Lucas Molina Gazcon is a dancer a teacher and an organizer of events in Budapest.
He is managing
"El Yeite Tango Club"
and the famous milonga
"Che Noche Tete."
Lucas comes from Argentina his family still live there.
What does tango mean to you?
Since I was 12, I have lived in tango. The tango was already part of the life of my grandparents who were amateur but diligent dancers. In the 1940s they could dance to the great orchestras of the time (d'Arienzo, Pugliesse, Di Sarli...). When Rock & Roll appeared, Tango lost its influence, which is why my parents danced other dances instead. All this is part of my story but also of what I am today: dancer, teacher, DJ, organizer of the Milonga “Que Noche Tete” and of an Argentinian Tango festival in Budapest.
When did you start learning tango?
In 1992, I was 12 years old, my sister Monica wanted to play violin. The purchase of the instrument being too expensive, my parents thought about the fairest solution for all of us. They decided to offer tango lessons to Monica. My other sister Alexandra also wanted to follow her eldest, so my parents asked me to accompany them. At that time, I did not want to go there at all: my friends had more activities around football so learning to dance tango was scary.
I started tango, to help my 2 sisters. But after 9 months of learning I was already performing in a theater. Classes were held in La Plata, a city near Buenos Aires. My first teacher was Luci and then my father decided to enroll me in another reputable class. At that time Juan Carlos Copes was famous. My dad saw a popular TV show that was looking for kids who could dance tango. This is how I was selected, and I was able to train with teachers such as Gustavo Naveira & Olga, Mingo Pugliese & Esther and Robertot Tonet (El Allemand) who also danced in the famous company “Forever Tango”. I was also dancing in "The Tango Lesson" movie in 1996. Later in San Telmo I had Chicho (Mariano Frumboli) as a teacher. You could say that I have been dancing for more than 30 years.
Why did you decide to leave Argentina for Hungary?
In October 2014 I met Judith my partner in Buenos Aires. We worked together on our way of dancing the tango and then quickly the idea of setting up a Tango school appeared. I already had a Milonga that existed in Buenos Aires, but I had to make a decision; I therefore decided to follow her to Hungary, her country of origin.
Is Hungary a favorable country for the development of Tango?
All the countries can welcome the tango indifferently. Today, with the possibilities of virtual or physical communication, it is more easy to export Tango all over the world. Many very good teachers and tango dancers live in Europe, not only in Argentina. On the other hand, the Argentine people themselves come from Italian, Spanish, German, French immigration… but also from Hungary who have a large community in Bueno Aires. As far as I am concerned, I believe I am the first Argentine Tango teacher to have lived in Budapest for more than 8 years. I try to bring my culture of Argentine Tango to the tango community in Hungary. I organize “Tango Mystico Week Festival” every year in Budapest.
What advice for a beginner?
It is a good question because the tango is real. The Tango is the abrazo but it is also a social dance so it will depend a lot on the motivation of the beginner. Having fun, progressing, meeting other people… everything is possible.
What is different in your milonga?
I try to make everyone feel good. A milonga is a set of attentions to maintain a benevolent atmosphere: that everyone feels a bit like home but with something more. For example, I introduced the projection of tango videos in my milonga in 2007 to give a lively aspect to this dance as we can see clips in clubs or discotheques.
Your favorite composers, singers, or tango dancers?
It will really depend on my mood and my sensitivity at the time, but I must admit that for me Astor Piazzolla is a genius. That said, I don't necessarily like everything a composer does. If for example I quote a composer like Pugliese there are pieces that touch me and others less. There are also interpretations that are more interesting than others. So, we can like one interpretation of the same composer and hate another when it is the same composition. Singer Adrian Guida who died in 1994 had an amazing voice. Of course, I also like Juan d'Arienzo, Roberto Goyeneche, Anibal Troillo, Miguel Calo...Enrique Mario Francini, Carlos di Sarli, or even Alberto Podesta... whom I have met 3 times. Mariano Mores is also 1 great composer of Argentine Tango. When I worked in this television program, I was able to meet Carmencita Calderon, the singer Carlos Acuña, or even Maria de la Fuente, the first singer to perform in Japan in the 1930s. All this people influenced me.
Your point of view about tango nuevo?
I like it. Astor Piazzolla said moreover, “if the music of Buenos Aires is the tango, what I do is the new tango, that is to say the new music of Buenos Aires.” Until after the second half of the 90s the new tango was still transformed with new groups that used new technologies such as the computer and the synthesizer. It was a big change because the rhythm then became totally different. This type of Tango Nuevo is more to be listened to than danced. That said, I like Bajofondo and I was able to collaborate with Tanghetto for example…
The future of tango according to you?
We don't know where the tango is headed. The tango requires a lot of efforts in learning but also in its transmission. Unfortunately, all those who maintain it and bring it to life are not always sufficiently rewarded. Many of those in Europe who start learning dance give up. There is probably a new challenge in the way of teaching it and in any case to make beginners want to continue learning. If we have quality events (Milonga, etc.) of a good level, then this creates desire and motivation to join our community.
An anecdote you want to share?
In 2013 I was at "El Yeite Tango Club" a milonga in Buenos Aires. It was around 6 O'clock in the morning, the milonga was ending and Chicho was about to leave. I told him:
-"I like your shoes!
- He answered : Really?.. so take them they are yours!"
Even if we are friend I didn’t expect this huge gift for me.
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