During the encuentro milonguero salon, chairs and tables for men are set apart from the women. Couples also get a separate section, just as is common in Buenos Aires.

A milonguero is a person who spends time dancing social tango. The word comes from the term milonga referring to a tango dance event.

The term was used from the 1870s to mark a man who spent much of his time dancing tango of any style. Since the early 20th century the term referred to a man immersed in the tango culture specific to Buenos Aires. A milonguero frequented dance halls, dancing to the music of tango, milonga and vals. Such a man was “raised and groomed on tango” and his “reverence for the dance and its traditions” strongly influenced the way he danced. The term milonguero was used by others to distinguish a skilled and courteous dancer, not a term for oneself.

Though there are many individual differences between men, milongueros generally dress conservatively, wearing a sport coat or suit, dress shirt and often a tie. They do not attempt to converse with their partner during a song. They are keenly aware of others on the dance floor and they maintain the “line of dance”, a stately progression of all the couples moving counter-clockwise around the dance floor. The milonguero does not bump into or kick other dancers; he employs mostly circular movements to keep an inward focus for himself and his partner, and to allow for small adornments made with the foot. Above all, he interprets the mood of the music with his dancing.

In modern times, the feminine form milonguera has been used to refer to a woman who is an avid tango dancer, one who goes out dancing as much as possible. Other similar terms are tanguero for a man and tanguera for a woman.