The story of Mauro Dellac, the new malambo national champion: from Maquinista Savio to Osaka

The

, province of Córdoba, closed its 55th edition this Sunday with

, from Buenos Aires, who gave a beautiful interpretation of southern malambo.

with an equally beautiful northern malambo.

It is necessary to say that the aspiring champions who arrive in the town of Laborde -one from each province of the country,

come with a very demanding preparation that

, many hours per day.

They bring their choreographies, called “routines” in malambista jargon, which

and it is only one of them who receives the highest prize;

This prize, moreover, does not entail any economic remuneration.

Dellac talks about his winning routine: "It's the one I started with in 2008 and I've done it many times."

Yes, it may sound like a sacrifice, but it is not like that for these stubborn artists.

Someone, erroneously, can consider that the malambista is an athlete due to the difficulty of his training (although like any dancer, on the other hand).

Or also because the winner is called champion, as in sports.

But

.

Mauro Dellac (31 years old) represented the province of Buenos Aires with his malambo

;

He was born and lives in Maquinista Savio, Escobar district, and started dancing at the age of 9.

The malambo appeared relatively early.

the path of the malambo

-Could you make a summary of your tour?

Mauro Dellac, won by the emotion in the middle of the Festival.

-At the age of 8 I began to dance in the municipal ballet

, from the Escobar party;

At 9, I began to perform in folklore competitions and

, who was the one who prepared me in malambo.

Little knowledge on the part of both;

I personally didn't know anything and, for him, I was his first student.

He adds: “At the age of 19 I came to Laborde and won in a category called 'special youth', it was the first time I had gone!

.

-How did you shape this malambo with which you won?

"Folklore taught me to be a person," understands the 31-year-old dancer.

-Some changes I took from other champions: from Rodolfo Alcántara, from “Polaco” Vergés, from Ariel Pérez, who helped me in different ways.

I learned a lot from my teacher Sergio Chávez, who has led me for years;

.

"Afterwards we are like two kids having fun; but that space, from such an hour to such an hour of rehearsal, is very rigorous: he, my teacher; I, his student," he graphically.

The routine of a lifetime

-How long did it take you to prepare the "routine" with which you won now?

-Almost all my life.

, always deepening and adding more things.

-And how many times have you performed in Laborde in recent years?

-Between 2016 and 2018

.

But I lost in the following preselection and

.

I think my head, in relation to Laborde who is so demanding, needed to rest.

The following year I spent working with Malevo (

) in

, Japan.

"I deviated a bit from the malambo, but I told myself I'm going back to Argentina and I'm preparing for Laborde," he explains.

Marcos Vázques, the runner-up, represented the province of Mendoza.

-How was the experience of spending a year dancing in Japan?

-Beautifull;

A very different culture and customs.

Clean, peaceful, lots of nature.

I dedicated myself to living that experience, to working, to being independent.

.

And the demand of the Japanese is enormous:

.

"I was telling you that I returned to Argentina determined to prepare myself for Laborde throughout that year. Beginning of 2020. Imagine: the world exploded," he recalls about the incipient times of the pandemic.

dance in quarantine

-How did you spend the period of confinement?

-Very sad at first;

but

, sometimes with the help of my teacher via Zoom.

In the middle of the year he was fully prepared, thinking that in January 2021 he would arrive in Laborde, but there was no festival.

"I know that the pandemic was terrible, but

and what I wanted to express with my malambo. I think that my choreography was truly born from there," he understands.

-How?

-His delicacy, the feeling that comes from my heart.

And the answer to the “what for” is that it was a way of thanking so many years of folklore, meeting so many people and everything I share with them.

.

-Can you live from folklore?

-Yes.

.

It is a company that renews itself a lot and I

.

-Having been national champion in Laborde you will not be able to compete in that category again.

Can that be read as a big resignation?

-To begin with, it is true that I will not be able to compete again for national champion, but other directions are open, such as performing with a malambo quartet or with a traditional couple's dance, things that allow you to continue learning forever.

He concludes: “Besides, if you reached the highest level of the Festival, you don't feel like reintroducing yourself, because you've already established a life.

It is logical that no champion wants to compete again: he has completed one stage and another is opening ”.

Information

The National Festival of Malambo de Laborde 2023

: National Festival of Malambo.

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