During one of the dinner conversations with Cacho Dante after his class. I asked him who teaches milonguero close embrace in Buenos Aires, he replied, "Besides me, there's Susana Miller, Ana Maria Schapira and sometimes... Tete."
Tete. I see him everywhere, everynight in all the milongas I go to.
The first time I encountered him, he was this quirky, figidty old man sitting to the table next me on a Nino Bien thursday night. He was slamming his hands on the table, making loud funny comments to the dancers that pass by him.
I didn't know who he was, to me he was just another colourful character of the milonguero circles. Then Pierre, the french man sitting next to me told me, "This man here is Tete."
Tete! Like a lightning strike it passed through me. Could it be THE Tete? Of Rick Mcgarrey's site; mentioned so many times to me by Royce and Jean Michel? So I sat up and watched. I remembered he did a Pugliese. He went charging into the crowded dance floor and disappeared in a flash while the rest moved slowly with the line of dance.
Many nights I watch him dance, mesmerized. He glides in and out the line of dance with ease. He even goes against the lines of dance sometimes! You are always taught you dance in whatever space you have in the line of dance. I think Tete took that concept to the highest level; He dances in whichever space he finds on the entire dance floor.
The amazing thing is I have never seen him bump into anyone. He might startle a few when he zooms pass them, but his control and navigation is excellent. It is quite controversial on how he manages to zigzags his way around like a pinball in a crowded dance floor; some say people give him respect and gets out of his way; I believe its his mastery over his lead and navigation, so he is able to do what all dancers would achieve one day; the body to do whatever the mind wants to.
Not as controversial is his musicality, universally accepted as incredible. When he dances, he is in a trance. The music takes over. It looks more like the music is moving him rather than he is moving to the music. And Tete loves to dance vals. Women love to dance with him too. They all used the same words when talking about his musicality. Amazing. Incredible... Divine.
I believe that deep down in his heart, there is a motley crew of Troilo playing the bandoneon, Pugliese and Biaggi playing the piano, D'Arienzo orchestrating them with his characteristic uncontrollable energy and fervor.
I took his classes and he says, "Chicos, when I dance, I only listen to the music. The minute I begin to think about what step I am going to do, I become a ghost; dancing without soul."
And it was also during the class I began to realise it was not by any chance he could become one of the best milongueros in the world. Not only is he blessed with a brilliant mind for choreography, a divine musicality, Tete also possess the type of body control that is the exact opposite of that you would expect of a plump, elderly man. When he demonstrated the full pivot on one leg with the ease of a trained balletrina, saying 'Es facil! (Easy)' Then the whole class, including me, proceeded to struggle, toppling this way and that. It was then I realise Tete is born for nothing else but tango.
Tete also comes with the eccentricity that usually comes with great genuis. He pretty much does whatever he wants. Like how he dances. Besides from telling the dancers that dance pass by him during the milonga how they should be moving to the music. He appeared one time at Susana Miller's class, stood amongst the students and began commenting when Susana Miller was teaching. Of course Susana, being friends with Tete then demonstrated the move together with him.
I leave you with a note from Tete, he was passing them around like some propaganda paper at the posh upperclass Nino Bien Milonga. But knowing its Tete, thats nothing strange; Its in fact him at his passionate best.
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Que Verguenza!
No hace mucho, hice una nota refiriendome a todo lo hermoso que as aprender a bailar el tango y me doy cuenta que mucha gente no comprende como cuidar lo que verdaderamente tiene valor, ya que con una musica como el denominado tango electronico, que es totalmente ajeno al tango, tratan de destruir algo que es tan nuestro.
Yo le pediria a toda la comunidad tanguera, pero sobre todo a los bailarines jovenes, a los musicalizadores y a los organizadores de milongas, que es tomen un tiempo para reflexionar seriamente sobre lo que significa el tango y se den cuenta segun el caso, que ya sea por falta de imaginacion para agregarle al tango cosas nuevas o por hacer un negocio, estan faltandole el respeto a toda una cultura. Es una lastima llegar a este punto, lastimando a tanta gente. Usen esa musica para otra cosa y no se tomen el atrevimiento de ponerle tango a eso que no lo es.
Me despido de ustedes esperando que comprendan lo que les digo. Hasta Pronto.
Tete
If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, what better to let a beautiful Venusian who speaks perfect spanish do my job instead.
