Headquarters for the festival

Owner of the magical/mystical Flora del Mar B&B (just 2 bumpy miles from downtown), Marilyn Martin has two passions--dancing tango and saving stray Mexican dogs! Flora del Mar will be the headquarters for this event with a "Get Acquainted Tango Reception" on Thursday and and the Closing Reseption on Monday. (All other activities on Fri, Sat and Sun will be in town (see schedule).

Instructors & DJs

Carlos & Tritia (Portland, Oregon)
Clay Nelson (Ashland, Oregon)
Isabelle (San Diego)
Kenny Bell (Sacramento)
Roy Wright (Ashland, Oregon)

Registration and Prices

There is no pre-registration. All classes and milongas are 50 Pesos each (or $5 U.S dollars) to be paid by donation at the door of each event.

Who's Going?

If you think you'd like to attend, add your name to the list by clicking on the following link:

Input Form for Probably Attendees

To see who's on the list click here:

List of Probable Attendees

Lodging

Flora Del Mar has a small practice dance floor, pool, tennis court and can house up to 16 people. Marilyn will offer a discount on lodging if you give the code word "Todos Tango".

Numerous other hotels can be found at: www.todossantos.cc/accommodations.asp.

Also, the Maria Bonito Hotel in downtown Todos Santos has clean inexpensive rooms with twin beds or a king for approximately 500 pesos/night ($44). They are not on the web and do not have email, but Marilyn (just click on her name) will make the arrangements and work with you individually to help you find appropriate lodging.

Getting There

The airport in La Paz is closer (LAP--about an hour away), but the airport near Cabo San Lucas (SJD--about two hours away) is cheaper, larger and easier to get to. From SJD, you could rent a car, or take a bus. To catch the bus, look for the shuttles lined up outside the terminal which will take you to the local bus terminal. (Just ask almost anyone and they will direct to the shuttle busses). Cost is about 100 pesos or $8. At the bus termianl, book a seat to Todos Santos. (These are nice air conditioned busses, leaving about every hour and cost around 150 pesos or $12). If you are staying at Flora del Mar, Marilyn will come and pick you up at the bus terminal in Todos Santos. Check with Marilyn (redcliffproperties@gmail.com) for more details.

Additional Information You Should Know About

Although Todos Santos has some first rate hotels and restaurants, still, this is Mexico and some other things (like roads, cafes, shops etc) can be just a bit more "rustic" than in the states. E.g., my favorite restaurant, Miguel's, has the best chile rellenos I have ever tasted along with great margaritas, but also has a dirt floor, "quaint" bathrooms and maybe a dog or two wandering around!