Plaza Dorrego Milonga in Jeopardy

Here's an appeal for help that's going around:

Many of you who have traveled to Buenos Aires went to Plaza Dorrego on Sunday and danced at the Milonga del Indio, the open air milonga there in the afternoon and evening.

This is a free milonga, not sponsored by anybody, but by the love of the dancers who come to Buenos Aires, and is possibly the longest running event in the city (I believe for about 20 years).

For a few months (and maybe longer), the bar, restaurant and cafe owners around the plaza have made the life of the milonga miserable. They are verbally and physically threatening the organizers, stealing or damaging equipment, etc. because they want the space for tables and chairs for the people that come to the market. El Indio, the organizer, has been fighting for the space for many years, trying to get official recognition from the city (the event is listed in all guide books, recommended by hotels and travel agents, but is not officially supported by the city government of Buenos Aires).

Please sign the petition: http://milongadelindio.weebly.com/ they need to show the support from people, dancers, visitors from all over the world that came and danced at the milonga. For many of us, it was one of the first milongas we went to when we came to Buenos Aires, and is still one of the nicest events here.

Also, he has a page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=search&gid=359229282855 the info is in Spanish but will be translated to English shortly.

One last thing I wanted to share: El Indio is using this milonga to reach out to less fortunate Argentine people. The donations he collects every week are going to charities, hospital, to those in need in and around Buenos Aires.

Please sign the petition, show your support to El Indio, and the Sunday milonga at Plaza Dorrego.

Thanks and abrazos to all of you.