Humans of Tango

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.

"Effectively, in martial arts you learn that 101 is a lifetime.”
Hear from DC social dancer and beloved community photographer Jaime Montemayor about why he started taking pictures, how tango is similar to (and different from!) Judo, and what brought him back to tango after a long hiatus.
 
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Patético" by Jorge Caldera, performed by Solo Tango Orquesta | Image Credit: Photo by Yulia Kriskovets, processing by Jaime Montemayor
 
Show Notes
View some of Jaime's photographs on Facebook, or check out his (in-focus, color-balanced;) Shutterstock library.
Various friends from the DC tango community came up over the course of Jaime's interview. One whose name didn't make it into the final episode is Jake Spatz of Eastern Market Tango Club, who has designated Jaime house photographer there. The teachers Jaime first studied with are Sharna Fabiano and Isaac Oboka, who are no longer in DC but still in our hearts. The DJ whose music broke Jaime's heart at Tango Holiday (the marathon Jaime describes at the end of the episode) was Yulia Kriskovets.
Want to hear Jaime wax philosophical about martial arts? Listen to this episode of The Mental Arts from 2020.
Read a transcript of Jaime's episode here.

“The why is many, many things.”
Juan Cantone nerds out in the best of ways about experiencing the tango renaissance in his native Buenos Aires, the four aspects of tango, and the thing that will make him dance forever.
 
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "A Luis Luchi" by Eduardo Rovira, performed by SONICO | Image Credit: Monteleone Tango
 
Show Notes
Here’s more background on the tango renaissance.  
Listen to examples of Canaro from the '30s.  
See examples of performances by Graciela González and Pedro “El Indio” Benavente.
As promised, some favorite videos of Juampy Ramírez dancing (with Daniel Arroyo).
I asked Juan to share some “poem” performances - his own and those of other artists. He shared his recent performance with current dance partner Virginia Cutillo; these three videos from his years touring with Sol Orozco; and videos of Carlos Espinoza and Noelia Hurtado; Horacio Godoy and Cecilia Berro; Chicho Frumboli and Juana Sepulveda;  Clarisa Aragón and Jonathan Saavedra; El "Chino" Perico and Silvia Damiani; and Ricardo Vidort and Myriam Pincen. All amazing!!!
Want to study with Juan? You can follow and contact him through Facebook and Instagram.
Read a transcript of Juan's episode here.

For Eugenia Park, first came marriage, kids, and immigration from the Soviet Union to raise her family in the United States.
Then came a love affair with tango that has stood the test of time.
 
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "La Puñalada" by Pintín Castellanos, performed by Juan D'Arienzo y su Orquesta Típica | Image Credit: Yulia Kriskovets
 
Show Notes
Eugenia started our conversation by sharing this article by Cacho Dante. Recommended reading for a firsthand perspective on the meaning of “milonguero.” And here’s even more history and analysis of “milonguero style” tango!
Pyotr Leshchenko, a.k.a. "The King of Russian Tango,” is the songwriter and singer Eugenia listened to as a child in Ukraine. Here are some examples of his music.
Chan Park continues his tango journey in Europe, where he teaches Tango Zen.
Wikipedia kindly provides pictures of Argentine Tango figures including boleos and ganchos.
The song accompanying Eugenia’s episode is a milonga, a musical genre commonly played along with tango and vals at tango dance parties (also called milongas!) Here are a few favorite examples of dancers performing to milonga songs.
Read a transcript of Eugenia's episode here.

Through time, space, and changing circumstances, DC native Nick Thompson has made it work with tango - on his own terms. Hear how a hidden obsession, sparked one January evening at Portland State University, transformed into a friendly one over the years.
 
This episode was produced in partnership with Tango Mercurio.
 
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Después del Carnaval" by J. A. Amuchastegui Keen, performed by Osvaldo Fresedo y Su Gran Orquesta Argentina with Ricardo Ruiz | Image from C’est la Vie milonga in Xi’an, China (photographer unknown)
 
Show Notes
Learn more about the history of Portland tango via The New York Times and/or a founder of its community.
ValenTango is still going strong! See what’s on the agenda for 2022.
See what's so different about Argentine Spanish.
The friendly dancers Nick ran into in Buenos Aires were Rebecca Rorick Smith and Eric Lindgren, some of Nick’s first teachers in Portland. Watch a video of them performing around that time and one from 2019.
Other Portland dancers Nick mentioned in the interview were Adam Cornett, who visited Xi'an repeatedly as a guest artist, and Alex Krebs. (To close the circle, Alex Krebs is the Portland name I heard back in 2007, when I met a former student and sometimes partner of his, Jennifer Olson, who was DJing at a milonga in Montevideo. Small tango world!)
Haven’t heard of the Terra Cotta Warriors Nick mentioned? Watch a video or read an article about their fascinating history.
Read a transcript of Nick's episode here.

“If I had to pinpoint what exactly I do, I think it’s... I care. I think I care to connect.”
Italian tanguera Simona Ciampi lays out some truly enchanting reasons to dance tango and sheds light on a question I’ve had for upwards of 15 years. 
 
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "El Carillon de la Merced" by Enrique S. Discepolo, performed by Carlos Molina y Su Orquesta | Image Credit: Dos Orillas Practica de Tango Buenos Aires
 
Show Notes
Watch the short film I mentioned about Simona’s tango journey up to 2016.
See Simona’s visual art on Instagram.
Study with Virginia Pandolfi, the maestra whose online teaching Simona credits with improving her tango during the pandemic period.
Read a transcript of Simona's episode here.

Like so many tango stories, it all started in Argentina. But our heroine, Phi Lee Lam, was there to learn about farming and had no interest in donning heels to dance with men in fedoras.
Still, one thing led to another and Phi Lee found herself captivated by the Argentine dance of passion. Back home in New York City, she signed up for a tango class and embarked on an epic journey of exploration, inquiry, and connection.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Chapado a la antigua" by Pablo Estigarribia  | Image Credit: Monica Ramirez
Show Notes
A little more about Queer Tango Collective.
And more about Mariana Docampo’s “Tango Queer” in Buenos Aires.
Here are two videos of Mariana Docampo and Soledad Nani, the dancers who first inspired Phi Lee to start studying tango.
And a couple of Carla Marano, Phi Lee’s mentor, leading and following.
And last but never least, Mariano “Chicho” Frúmboli! Behold, the absolute best tango video ever (IMHO), one of the first tango videos I fell in love with, and one more just for fun. (Remember, people, this is all IMPROVISED!)
Read a transcript of Phi Lee's episode here.

In 2019, Queer Tango pioneer Augusto La Marshall came to DC as a guest artist through Tango Mercurio's Queer Tango Program. In addition to teaching classes and workshops, Augusto graciously agreed to sit down at an informal brunch hosted by the DC Queer Tango Collective to answer all of the DC community’s burning questions. There was much coffee, OJ, and laughter, with the conversation meandering from the origins of tango to social codes to the future of queer tango. Here, Queer Tango Program Manager Liz Sabatiuk shares highlights and reflections from that candid, thought-provoking event.
This episode was produced in partnership with Tango Mercurio.
Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Alma de Bohemio” by Roberto Firpo, performed by Francisco Canaro y su Orquesta Típica, via the Internet Archive | Image Credit: Carlos Villamayor/Arte
Read a transcript of Augusto's episode here.