Monica Paz has recently posted her interview of our Milonguero friend Roberto Segarra on her PractiMilonguero Youtube page. Roberto is a treasure trove of Tango history - and still dancing the night away in the milongas even though he is turning 96 this year!
Roberto is wonderfully energetic and musical and his enthusiasm and passion for tango is infectious. Here's a video of us at Marta Fama's milonga last year - watching it is a lovely reminder of the tanda of vals we danced. We have our feet on the floor but it felt like flying:
"Roberto dances simply but he is sooooo milonguero, don't you think?" I asked Man Yung.
"Oh yes! I heard he is a big flirt!" said Man Yung.
"No, that's not what I mean," I said. "What I mean is that he dances only a few steps, but it's pure 1000% tango!"
"Ah Irene," said Man Yung, "The Old Milongueros danced few steps because they didn't have the advantages that modern Tango dancers like me have."
I felt incredibly flattered. Man Yung can be so sweet sometimes. "You mean, Roberto didn't have a partner as wonderful as me to practice with so he could expand his step repetoire?"
Man Yung shook his head. "No, what I mean is that Roberto didn't have an iPad. With one swipe, I have access to all the steps and step variations in the entire History of Tango. With my iPad, I will always have some more steps to learn and practice. I love my iPad!"*
* Oh really. What the Old Milongueros didn't have was the DISTRACTION of iPad. Man Yung may have all the steps know to Tangokind at his fingertips, but with all that time he spends watching Youtube videos and trying to learn more and more steps, he won't have to practice them to the point where he could actually digest them!
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