Interview with Walter Monteblanco

Tango instructor Walter Monteblanco has been an enthusiastic supporter of Firehouse Tango since it began. As a guest instructor, he has taught milonga, and he plans to teach waltz as well. Here are his comments from a recent interview with CJ Puotinen.

Firehouse Tango (FT): Where are you from, and how did you learn to dance?

Walter Monteblanco (WM): I came from Peru about 22 years ago, and I learned to dance in America. I had never seen ballroom dancing until a friend invited me to a dance. I didn’t have any idea that ballroom dancing existed. I saw this beautiful thing, people twirling around and making figures, and I was mesmerized. I said to myself, I’m going to learn this. I wanted to be one of the best!

For my birthday, my friend gave me a book of tickets for group lessons at the Y in New York. The first teachers I had were Valerie Scott and Mr. Clancy. In addition, I had some group and private lessons with Peter DeFalco. It was a wonderful experience. We started with fox trot, quickstep, cha cha, and the other ballroom dances.

FT: How did you discover Argentine tango?

WM: In 1986, when the first tango show came to America, I was in the audience. Tango Argentino amazed me so much, I saw it four or five times.

One reason it touched me is that when I was growing up in Peru, my mother sang. She had a beautiful voice and she sang all day long. I didn’t know that at the time, but all the songs she sang were tangos. I just knew I loved to hear her sing. For years without my thinking about it, all the words and all the melodies stayed in the back of my head. Then I saw Tango Argentino, and the music reached out and grabbed me. I knew the words and the music, I just didn’t know the dance yet.

I started following the show’s performers, who were giving lessons and seminars around New York City. Every lesson was attended by 200 people, so it took a while to catch on, but I studied whenever I could. My first real teacher in Argentine tango was Eddie Dorfer. He had learned from the show’s masters, so he taught a performing style of tango.

FT: When did you make the transition to tango as a social dance?

WM: After learning the basics, I wanted to increase my knowledge, so I took many lessons with Juan Carlos Copez and six or eight others who were affiliated with Tango Argentino, Tango Buenos Aires, Forever Tango, and other shows. They included Rodolfo Dinzel, Daniela and Armando, Fabian Salas, Oswaldo Soto, and Lorena. In my trips to Buenos Aires, I got to study with a few of the masters in Argentina. Plus, I attended many seminars as well as the annual Tango Congress in Miami, starting with the first one in 1997. All the top instructors came to the Congress, and that’s when my style of tango began to change. I picked up a little bit from everyone, and I blended everything together.

The result is a very flexible tango. I can shift from fantasia to salon to close embrace to performance tango, and I dance the lady’s part as well as the man’s. In order to teach, I studied the lady’s part all along. From the beginning, I asked all of my teachers to show me the lady’s part, so I would know how it felt to follow.

FT: Was your main goal to teach or to perform?

WM: My goal all along was to teach. To perform, you have to have a steady partner, and you have to make a commitment. I have a full-time job, so I dance and teach in my spare time. I wanted to dedicate more time to my profession, so there just wasn’t enough time to perform. I’ve been a production planner and scheduler for a manufacturing company for about 20 years. As a result, I’m not able to make the commitment to be a tango performer. Besides, I enjoy teaching more than performing, so it works out well.

FT: What is your favorite style of tango?

WM: I love the tango itself, in any expression. There is no single style that is my favorite. I borrow something from all styles of tango. It depends on the music and what I feel as I hear it.

And it isn’t just tango. I enjoy the Argentine milonga and waltz as well. I learned the tango first, and every year at the Tango Congress, the masters included waltz and milonga. But I didn’t really focus on milonga until a couple of years ago, when I had the good fortune to go to Hawaii on vacation. Graciela Gonzales was right there giving seminars, so of course I went. First I learned milonga, and then I learned the waltz, and now I teach all three dances.

FT: And what is your favorite tango song?

WM: My favorite is one that my mother sang. It’s called "Malena." That’s my favorite to listen to. For dancing, my favorite is "Chique."

FT: What would you like to say about Firehouse Tango?

WM: Oh, I love the people! They are so enthusiastic. Overall, the atmosphere is so friendly, it’s like a family. It’s a wonderful gathering. Everybody helps out, and everyone is always looking forward to the next Thursday. I’m sorry that I can’t go every week, but I teach a class at Brian and Jenny’s in Whippany, New Jersey, on Thursday nights. I also teach at Batista’s in Hackensack. I always encourage my students to come to the firehouse because it’s the perfect place to practice tango. They do come, and they have a great time. We all owe special thanks to Sue and Joe, Sal and Laura, Gema, and Eva for keeping tango alive in New Jersey.

FT: Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

WM: Argentina’s three dances, the milonga, waltz, and tango, are my hobby and passion. I deeply enjoy sharing them with others. Tango is my favorite, and I can’t imagine ever having too much tango. My hope is that I can help others discover the magic of these dances and care about them as much as I do.

The End