e had a so porteño destiny that he was born in the year the Obelisk was inaugurated.

As a kid he used to dance with his mother and his aunts. «He was the favorite in the family», to such an extent that when he was nearing the time of wearing long trousers he entered the Jockey Club of Olivos. «I danced foxtrot, boogie, later tango, and I have never stopped since then».

Later, at age 14, he went downtown and came to know Alfredo Gobbi, who became his dancing backer and allowed him to enter the Sans Souci dancehall on Corrientes Street. So then he frequented other milongas. Among them we can mention the Galería Pronor on Maipú Avenue and the Club 12 de Octubre, both in Olivos; the Club Huracán in Villa Martelli and the Club Defensores in Florida, among others, «where people danced tango in the Pugliese’s style» and he developed a style that made him an expert in slow-paced tango.

He as well admired the dancing trend of Villa Urquiza, he won a boogie championship with La Perica and kept a long friendship with the latter’s brother, El Chino Perico.

Thereafter he definitively disembarked downtown. He danced at milongas, made exhibitions, appeared at shows, made tours of several countries and became an authority in the way of dancing Pugliese’s music.

Alberto Dassieu was a synonym of tenderness, a true milonguero whose vocation he himself once defined with profoundness and simplicity: «I always, always, always liked dancing»…

The author is instructor, dancer and researcher of tango dance. He is author of the Nuevo glosario de tango danza, La pista del abrazo and Tango FAQs. www.tangosalon.com.ar / info@tangosalon.com.ar