Two different angles for this magnificent interpretation of Maestro Osvaldo Zotto and the beautiful Gizelle Avanzi in italy. His last public performance.
My life has seen lots of changes since that shy and introverted boy, afraid of almost everything, of my adolescence.
I’ve traveled a lot, lived a lot, along Argentina and other locations of the world.
The “white & blue” turned into other hues and blended into a swarm of flags.
I discovered Buenos Aires after visiting the Capitals of Europe and discovered the Argentinean culture after experiencing foreign ones.
While I was inside, until I got out, I was blind, deaf and mute.
There’s those who find their destiny right away in life, and those who never find it.
There’s those who spend their whole lifes in the same environment and those who need a constant change.
Those who are rich having nothing and those extremely poor having it all.
And in between, there’s a lot of everything.
I have lived with most of them,
I have been one of almost all of them for a while at least.
I have shared tables with Presidents and Homeless, exclusive gala parties and humble campsite fires.
I have eaten in the best restaurants of the world with several zeros to the right and enjoyed delicacies under a thatch with dirt floors,
three legged chairs and flimsy tables, with only one zero before the decimal point.
I have had the privilege to experience a little bit of everything,
and of everything a little bit,
never too much to get used to it, but always enough to be satisfied.
I have learned a lot, of a lot,
without becoming an expert of anything so there’s always much more pending to learn.
And I always find new challenges, spaces to explore, values to discover.
I have had my glorious victories and my demolishing defeats.
I have being passionate about new projects, both short and long termed,
and I have crashed a thousand times having to start over again and again.
Sometimes my fault, others being victim of others.
But this is common to most of us, what’s new …
Two times in my life I chose a path so wrong that I had to stop blunt.
Closing an improvised final chapter with the painful acceptance of an ending very different of the one I fought so hard for.
I put aside the Book of my Life in the Arc of Memories,
next to all the treasures that we keep from our past experiences,
and retired in isolation, hermetically,
to cleanse my soul, mourn my loss, and reconnect with my inner self.
I made my mind blank until, right from the very essence of me, could be born again,
reinventing myself to start again writing fresh the first chapter of a brand new book.
I have died twice to be born agan like the Fenix,
with wider wings to reach higher but less feathers and less weight.
My family was a model where virtues like love, friendship, generosity, humility were given to me at an early age.
I never craved for anything I really needed, and I have achieved, sooner or later, everything I ever wanted to achieve,
fruit of a clear vision, hard work, perseverance and patience.
Life taught me the rest,
like the fact that nothing comes for free,
and what comes easy has no value,
where great dreams are achieved at the expense of great costs
and this might be one of the most basic laws of life …
Renewal, exchange,
like the energy transforming itself, one must give in order to receive.
We sow what we’ve seed … nothing so true.
Life constantly presents us with choices,
we must decide by ourselves and there is no school where to learn that.
We learn as we go, like Serrat sings, “Walker, there are no roads, you make them as you walk”.
We start crawling, tumbling, and we learn as we fall how to walk straignt.
And by the time we realize we are going we are actually running already.
Our dreams will be for some future day because the road is not flat anymore,
and our speed downhill is so fast that it feels like freefall …
and we want out but we can’t …
and we are trapped by the currents,
dragged into whirls and holes and we barely grasp to stay afloat …
if we float …
But there’s also breaks of calm water where to breath again,
where to stop and think where are we going,
what are we doing,
that life is passing by and our dreams remain dreams.
This is the moment to face our fears, bite hard and take the challenge of a change.
Every change starts with a big renouncement.
Break ties with the fake security of conformism,
abandon family mandates, accepting and overcoming the guilt,
and finally becoming one to end being part of the rest.
Defy the establishment and loose ties exploring every corner of the Wind Rose.
Renounce to all accomplishments and failures, to family and friends, even to love who decided to remain.
Renounce to all possessions as we need to travel light.
Renounce to all and only then can we fell free at last, free of ties, of needs, of responsibilities and duties,
conditions and mandates … renounce to all until we can be alone, empty … just us … alone …
Here is when we start the inner journey, the true journey,
in a world that, in oposition to he exterior, is absolutely endeless and is not victim of time.
Only when the clock stops ticking we start to understand our known nature …
and have a glimpse of the many other selfs we are,
the denied, the shy afraid to show up,
the unabled and the postponed.
Only then our dreams start to stop being dreams,
and reality, like a fantasy, seems to be malleable for the first time,
we can shape it to our taste.
The noise stayed behind drown in the turbulences and things have now a different meaning,
seen from a different perspective.
The “what will they say” becomes a “what do I care”,
not out of arrogance but after the wisdom that we have nothing to prove,
not to others, not even to ourselves.
Simply learn how to be by just being
without guilt or the load of heavy challenges,
surrender the lead to our instincts
and free our mind to things that should have never stop being at the top of our priorities.
The price is as high as the reward.
Each door that opens before us offers a whole new world to be discovered.
In exchange more and more distance from our roots.
Loneliness is immensely rich and immensely crude.
And the more we explore and the more we learn the more different we are,
the more unique, black pearls in a white world, where white segregates the black.
And the black observe, wait, accept …
If white only new it lacks of any color while black has them all …
Freedom is extremely beautiful but it knows no ties,
not even for love, that comes and goes like leafs in the wind.
Sometimes it stays for a while.
Other times it makes us wish and despair.
And sometimes its so deared pressence becomes a problem by making fly so difficult.
Our children become the dreams of our dreams …
memories of a future that might never reach us …
remembrances of a life that never was and who knows if it will ever be …
and so we go … exploring and discovering.
But there’s one thing I have learned.
Everyday I am grateful for being alive, for my good health,
for being able to live each day as if it is the first without worrying it might be the last.
To know that past and future blend into an eternal present.
And that I have always been the only pilot of my life,
the only one responsible for my surroundings,
the only one able to generate the change.
It’s been me, it is me and it will always be me.
And I don’t blame nobody because the blame always comes back to me,
and I forgave myself already the day I chose to be reborn.
Today my wealth is in the simple, the basic.
In the harmony of feeling satisfied, the peace and the sweet promise of being able to, maybe,
start soon a new era in which the dreams of my dreams finally become true.
In which loneliness is no longer exclusive of one but enjoyed by two.
Where nothing is branded and all faces are beautiful.
Where there is no black or white, no dark or clear,
but the infinite hues of this colorful universe that belongs to all of us and to none at the same time.
Where value is always relative to what it means to each one of us and nothing,
absolutely nothing can be sold for a price.
Today I finally feel I can see a faint view of my true beginning …
Fernando Lopez Arbarello
www.FerLopez.com
Español
Mi vida cambio mucho desde aquel pibe timido e introvertido con miedo a casi todo de mi adolescencia.
Viaje mucho, vivi mucho,
por el pais y por varias partes del mundo.
La celeste y blanca cobro otros colores y se mezclo en un enjambre de banderas.
Descubri Buenos Aires tras visitar las capitales de Europa,
y descubri la cultura argentina tras vivir culturas ajenas.
Mientras estuve dentro, sin salir a ningun lado, fui ciego, fui sordo, y fui mudo.
Hay quienes encuentran su destino enseguida y hay quienes no lo encuentran nunca.
Hay quienes pasan su vida entera bajo un mismo entorno y hay quienes requieren un cambio constante.
Hay quienes son ricos teniendo nada y hay quienes son pobres teniendo de todo.
Y en el medio hay de todo y para todos los gustos.
Yo he convivido con casi todos, he sido uno de ellos por algun tiempo.
He compartido mesas con presindetes y con sin-techo, exclusivas fiestas de gala y humildes fogones de campamento.
He conocido los mejores restaurantes de las grandes ciudades donde se come con varios ceros a la derecha,
y he disfrutado manjares bajo techos de paja y pisos de tierra con sillas de tres patas y mesas chuecas donde el unico cero esta antes de la coma de la izquierda.
Yo he tenido la suerte de experimentar un poco de todo y de todo un poco,
nunca demasiado como para que se haga costumbre pero siempre suficiente como para quedar satisfecho.
He aprendido mucho de mucho sin llegar a ser experto en nada, cosa que es buena asi siempre queda mucho mas por aprender.
Y siempre encuentro nuevos desafios, espacios por explorar, valores por descubrir.
He tenido mis grandes triunfos y tambien derrotas demoledoras.
He puesto garra al encarar proyectos de corto y largo plazo y me he estrellado una y mil veces teniendo que volver a comenzar de cero,
a veces por errores propios, otras victima de lo ajeno.
Pero esto es tambien la historia de todos, nada cuento que sea nuevo.
Dos veces en la vida equivoque el camino al punto de tener que parar en seco.
Cerrar un improvisado ultimo capitulo aceptando con dolor que el final no iba a ser aquel por el que tanto habia luchado.
Poner el libro de mi vida en el arcon de los recuerdos, junto a los tesoros que uno siempre rescata de las experiencias vividas,
y retirarme en aislamiento, en forma hermetica, hasta desintoxicarme, hacer mi duelo y redescubrir mi ser autentico.
Poner mi mente en blanco hasta desde mi propia esencia poder renacer,
reinventarme para asi comenzar a escribir una vez mas el primer capitulo de un libro en blanco completamente nuevo.
Dos veces mori para nacer de nuevo, como el Fenix,
con alas cada vez mas amplias para volar mas alto y llegar mas lejos, cada vez con menos plumas y menos peso.
Tuve una familia ejemplar, donde valores como el amor, amistad, generosidad, humildad, me fueron inculcados desde bien chico.
Nunca me falto nada de lo que jamas debe faltar, y todo lo que me he propuesto lo he logrado mas tarde o mas temprano,
fruto de la vision clara, el trabajo duro, la perseverancia y la paciencia. La vida me enseño el resto, como que nada llega gratis y lo que llega facil carece de valor,
donde los grandes sueños se logran generalmente a cambio de un gran precio y quiza sea esa una de las leyes mas basicas de la vida misma.
La renovacion, el recambio, como la energia que se transforma, uno debe entregar para recibir.
Cosecharas tu siembra … nada mas cierto.
La vida nos presenta opciones todo el tiempo, tenemos que decidir y no hay escuela donde aprender eso.
Se aprende andando, como canta el Nano, “Caminante no hay caminos, se hace camino al andar”.
Comenzamos gateando a los tumbos y a los golpes vamos aprendiendo a andar derecho
y para cuando nos damos cuenta que vamos andando en realidad ya estamos corriendo.
Los sueños seran para algun dia porque el camino ya no es plano, y la velocidad de la picada es tal que se siente como caida libre …
y nos queremos bajar y no podemos …
nos arrastra la corriente atrapados por torbellinos y a los manotazos flotamos lo mejor que podemos …
los que flotamos …
Pero tambien hay remansos donde recuperar el aliento,
donde poder replantearnos a donde vamos, que hacemos,
que la vida se nos pasa y los sueños siguen sueños.
Y este es el momento de enfrentar los miedos,
apretar los dientes y plantearse el cambio.
No hay cambio que no comience con un gran renunciamiento.
Romper las ataduras de la falsa seguridad del conformismo,
abandonar los mandatos familiares aceptando y superando las culpas,
y finalmente convertirnos en uno para dejar de ser parte del resto.
Desafiar las estructuras de lo establecido y soltar amarras explorando todos los angulos de la Rosa de los Vientos.
Renunciar a los logros y a los fracasos, a la familia y amigos, y hasta al amor que quedara en tierra.
Renunciar a lo material porque solo se puede viajar liviano.
Renunciar a todo para solo asi sentirnos libres de ataduras, necesidades, condiciones, obligaciones, responsabilidades y mandatos …
renunciar a todo para lograr estar solos, que no quede nada … nadie … solos …
Ahi comienza el viaje interior, el verdadero, en un mundo que a diferencia del externo no tiene limites ni es victima del tiempo.
Recien cuando el reloj se detiene comenzamos a comprender nuestra naturaleza conocida …
y a vislumbrar vestigios de las muchas otras, las negadas, las timidas temerosas de salir, las todavia impedidas, las postergadas.
Recien entonces los sueños dejan de ser sueños y la realidad, cual fantasia, parece por vez primera ser maleable, moldeable a nuestro gusto.
El ruido quedo quedo lejos ahogado en los torbellinos y las cosas cobran otro significado al verse desde otra perspectiva.
El que diran se convierte en que me importa, pero no desde el descaro sino desde la sabiduria de que no tenemos nada que probar a nadie, ni siquiera a nosotros mismo.
Aprender a ser simplemente siendo sin que esto genere culpas ni mayores desafios, entregar las riendas al instinto
y liberar la mente para otras cosas que nunca debieron dejar de estar primero.
El precio es tan alto como la recompensa.
Cada puerta que se abre nos ofrece un mundo nuevo por descubrir, a cambio de mas y cada vez mas lejania.
La soledad es inmensamente rica, e inmensamente cruda.
Y cuanto mas exploramos mas distintos somos, mas unicos, perlas negras en un mundo blanco donde el blanco segrega al negro.
Y el negro obserba, espera … acepta ….
Si el blanco supiera que carece de color mientras el negro es la suma de todos …
La libertad es sumamente hermosa pero no conoce de ataduras,
ni siquiera por el amor, que va y viene como hojas arrastradas por el viento.
A veces se queda y acompaña un tiempo.
Otras se hace desear y parece no llegar nunca.
Y a veces su prensencia molesta porque dificulta el vuelo.
Los hijos son los sueños de los sueños …
memorias de un futuro que tal vez nunca llegue …
recuerdos de la vida que nunca fue y quien sabe si alguna vez sera …
y asi vamos… explorando y descubriendo.
Eso si, algo he aprendido.
Todos los dias agradezco el estar vivo, el tener salud,
el poder vivir cada dia como si fuera el primero sin preocuparme de que quizas tambien sea el ultimo.
Descubrir que pasado y futuro se fundieron en un presente eterno.
Y que el unico piloto de mi vida siempre he sido yo,
y que el unico responsable del entorno en el que vivo tambien he sido yo,
y que el unico capaz de generar el cambio he sido, soy y siempre sere yo.
Ya no culpo porque todas las culpas tarde o temprano siempre terminaron en mi,
y yo ya me perdone el dia que mori para nacer de nuevo.
Hoy mi riqueza esta en lo simple, lo sencillo.
En la armonia del sentirme satisfecho,
la paz y la dulce promesa de poder quizas iniciar pronto otra nueva etapa, en que tal vez los sueños de mis sueños dejen un dia de serlo.
En que la soledad ya no sea exclusiva de uno sino de dos.
Donde las cosas no tienen marcas y todos los rostros son bellos.
Donde no hay blancos ni negros ni claros ni oscuros sino infinitas tonalidades de un colorido universo que nos pertenece a todos sin ser de realmente ninguno.
Donde el valor es siempre relativo a lo que representa para cada uno y donde nada se vende por un precio.
Hoy finalmente siento que estoy recien vislumbrando el comienzo …
Pocho: – It is complicated, probably, but nobody is more qualified to answer it as you are. What is Tango ?
Zotto: – For me or for you ?
Pocho: – For you …
Zotto: – Tango is my life, the way I live, the way I was raised, what I feel, and what I’ve learned with the Tango of the elders, the older people who tought me, those I could watch but are not with us anymore, it was danced in a different way, with respect to the tradition.
Tango was composed on the streets, after the history, so it is Life !. Tango, the lyrics are Life, Tango is Life ! It’s what happens to you, in your heart … to me …
Pocho: – So can we say it is an attitude ?
Zotto: – An attitud ? Nooo. It is a life where you experience things. An attitude can be pretended, you don’t act your feelings. Tango is a feeling where you separate, get married, have kids, your woman leaves … all that Tango, all that life, happiness or someone dies, it’s everything, it is the Tango of Life !. This is the reason it was composed and why there was tango orchestras that we don’t have anymore. Nothing new can be created becayse it has been created already.
Pocho: – Thank you so much Maestro, thank you … ( I’m emotioned )
Español
Pocho: – Hola …
Pocho: – La Leyenda …, la leyenda …
Pocho: – Maestro, una preguntita, puede ser ?
Zotto: – Si !
Pocho: – No se si complicada pero creo que nadie como Uds para responderla. ¿Que es el Tango ?
Zotto: – Para mi o para vos ?
Pocho: – Para vos …
Zotto: – Para mi, es mi vida, mi manera de vivir, como me crie, lo que siento, y lo que aprendi con el Tango de la gente grande, la gente grande que me enseño, que yo pude ver, que ya no estan mas, que habia una manera de bailar diferente, un respeto por el tango tradicional.
Y es que el Tango se compuso en la calle, con la historia, y es la vida !. El Tango, las letras son la vida, el Tango es la vida ! Es lo que te pasa a vos en tu corazon … a mi …
Pocho: – ¿Es una actitud, digamos ?
Zotto: – Una actitud ? Nooo. Es una vida donde a vos te pasan cosas. La actitud la podes actuar, el sentimiento no lo actuas. Es un sentimiento donde vos te separas, te casas, tenes hijos, tu mujer se va … todo ese Tango, toda esa vida, felicidad o se muere alguien, es todo, es el Tango de la Vida !. Por eso es que se compusieron y hubo conjuntos de tango que ahora no hay mas. No se puede crear mas nada porque ya esta inventado.
We’ll restart our regular activities next Wednesday 13th with a class for beginners from 7 to 8 and an open practica from 8 to 10. We have a lot of work to do to gain experience and get the most from our upcoming workshops. The class is oriented to new dancers and those willing to review the fundamentals, embrace and connection. The practica will start 8pm sharp, so arrive in time ! One price for all, $5.00, three hours of tango.
Some more ideas and surprises are in the works and you’ll here of them soon. All I’m going to say for now is that you may want to leave the Saturday of the month open just in case …
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS:
Great teachers have confirmed their visit, starting in March.
MARCH 12, FACUNDO POSADAS, the great Maestro returns again with his unique charisma and seasoned talent. Learn from the source ! Facundo is Living History with more than 50 years of professional Tango experience. A true ambassador of Tango Argentino
MARCH 24TH, greatly acclaimed and long awaited, MIRIAM LARICI AND LEONARDO BARRIONUEVO, SUPERSTARS OF DANCE !, yes, they are back in Maui bringing all their elegance and magic. Their workshops are rich and juicy, but don’t be intimidated as they make it possible for everybody. Two of my favorite teachers.
APRIL 2, DANIELA PUCCI AND LUIS BIANCHI, they visited us briefly last year with the promise to return and here they are with their particularly fun style, fun, fun fun … did I mention they are fun ? …
APRIL 16, ANA PADRON AND DIEGO BLANCO, highly recommended from the Portland tangofest, what can I say, see for yourselves !
And last but not least …
MAY 20, CARLOS BARRIONUEVO AND MAYTE VALDES, amazing, after their recently acclaimed presentation in Broadway this lovely young couple come to us with all their beauty and elegance. Watch this exquisite showcase of elegance and style,
And there will be more, but we’ll leave that for later …
As usual, Maui visitors will have a generous discount and La Practica regulars too. So jump aboard of this tango train and help us make these projects come true, you support us, we’ll support you !
Happy Holidays to all. Christmas and New Year’s Eve are around the corner and the year is coming to an end.
La Practica will cease activities until January, wishing you a wonderful time with your family and friends and a glorious 2010 with lots of good tango fun.
I am currently working on our schedule for next year. Our usual teachers will be back plus more surprises … surprise … surprise …
We’ll continue on wednesdays from 7 to 10, starting with a one hour class focused on the fundamentals, followed by 2 hours of practica. The price will remain low, $5 each section, and we’ll be sharp with the timing so please arrive on time.
I’ll follow up with more information soon. Happy Holidays again and much ALOHA !
I have the pleasure to inform you that Jorge Nel will be visiting us at the beginning of November. You’ll remember him from his excellent Milonga Workshop during the last tango fest. He starts his trip in Oahu where he will be teaching as well. Then Maui and after that he is open to visit other islands so if you are interested to have him in your community let me know and I put you in contact with him directly.
Jorge will be teaching a milonga workshop again, and I think we all need that. Milonga is fun, and it seems more challenging and intimidating that it should be. We’ll start from the ground up according to the following schedule,
Monday, November 2: MACC, 6 to 8 pm – MILONGA MUSICALITY
Monday, November 2: MACC, 8 to 10 pm – MILONGA FUNDAMENTALS
Tuesday, November 3: DESIREE’S STUDIO, 6 to 8 pm – MILONGA LISA 1
Tuesday, November 3: DESIREE’S STUDIO, 8 to 10 pm – MILONGA LISA 2
Wednesday, November 4: MACC, 6 to 8 pm – MILONGA TRASPIE 1
Wednesday, November 4: MACC, 8 to 10 pm – MILONGA TRASPIE 2
The cost is $20 per class or $100 for the full workshop.
Originally from Colombia, the second largest tango community after Argentina, Jorge started the first Milonga in Miami where he lives. Here’s his website with more information, http://www.tangoinmiami.com/
Jorge also has his own brand of shoes that he will be offering during his visit. Those taking the workshop will benefit with a special discount. More information here: http://www.mrtangoshoes.com/
DIRECTIONS TO DESIREE’S STUDIO: 350 Napoko Place, Kula (Find it in google maps)
I will follow up soon on Carlos and Mayte who’ll be here on November 18th.
Time goes fast, October is almost here and Maestro Facundo Posadas will be back with us in less than 3 weeks ! WOW !!!
Facundo is starting his visit to the islands in Oahu where he’ll be teaching with Christy Cote and George Garcia from October 2nd to Monday 5th. If you live there or have the chance to visit it’s definitely worth the trip ! Great teachers and great community granting a glorious tango experience. Visit www.islatango.com and contact George Garcia for more information.
Facundo will then come to Maui where he will teach from the 6 to the 14th. This is the schedule so far,
WEDNESDAY 7th – MACC: - 6:00 to 8:00 pm Beginners, - 8:00 to 10:00 pm Experienced
THURSDAY 8TH – CURVES: - 6:00 to 8:00 pm Beginners, - 8:00 to 10:00 pm Experienced
SUNDAY 11th – MACC: - 6:30 to 8:00 pm Beginners, - 8:00 to 10:00 pm Experienced (No practica this Sunday, sorry !)
(Rita and Tropical Tango will teach your usual beginners class from 5 to 6:30)
MONDAY 12th – MACC: - 6:00 to 8:00 pm Beginners, - 8:00 to 10:00 pm Experienced
TUESDAY 13th – Location and time to be confirmed, also one class for beginners and one for experienced
WEDNESDAY 14th – MACC: - 6:00 to 8:00 pm Beginners, - 8:00 to 10:00 pm Experienced
The cost is $25 per workshop for drop-ins or $20 when committing to 5 classes or more. Outer island visitors have a 20% discount.
Please remember that this workshops build up on the previous one. We’ve divided them in two levels for your convenience. We encourage to to take advantage of all the workshops for your level. Facundo will cover tango and/or milonga according to the possibilities of the class.
Experience TANGO SALON from one of his most acknowledged and acclaimed representatives. Facundo’s classes are most fun and entertaining, he has a unique way to individually connect and work with each one of us, the life long experience of a great maestro.
Facundo Posadas is an icon in the world of Argentine Tango and the only Afro-Argentine traveling the world to share the roots of this dance by teaching Milonga and Candombe. Robert Farris Thompson writes of Facundo in his book Tango:The Art History of Love “today’s master of Argentine tango, milonga, and jazz dance” and tells of the rich history of the Posadas family dating back to the 1800s.
Facundo starting dancing at a young age and enjoyed dancing in Buenos Aires all his life. He danced with many of the great orchestras such as that of Jose Basso, Anibal Troilo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Juan D’Arienzo, Carlos DiSarli, Miguel Calo, and Jose Colangelo. Since 1997 he has traveled extensively teaching and performing at festivals and tango communities around the world such as the Miami Tango Fantasy (8 years), Tango Society of Boston (9 years), New York City’s La Nacional (5 years), and Triangulo Tanguero of North Carolina (6 years).
He has also been in 6 films including Tango The Obsession in which Facundo also narrates, Tango Un Giro Extranio, Despabilate Amor Afro-Argentinos, Negro Che and El Cafe de Los Maestros (by Gustavo Santaolaya filmed in the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires). He has also been featured in many television shows for Buenos Aires television as well as the BBC in London.