Osvaldo Vicente Centeno

The great milongueros of the 1950's easily fit this 10,000

hour rule, having put years of practice into their tango. The blog Tango Commuter creates a wonderful description of Osvaldo Centeno as an "outlier," someone who practiced to raise his tango to a level beyond all others, reaching his 10,000 hours in his early 20's.

Osvaldo Centeno is a great example of the Buenos Aries milongueros born in the 1930's. He was fortunate to be born into the environment of the Golden Age of Tango. He learned his tango from the great dancers of the age.

Osvaldo entered the world of the milongas in the 50's, when the codes were followed and the dance floor moved in a fluid motion. Those who knew him well said he didn't talk much at a milonga, he simply danced. All the women loved to dance with him and waited patiently for their turn. He had a perfect lead and embrace, and he made them feel as if they had danced their best tango ever.

If you watch the videos of his dance, you won't see the sequences and embellishments taught in today's tango schools. You will see perfect embrace and communication with his partner, all expressed within the music of the tango. The video of the tango he danced with our own Buenos Aires instructor Erzsabet Tamas is particularly good to watch.

He began learning tango in Club Sol at Saraza 951, where he attended practicas. In 1956, he started dancing at Centro Asturiano on Solis and Venezuela. His favorite was Club Almagro, where he danced during its 40-year reign as the place to dance in Buenos Aires. Tango Chumuyo

He never made much profit from his tango, he made his living driving a taxi through the frenzied traffic of Buenos Aires, and danced at night. He lived in the working class community of Avellaneda, part of greater Buenos Aires. However, many international visitors to Argentina had the opportunity to dance with him. He had friends all over the world. He spoke through his embrace.

In recent years, he could be found in all of the popular milongas, Salon Canning, Club Carribean, Lo de Celia, Centro Region Leonesa, El Beso, and Club Gricel. Tango Chumuyo