dancer who was highlighted by Virulazo in his commentaries about the protagonists of dancing, was born in 1889, in Italy.

He arrived at this country when he was six and lived in the neighborhood of Belgrano, dancing tango for the first time —according to what was told by a journalist— when he frequented the tumultuous locals near the Mercado del Abasto around 1910.

His nickname then was Pepino (in allusion to his Christian name) and his greatest fame started by 1915 to reach his summit around 1940, carrying on his artistic career until shortly before his death in 1961.

His trade was bricklaying —which he did not give up even at the time of greatest success— he was the most famous dancer after Casimiro Aín and El Cachafaz. Although his figure was not attractive, his technique and abilities made him stand out of the rest, displaying an exceptional skill.

He had two partners, his wife Magdalena who danced with him for four decades and, towards the end, Carmencita Calderón, El Cachafaz's last dancing partner.

In some interview he remembers names today lost in the popular memory, but that he mentions as his teachers: Gallito, Nando, Rómolo and others.

Later he comments that on the early days tango was danced with one's hat put on, at night, on the side of the streets and among men.

Tarila was blue-eyed, bald and with a big nose. In his days of splendor he led the Academia de baile popular a place where you had to pay ten cents a dance. It was placed on Gascón street between Cabrera and Córdoba streets. There were 35 women and anyone who would like to dance had to buy a least two tickets to be allowed to participate. Five cents were for the female dancer and the other five for the Academy.

The owner of that house was the musician Domingo Santa Cruz, composer of the remembered tango “Unión Cívica”, Tarila, its director, led from the center of the dancing floor.

Among other memories of his he mentioned other dancers who were famous in his time: Adolfo Radrizzani El Escoberito, who died burnt during a fire at the Smart Theater on Corrientes Avenue (today Teatro Blanca Podestá); Cotongo, a colored cart driver who wandered about el Abasto and was lame and danced with a crutch; El Manco a character who had lost his right hand and Alfredo Carozzi, El Flaco Alfredo son of tailors. But he soon explains that these were nothing else but amateur dancers, the true professionals were El Cachafaz and Casimiro Aín.

This scarce information is what we managed to rescue from interviews and commentaries in magazines of that period.

Director's note: We want to thank the great-grandniece of Tarila —Graciela Giambuzzi— who informed us, that the dancer was born in Ortona, a coastal town of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo. He arrived in Argentina at age or fourteen 14, with his brother Roque and they lived in the neighborhood of Flores.