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Shockingly… first heard on facebook through status and El Tangauta. Comparing to Tete, Osvaldo Zotto was so young, age of 46. His departure was so sudden,  I am still in disbelief.

I never had the honor to study with him privately. I tried when I went to BsAs the first time. I got the contact information from a dear friend of Osvaldo and Lorena. They were on tour. I always thought one day I would have the chance to study with him.  It now becomes the few regrets I have in tango.  Although in my beginner year, I had gone through 36 clips of his tango lesson with Mora many times. He was the first maestro who had showed me the elegance of tango. The following clip was among the first videos that I watched on youtube. I feel sad to watch it again.

I admired his unique and elegant style.  What impressed me the most,  and ultimately won my respect was my witness of his gentleman act on the social dance floor. The second time I went to BsAs, one night at Canning, he showed up with Lorena. I was sitting because it was peak hours and the floor was crowded with patches of havoc. I saw them stepping on the floor. They were floating on the floor. I couldn’t take my eyes away from them.  One of the dancers blindly changed lane and bumped into them. They all stopped, the dance was interrupted. The guy was upset, although it was his fault, and about to argue with Zotto.  Zotto quickly gestured to the guy apologetically, without the showing of the attitude of a star.  They continued on to finish the tanda and disappeared on the other side of the floor, along the way a few more interruptions. But he had never lost his tranquility.

They say you dance who you are.

And Mr. Osvaldo Zotto, you were a gentleman of tango. The world of tango misses you.