ANGEL
ECHEVERRIA
A true "porteno" (one born in
Buenos Aires), Angel Echeverria remembers
watching his aunt and uncle dance tango
on the patio of the family home as he
was growing up. Tango music filled the
days and nights of his life since the
neighborhood he grew up in was home to
many famous tango musicians. Then as a
teenager in the early 60's he began his
dancing career studying with the true
tango masters, the old milongueros of
the famous clubs such as Sunderland, Sin
Rumbo, Sans Souci, 17 de Octubre, El Huracan
and more. Living in Buenos Aires when
the great tango orchestras were still
playing at milongas, Angel had the good
fortune to dance every week to the legendary
orchestras of Pugliese, DiSarli, Basso
and Troilo
Famous
for his distinctive and authentic style
of tango and his encyclopedic knowledge
of its music, Angel is affectionately
referred to as the "godfather"
of tango in Los Angeles.
For
many years, Angel hosted the Sunday night
milonga at the Los Angeles Argentina Association
and for the last six years has hosted
the very popular Saturday night milonga,
El Encuentro, in Sherman Oaks.
The
high regard in which Angel is held can
be seen at any milonga around the world
where he is greeted with a hearty embrace
by all his tango friends… the legendary
Gavito, Pupi Castello, Fernanda Ghi &
Guillermo Merlo, Nito & Elba, Hugo
& Miriam, Sandor Sandoval, Miguel
Angel and Oswaldo Zotto, Graciela Gonzalez,
El Pulpo, Cecelia Gonzalez, Celia Blanco
and tango musicians like Coco Trivisonno,
Cristian Zarate, Pablo Motta, Horacio
Romo, Andres Linetzky and many more.
Angel's
heart and home is always open to his tango
friends who
consider being invited for one of his
famous asados (Argentine bar-b-que) as
the highlight of their visit to Los Angeles.
JULIE FRIEDGEN
Motion
picture and television writer, Julie Friedgen,
is a native of Los Angeles. A former ballet
and flamenco dancer who studied with Michael
Brigante one of the most well-known teachers
in Los Angeles. Julie grew up listening
to the music of Carlos Gardel and watching
her parents' Argentine friends dance tango
at parties. The music was always in her
soul but it wasn't until nine years ago
that she began to study tango.
Once
she began, she knew she had discovered
the dance for the rest of her life. The
technique she learned over the twenty
years she studied dance gives her a strong
foundation for the demands of tango and
it is her joy to pass this on to her students.
Together
she and Angel have become well-known for
their distinctive "milonguero"
style of tango.
They
have co-produced some of the most successful
live tango events in Los Angeles, i.e.
"Tango in Hollywood" at the
historic Hollywood Athletic Club; "Tango
Confessions" at a landmark Southern
California church; and two years ago introduced
the first celebration in Los Angeles of
The International Day of Tango by creating
an Annual Award night to coincide with
the celebrations held by tango communities
the world over each December 11th marking
the birthday of Carlos Gardel. In 2002,
they created and organized the first tour
of tango dancers ever to perform on the
Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
Julie
and Angel have performed at Los Angeles'
Music Center for Hispanic Heritage month;
for the Peruvian Consul General; at the
NoHo Arts Festival; at the annual gala
of the Mexican-American Bar Association;
at the Friar's Club in Beverly Hills;
at various entertainment industry events
as well as numerous private affairs.
