Alberto Says It Best

Alberto when he was a young man, with his father

From the blog RADIO DEL TANGO:

In the beginning God used water and dirt to create life. Since then,
fathers and sons have continued the eternal ritual of growing up and
multiplying.

It is true that the seed needs the fertile ground to sprout, but the
tree that results from that union, only grows and becomes strong
because it knows that it is its destiny to give shade to the land
where it germinated.

The paternal figure is alarmingly absent from the ethos of the tango,
perhaps because of the circumstances of the period were it began its
genesis without a father.

Not so, in other musical expressions from diverse regions around the country.

Astor Piazzolla, raised in New York, brought the figure of the father
to the tango in a very poignant way when he wrote his masterpiece
Adios Nonino, in memory of his father who passed away in Argentina
while Astor was working in North America.

I pay tribute to my own deceased father and to my boy who's now a man
and a dad, and my girl who's now a woman.
To all the dads in the reach of our embrace, happy day and I hope you
at least enjoy the music...

Go to this link:
http://radiodeltango.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/my-old-man-was-a-good-guy


Happy Father's Day Alberto!

PS The Vamp here...That marvelous voice of the DJ is Alberto

Your Tango Shoes Under My Bench

Pink monogram plate: V & A
Caroline gave me these for my birthday HERE

When Alberto and I met, it was through the tango. I was a new dancer, and he was quite a few steps ahead of me. We met in July and we were a couple by October. I left my home in New York to move in with Alberto in California. I left behind an apartment, a beach house, a design business, and many, many friends.

I was sick at the time, wrung out and damaged. The tango gave me solace and strength, and Alberto gave me back my life.

To this day we are part of an urban myth in the tango world, the fancy New York woman getting the prize of the Argentine tango man. Many said it would not stand the test of time, that I would have my little tango fling, and get back to New York and my "real" life.

Sixteen years later I am deep into my life with Alberto. I never looked back, but always looked ahead to what we have between us, and what we continue to build upon.




Ours is not a romance of youth, but one started in middle age, and growing into our golden age.
Much comes with the territory that you never think about when you are younger. You never think you'll make it to be the age of grandparents, much less have the romance of your lifetime happening.



Alberto is a romantic. And so this morning he sweetly and shyly asked me to be his Valentine ~ again. And I accepted ~ again. He said I saved his heart, so he he is giving it to me.

Our long time friend Michael Pelkey sent this perfect Valentine

The tango is the back drop to the love affair of Alberto and me. Sharing our dance with one another is still thrilling, and touching, and magical.

Recently I have been updating our at home dance studio HERE
My friend Jack made a gift of the same green silk drapes I have in the living room. We both did out drapes at the same time two years ago, and he is changing his and passed them onto me. This prompted me to spruce things up. I painted some mirrors white, re-hung some art, re-purposed our old dining room chandelier and painted it orange, and added some seating HERE

White patent leather chair at perch.

The last piece for the studio is a bench I covered in white patent leather. I was inspired by the white patent leather chairs at perch. I saw over three years ago. I borrowed a pair for a photo shoot then, but never purchased them HERE


Wishing all of you love and Valentines, today and everyday.

The tango shoes of Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart

Sneak Peak: Planet Tango Dance Studio

Planet Tango dance studio

The home studio of Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart

Alberto is feeling really good these days, and we are officially giving tango classes again. To celebrate, I did a little refurb on our dance studio at home for him. A few little things can really add freshness and energy to a room.

I added lime green silk drapes to replace black and tan check curtains. The same lime green drapes are in the living room, which adjoins the dance room, so the continuity of this luscious color is great.

I painted all the mirrors white, and filled an entire wall with them floor to ceiling. We actually use the ones at mid level to check our steps and posture. I also grouped all the tango art on another wall, floor to ceiling. These are vintage sheet music covers of famous Argentine tangos.

Another burst of color is introduced with the orange chandelier. It was our old dining room chandelier that I spray painted this wonderful color.

A bench for changing shoes is at the upholsterer. It's being covered in white patent leather. You know I'll show it to you when it's done.

We are teaching our first tango workshop of the new year this weekend, and the first after the incident in Canada. Wish you could be here for it!

The view from the living into the Planet Tango dance room

Lime green and orange and white in the living room
These colors are repeated in the dance room
The colors are soooo 2009 ha ha - Will I repaint this year???!!!!

Planet Tango dance studio then...

Planet Tango dance studio now...

Another view from the living room into the dance room

A little vignette in the Visual Vamp living room
I spy an Anne Harwell painting

Bryan Batt used lime green and an orange chandelier in is old house
He's moved onto the world of greige in a new home

In Lieu Of A Proper Thank You Note

I want to send each and every one of you a personal handwritten thank you note.

When that seemed impossible, I wanted to make a list of every name of every person who sent prayers (that were answered). I wanted to add to the list the names from emails that were filled with love and concern. And then thank each of you for the comments you left on the various posts I did about Canada.



You blew up Facebook with your heartfelt comments and messages.


Fund raisers were held by tango communities all over the USA for us, including a whopper in New Orleans.

I wanted to list all the bloggers who did a post for Alberto and me ( I have tried to re-post them on Facebook when I find them), and of the many bloggers who held auctions for us, or donated something for those auctions from baking cookies to beautiful works of art, or gave us something we needed from your Etsy shop, or bought our book Gotta Tango.


I so wanted to list the names of all of you who sent fruit baskets and brought over food once we made it home, and of course I wanted to post the names that showed up on the roster for a Paypal donation to boutique@planet-tango.com



It amounts to hundreds of names.

As Alberto recovers, we have spent hours and hours reading each and every name. We cry alot reading these amazing names, so many of which are of people we "don't know". And then we cry harder reading the names of all the people we know, and who love us. We can safely say you are loved, and we are loved.



We have tried to search and acknowledge every blog post many of you did about our time in Canada.

Then we tried to cross reference it all and make a master list. This has been going on since Thanksgiving when I originally wanted to name names ha ha.



Well, we are just not up to it! It is too much for us to do. We need a a blog intern ha ha. But we couldn't let another month go by without saying something, without offering some kind of thank you note, proper or not.



First responders in Canada, doctors and nurses in two countries, family, fellow dancers, bloggers, readers, kind strangers, tangueros, and loyal friends from all over the world:

We can't begin to express our gratitude for your solidarity and compassion, for your words of comfort, love and support along with your prayers, good wishes and most important, generous contributions that helped us raise the necessary funds to return home.

Thank you and let's dance more tango in 2011, and blog, and decorate, and be good to each other.

Valorie Hart and Alberto Paz dancing Tango on Fulton Street in New Orleans

Alberto and I send our best wishes for the best holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous new year.



All of the fabulous hand lettered examples come from Stephen Rapp.

From his web site:

"Word and image are the key components in any graphic campaign. Each must effectively convey the message on both a practical and emotional level. This is where custom type and lettering excel. Hand lettered words express emotion much like the human voice. They can, in some cases, even serve as illustration. In our ever expanding digital environment the sense of human touch conveyed with hand lettering stands out as a welcoming voice.

Lettering and typography are my passion. I’ve studied and practiced lettering and type design for over 2 decades. Along the way I’ve had the opportunity to work in a variety of styles and media. If you have a project that might benefit from custom lettering or type; please don’t hesitate to call or write."

5th And State And Carla Fox And Art By Karena

I am overwhelmed. I promise to get back to regular blogging soon.

In the meantime three lovely ladies, Debra Philips of the blog, 5th and State, and artist, Carla Fox, and artist, Karena have cooked up a little thoughtfulness for Alberto.

Go HERE to see!

Key To The Heart

Mona at Providence Design is still having her wonderful grand opening of her online shop.
The shop features the bijoux of designer Kay Smith with Ava J Creations. Don't wait until Black Friday to shop! Please shop now with Mona, because she is generously giving 10% of all sales during the grand opening sale which ends Novemeber 22 to Alberto Paz for the fund raiser on his behalf.

Go HERE to read more and shop!

Divine Providence By Design

Providence Ltd. Design Shop
Grand Opening of their great online shop

Alberto is doing better this week. We both have post traumatic stress, but lots of rest is helping.
One thing we do everyday is read all the blog comments, and emails, and Facebook comments wishing us well. We marvel at the Paypal donations still coming in. And we love when our friends in New Orleans stop by to visit us, bearing food, donations, and hugs and kisses.
A New Orleans friend paid for the Flying Nurses with her credit card at the time of our flight home, and I must pay her back in full by December 1, so every donation is so appreciated.

With tears in his eyes, Alberto tells me he is most touched by the bloggers. He still can't wrap his mind around strangers helping us, and not judging us. I keep telling him, this is what bloggers do, this is what bloggers are about. You are not strangers, but a unique family of friends.

The other day I got an email out of the blue. I share it with you:

Valorie,

You probably don't know me. I have followed your blog for some time and commented occasionally. The situation with your husband Alberto, really touches my heart.

When you said that you held Alberto and he was as if an infant, I felt your pain.

OK, I am launching an online store tomorrow. We are going to promote it every way we can. We are doing all sorts of giveaways and E-mail blasts etc. We think eventually, it will be a good thing for us. We don't have a clue if we will sell anything out of the chute or not, but we want to give you and your husband 10% of anything we do through the grand opening . The grand opening is the 16th through the 22nd. I'm going to E-mail Décor To Adore and see if we can add this to the link auction, even though it is not really an auction.

I'm sorry this is so last minute. We have been extremely busy. I'm not really ready to launch the store but things are never going to slow down, so I'm just going for it.

I hope we do a lot of business and can send you a big check. You are already in my prayers. Mona

I read this to Alberto, my voice filled with tears. This is what bloggers do.

So please go over to Mona's new online store, Providence Ltd. Design Shop HERE, and have some fun shopping.

Also check out her blog Providence Design HERE.

And please continue to donate on Paypal HERE - you just type in our Paypal email address: boutique@planet-tango.com

Sleeping In Our Own Bed

I brought Alberto home on from the hospital on Tuesday. Alberto is making his recovery. His poor body took a beating (he has some broken ribs from the very aggressive CPR that saved his life in the airport), though he is in pretty good shape and seems "normal" most of the time. We are just trying to rest, and control our panic attacks. The image of him laying dying on the airport floor Calgary is tough for me to shake. Fortunately Alberto has no memory of what happened to him. In time he will be able to do all the things we love: live, love, and dance tango. Thank you for your prayers and/or donation. You got us home for the care and treatment he needed, and where he needed it.

The bedroom Alberto came home to, thanks to all of you!

The hospital in Calgary was a dump. It was shocking by American standards. It is old and crowded, with very small spaces allotted for a patient on a recovery ward. Still our family infused it with love and life, and made it homey. Ripped curtains, shabby bedding, worn out floors, ugly walls, a crowded coed ward, out dated bathrooms, all receded as we only saw Alberto and him getting stronger.

The nurses, nurses aides, cleaning staff, and doctors gave him good care. They saved his life. The family (his two amazing and loving children Gina and Albie, and me) brought him back full throttle, with round-the-clock love and care. Alberto is so courageous and an amazing force and he improved daily as no one in the hospital expected him to. We called ourselves Team Alberto, and we never doubted that we would win.

The bedroom of Alberto Paz and The Visual Vamp
Dwell Studio just sent us this beautiful duvet,
for a photo shoot with Brian Patrick Flynn in New Orleans

Then they held us hostage. They only wanted one treatment for Alberto, and when our doctor in New Orleans disagreed and requested we be released to fly home commercially, they refused. They gave us two options: Open heart surgery or travel by Medivac which we had to pay $35,000 upfront for. They seemed incredulous that an American family couldn't raise this money instantly.

Visual Vamp dining room
Patricia (PVE) and her husband John Charles,
sent us the most amazing box of fruit and healthy goodies

Days went by with no solution, until his children found an organization called Flying Nurses International. The cost was $10,000. to have us fly home with a medical escort. At first the Canadian doctor who held all the cards, refused. The manager from Flying Nurses, a high level cardiac nurse finally got the doctor to listen to her, and a compromise was struck and the doctor released us. All of your donations made it possible to come home, and Alberto, me, and our family will be forever grateful.

After we booked with Flying Nurses the Canadian doctor had to nerve to tell us that Medivac "is a scam", that "Medicare is welfare medicine", and that our doctor was wrong. We were so happy to find Flying Nurses and we asked the social worker at the hospital to keep it on file for other families who might face our situation. She acted like she never heard of the Flying Nurses before.
The next day her assistant told us the hospital uses Flying Nurses "all the time, for far sicker patients tan Alberto".

I need to get back to work and I need some new calling cards
Anne Harewell (Annechovie) is making a gift of them to me and Alberto

Once we arrived in New Orleans, we were received at a beautiful sparkling hospital where "Medicare welfare" provided first class treatment. Alberto's doctor, Dr. Siddharta Bhansali did two stents the Canadian doctors refused to do. It took him 45 minutes, and Alberto's artery is wide open and gorgeous. Open heart bypass surgery is a very dangerous option for Alberto. Because of his artery disease there is 100% chance he would suffer a stroke if he survived it. Our doctor has been advising us to not do bypass for as long possible, which could be for 30 years.

Alberto Paz when we arrived at Ochsner Baptist Hospital in New Orleans

The Canadians are sending me a bill for our over extended stay in their hospital.
Somewhere around $200,000. Alberto's life is priceless, but...
Medicare kicks in $5000. to foreign hospitals. Travel insurance would have helped, except we were refused because Alberto has a pre-existing condition. He did have a check up just before we traveled, and he was given the okay to travel. The last six months have been amazing. Alberto had three stents done last May, and it was like we were given a new lease on life. He was in amazing shape, going to the gym, eating well, taking his meds, doing projects around the house, and we were dancing like we were 40 years old, just kicking ass and having so much fun, taking every opportunity to enjoy the second chance we were given, thanks to Dr. Bhansali.

I have heard that many of you did blog posts about us. Please email me the links so I can show them to Alberto. He is like a happy child when I show him all the donations, emails, and Facebook messages. Your love and support is the best medicine!

So now God has given us yet another chance, and we plan to enjoy every minute of life we have been given, with all of our love and endless gratitude. Again we thank all of you from our very core, and you will be remembered in our answered prayers forever.

Our friends have been stopping by our house, bringing groceries and food, and cheering us up with their embrace and conversation. Anyone in New Orleans please feel free to come by the house. Your company is very healing.

Donations are still being made at Paypal, by typing in our email address: boutique@planet-tango.com

Easing Into New Orleans

Alberto & Valorie in the hospital in Canada

Alberto and I are home in New Orleans. Back in the USA.

We got here last night, after a very long day of travel from Calgary, Canada, with a medical escort (Flying Nurses International).

It cost $10,000, and the money was raised by all of you bloggers, our tango students, mutual tango friends and dancers, and tango promoters all over the world.

We went directly from the airport by ambulance to Ochsner Baptist Hospital on Napoleon Avenue.

We decided to not tell too many people about the trip home. The pressure of communicating during this dangerous trip home was too much for us. Alberto asked that he be sequestered.
A handful of people were told, family members, and friends in New Orleans who helped expedite things for us. We wanted to ease in gently under the radar, and get Alberto safely tucked in.

Alberto is in good condition considering all that has happened. He memory is 99% back; he can talk, read, write, walk, eat and feed himself. He can dance a few steps. He seems so normal. But his artery disease is a ticking time bomb, and right now, right this very minute, he is back on the operating table for another angioplasty "surgery". So now more waiting and praying, because the blockage is in a tricky place, and the risks are high.

We are so happy to be back home and we hope to be out of the hospital and back in our house with Cholo very very soon.

Waiting and praying is something I have become expert at. Please join me.

I will be writing another post about this whole experience later - falling ill in a foreign country has been an experience I will never forget, and I have alot to say about it. It's been our "come to Jesus" moment and has changed our family's life forever.

Please keep donations coming. There is no socialized medicine in Canada for visitors, eh? And though Alberto has Medicare, it did not cross the border. The country of Canada is sending moi a whopping bill, and we racked up huge expenses just with day to to day things while caring for Alberto in Canada. Please give to: boutique@planet-tango.com

For all of you who have contributed, I will get to proper thank you notes sometime in the future.
In the meantime, let this suffice as a preliminary thank you note from the bottom of my heart, and from Alberto's healing heart.

Thank you from Alberto and Valorie
photo in the hospital in Canada taken by Alberto's daughter Gina

Update:

Alberto Paz is out of surgery in NEW ORLEANS! His doctor, Dr. Bhansali is brilliant! He did the stent in record time, and saved Alberto from having the dangerous open heart surgery the Canadian doctors were holding us hostage for. Thank you everyone for your donations and prayers to get us home! We hope to leave the hospital tomorrow or Wednesday! More later...xo xo

Bloggers Are Here

A week ago Alberto lay on an airport floor in Canada, dying. Tonight he is resting well on the recovery ward.

Thanks to all of you bloggers, our tango friends all around the world, and friends and famliy, we are getting closer to getting home to New Orleans for him to be treated there.

Keep praying, and please keep sending those donations.

If his progress continues, and we can get the doctors here to release us, we can leave for home in a week or so.

I will forever be proud to know of all of you incredilbe bloggers, and the next time someone looks at me askance and asks why on earth I am a blogger, I will smile and say because of all of you.

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you

Mil gracias.

Oh Canada

If you are on Facebook, you may know Alberto had a heart attack in the Calgary airport on our way to teach a tango workshop. He was put into a paralytic induced coma, had his blood cooled to protect his brain, has been rewarmed and he's off the ventilators, and breathing tube, is talking, but not walking.

Alberto is not all there - sort of like dealing with a mild case of Alzheimer's. He is like a sweet newborn baby.

He needed to have an angio gram today, and he refused! He only wanted Dr. Bhansali his New Orleans doctor.

Finally we got Bhansali on the phone with Alberto to tell him to do it. You know the patient has to be awake and cooperate. So Alberto agreed, but with his memory lapses, it was tough getting him there, because it took the hospital six hours to have a slot. I had to be there with him during the angio.

There is a blockage of course. But too close to one of the valves in the artery (left side) for a stent. They are proposing open heart surgery. Nothing will happen until Monday, when a group of heart specialists look at the angio results.

He cannot travel until his mental state is better, and he can walk. He is talking, eating, but is sometimes very difficult emotionally. He just wants to come home, and really doesn't understand that he is in the hospital. I play him tango music to soothe his troubled mind.

Medivac has been mentioned. But how. It is so expensive. If anyone has any connections in this area, please share your information with me.

We could use a good fund raiser.

Dancers in New Orleans, and people from all over the world are contributing to our Paypal account:

boutique@planet-tango.com

For now the blog must be on the back burner. Please pray for Alberto and me.