The Tango Waits For You - Episode 4: Night of Spirits

This is a bonus episode of The Tango Waits For You, a 3-part audio documentary series that tells the story of the first year of building a brand-new tango community in Long Beach, California. It’s both my story, of losing a dream and finding it again, and it’s also a story of dozens of people coming together by chance in a way that feels like it was truly meant to be. It’s a story full of friendship, connection, trust, and discovery, all the things we seek together on the dance floor. Being together in person is so important right now. Whether you dance tango or not, I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Episode 4: Night of Spirits -  LB Tango hosts its first ritual milonga for the greater LA tango community, in celebration of Dia de los Muertos.

Episode References

“Tar Liom Siar,” written and performed by Moya Brennan, Lynne Earls, and Cormac de Barra. Produced and recorded by Lynne Earls, from the album Timeless. 

Long Beach Tango
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/tango

Altar Milonga (Photos by Andrei Andreev)
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/altar-milonga

Elena's Elixirs
https://elenaselixirs.com/

Altar Society Brewing & Coffee Co.
https://altarsocietybrewco.com/

Mike Cokley, Altar Society General Manager
gm@altarbrands.com

Wisdom of the past (by Elena's Elixers)
Ilegal Joven Mezcal • Largo Bay Coquito Liqueur • Cacao Liqueur • Fresh Lime Juice • Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur • Egg White • Aztec Cacao Bitters

Garnished with fresh nutmeg and floating marigold

From the high deserts of Oaxaca to the sun-warmed shores of the Caribbean, this cocktail traces an invisible thread through the Americas—where every region honors those who came before. In Mexico, marigolds (cempasúchitl) carpet the paths for Día de los Muertos. Guatemala flies giant barriletes for Día de Todos Los Santos. Bolivia shapes bread into guaguas de pan for Día de Todos los Difuntos. Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador—each has its own name, its own ritual, yet all share the same November vigil.

This drink brings together ingredients with no obvious reason to meet, yet they dance in surprising harmony.

Un Abrazo Final (by Elena's Elixers)
Tequila Reposado • Malbec • Fresh Lime Juice • Grenadine • Araceli Marigold Liqueur • Fernet-Branca

Sea salt rim, finished with a spritz of rose and marigold for fragrance

On Día de los Muertos, the veil between worlds grows thin. The living and the dead draw close—not in sorrow, but in celebration, in one final dance of remembrance. This cocktail honors that tender moment when memory becomes presence, when those we've lost feel near enough to touch.

Salt crystallizes like tears along the rim. Fernet-Branca whispers bitter truths of departure. Grenadine holds the sweetness of stolen moments, while Malbec bleeds with the complexity of love and loss. Tequila and marigold become golden of