CARLOS GAVITO   1942 - 2005   Gavito & Marcela   One of the great pleasures in tango for an Anglophone was to sit and talk, for hours, with Gavito. His knowledge was prodigious, his experience extensive and unique. What follows is first - what I had originally written about my tango friend who was an inspiration to me as his career was taking off; then - the tribute paid to him at the time of his passing. He is a professional dancer who is a true milonguero - he loves and knows how to dance socially. He is just old enough to have seen personally how Tango was lived in the Golden Age. He grew up as a child of Tango in the way all social dancers, the Porteños, had. Indeed, he considers himself a student of Tango culture. If you can get him talking late at night in a quiet room, you will hear him speak in a rich voice that sounds like as if he is a wise old man of tango (older than how he dances!). You hear so many nuances of the culture surround and enlighten you when he talks about what he knows, what he feels. When he speaks, doors of perception open to reveal glimpses of what it is we seek to understand and feel. The man knows what Tango is. He lives the Tango at an extraordinary level. But there was more for me. My knowledge and attitude had been shaped by professional Tango dancers, and I had the benefit of learning from people who had always travelled the world at the highest level of artist expression. Gavito (whose first professional partner was my now former wife, Cristina Rey), has been living this life for 35 years. So I could relate to his base knowledge and his methods of teaching. When I personally started learning Tango, I had classes with my first inspiration, Copes. But they were beginner classes. For the next few years my only teacher was a woman, in then-isolated Toronto. Studying with Gavito, a MAN, brought a series of revelations and a lot of satisfaction. Now I had a leader to model. He dances in a way I can relate to. His expression was what I always wanted to have. I knew a fair amount about how to dance, but I was frustrated because I didn't know how to compose in a social way - dance elegantly and simply but with PASSION and fluidity with virtually ANY woman. When I took workshops with Carlos, it was like Dad gave me the keys to the car when I was 16 and said, "Have a good time, son." He allowed me to mature and become what I could be on my journey. Now I could grow in the Tango. Now I felt I could dance. What is THAT worth? Everything. And I've seen him release the same potential in women. Marcela was Gavito's partner from the mid-nineties, adding to his performance and his image. This is a dancer you love to watch ... certainly also when she is not doing Gavito's "lean" thing. (Marcela left the stage for family). To me, Carlos Gavito is a bit like legendary figure Johnny Appleseed - spreading his deep knowledge of and love for Argentine Tango wherever he goes.   Carlos Gavito 1942 - 2005 One of the special treats for a lover of tango was to sit up all night drinking wine and listening to Gavito talk about tango as he knew it. His knowledge was extensive; his insight and passion inspirational. When I met Carlos, he was starring in Forever Tango. I was married at the time to Cristina Rey, who was Carlos' first professional dance partner when he joined the Copes company in 1974; so it was a "family" affair, these nights of him discussing tango with me. He had spent most of his dancing life in Europe and the Middle East - he was unknown in his native Argentina until he won his fame in the Broadway show and parlayed that into a profile in Buenos Aires. He spoke English so well that he made more friends than other touring dancers were able to. And becuase he was a true milonguero, he had more influence in growing the scene than a typical stage performer could. He was slightly possessed with recovering lost time. It seemed his outer personality changed with the adulation he garnered. For a time, receiving so much adulation, he came to be seen by many as vain, it's true. But one who knew him could see that it seemed right for him to work to earn his rightful place in the tango pantheon; and he had to go, go, go to do it. In fact, he had little time - and he must have sensed it. Carlos certainly enjoyed a full social life. Everywhere he was, women were flying in from out of town to visit. He was a masterful agenda juggler, as well. Perhaps the best! He saw that having his own style would be the key. He used his particular "lean" nearly to excess - almost becoming a caricature of himself. But, it worked. His partnership with Marcella Duran was the key. She gave him the look, the feel, the expression which catapulted him to stardom. By bringing his new-found fame back to Argentina and advancing his name with videos and exposure on television, he did become as well-known in Argentina as he could have wished over the last 8 years. He inspired so many people (I tell how he influenced me elsewhere on this site) in a piece I wrote in 1997). I have been collecting remembrances of others which will be published here soon. Ed Cherrie, New Orleans Tango dancer, posted this report: "I went to Carlos Gavito's wake last night. I have never seen anything like it in my life. He was laid-out in one of those beautiful angular caskets that you sometimes see in National Geographic. It took place in a funeral home in the Barrio Abasto. The whole place was covered with flowers to the street. Gavito was in all white with a rosary in his hands. He looked like a Saint. Many famous Tangueros were there including my friend "el Turco" who introduced me to Gavito's 97 year old father (Don Tomas) and his 98 year old mother, wife and the rest of his extensive family. They seem to be wonderful people. I also met Marcela Duran (his dance partner). She is a very beautiful dark-haired statuesque woman. I envisioned what it must be like to dance with her. Don Tomas was dressed in a beautiful black suit with the tight bottom cuff (like the Gauchos wore) and a white neck scarf. He looked exquisite even at his age. I think the wake went on all night. People were still coming in at 11:00 PM. He will be buried today in la Chacarita with the rest of the Tangueros who have passed away." A last interview with Gavito by Jackie Ling Wong.