FeaturedBiographies & Memoirs

Intoxicating Tango: My Years in Buenos Aires

By

Must read 🏆

Intoxicating Tango: My Years in Buenos Aires is a memoir that will sweep you off your feet!

Intoxicating Tango: My Years in Buenos Aires by Cherie Magnus was a captivating read from the very first page. The author used such vivid descriptions to describe her South American expat life that I could picture the chaotic streets and smokey rooms perfectly. Tango is the perfect metaphor for living abroad, really. The seduction, the nuances, the rhythm, the surrender and finally the disillusionment are the stages most expats go through. 


In June 2014, Cherie Magnus stepped off a plane with a few suitcases to begin her life in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This third installment of the author’s life covers those 10 memorable years in the birthplace of the tango. She tells us how she infiltrated the dance halls of milonguero, mastered the miradas, and tangoed her heart away. What an amazing story!


Although not particularly familiar with the steps of the tango, the author made it come alive in my mind. So don’t let not knowing how to tango keep you from finding pleasure in Ms. Magnus’s accounts as she chronicles the trials and tribulations of learning how to manage in a foreign country.


You don’t have to be well-versed in South American language or culture either to enjoy this particular story. A glossary of Argentine terms was included at the end, which certainly helped on some words that aren’t used in the Spanish speaking country I live in. Mostly though, the Spanish terms were easily understood in the narrative. 


I found no typos or spelling errors, although there was that strange twist of fate (or perhaps lapse in editing) that turned Ramon, the Latin lover, into Ruben briefly in chapter 23. The languorous tone that most of the story was told in changed towards the end into more of an anxious and hurried summary of events. I’m not sure if it was deliberate or an unconscious shift mirroring how the events unfolded, but all in all, that was perhaps my only complaint about this fascinating memoir. 


I’m sure that you too will get swept away by the dips and turns found in Intoxicating Tango: My Years in Buenos Aires by Cherie Magnus.

Reviewed by

I am a voracious reader. I've also self-published several books. My interests include homesteading, traveling, specifically in Mexico, off-grid living, natural healing, herbs, and teaching. I enjoy reading everything from paranormal romance to prepping.

About the author

Cherie Magnus, born and raised in Los Angeles, was dance librarian in the L.A. Public Library and a dance critic for local newspapers before moving to France, Mexico, and then Argentina in 2003, returning to L.A. in 2014. The author of 3 award-winning memoirs, she has danced and loved all her life. view profile

Published on November 15, 2019

Published by

70000 words

Worked with a Reedsy professional 🏆

Genre: Biographies & Memoirs

Reviewed by