An Argentinian revolution is brewing at the base of Munjoy Hill. Put on your dancing shoes and come down to learn the tango–or have a cup of coffee and listen to stories.

by Ben McCanna

Tucked behind a potted plant on the rear wall of the North Star Music Café, you'll find a chalkboard. The owners' mission statement fills this dusty slate to its margins, but it's still tempting to call the North Star Music Café a tabula rasa; the residents of Portland seem determined to craft the café's identity on their own.

North Star Music Café is housed within a small brick building at the foot of Munjoy Hill. Inside is a clean, well-lighted place: bright wood floors meet lime green and pumpkin walls; cherry tables and chairs share floor space with comfy leather couches; and the scene is lit by soft, low-wattage bulbs that dot the ceiling like Christmas lights. A pleasing mix of strong coffee, toasted bread, and patchouli permeates the air.

Tonight the room resonates with the confident sound of live tango. On the dance floor, high heels and cocktail dresses mingle incongruously with flat-soled shoes and blue jeans, yet no one looks out of place.

“When you hear ‘tango' most people think of ballroom dancing, but this isn't anything like that,” says Paul Bavineau, dance instructor for PortTango's bimonthly events at the North Star. “Our tango—Argentine tango—is totally improvised. There are no actual steps. It's really just a different form of walking.”

Laura Balladur, a PortTango organizer, agrees: “If you go by what you see, tango can be very intimidating. You have to realize tango is a feeling. You can't see a feeling, but you can capture that feeling with the simplest walk. If you can capture that feeling…it just transcends everything.”

According to their website, “PortTango is an informal and inclusive group of dancers and musicians in and around Portland, Maine, who encourage, promote, and enjoy Argentine tango as a social activity.”

(from left) Tango Mucha Labia performers Valerie Green (web programming teacher at Portland Arts & Technology High School), Mike Arciero (assistant professor of mathematics at UNE), Tina Holt (family practice physician at Maine Medical Center), and Elizabeth Trice (housing consultant and Cumberland County project coordinator) delight regulars and newcomers with Argentine tango music.

The promotional aspect comes easy. “Between the live music, the sensuality of the tango embrace, and the swoosh of dancers' feet, it's hard not to be pulled in,” says Valerie Green, violinist for the provocatively named Tango Mucha Labia—the house band for PortTango's events. “When you have that much energy in a space, it's like a magnet. That's when you see people peering through the windows and coming inside.”

Tango deserves some credit for drawing passersby into the café, but it's clear that the North Star has a gravitational pull of its own. Organizers for groups as diverse as the MOOSE Maine Storytellers, Maine Songwriters' Association, Acoustic Spoken Word, Flatline (a goth dance party), and a monthly tarot-card reading have all chosen to make the café a home base for their regular events.

“That was always part of our plan,” says North Star co-owner Kim Anderson. “We wanted to let the community decide what this space was going to be. We let the community come to us and say, ‘We love this space, we want to do this.'”

Debb Freedman, an organizer and hostess for the MOOSE Maine Storytellers, did just that. “I went in one day and said, ‘Yep, this is it!' We'd done events at other places—Java Joe's, people's houses—but we didn't have a home. Then North Star opened up and it was a perfect fit. The café is as intimate as the storytelling, so it's really just a wonderful match. People go there to listen. Imagine it! Speakers and musicians aren't fighting against the chat.”

Refreshments add zing to the festivities.

“It's a listening room,” says co-owner Anna Maria Tocci.

It's true. During a Friday event showcasing two classical guitarists, the audience is so quiet, so rapt, you feel compelled to whisper your drink orders, and you feel guilty for flushing the toilet. No one in the audience so much as coughs, and nary a cell phone rings.

“I think the dedicated stage is the key,” Tocci says. “It brings a sense of permanence—a sense that this is a place of music—and that's something you don't always find at coffee houses.”

There wasn't always a dedicated stage in this space, however. As recently as summer 2006, the building was inhabited by an altogether different beast.

“Bottomz Up was here before us,” Tocci says. “It was kind of a divey bar. There was some sketchy stuff behind their closing.”

“We made a decision to close it,” says former city councilor Peter O'Donnell. “There was some pretty extreme violence.”

According to an article in the Portland Press Herald, problems at Bottomz Up included “employees overserving patrons and fights and attacks.” In one incident, “police had to draw their guns on a suspect who had threatened people with a knife.”

Before it was Bottomz Up, the building had housed another bastion of urban blight. “Back in the seventies and early eighties, it was a strip joint called Stardust,” says O'Donnell. “But it's changed dramatically since then. I was going to school at USM last summer, and I heard some people say they were going to the North Star for a show. There was a part of me that chuckled and thought, ‘Who would have believed the old Stardust would end up being a destination for academics?'”

(from left) Laura Balladur (a lecturer in French at Bates College), David Merrill, and Anna Gilbert (VP of sales & development for Sandbaggers golf shoes) hit the dance floor.

Current councilor for Munjoy Hill Kevin J. Donoghue is similarly impressed by the change. “North Star is an excellent addition to the neighborhood. It's the sort of place where people can come in with their baby stroller, but also meet friends. It's a welcoming environment, and I'm pleased to have it there. Anything that can satisfy the social needs of Munjoy Hill without having to cross the Franklin Arterial is welcome in my book.”

Yes, but does the councilor tango?

“Indeed,” says Donoghue after the slightest of pauses. “I've taken a lesson.”

And how did he fare?

“Can I plead the Fifth?” asks instructor Paul Bavineau, laughing. “Kevin could do well with some practice, but that goes for anyone. Every single week I work on it. I'm practicing all the time. It's just like meditation: it's something you practice your whole life, but you never master. Tango is the same way. You're never going to master it; you just practice it and practice it, and get better and better.”

In the meantime, the North Star continues to grow. “It just keeps building,” says Tocci. “Every time I think I've seen everybody in Portland, an event will bring in a wave of new faces.”

And with each new wave, the chalkboard at the back of the room will great them. “Welcome home.”

North Star Music Café is at 225 Congress Street. Their calendar of events can be found at www.northstarmusiccafe.com. Tango nights are the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Lessons begin at 7 p.m., and Tango Mucha Labia takes the stage at 9.