Modern Tango World N° 11 (Paris, France) | Page 39

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Tango Beats in Ecuador
Introducing Vanessa Batallas and her dance partner of Dúval Barrezueta. She is a ballerina who only
recently came to tango. They are the Ecuadorian champions and will be competing in the World Tango
Championship in August.
Dúval Barrezueta and Vanessa Battalas will be travelling
to Buenos Aires to compete the world tournament in
Argentina. There, they will demonstrate their skills in the
in both escenario (stage perfomance) and salon tango. Dúval wants Ecuador to become a venue for a nation-
wide competition, along with Colombia, Venezuela or
Costa Rica. With an organization of this level, the win-
ners would go directly to the final.
Their tango is goes beyond those familiar melodies and
voice of the Carlos Gardel. It is to deep into the cul-
ture that gave birth to this musical genre in the region
of the Río de la Plata. A piece of that world has ben
transplanted to Guayaquil, Ecuador. For over seventeen
years, under the tutelage and encouragement of Dúval
Barrezueta, popular milongas have organized in various
parts of La Perla. An Ecuadorian of Chilean roots, he will
participate in the Tango World Championship in Buenos
Aires, for the second time.
Vanessa Batallas and I will concentrate on the
music particular orchestras. We are already
know the steps because we rehearse frequently.
— Dúval Barrezueta For the tournament, two styles need to be developed
— stage choreographed performance tango and im-
provised salon tango. The first is a performance with
a choreography designed by the couple. The second is
a free style improvisation to music chosen by the jury.
You simply go on stage and they tell you the mu-
sic that you’re going to dance to. You need to be
prepared to dance any orchestra.
— Vanessa Batallas
It is a very tough competition which has reduced the
competitors through qualifying rounds to 500 couples.
With Maritza Intriago, Dúval placed 250th, a conquest
that he celebrates with great enthusiasm.
I felt it was good because I beat many Chileans
and Argentines. In Ecuador. I had no teacher. I
alone knew something of tango.
— Dúval Barrezueta Vanessa likes the unique codegos that are a part of tan-
go. One of them is to attend the milongas with tango
shoes. In the case of women, it is an indicator that she
is ready to dance. Another is the cabaceo, the look to
invite a lady to dance.
At age 27, Vanessa began a career as a ballerina at the
Raymond Maugé Dance Institute. Her foray into dance
led her to pursue the dream of representing Ecuador
in competion.
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