The first
part of the History of the Development
of the Tango Community in Rio de Janeiro was published in July 1998, in the
newspaper Jornal Dance News,
following a survey conducted in response to the request made by the editors of
said newspapers. The story was published as” “From Ballroom Tango to Exhibition Tango”
in the column “LOS
MILONGUEIROS”.
We
are now making available the results of the survey, which have been updated and
which confirm the solidification of this extraordinary action in our
city.
The
story may be split in three chapters or parts:
Part
One:
Following the information provided in LOS MILONGUEIROS, the first stage begins in the second half of the twentieth
century and ends in July 1998, and comprises:
. The pre-Elite stage,
until 1992:
with the predominance
of Show
Tango;
. The post-Elite stage, from
1992 to 1998:
with the development of Ballroom
Tango.
This part of the story was narrated portraying "TANGO
FROM EXHIBITION TO BALLROOM".
Part
Two:
The
stage when ballroom tango became consolidated in Rio de Janeiro, covering the
period July 1998 until December 1999, at the onset of the XX century:
although a brief period, it was very intense. Numerous tango dance
parties and events were organized along with the modernization and expansion of
media around the activity.
Part Three:
Modernism,
beginning of the XXI Century: The
community is already consolidated, there being constant development of tango
dancing, and the establishing of a great
variety of dance venues to practice; also a greater interchange, through courses
and workshops conducted by famous international tango teachers and the growing
number of tango fan.
PART ONE
Pre-Elite and
Post Elite Stages
Jornal Dance News – July
1998
LOS
MILONGUEIROS
By: Ney
Homero da Silva Rocha
TANGO FROM EXHIBITION TO BALLROOM
We will celebrate next April the sixth anniversary of the first official tango party in the city of
Rio de Janeiro, and as part of the festivities, the dance party/show, at the Gafieira
Elite, we will refer to the type of tango people used to dance in Rio before
the nineties (Exhibition Tango) and
of the tango style performed after the nineties (Ballroom Tango), which increased after
the first official tango dance party at the Elite Club in 1992 (Elitean Stage). Later on, large
numbers of tango fans devotedly participate in Ballroom Tango parties (Post-Elite
Stage).
The Board of Jornal Dance News, kindly invited us through its President,
Mr. Wanyr de Almeida, to refer to this
issue and we are very grateful indeed.
In
order to be able to refer to the matter, it is not enough to have participated
for almost nine years in the movement and the evolution of tango dancing in Rio
de Janeiro. Obviously we had to contact the persons which were and are still engaged
in the tango movement in Rio, and talk to them about the history of the
evolution, in order to make the story available to the tango
community.
To begin with, Leni Fiori was
Trajano’s partner in the 40s, for
almost eight years, and made exhibitions throughout Latin America, i.e., Solis Theatre in Montevideo (Uruguay), with
the Typical Orchestra of Mr. Donato
Racciatti.
Some time later, for fifteens years, Leni and Amauri made numerous tango exhibitions,
also in Buenos Aires, dancing with
the Typical Orchestra Mi Buenos Aires Querido,
conducted by Maestro Brandon. The
orchestra performed under the pseudonym of Los
Porteñitos.
Leni and Trajano
(the
latter being a dance choreographer graduated from the Municipal Theatre of Rio
de Janeiro) and Amauri, were the first
tango teachers in Rio.
Leni
was also Mestre Russo’s partner for
two years in 90/91.
Leni
refers that she started dancing when she was ten years of age, greatly
influenced by her aunt Lena Garcia,
a tango singer at the old Night and Day
ballroom, in shows featuring Carlos
Machado, her pupil at tango dancing.
Leni
Fiori is very enthusiastic about ballroom dancing, especially tango, but she
also loves samba. Leni says that before doing tango she was a professional
dancer, and that she performed many samba shows.
Leni’s
criticism as far as ballroom dancing is concerned, focuses on the bad posture of
couples. She also criticizes the use of tango steps in gafiera’s samba- style dancing.
She confirms that her style is the Creole-Show referring emotionally to
creativity and improvisation, which are so rare at present, as she refers that
when seeing a couple dancing is the same as seeing all of them, since the styles
which are being taught at the dance centers are uniform, couples not including
any personal touch. But there are exceptions, of course.
Leni
refers that in old days’ parties there
was always a series of tango music lasting approximately 15 minutes, and
that the couples used to dance following no specific pattern.
Maria
Antonietta Guaycurús De Souza,
who in addition to being a famous ballroom dance professor is a thorough
researcher, refers that back in the
twenties couples used to dance ballroom tango at the Faculty of Medicime in Belo
Horizonte, during weekends.
According to Antonietta, ballroom
tango was also danced in Sao Paulo. The tango style in Rio de Janeiro was mainly
exhibition tango, which was performed only by two or three couples, in venues
such as “Dancings” and “Gafieiras”.
Maria
Antonietta
also
refers that in the 40s, there were
weekly tango sessions for approximately 2 hours at the Morais Academy (where
she learned how to dance and later became a dance teacher. She proudly refers to her tango teacher, the Argentine professor
Roberto de Aquino during the years 78 and 79.
Antonietta
also performed several tango
exhibitions, in Brazil and Argentina, with various partners, the important
names at that time in Rio de Janeiro being Leni/Amauri/Trajano/Mario
Jorge/Irani/Esquerdina/Jacira (Mudinha), among others and Jorge Paulo, more
recently.
Jorge
Paulo was the designer and founder, on
07/25/1997, of the BRAZIL TANGO CLUB and PLANET TANGO.
The
headquarters were officially
inaugurated on March 5, 1998, in the neighborhood of Lapa, Rio de
Janeiro.
Jorge
Paulo
refers to his most important tango partners, i.e. Angela Loureiro and Marina Salomão. He proudly recalls his participation
in shows, movies, theatre and nightclubs, highlighting his participation in the
movie Opera do
Malandro.
Eric
Mueller refers that in 1987
when he arrived from Buenos Aires, Professor João Carlos Ramos, who was
the Director of the Companhia Aérea de
Dança, introduced him to Professor
Jaime Arôxa. Eric recalls that by mid-July in 1987
he conducted tango classes for two months at Jaime Arôxa’s Dance Center. There he met Jeusa Vasconcellos, his pupil and later
his partner, up to the present time.
Eric
and Jeusa
taught at the Dance Studio in the
neighborhood of Catete for approximately one year in 87/88. They then spent a year abroad and on
their return gave classes during a year, also in Catete, at teacher Oswaldo’s house, in 89/90. They
inaugurated the first tango practices which were to last for approximately one
year.
In early 1990 Jaime Arôxa, started a tango course at his Dance Academy in Botafogo. Jaime was a
pioneer of Milongas and also facilitated
seminars conducted by great tango teachers from Buenos Aires, promoting the first trips of
Brazilian students to Argentina, to enable them to develop their tango
expertise, and also facilitated the visits of good tango teachers to come and
lecture in Brazil, such as Mingo and
Esther, Alejandra and Norberto, among others. I had been a ballroom dance student at Jaime
Arôxa´s classes since 1987 and I took tango classes with him during three
consecutive years. I was lucky
enough to participate in two memorable journeys to Buenos Aires in 1991 and 1992, as part of a group of almost 40
people including teachers and students, among them Inácio Carvalho, who was Jaime Arôxa’s
commercial partner at that time.
By the end of the 90s, Eric and Jeusa also gave a three-month tango
course at the academy of Professor
Carlinhos de Jesus, and also at the Forró Forrado. This venue was situated
at the headquarters of the Cia. Aérea de
Dança, in the neighborhood of Catete, owned by Prof. João Carlos, who participated in
many tango shows with his company in theatre halls, at the Voador Circus. In this last venue other
couples made exhibitions, such as Jaime
and Patricia, Eric and Jeusa, Paulo and Marcia, Carlos and Alicia, Maria
Antonietta with several partners, including Lea and me, as we were
Antonietta’s students at that time.
In 1990, Jaime
organized tango dance parties at
his Dance Center on a fortnight basis
over a year.
Still
in 1990, Dorinha planned several tango events in
her house in the neighborhood of Flamengo.
On that same year dancer Dirce, assisted by dancers Jaci and Luíza, planned monthly tango events on Saturdays,
the venue being Dirce’s party
room at her condominium.
In
1991,
Eric
and Jeusa offered
a tango course during approximately one year at
the Avatar in
Botafogo. Training and some tango events were also planned. I started to attend their classes by that
time.
In April 1992, Eric and Jeusa
inaugurated
the 1st. Official Tango Dance Party,
in an independent venue (not the Academies) in Rio de Janeiro. The Dance party, known as “La Milonga”,
contributed decidedly to the development of ballroom tango, following porteño patterns in their different
styles in Rio de Janeiro.
“La Milonga” lasted two years at the Elite Club, coordinated by Paulo Araújo, who assisted Eric and Jeusa at that time. Paulo
Araujo was responsible for continuing the event during Eric and Jeusa’s trips to Europe, and
conducted a Training on Mondays, whilst “La Milonga” continued on Wednesdays. Soon after Eric and Jeusa’s return, La Milonga, was transferred to the Olympic Club in Copacabana. It continued on 94 and 95. On this same year it was
transferred to anew venue at the Gurilandia Club in Botafogo, also
organized by Eric and Jeusa, assisted by other collaborators when the couple
traveled to Europe. These assistants were: Odevaldo, Sergio Maciel, Marcinha, Luíza,
Dirce, Jaci, Plínio, Elis and Gerson.
La
Milonga
is celebrating its 6th year of existence, and it characterizes
the Elitean Stage, with the predominance
of great progress on the
peculiarities of ballroom tango and the increasing number of fans.
La Milonga was
an outstanding event, signaling the most romantic tango period in Rio de
Janeiro, due to the enthusiasm and glamour that tango dancing provoked in us
all.
In
1995, Paulo Araujo and Angela Cepeda started their tango training classes.
They
were both Eric and Jeusa’s students at Lugar Comum in Botafogo, an
extraordinary venue that was discovered thanks to an initiative of dancer Silvia Helena. These training classes at Lugar Comum
on Mondays still continue.
There were also weekly tango and training classes at Casa de Dança de Carlinhos de Jesus,
organized by Eric & Jeusa and their students/teachers Plínio & Elis, in 1995. Alejandra González also gave
classes at the Argentine Consulate, originally with her partner Norberto Esbrez and currently with Marcelo Pareja.
Contributions by Paulo
& Angela have been very
important for the growth and development of the tango community in Rio de
Janeiro, not only through their training sessions but also for planning classes
and trips to Buenos Aires with their students (we were lucky enough to go with them on
one occasion).
Paulo
refers
to his feelings about tango, and
that sentiment is evidenced when he dances and interprets tango music.
“Paulo
links tango to the very essence of
life”.
Jaime Arôxa
acknowledges that he started dancing tango the other way round, that is, in
general everybody starts with ballroom-style tango, and only after that he or
she gets involved with exhibition
tango. He started his tango classes with Leni. He refers that only recently he feels
mature enough doing ballroom-style tango. His students, says Jaime, are dancing ballroom-style tango with elegant
posture and following the melody correctly, and are well trained to perform exhibition tango, even at international
standards. They will participate in a Tango Championship in Argentina and in a
Tango World Championship in France, as a parallel festivity to the Football
World Cup.
Lately, many events have contributed for the development of the tango
community in Rio de Janeiro, i.e. Casa
de Espanha, Circo Voador,
Teatro João Caetano, Caminito - Casa de Tango de Moreira
& Paloma (inaugurated on April 12, 1996),
Lugar Comum, Club da Aeronáutica, Teatro Municipal,
Planeta Tango, among others.
Américo Del Rio and Raquel Mellman are great contributors to the tango
community in Rio, with the monthly publication of the Boletim Rio Tango, as of
October 1996.
There
have also been outstanding events connected to tango such as the First Great Tango Ballroom in 1996, at the
Club da Aeronáutica, the second in 1997 at the Municipal Theatre, organized by
Eric/Jeusa, with the important support of Dirce, Jaci
& Sergio Maciel.
On
November 12, 1997, Ney &
Lea made a tango exhibition at the Teatro
dos Grandes Atores, in Barra da Tijuca, with the Dance Company of the
Academia Ancestrais Gaia. Ney and Lea were both tango and ballroom dance
teachers at that time.
Many tango parties were promoted by tango trainees, namely Aparecida Belotti; Moreira & Paloma; Lea & Ney; Lourdes; Cláudio & Sonia; Marlene & Percy; Valdeci; Thaïs, Paulo Araújo; Eric
& Jeusa, and many
others.
During an interview published in the Dança e Saúde bulletin (September
1997 issue) Ney Homero referred to the circumstances regarding the creation of a
Tango Association in Rio de Janeiro, a non-profit making institution, with the
aim to strengthen and develop tango training and culture.
The
idea of setting up an Association
was addressed at a tango party at Lourdes’ in
San Conrado, on June 28, 1997, and Ney’s initiative had many adepts and was
followed by some meetings and discussions, and also debates at the
2nd International Meeting of Ballroom Dancing, organized and
sponsored by Jaime Arôxa, at the Gloria Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, in
July/August 1997. The by-laws of the institution were also drafted, but it has
not been established till now, although its ideals continue.
Professor
Valdeci organized
during several months his Milonga
party on Thursdays in Botafogo, at
the Cantina Calabresa and with the
support of Aparecida Belotti,
planned several events in his Academy in Copacabana, as well as at Aparecida’s
house.
Gerson
and Lucídio
organized tango-training sessions at the Fluminense Club, for several
months.
Ney,
Lea and Ricardo
organized tango dance socials at the Boite Press, in Barra da Tijuca and at the Club Dezessete, on Sundays during the
year 1997.
Almost for a year Norberto
organized a small tango dance party every fortnight. Currently Guilherme
Pimentel & Renata Ferreira are conducting this party.
Inácio
Carvalho, organized
at Maria Antonietta Academy a tango
dance party with the support of Paulo
Araújo during several months,
and a tango ball on the last Saturday of every month.
And
to give you some idea on the first tango students of this pre-Elitean stage, (many of them became
afterwards tango teachers), we are pleased to mention (and we apologize if we
have forgotten any name or names) Eden,
Gerson, Marcinha, Yuri, Dorinha, Armandinho, Bia, Bianca, Patricia, Karina,
Fernando, Marcelo, Kátia, Isnard, Liana, Leo, Celso, Érico & Raquel, Adílio,
Daniela Escudero & Rogério Mendonça, Rubens Feijão, Rafaela &
Marquinhos, Inácio & Claudia, Juçara, Berenice, Dirce, Grayce &
Camerino, Luiza, José Dib, Nilce, Sergio, Sonia & Claudio, Lourdes, Ney
& Lea, Rubens, Neide Aparecida & Almir, Manolo & Ana, Paulo &
Angela, among others, many of whom are still active tango dancers.
It is therefore noticeable that the tango community is so strong that
there are innumerable stories to be told, and all we wish to do is to continue.
But we will leave the rest for future opportunities, while we continue with our
“milongas”.
********
PART TWO
Stage of Strengthening and
Affirmation
July 1998 to December 1999 (End of the XX
Century).
This stage is noticeable for the great number of tango events; for the
up-dating of communication systems through electronic means, through the
Internet, via the home page of the
AGENDA DA DANÇA DE SALÃO BRASILEIRA, which was devised and developed by
Marco Antonio Lemos Perna, and mainly through the discussion lists of the
Agenda, i.e. the ballroom dancing and the tango on-line list.
Also through the home page
TANGO BRASIL, devised and developed by Alex & Flávia Valente, as well as the
RIO-TANGO bulletin, devised and developed by Américo Del Rio and Raquel
Mellman and the magazine PLANETA TANGO, published by the CLUBE DO
TANGO DO BRASIL, which was devised and set up by Don Jorge Paulo, with its
headquarters in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro.
On August 08, 1998, the THEMATIC TANGO BAR OF NEY &
LEA
was inaugurated at his home in Barra da Tijuca, wit a tango social dance party
including dance exhibitions, and with the presence of excellent “milongueros”
such as great Argentine tango teacher,
Graciela
González.
The
ESPAÇO CULTURAL, CAFÉ XANGÔ was set up on April 3, 1999, by
Paulo Araújo.
There,
a traditional venue,
he holds a weekly tango party on Fridays.
The great event at this stage was the tango ball on April 3, 1999, at the
Military Club of Rio de Janeiro with two Typical Tango Orchestras: the
famous Argentinean Tango Orchestra of Jorge Dragone and the famous Brazilian
Samba “Cuba Libre” Orchestra. Eric Mueller & Jeusa Vasconcellos
organized the ball, with the assistance of Paulo Araújo.
Aparecida Bellotti has also organized monthly tango socials in her lovely tango place, this
being already a traditional venue gathering the Rio de Janeiro tango community.
The
Argentine Consulate,
with the auspices of Aerolineas Argentinas, held the 1st
Amateur Tango Tournament “Carlos Gardel” on June 1999, the venue being the
Barra Garden shopping. Marcelo Pareja & Alejandra González
organized
the tournament.
Lea’s
birthday
party was held in Barra da Tijuca, at the Club
Paladar, Downtown shopping,
on
August 8, 1999. There were beautiful Tango
and Chorinho exhibitions by
Valdeci
& Cristina, Egídio & Neuza and Rogério Mendonça &
Daniela Escudero.
Tango dance socials started to proliferate, such as the ones planned by
Aparecida Belotti
– on a monthly basis; Guilherme & Renata’s, at Jaime
Arôxa’s Dance Center – every fortnight; Egídio & Neusa’s at
Egidio’s Dance Center – also every fortnight; Bob Cunha &
Aurya, at Bob’s center – every month; Márcio Carrero, at Moragas
Dance Center (suspended); later at Jimmy’s Academy and more recently
at the Beco da Bohemia – on a monthly basis and then every fortnight;
Jorge Paulo’s Planeta Tango, every Sunday; the tango parties at
Casa de Cultura LUGAR COMUM, of Samuel, Rita and Lourdes, by
Paulo Araújo – every Monday and on the last Sunday of each month; Angela
Cepeda’s at the Hotel Atlantico Palace, in Copacabana, and
alto at Prelude and at Antonino’s da Lagoa (the latter were held on a
weekly basis, but have been suspended), Marlene’s, at VILLAGE/Barra
(suspended); as well as other parties, although not at regular intervals,
promoted by Gerson and, traditionally, at Lourdes’, or at
Inácia’s; or at Thaïs’ house; at CAMINITO’s – owned
by Moreira & Paloma,
in the downtown area of Rio, and also at their house in Petrópolis
and at the THEMATIC TANGO BAR of
Ney Homero & Lea, among others.
Several
Tango workshops were held with the participation of famous Argentine teachers,
namely Osvaldo
Zotto & Lorena Hermocida and Alejandro Sanguinetti & Karin Solana, after
the great ball promoted by Claudia Castañon, at the Club
dos Democráticos, in mid-1999.
Additional
tango events were organized at special dates, such as Valdeci
de Souza’s birthday
at the Club
Sírio e Libanês; Aparecida Belotti’s
birthday at
her famous dance place, and many others, such as the annual tango ball at the
Leme Tennis Club, promoted by Paulo Araújo. This traditional party
was also held in previous years at the “Casa da Suíça”, in the
neighborhood of Catete and at the Marimbas Club, in
Copacabana.
On
December 8, 1999, a great party was organized to celebrate Sergio
Maciel’s
birthday,
with her
partner Patricia
Aguiar,
at the Restaurante/Boite,
Maxims,
with two wonderful exhibitions, one of them samba by
Sheila & Chocolate and
a tango show by Miguel Zotto & Soledad Rivero.
But also regrettably on those days we lost two great and traditional
“tangueros” who never failed to attend the tango dance socials. We refer to
Ezio and Constantino.
These
events and many others have contributed for the strengthening of the tango
community in Rio de Janeiro, and the outcome is that it is now possible to
attend tango parties every single night, and in several locations in
Rio.
*********
PART
THREE
Modern Stage
As of January 2000 – Onset of the XXI Century
The main characteristic is the growing number of new venues for dancing
tango. This is a stage of constant progress in the tango community and the
growing number of fans.
On
January 8, 2000, a national gathering of dance teachers from several Brazilian
states took place at the Thematic Tango Bar Ney/Lea, with the support of
the discussion list of the Ballroom Dancing Agenda organized by Marco
Perna. The main issue discussed, in addition to tango, was zouk/lambada.
Launching
of the BRAZILIAN TANGO INSTITUTE with a ball on January 20, 2000,at the
Leme Tennis Club, thanks to an idea by Percy Soares.
This
stage initiates with the passing away of Lea Rocha on January 28, 2000,
and with the creation of a musical composition in her honor, by Ney Homero
Rocha and Ubirajara Silva, Milonga da Estrêla Tuca, which
was officially and successfully launched at Lugar Comum on April 30,
2000. The composition was rapidly included in the musical repertoire of the
tango dance socials of Rio de Janeiro.
Tango
parties continue, the most important being the ones organized by Aparecida
Belotti, at the Café Xangô, Moreira/Paloma, reopening Caminito, Paulo Araújo, at the
Club Dezessete, Márcio Carreiro, again at Boite 3º Milênio (in addition
to his regular tango dancing parties every fortnight, at the Beco da Bohemia
and the monthly ones at Jimmy´s Dance Center, and
Valdeci, who organized an excellent birthday ball at the Club Sírio e
Libanês.
Presentation during the month of February 2000, at weekends, of the
excellent theatre show "Bandoneon &
Bolero", at the Cacilda Becker
Theatre, by Companhia de Dança, of
João Carlos Ramos. The latter
was also responsible for the script and direction of the show, which was very
successful and had a good repercussion.
Also in February 2000, several exhibitions of "O Homem, a Mulher e a Música”, with script and direction by
Jaime Arôxa, teachers and students, at the Teatro do SESC (Tijuca).
The play highlighted the importance of tango and was also taken to the SESC de Nova Iguaçú, as well as at to
the Cacilda Becker, and Carlos Gomes theaters during the months
of May and July, and again in October at the SESC de São Gonçalo. And later on, in November, at the SESC de São João de Meriti.
The major issue at this stage is the successful and consecrating European
tour (Norway, Spain and France) in April 2000, of the talented musician Blas
Rivera, accompanied by Paulo Araújo and his partner Laure. The
latter made exhibitions and gave tango classes. Almost simultaneously a
Brazilian ballroom dance teacher, Neuza Abbes, was invited to give samba
classes in Paris.
On
May 3, 2000, the book "Tango Uma
Possibilidade Infinita" by Helio de Almeida Fernandes was
launched at the Argentine Consulate. The
book, written in Portuguese, is the result of a thorough research and studies
conducted during 10 years by the author, who provides a detailed history
of the Argentine tango.
New
venues were inaugurated in mid 2000, such as Nuevos
Aires
Tango,
at "Far
Up”,
Cobal
do Humaitá,
organized
by Angela Cepeda, Javier/Patricia
Cruz and Alex/Flávia. The
dance party takes place once a month, usually on the last Tuesday of the month.
Another venue is the Estudantina
Musical (“Trasnochando”),
by
Sergio Maciel/Patricia and Clara,
on Wednesdays.
Exhibition of the Instrumental
& Dance Tango Show at the Municipal Theatre of Niterói on August 5,
2000. The show had great success in
Europe in the month of March with the participation, in addition to Blas Rivera (sax), Director and Master
of Ceremonies, Ana Oliveira (violin)
and Carlos Janibelli (piano), and
with Paulo Araújo
& Laure Quiquempois, as tango dancers.
The theatre was full and the performance won a big applause of the
audience. The artists also visited the TV program Viva o Gordo de Jô Soares (Globo network)
on the following week. Jô Soares
interviewed Blas
Rivera.
Launching of
the poetry book on tango, entitled
"Que Sé Yo" by Andre Sampaio Carvalho, on August 19,2000,
at the Maria Antonietta Dance Center, of
Inácio Carvalho & Márcia. Cocktails followed the presentation and tango
exhibitions. Andre Carvalho paid tribute to most of the
dancers in his poems, entitled "Ecceidades no Tango".
Conclusion the book on tango in Brazil, by Ney Homero S. Rocha, entitled: "Tango Uma Paixão Porteña no Brasil". A chronicle in
itself the book registers the evolution of the tango community from the River Plate on to Brazil, highlighting
the activities of the community in Rio
de Janeiro and its dissemination
throughout the country.
The
book is not only a historical document, but also a romantic, lovely and
sentimental story, in which the author, summarizing his own autobiography,
portrays the history of his tango passion, the growth of the tango community in
Brazil and the persons who are actors and write the history. The book also
portrays their contributions and finalizes with the existing symbiosis between
tango and life, life and tango.
The
book "Tango Uma Paixão Porteña no Brasil", will be launched
officially on November/December 2000, together with a new presentation of the musical theme "Milonga da Estrela Tuca" (composted by Ney Homero Rocha and Ubirajara Silva),
as a posthumous tribute to Lea de
Almeida Rocha.
Again
new groups of tango lovers from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are
scheduled to visit Buenos Aires. On
September 2000 Paulo Araújo will
take his group to B.A, and we will go with them.
The
story starts again and the tango community is getting stronger throughout the
country, and there are several simultaneous events, all of this evidencing that
the dissemination of tango in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil has become a national
reality.
**********
Participation
of Brazilian artists in Exhibitions in Buenos Aires and Rio de
Janeiro
In the last stages of the development of the tango community in Rio de
Janeiro, there have been several visits scheduled by Brazilians to Buenos Aires,
with the aim to train and dance tango, in private or group classes, with the
best tango teachers, and also to attend tango exhibitions of international
standard.
I participated of these groups on many occasions and I was able to see
Brazilians doing well in the Argentine dance ballrooms, dancing tango, samba,
chorinho and lambada with accuracy and beauty, all of them giving an excellent
impression. I recall having seen Jaime Arôxa & Patricia, and
their marvelous tango, samba and lambada shows; Paulo Araújo &
Angela Cepeda, and their beautiful tango exhibitions; Valdeci de
Souza, and his excellent chorinho shows, Marcelo & Vanessa
Galvão, and their beautiful gafieira samba, and we were also informed that
the chorinho exhibitions by Valdeci de Sousa & Cristina Ramos
were highly successful.
Not to speak of Junior, a Brazilian tango dancer domiciled in
Argentina, who is regarded as one of the best tango dancers of the world. He is
constantly on stage in Buenos Aires, accompanied by his beautiful partners,
among them Silvia, of Argentine origin. Junior had also an
important participation in Carlos Saura´s movie Tango and he also participated in an
international tour of Julio Iglesias in 1999.
Lea and I made several tango exhibitions in the Club Social Rivadavia, in Buenos Aires, on
September 1994, as well as in the streets at San Telmo Square, the famous
antiques and flea market on Sundays, together with the famous couple Pochi
& Osvaldo. I keep an important photographic dossier and films of these
experiences.
As regards Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the professionals already
mentioned, and also among those who made successful presentations in Buenos
Aires, we may also refer to Valdeci de Souza & Cristina Ramos; Egídio
& Neuza; Bob Cunha & Aurya; Marcelo Martins & Vanessa Galvão; Márcio
Carreiro & Vanessa; Plínio & Elis; Javier Amaya & Patricia Cruz;
Alex & Flávia; Álvaro Reis & Angela Cepeda; Guilherme Pimentel &
Renata Ferreira; Isnard & Liana/Mariana; Rogério Mendonça & Daniela
Escudero; Jaime Arôxa & Bianca Gonzales; Paulo Araújo & Laure; Eric
& Jeusa, and others.
At present, many Brazilian dance professionals travel to Buenos Aires to
teach samba de gafieira, chorinho, lambada and the music of Bahia. This has been
facilitated by the interchange within the cultural Mercosur and this is indeed an
interesting market, not only for the professionals in Rio de Janeiro, but also
for those established in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre,
Recife, Fortaleza, Salvador, in addition to other cities and towns of Brazil,
where tango communities are following the same pattern as the Rio de Janeiro
group as far as the development of tango is concerned.
All that is being achieved and all that will be achieved, either in Rio
de Janeiro as well as in the rest of Brazil, mainly through exchanges, shows,
theater plays, dance parties, workshops, lectures, classes, commemorative and
cultural events, poetry, musical compositions, publishing of books, setting up
of tango associations, elaboration of home pages in the Internet, radio and
television broadcasts, and also with the important contribution of professionals
devoted to their work with children and adolescents, such as the work carried
out with love, competence and above all sacrifice by Raquel Mesquita, Álvaro
Reis, Bob Cunha & Aurya, and others, will strengthen the tango culture
in our country and will also reinforce friendship among the Argentine and
Brazilian peoples.
This is also applicable to other Brazilian rhythms, such as chorinho and
samba de gafieira. Our Argentine brothers really appreciate these rhythms. And
they will provide additional cultural interchange with the neighboring country
in the years to come.
There
are no frontiers or barriers to hinder this immense and deep cultural
interchange which is now being created, because the love and passion Brazilians
feel for Argentine tango and the growing admiration of Argentines for Brazilian
creations, will surely overcome football rivalries and other difficulties, and
everything will flow in a historic and significant process.
English translation: Cristina Otálora.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June12, 2000. © Ney Homero da Silva Rocha. Last
update: April 08, 2005
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