[Tango-L] Cafe de Los Maestros

[Janis Kenyon]

A friend called me on Thursday morning to tell me about something special
going on at 2:30pm at the Academia Nacional del Tango.  I didn't have
anything planned, so I decided to join her there for what we expected to be
an homanaje for Anibal Arias.  It turned out to be much more.

As I arrived at the entrance on Avenida de Mayo, I realized that Alberto
Podesta was only steps in front of me taking the elevator to the first
floor.  I commented to the young man at the door that one of the great
singers of tango had just arrived.  He had no idea who he was and couldn't
have cared less.  I realized that I had heard an announcement of this event
on 2X4 radio, but I didn't catch the location.  The who's who of tango were
named, and I was soon to arrive at a by-invitation-only reception for them.

Three years ago Gustavo Santaolalla decided to convince a number of tango
musicians and singers to return to the recording studio and collaborate on a
new project.  He invited the greats of tango, a few of whom have since died.
The project was called Cafe de los Maestros, which resulted in a two-CD set
of 27 tracks and a book.  It won the Latin Grammy for best tango album in
2006.

The Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hosted a special ceremony
at the Academia Nacional del Tango with Gustavo Santaolalla to present
certificates to the musicians who participated in Cafe de los Maestros.  The
two heads of the Grammy awards came to Buenos Aires to take part in this
presentation on March 13, 2008.  Those present for the ceremony included
Emilio Balcarce, Atilio Stampone, Osvaldo Berlinghieri, Leopoldo Federico,
Virginia Luque, Alberto Podesta, Juan Carlos Godoy, Osvaldo Requena,
Fernando Suarez Paz, Emilio de La Pena, Oscar Ferrari, Mariano Mores, Anibal
Arias, Osvaldo Montes, Ernesto Baffa, and others--the who's who of tango.
No one is under the age of 70; a few are past 90.  A few have died since the
project began in 2005.  The wives of the late Carlos Garcia and Jose
Libertella accepted certificates on their behalf.  The event was held in the
salon of the Museo del Tango with a preview of the 93-minute documentary
Cafe de Los Maestros which premiered earlier this year at the Berlin Film
Festival.  It is scheduled for June 18 in Paris.  When available on DVD,
this will be a must-see for every tanguero.

Each honored guest said a few words on stage after being presented with a
certificate for participation.  Atilio Stampone related how grateful he was
to Carlos Garcia who gave him the money to buy his first piano.

Many of these musicians and singers are still busy with their careers in
tango.  Anibal Arias (85) was in Japan last year.  He and Osvaldo Montes
played in Granada, Spain in early March.  Arias continues to coach new
musicians and always has ideas for new projects.

As an aside, during my tango days in Chicago I went every Saturday night to
a milonga at Tango nada mas.  Bob Dronski always played an album of piano
solos by Emilio de La Pena as we started to cleanup after all the dancers
had gone home.  I loved his arrangements and bought the album.  Thursday
afternoon I had the opportunity to personally thank Emilio de La Pena for
his beautiful music.

See their performance in Teatro Colon in August 2006:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSXii0bkgEs

http://music.aol.com/album/cafe-de-los-maestros/983442#
Zivals Music Store in Buenos Aires has Cafe de Los Maestros (82 pesos).