Sign The Guest Book Please

Planning a funeral. What an experience. The process has evolved using some of the very tools we use on social media. There was a beautiful slide show of photos selected by family. There is an internet site where you can sign the guest book so to speak, by leaving a comment. You can view the slide show in a photo gallery. I can add pictures, so if you have a favorite photo of Alberto please email me a jpg and I will put it on his internet guest book. It is certain that we will all die, and that the internet is forever, a legacy so to speak.

Please go HERE to become a part of the legacy of Alberto Paz by leaving a comment in the online guest book.

Please go HERE to sign Alberto's guest book

Please go HERE to sign Alberto's guest book

Please email me a favorite photo you might have of Alberto Paz and I will add it to the online photo gallery in the legacy guest book - I miss him so much

Videos at the repast showing a New Orleans tradition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S49rJjhn85EAlberto Paz repast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SIMMC5QGKw

The band is Alberto's favorite, Smoking Time Jazz Club

Remembranzas - Memories

The tango Remembranzas was written in 1940, lyrics by Mario Battisella, music by Mario Melfi.
It was printed on the prayer card for Alberto's service that took place on February 15. Go to the link, the Planet Tango Lyrics Page Alberto created with hundreds of tangos translated from Spanish to English, and often with a link to a recording so you can hear it. We performed to this tango many times, our favorite version by the orchestra of Osvaldo Pugliese with the singer Jorge Maciel.
Go HERE to listen.

Remembranzas

Como son largas las semanas cuando no estas cerca de mi. No se que fuerzas sobrehumanas me dan valor lejos de ti. Muerta la luz de mi esperanza Soy como el naufrago en el mar, se que me pierdo en lontananza mas no me puedo resignar. Ah!… que triste es recordar, despues de tanto amar, esa dicha que paso, flor de una ilusion, nuestra pasion se marchito. Ah!… olvida mi desden, retorna, dulce bien, a nuestro amor, y volvera a florecer nuestro querer como aquella flor. En nuestro cuarto tibio y rosa todo esta igual, como otra vez y en cada adorno, en cada cosa te sigo viendo como ayer. Tu foto sobre la mesita que es credencial de nuestro amor y aquella hortensia ya marchita que fue el canto de mi dolor.

How long are the weeks when you are not close to me. I don’t know what superhuman strengths give me courage far away from you. The light of my hope having died, I am like the shipwrecked in the sea I know I get lost in the far horizon but I cannot resign myself. Oh! how sad it is to remember after having loved so much that happiness that went by flower of an illusion our passion has withered. Oh! forget my scorn, return, my sweet, to our love and it will bloom again our wanting like that flower. In our warm and rose colored room everything it’s the same as it was and in each ornament, in each thing I continue looking at you like I did yesterday. Your photo on the little table is a witness of our love and that already withered hydrangea which was the song of my pain.

Copyright (c) Planet Tango 1998-2010 All Rights Reserved

The recordings of Osvaldo Pugliese were played throughout visitation. La Mariposa, La Yumba, Desde el alma....all of our favorites we danced to. Recuerdo was played as the processional with the pallbearers, six men that loved him including his son and our students and friends.
Go HERE to listen, and say a prayer for Alberto.

If you would like a prayer card please email me your address and I will send you one.

Alberto Paz Obituary

 

Alberto Bernardino Paz, age 70, tango historian, teacher, and dancer, passed away on February 3, 2014. Argentine born, in the Northern province of Tucuman, he moved with his family to Buenos Aires at the age of 9 months. He graduated from the School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires. In 1968, at age 25, he moved to the United States, becoming a proud citizen in 1985. He lived in California, working for high-tech video companies, founding his own in the 1980s. During the 1980’s he also worked at San Francisco’s radio station KIQI as a soccer announcer and color commentator. In 1990 he produced a night-time program playing South American music, that rapidly became a popular all tango music program.

For 18 years, with his beloved partner, Valorie Hart, he performed, gave master classes, lectured, and conducted workshops in cities across America, as well as in Italy, Portugal, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and the Philippines. Alberto and Valorie migrated to New Orleans in 2000, establishing a vital tango community, hosting and teaching tango. They wrote the seminal book, “GottaTango,” and were instrumental in developing new communities, training qualified local teachers and encouraging efforts to preserve, foster and educate people on the core social and cultural values of the Argentine Tango music, poetry and dance.

Alberto is survived by his wife Valorie Hart, son, Alberto Paz Jr., daughter, Maria Eugenia (Gina) Staropoli, grandson, Dylan Paz, sister Noemi Paz-Palacios, niece, Carla Palacios, and nephew, Arial Palacios.

Family and friends are invite to attend the memorial service to be held at Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home, 3827 Canal Street in New Orleans, on Saturday February 15, 2014 at 12 Noon. Visitation will begin at 11 AM and continue until service time. Repast at the home of Alberto and Valorie afterwards.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations via Paypal to boutique@planet-tango.com. Condolences may be expressed at www.schoencanalstreet.com

La voz del masetro Alberto Paz

Alberto had a beautiful voice. If you were ever at a milonga with us, you could hear him break into song, singing along with the tango being played. He often sang to me when we danced. He was just about to start voice lessons with one of our fellow dancers Denize, a gorgeous opera singer. She would get private tango lessons in exchange for voice lessons. Though he had a great natural singing voice, he wanted to know the mechanics of singing so he could really sing the tangos he loved so much. When we first met, we had a long distance start to our romance, he in California, me in New York and we spent long hours on the phone, and I reveled in his beautiful voice.

In Buenos Aires there is a school, a serious school, that trains people to speak on the radio. The sound is so distinctive of the DJs there. They take extreme pride in there craft and in their language. Alberto did not go that school, but he loved radio. He grew up listening to radio. So as he did with so many other things, he studied how the DJs presented their shows, how they spoke.

Alberto Paz - Radio del Tango

He had a radio show in the 1990s in San Francisco dedicated to South American music, that eventually became an all tango radio show. I believe it was the only one of its kind ever aired in the United States, long before podcasts. Alberto and I often talked about doing a podcast together, a radio tango radio show on the internet. He loved my voice and said I had a perfect voice for radio and singing tangos.

Recently Alberto has been archiving his various work in the tango, including his radio shows calling it The Best of Tiempo Nuevo. He remastered the tapes and put them on one of his five tango blogs, Radio del Tango. Please go listen.

Today is another extraordinary day. I chose his clothes for the funeral. I picked a favorite black suit he often wore when we performed, a beautiful white shirt, a silk tie from the Frank Sinatra collection that I bought for him years ago in New Your, his signature red socks (I got him to wear red socks like Fred Astaire did). Of course he will have a well worn pair of dance shoes.

I also chose the music today for the funeral. I have not listened to tango music since he died a week ago. I put a CD player in our dressing room while I did my last valet ministrations for my darling Alberto. I cried and talked to him. Yesterday the preacher who will preach his funeral stopped by the house, and he was a great comfort to me and one of our tango daughters Eli. He told me to talk to Alberto.

His daughter Gina arrived yesterday. It is so very good to have her here. His son arrives tomorrow, my sister and Michael Pelkey on Wednesday. 

Anyway, you know I am writer, and writing about Alberto is my comfort and my connection to him and to you my gentle readers who have been by my side for so long. Thank you for indulging me and supporting me in this time.

The funeral for Alberto Paz will be held Saturday, February 15 at Schoen, 3827 Canal Street in New Orleans at 11 AM. Repast at our home afterwards. Please in lieu of flowers make a contribution to Paypal fund at boutique@planet-tango.com to help with funeral expenses. Thank you.
 

Alberto Paz Funeral February 15

Some of you thought the funeral was yesterday. I postponed it until Saturday, February 15. Family had to get here from out of town. It may seem like a long time to do the funeral since he passed away on February 3, but...
The universe tells you what to do, and it said take my time. In the lull before this coming week I take a moment to thank you all again for being here for me. It is a comfort. And if you can be in New Orleans next weekend please come to the funeral.

The funeral for Alberto Paz will be held Saturday, February 15 at Schoen, 3827 Canal Street in New Orleans at 11 AM. Repast at our home afterwards. Please in lieu of flowers make a contribution to Paypal fund at boutique@planet-tango.com to help with funeral expenses. Thank you.

Young Alberto Paz

Alberto and I met when we no longer young. We were not old yet, more middle aged. When we met our romance was a whirlwind. We met in July and I was his by October, giving up my life in New York to move to California to start our life together. Many people were shocked at the speed of it. At that time Alberto and I told each other and them that we were not spring chickens and that if we had twenty years left to love each other and dance together we would be lucky. We made it to 18 years.

We never knew each other in the bloom and perfection of youth. Sure when we met, he thought I was beautiful and sexy and wonderful, and I thought he was handsome and sexy and marvelous. And the tango made us feel like young lovers. It felt this way every time we danced together.

I am gathering photos with his children for the slide show to be presented at the funeral. His son sent me the one I am sharing with you. It's a young Alberto, a young father with his two young children, along with Alberto's parents. I met his mother once in Buenos Aires, his father had passed away before I knew Alberto (and his mother is now gone too), and of course I know his children now. They are 40-ish now, the age I was when I met and fell in love with their dad.

This photo is remarkable, because this is how I always saw Alberto, even though I did not know him when he was young. He was and is my beautiful Tangoman.

The funeral for Alberto Paz will be held Saturday, February 15 at Schoen, 3827 Canal Street in New Orleans at 11 AM. Repast at our home afterwards. Please in lieu of flowers make a contribution to Paypal fund at boutique@planet-tango.com to help with funeral expenses. Thank you.

Missing Alberto

Today is bad. I am spooked. The idea that Alberto died is crashing down on me. The day he died I was in shock and sick. The next day I was numbed with making practical decisions for the funeral.

We live in a camel back house, which means there is a second story over the back part of the house. Alberto's office is up there. I still feel him up there, hearing tango music waft down, or him yelling GOOOOOAL during a soccer game, or seeing him napping peacefully. Soon he will come down and find me, give me a kiss, and ask me what I want him to fix me for lunch. Our lunches at our table in the kitchen were always wonderful. Good food and glasses of wine, and lively conversation as we filled each other in on what we were doing that day. Alberto loved to cook for me.

Some of you are asking about the arrangements and what you can do to help:

The funeral for Alberto Paz will be held Saturday, February 15 at Schoen, 3827 Canal Street in New Orleans at 11 AM. Repast at our home afterwards. Please in lieu of flowers make a contribution to Paypal fund at boutique@planet-tango.com to help with funeral expenses. Thank you.

Schoen

Alberto Paz The Love Of My Life

It is with great sadness that I tell you that the love of my life Alberto passed away yesterday in New Orleans. It was sudden. He was teaching a tango lesson in a dance studio. I thank you all for the love and respect you have shown Alberto for these many past years. I hate to use a blog like this, but you have all been a big part of our lives and I thought you would like to know. I will let you all know the arrangements as they evolve. Pray for us. xo xo

Alberto Paz the love of my life

A Center Hall House In The Irish Channel

If you know me then you know my favorite style of house in New Orleans is the center hall house. And you might know that I love my neighborhood, the Irish Channel. And you might know, I along with Sister Parish, think that no more than two pieces of brown furniture are my cup of tea in a room.

The entry hall looking into the parlor

A gem of a house just went on sale in the Irish Channel. Some kind of uncomfortable real estate bubble is happening in my humble little neighborhood. Realtors knock on our door wanting us to list our house for sale, promising big bucks. We are not going anywhere. Once mocked for choosing this neighborhood, we are now part of a happening neighborhood with serious money being spent for modest homes.

The center hall - the walls look they are plaster

A settee in the center hall

This Creole house built in 1840 is beautiful and unique. It is one of six center hall houses in the Irish Channel, and it is a bit older than most homes in the neighborhood. It is in near original condition, not falling prey to the epidemic of open floor plan cheap renovations that ruin so many old homes.  And it is for sale.

1840 center hall house in the Irish Channel in New Orleans

Butler Burdine an advertising executive bought this house in 2004, for $260,000. It was the same year we bought our house for a hundred grand less.  It was important to Butler Burdine to purchase a home that maintained its original integrity, with no renovations. Ten years ago, he and partner Patrick Harper found just that in a Creole center-hall cottage in the Irish Channel.

A corner in the parlor

An overview of the parlor - note the original wood ceiling.

Built in 1840 by German immigrants, the 2,650-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath home was in its native state, with four rooms total. After updating plumbing and wiring, the duo sought to create an authentic interior that would make its original owners proud. Burdine selected a paint palette of spicy ochre, coral, and sage green. “They’re colors I gravitate to,” he says, “but they’re also historically correct for the period,” a time when colorful interiors were fashionable. (from Domaine)

A daybed draped with netting in the parlor

Burdine is right about the colors. We are often awash in neutrals these days, so it is refreshing to see the deeper Creole palette. And the use of so many pieces of the now unfashionable brown furniture, and oriental rugs, seems fresh and new again in this house.

The dining room looking into the kitchen

A painting by one of my favorite artists David Harouni hangs over the dining table

There are  original hardwood floors, twelve-foot ceilings, and nine-foot cypress doors. Burdine calls his aesthetic “rustic and full of mystique, just like New Orleans,” yet declares his goal is truly to restore the home correctly. “It’s a never-ending project.” A friend told  Burdine: “We’re only stewards of these old houses. We’re not owners.” from Domaine

The kitchen with an old fashion stove

Love the vintage stove

The bathroom looks like it is carved out of the back porch

A corner of the bathroom

The tub is sunken

A close up of the sunken tub

And I guess he won't be the steward for long. 
The house is listed for $675,000, HERE

There's a wonderful large hidden courtyard

Go to the real estate listing for more details and photos.
Go to Domaine for some more pretty pictures.


So what would you do to this house if you bought it? I wonder if the owners are selling the furniture. It fits the house so perfectly.

A special thanks to Julie for pointing me to this...

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