Guest DJs/Musicians
Guillermo Monti Tango DJ - BsAs / Berlin
I was born in Buenos Aires and grew up with the tango. I have been living in Berlin and Buenos Aires since 2012. Music and especially the tango played and still plays a very important role in my life. I am a musician, choir director, singer and tango DJ. My parents were born in the 1930s and started dancing in the “Epoca de Oro”, the golden age of tango in Buenos Aires. They often took me to the milongas that took place in the neighboring sports clubs and as a child I saw and heard many of the tango orchestras like Juan D´Arienzo and Pugliese playing live on stage.
In the 1940s my grandfather Pedro Monti founded the Tango Orchestra Orquesta Tipica America and played with his three “Monti brothers”. One of my uncles was Argentino Ledesma. He sang for Di Sarli, Varela and many others and he also sang at my parents' wedding. One of his most famous recordings, which I personally love very much, is that of the Tangos Fueron Tres Años, together with the Orquesta Hector Varela.
In addition to all these experiences in the milongas and clubs, my parents were very important for my close connection to the tango. For example, my father sang me to sleep with songs like Por una muñeca or Remembranza by Pugliese. Today I know, somehow, almost every tango, every orchestra, every singer and I unconsciously recorded all of this as I was growing up. That still surprises me today. When I sing or make music, music takes me to unexpected places in my life, it connects me to situations from different eras. The tango makes me laugh and cry, it makes me alive, it invigorates me.
My mother, who started dancing tango at the age of 13 and has been dancing for over 70 years, taught me my first dance steps when I was 5 years old. She is now 85 and when I visit her in Buenos Aires we still go to the milonga together, dance some tandas and enjoy the tango together.
The tradition continues, my two sons are also musicians and the older one is also a techno DJ. As a DJ, it is very important to me that the dancers hear the best possible quality of the music, regardless of whether I play on the computer or on records. I play in local milongas in Berlin and Buenos Aires and travel a lot through Europe to festivals and marathons such as El Fuego and El Navegador in Warsaw Marathon de Oro Krakow, Festivalito de Verano Iasi Romania, Tango Story Timisoara, Romania, Encuentro Portenio Amsterdam, Milonga Ideal Moskaw and many more.
Read about Guillermo Monti in Wall Street Magazine
Gabriel Huracan Gaumond, Washington DC
Having DJ’d all over North America, Gabriel’s style as a DJ is to create waves for the dancers to ride! He loves building different kind of energies through his set providing a good time for all!!
Gabriel likes to tastefully use all eras of tango music, from the 20’s, the golden age, the 50’s and 60’s … and beyond… Providing a vast range of emotions and a current that dancers can easily float on, he hopes you will enjoy the journey!
ROBIN GRAEME THOMAS DJ - NYC
When Robin came back from his first trip to Buenos Aires 16 years ago, he realized that if he wanted to continue to dance tango every night, he would have to find a way to attend milongas for free. At the time, the concept of a tango DJ didn’t exist. Organizer’s would put on a CD, and often it would repeat to span the length of the milonga. Robin wanted to play music as he had heard it in Buenos Aires: in tandas of tango, vals, and milonga with cortinas in between. He began to DJ doing exactly that, despite being told not to play cortinas as people would dance to them. Initially some people did dance to the cortinas, but Robin persisted until this format became the standard. Over the next 10 years, he was invited to DJ in D.C., L.A., Denver, Portland, Miami, and some of the biggest festivals in North America, as well as, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Berlin, Seoul, Shanghai and Buenos Aires. Robin ran Nocturne in NYC, one of the largest monthly milongas in the US, and the legendary RoKo, which was the largest weekly milonga in the US.
Muna Swairjo HARTS Organizer / DJ - CT
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Muna Swairjo tango DJ / Tango teacher, organizer for Hartford Argentine Tango Society, owner of the Garage Dance studio & Coffee Lounge.
She is A Doctor of Physical Therapy in New Britain Connecticut with a passion for tango in its audio, visual and physical forms since 2007. She is one of the new generation of traditional Tango DJ in Connecticut, She has been DJ at milongas for 10 years. Tango is her passport to travel the world as a dancer, and flavored her styles of DJ to appeal to many ears and souls of tango dancers. She evaluates the energy of the dance floor to keep it engaging and fun through out the night.
Hernan Brizuela Tango DJ- Boston
Hernan taught and performed at various festivals, milongas and studios in New York and Massachusetts as well as in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and Argentina. He was a principal dancer in the off-Broadway dance play Let's Speak Tango and choreographed and starred in the short film Gardenias. He performed in many productions led by Maestro Romulo Larrea, Tango First Century, Spotlight on Tango, TANGOS: from Gardel to Piazzolla and TANGO for lovers across the United-States, Canada and Europe. As a DJ he spend hours (and dollars ;-)) researching the music and perfecting the possible tandas. But as a great milonguero himself he is best creating, enhancing and influencing dancers mood on the whim. Hernan vibe never let you sit as the next tanda is simply even better then the previous one
Maha Swairjo , DJ - Jordan
Maha Swairjo - Tango Teacher, Pilates Instructor Owner of Salida Dance studio In Amman Jordan. 15 years experience of teaching Tango in Amman, DJ in international tango festivals and marathons, Istanbul, Antalya, San Diego, Amman. She hosts her successful and well attended Milonga adding the Magic of the Middle East to her events . She will join us at Alegria Tango Marathon and The Garage dance studio offering tango instructions and group classes. the Best part is ... She is My Sister.
Live Music by Mala Junta Quartet
JAVIER SÁNCHEZ – Bandoneón
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Javier Sánchez has been playing the bandoneón for almost 30 years.
Between 2005 and 2016 he was a member of Latin Grammy Award nominee Rodolfo Mederos Orquesta Típica. Mr. Sánchez has toured the globe with well-known tango orchestras and tango companies such as Tango Pasión, Tanguera, Tango Emotion (returning to Japan for 5 consecutive years), and many others. As an active musician in Argentina, Mr. Sánchez played in the most prestigious tango shows of Buenos Aires including El Viejo Almacén, Esquina de Carlos Gardel, Café Tortoni, Piazzolla Tango Theater, just to name a few.
In 2016, he relocated to the New York metropolitan area and started collaborating with a variety of tango groups, among most noted are Aces of Rhythm directed by Pablo Aslan (debuted at Lincoln Center in July of 2017), Pan American Symphony Orchestra (Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.), and the Astoria Tango Orchestra led by Daniel Binelli (11-piece orchestra típica). In August of the same year, he won the First Prize at the renowned Che Bandoneon International Competition judged by bandoneón legend Victor Lavallén.
In 2018 Mr. Sanchez became Musical Director of Che Tangazo orchestra based in Montreal, Canada, making its debut in July at Tango BA Festival and World Cup.
In the past five years Mr. Sanchez has also performed with many renown musicians such as Emilio Solla, Oscar Feldman, Héctor del Curto, and Sverre Indris Joner.
In 2019 Mr. Sanchez completed writing a repertoire of tango arrangements specifically for social dancing and put together a tango quartet “Mala Junta”. Since then Mala Junta performed in NY, NJ, and CT.
Since 2018 he has also been DJing in large number of milongas in tri-state area. Making him the only professional musician/DJ on the East coast.
Maurizio Najt - Piano was born in Italy and grew up in Argentina. As a Tango pianist, he performed with the New York Tango Trio under the direction of Master Bandoneonist Raul Jaurena, and with the Astoria Tango Orchestra under the direction of Master Bandoneonist Daniel Binelli; he was a member of the Tony Award winning Forever Tango on Broadway touring China, Japan Mexico and the US. He has performed in theaters, festivals, museums, and countless “Milongas” all over the world. As a composer he has scored independent films, documentaries and off Broadway Theater productions, such as Don Quixxxote (ACE award nomination), Kaleidoscope, A Tango for Tita - a tango musical for children-(ACE award winner), and the musical drama Black Mass. He also collaborated as arranger with Academy-Award winning film director Ang Lee on the film Lust Caution. Currently he is a pianist at The School of American Ballet in Lincoln Center and the organist at St. James & St. Matthew's Church in Queens.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pablo Lanouguere - CounterBass is an active musician and composer based out in New York City. As a sought after musician, he regularly plays with renowned artists and bands of Tango, Jazz, Latin-Jazz, Swing, Salsa, Classical and World Music. Over the past few years, Mr. Lanouguere has collaborated with artists such as Raul Jaurena, Fernando Otero, Daniel Binelli & Astoria Tango Orchestra, Adam Tully, Emilio Solla, Emiliano Messiez and Federico Diaz. Additionally, he has also toured around the US with several American & Argentine bands. Since 2019, he leads the "Pablo Lanouguere Quintet" group which he released his first album as a bandleader, called "Eclectico" (Piano Piano Records).
Sergio Reyes - Violin
Vocals Stratos Achlatis studied vocal performance at the Institute of Vocal Arts and Research under the supervision of the renowned baritone Spyros Sakkas. In 2008 he moves to Munich to study Art Song and Oratorium with German Bass Hartmut Elbert and since 2010 with the American Bass-Baritone Peter Ludwig. He has performed for the Contemporary Opera of Athens (2007-2008), for the Theater and in numerous concerts in Europe and the US. Stratos was the founder of the children’s theatrical company “Paigniodos” and has recorded various songbooks for kids. In 2010 he moved to New York where he founded his tango band Tango Meditarraneo and lately Los Peores del Tango and has collaborated with various artists as Emilio Solla, Octavio Brunetti, Costas
Analia Carreño & Luis Ramirez - Dance Performares
With an experience of over ten years dancing together, they have travelled around the world, teaching and performing at festivals and major theaters.
Moreover, they have worked for the most important tango shows and musicals, such as "Tanguera, the musical", "Esquina Carlos Gardel" and "Señor Tango" in Buenos Aires.
As masters, in their lessons and workshops they teach how to dance sharing the essence of traditional tango with the dynamics and freshness of nowadays tango, using natural movements applied to the dance, thus they have achieved great results in students of all ages around the world.
Since 2009, they are invited masters to tango festivals around the world.
New York, Connecticut, Moscow, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Sydney, Melbourne, Tazmania, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Seoul, Daejong, Bali, Brunei, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu East Timor, Manila, Cebu, Zamboanga were some of the cities they have visited during the last years.
Teachers, professional dancers and choreographers of Tango Argentino, with multiple-style identity in their art, their dance is an exquisite and perfect blend of high technique, dynamism, passion and feeling of the intrinsic roots of Tango.
In 2011, they created and directed their own company: "ConjuroTango", with 26 artists and carry on a successful tour of seven cities in China, performing the show at the most important opera theathres in Shanghai, Beijing, Dalian, Suzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou.
In Buenos Aires, they perform regularly at the most traditional and popular Milongas; Salon Canning, La Baldosa, Yira Yira, Milonga de los Zucca, Maldita Milonga, Tango Club, Seguime si podes and Milonga de Palermo.