Humans of Tango

Yolanda Romero Hume gives new meaning to the aphorism YOLO (a.k.a. carpe diem). Find out how she makes the most of every day - in her local DC tango community and around the world.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “El Adiós” composed by Maruja Pacheco Huergo with lyrics by Virgilio San Clemente and arranged and recorded by Sexteto Cristal with Guillermo Rozenthuler | Image Credit: Unknown
Show Notes
Watch a mini-tour of the tango studio in Yolanda's house, featuring paintings by another epic DC-area tanguera - Viviana Levinson.
Watch videos of Jake Spatz; Alejandro Barrientos and Rosalía Gasso; Martín Maldonado and Maurizio Ghella; Serkan Gokcesu and Ozhan Araz; Juan Cantone and Sol Orozco; and Marcelo Gutierrez. (You can also find/connect with most of these folks via Facebook and/or Instagram.)
Listen to the episode of Humans of Tango featuring one of Yolanda's tango children, Juan Cantone.
Read a transcript of Yolanda's episode here.

South Korean honorary New Yorker London Hong thought he was too old to become a professional dancer. Then he fell in love with tango.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Yunta de Oro” composed by Osvaldo Ruggiero and performed and recorded by Tango Bardo | Image Credit: Irina Novak
Show Notes
Watch the Forever Tango performance featuring Carlos Gavito and Marcela Durán that first inspired London’s tango obsession.
Listen to some of London's bandoneon maestros - Rodolfo Zanetti, Javier Sanchez, and Hector Del Curto - and to the NYC-based band London helped found, "Los Peores del Tango."
Visit the website of the tango academy London founded with his dance partner, Sol, or go straight to their YouTube channel.
Learn more about the World Tango Championship (from a former champion!) and check for 2023 updates on the government website of Buenos Aires (en español).
Read a transcript of London's episode here.

"The tango dancing is going to happen, and you don't need to push that hard."
Aníbal Dominguez was on the verge of quitting tango when he discovered contact improv. Since then, dancing has only gotten better...
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “En un Bondi Color Humo” performed by Daniel Melingo with lyrics by Luis Alposta | Image Credit: Alejandro Persichetti
Show Notes
Listen to the radio station Aníbal grew up with, Radio Clarín.
Learn more about Montevideo’s carnaval.
Learn more about Colectivo Periférico in this video that includes Aníbal and one of the teachers he mentions, Eduardo Ferrer (who was also one of my teachers when I lived in Montevideo).
Watch an improvised solo by the founder of contact improv, Steve Paxton.
Watch Daniel Melingo perform "En un Bondi Color Humo" live and read how he created the song, then check out the original poem in Spanish or German on the blog of its author, Luis Alposta.
Read a transcript of Aníbal's episode here.

When Ayano Yoneda moved from her native Japan to San Francisco for a job in finance, she never imagined that a chance encounter with a Halloween "Cinderella's ball" would change her life forever...
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Ninguna” written by Raúl Fernández Siro with lyrics by Homero Manzi and performed by Angel D'Agostino y Su Orquesta Típica with Angel Vargas; and “Amarras,” written by Carlos Marchisio with lyrics by Carmelo Santiago and performed by Alberto Castillo y su Orquesta Típica | Image Credit: Mido Kwon
Show Notes
Learn more about the Tango Poetry Project and watch past lectures on their YouTube channel.
Learn more about Ayano and Felipe and stay updated on their activities. (You can also listen to Felipe's Humans of Tango episode.)
When we spoke, Ayano shared her appreciation for interviews. Some of her favorite sources are Joe's Tango Podcast, Tengo una pregunta para vos, Informal Tango Interviews, and Tango Angeles (I particularly love their episode about Tango Poetry Project). And if you understand Japanese, listen to an interview with Ayano in her native language!
Follow Ayano's teacher Javier Rodriguez on Facebook, or just enjoy watching him perform on YouTube.
Read English translations of "Ninguna" and "Amarras." Also worth noting that the most famous version of "Amarras" was recorded by Héctor Mauré with Juan D'Arienzo y su Orquesta Típica.
Read a transcript of Ayano's episode here.

“...I feel like if tango was more diverse, it would just be richer and more interesting.”
Anthea Okereke’s tango journey has had plenty of highs and lows - but her passion keeps her making a heart with her hands, even when she has to roll her eyes through it.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Viento Norte” written by Juan Carlos Suncho and performed by Sexteto Cristal | Image Credit: John Connatty
Show Notes
Watch Anthea and 5 other brilliant tangueras talk about "Racism, Inclusivity, and Tango" on YouTube or Facebook.
Hear more about stories and stereotypes in a TED Talk by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Anthea refers to "wintering," a term I picked up (and introduced to our conversation) after reading Katherine May's Wintering. Highly recommend!
Read a transcript of Anthea's episode here.

Nel Mastrodomenico fell in love with tango music in the tango bars of his native Colombia - but it took an international move in pursuit of the Australian dream to get him dancing and DJing. Today, Nel lives his own Argentinian dream in Buenos Aires.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Toda mi Vida” written by José María Contursi y Aníbal Troilo and performed by Aníbal Troilo y su Orquesta Típica with Francisco Fiorentino | Image Credit: Dos Orillas Practica de Tango Buenos Aires
Show Notes
This episode includes clips of Carlos Gardel singing "Tango Argentino" by Alfredo Bigeschi and Juan Maglio "Pacho" and Juan D'Arienzo y Su Orquesta Típica performing "El Pollito" by Francisco Canaro.
Get familiar with Colombia’s history with tango legend Carlos Gardel (en español).
Read more about the International Day of Tango and Argentina’s National Bandoneon Day.
Nerd out about how records are made.
Learn how political strife and rock n' roll affected tango in Argentina and Uruguay.
Follow Nel on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook.
Read a transcript of Nel's episode here.

Queer tango teacher and change maker Alex Pacheco Castillo talks about why inclusion is not the same as belonging and what she's doing to foster community in her hometown of Mexico City.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Bailemos” written by Cholo Mamona and Reinaldo Yiso and performed by Susanita Peña | Image Credit: Tango Queer Uruguay
Show Notes
Download the free eBook Alex and I contributed to, Queer Tango Futures: Dancing for Change in a Post-Covid World. 
Watch Facebook Live interviews with Gonzalo Souto, Alex's first teacher, and Alex herself (in Spanish).
Alex credits Leticia Nieto with introducing her to many of the ideas that shape her approach to tango, including the distinction between inclusion and belonging. Learn more about Dr. Nieto's 2010 book Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment.
Here are links to sources of the statistics mentioned: >70% of women in Mexico have experienced some kind of violence; >70% say they feel unsafe in their daily lives; >1,000 women in Mexico were murdered for gender-based reasons in 2021, a 137% increase since 2015; at least 461 people from Mexico’s LGBT+ community died between 2017 and 2021 from violence presumed to be related to their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Read a transcript of Alex's episode here.

Classical guitarist and recording artist Craig Einhorn on the joys and struggles of life and music-making and how a song first intended as "filler" for a CD became a modern tango classic.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Milonguea del Ayer” composed by Abel Fleury and arranged and recorded by Craig Einhorn; “Spetsai Tango” composed by Georges Moustaki and arranged and recorded by Craig Einhorn; improvisations on classical guitar and djembe by Craig Einhorn | Image Credit: Unknown
Show Notes
Find Craig's music on Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, or YouTube, or follow what he's up to on Facebook. 
Watch my favorite video of Chicho and Juana performing to "Milonguea del Ayer."
Learn more about Craig's friends and musical collaborators Rebecca Oswald and Joe Powers.
Listen to Edith Piaf sing “Milord” and hear more of Georges Moustaki's music on YouTube Music or Spotify.
Read a transcript of Craig's episode here.

Spain-born, San-Francisco-based teacher, DJ, and organizer Felipe Martinez explains why he believes art is for everyone and how tradition can nurture the evolution of tango.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Trago Amargo” by Julio Navarrine and Rafael Iriarte, performed by Juan D'Arienzo y Su Orquesta Típica with Alberto Echagüe | Image Credit: Kappu Chino
Show Notes
Learn more about Felipe and Ayano on their website and check out their Tango Poetry Project. Bonus: Read their English translation of "Trago Amargo," the song that accompanies this episode!
Watch an interview (parts 1, 2, and 3) between Pepa Palazón and tango maestra Olga Besio that Felipe described as "gems all over the place" in a part of our conversation that didn't make it into this episode (in Spanish). 
Read more about the códigos (a.k.a. codes) of social tango in Buenos Aires.
Read a transcript of Felipe's episode here.

Bandoneonist Heyni Solera shares how her immigration experience shaped her artistic journey and why she thinks the secret to better dancing is to sit down.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Flores Negras" by Francisco de Caro, arranged by Astor Piazzolla and performed by Heyni Solera | Image Credit: Nikos Zacharakis
 
Show Notes
Visit Heyni's website to listen to more of Heyni’s music and see what she’s up to. 
Learn more about the DC Tango Orchestra.
Listen to Diego Schissi on Soundcloud, or watch videos of Diego Schissi Quinteto, Santiago Segret, and Eva Wolff.
Follow the DC Queer Tango Collective for the latest queer tango activities in the DC area.
Preview an English translation of Argentine Queer Tango: Dance and Sexuality Politics in Buenos Aires, by ethnomusicologist Mercedes Liska. Bonus: Didn’t make it into the episode, but Heyni also shouted out Tango y Feminismo by Anahí Perez Pavez for its argument that queer tango set the stage for feminist tango.
Listen to an interview with Maxfield Wollam-Fisher, the cellist with whom Heyni formed Arco y Aire.
This episode features clips downloaded from the Internet Archive: “9 de Julio,” written by J. L. Pudula and performed by Francisco Canaro y Su Orquesta Típica; and “Como Abrazado a un Rencor,” written by A. M. Podesta and R. Rossi and performed by Horacio Salgán y Su Gran Orquesta Típica with Angel Diaz.
Read a transcript of Heyni's episode here.