Roberto and Olga at Lo de Celia, October 20, 2010

We have never been to Susana Miller's Milongueando Festival of Milongueros - now in its 4th year - but we've got to admit, the roster of Milongueros that Susana Miller selects every year to teach class and to perform are really special, the cream of the crop of the Tango universe.  This year, she had our teachers Osvaldo and Coca and Alberto Dassieu, as well as El Nene Masci and Julio Duplaa.  In previous years, she had Tete, Pedro Sanchez, Abel Peralta, Osvaldo Centeno, Pocho and Nelly, El Flaco Dany... and our good friends Roberto Segarra and his partner Olga Gomez.

Roberto and Olga performing to Di Sarli at Milongueando 2009

You know that Roberto is something special once he steps into the room.  It's in the way he dresses; it's in the way he stands; it's in the way that people light up when he's there and come over to say hello; it's the way the organizer warmly greets him and presents him the best table in the house... and the way that he always has a smile and a word of encouragement for us newbies, us babies in Tango, if he sees that we are putting our heart and soul in the dance.  All over the internet we read of tango bloggers who have written about their encounters with him and who have found him an inspiration.

We see Roberto everywhere. In March we bumped into him at Lujos at Maipu 444, with beautiful Adela Galeazzi in his arms, dancing a joyful peppy tanda of Troilo.  At Rivadavia in October, we saw him dancing tanda after tanda with the lovely milongueras we had met at Lo de Celia. The next night he was in Caricias with his novia Olga.  On Wednesday we were all together at Lo de Celia again, where we had first met back in 2009.  We suspect that he probably never takes a break from the milongas - he must be at one or another, dancing the night away, every single day of the week. 

Man Yung doesn't speak spanish but already he has an in-joke with Roberto.  Whenever we encounter Roberto in the milongas without Olga, Man Yung asks, "Where Olga?"  Then the two of them guffaw with laughter and Roberto gives us a big sly wink.  Then he heads for the floor again for yet another dance.  Jokes aside, Roberto and Olga make a great team.  Roberto lets her take charge of everything - "He's my little baby bird," she says to us as she fusses over him lovingly, feeding him bits of pizza and olives and sausage.  While she is preoccupied, there's that big wink from Roberto again - he's having the time of his life!  Beautiful caring, take-charge girlfriend; great dancing night after night with Olga and with the other wonderful milongueras.  He transmits the feeling of Tango to everyone he dances with and receives it back a thousandfold in the embrace. Is that his fountain of youth?

You don't have to ask him to find out - you can see it in Roberto's wide smile.  Roberto doesn't only know the secret of Tango; he also knows the secret of Life. 

Roberto and Olga dancing a tanda of Calo at Lo de Celia, October 20, 2010