Meet Our DJ s
DJ Javier Sanchez
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Javier Sánchez has been playing the bandoneon for almost 30 years.
In 2016, he relocated to the New York metropolitan area and started collaborating with a variety of tango groups. In August of the same year, he won the First Prize at the renowned Che Bandoneon International Competition judged by bandoneon legend Victor Lavallén.
At the same time, he began DJing in large number of milongas in tri-state area, including All Night Milonga, Astoria Tango Club, La Nacional, Tango Café, Triangulo, NYC. For the past year he’s been a house DJ at weekly Firehouse Milonga in NJ and was invited as a guest DJ to milongas in Boston, MS, Paramus, NJ, and Nutley, NJ just to name a few. Making him the only professional musician/DJ on the East coast.
In 2019 Mr. Sanchez completed writing a repertoire of tango arrangements specifically for social dancing and put together a tango quartet “Mala Junta”. Since then Mala Junta performed in NY, NJ, and CT.
DJ Ken Broom
As an explorer of tango since 2004, Ken enjoys playing tandas of sensual tango, melodic vals, and playful milonga in both traditional and alternative music. Watching a dance floor filled with dancers who share a common passion for the creative art of dance excites him. Since the beginning of his quest of playing music for dancers, he has been the primary house DJ in three different tango dance venues in Columbia, SC between 2007 and 2017. He has also been featured in events like Spoleto’s Tango on the Beach (2006 to present), Columbia’s Mad Hot Tango Marathon (2010-2012), Columbia’s Argentine Tango Regional (2014-2015), Charlotte’s Candlelight Alternative Milonga (2016), Queen City Tango Marathon, and Las Carolinas Tango Marathons along with several ballroom grand openings and numerous private tango events. As an audio engineer, Ken has been honored to mix live music for such artists as: Alejandro Ziegler, Osvaldo Barrios, Athens Tango Project, De La Noche, Orquesta MaCuba, and Palmetto Latin 9. He also enjoys hosting events, such as Tango by the Lake, WinterHeat, and The Columbia Tango Marathon as well as performing tango and other genres of dance.
DJ Koichiro Suzuki
Koichiro Suzuki has a Master’s Degree in Music Performance at Duquesne University and has performed Euphonium internationally since 1996. Koichiro incorporates his complex music background and deep understanding of musicality into his DJing. Koichiro DJs regularly in Pittsburgh, PA and has DJed in many other cities in the United States, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Europe. Koichiro is the founder of the annual Pittsburgh Tango Fierro Marathon & Pittsburgh Tango Festival in Pittsburgh. In 2022, he was invited to DJ at Toronto Tango Marathon, Austin Spring Tango Festival, Itacha Tango Marathon, Spoleto Tango, Toronto Tango Festival, Windy City Tango Festival, Columbia Tango Marathon, South East Tango Festival. `
DJ David Chester
David has loved music his whole life. In his youth, he sang in choirs that toured Europe, and also was a choir director. Later in life, he discovered tango, and it became his passion. It wasn't long before he got into DJing. Now, he DJs at milongas and festivals across New England and beyond, playing his carefully crafted tandas. His favorite songs are the emotional songs that touch your soul, and are full of longing. However, he plays a wide variety of tango songs, from rhythmic to lyrical. He has even been known to play an alternative tanda when it fits the crowd. David also hosts a practica in Worcester, as well as being one of the hosts of the Boston Sunday Practica (the most popular practica in New England).
DJ Karen Jaffe
Karen lives near Asheville, NC. In her 20+ years of Tango she has supported dancers and communities through offering weekly classes, social dances and has organized dozens of events with exceptional guest teachers. She has traveled extensively to continue her own education and to teach. Her reputation in both the SE and wider Argentine Tango community is that of a skilled and engaging partner and teacher with well refined technique. As a DJ, Karen chooses music to engage the dancers, creating a container for a stimulating and emotional journey. She strives to inspire dancers to go deeper in their connection with both their partner and the music, for a richer, more quality experience. Her vast exploration of the traditional as well as alternative music, over many years, allows her a great range of flexibility to create an environment for optimal enjoyment!
DJ Jae Youn
Jae is the founder of Tango Utopia in the greater Raleigh/Durham area. She is recognized as one of the premier teachers, dancers and DJ’s as well as the organizer of the monthly Milonga Utopia and the weekly practicas.
As a DJ, Jae loves the challenge of keeping dancers on the floor to the very last tanda. Her sensitivity to the energy of a milonga influences her music selection. Her music library is focused on the traditional masters and this is also reflected in her musical choices. She has been invited to DJ at festivals, milongas, marathons and encuentros around the US and Europe.
DJ Mark Mindell
DJ Mark Mindel's tango journey began in 2011. The music of tango captured my mind & heart from the very start. I began DJing in 2015 for local practicas & organizing our own small milongas for more opportunities to dance. In 2018 Kim & I began organizing the Queen City Tango Marathon annually here in Charlotte North Carolina. I designed & constructed our own custom portable dance floor for this event. We now own more than 250 sq meters of portable floor. I am in the process of building my own custom sound system to elevate tango dancers audio experience to a new level.
Back to DJing. Every part of tango is a journey. Musical choices take dancers to many places full of emotion & color. I love opening the door for dancers to walk thru & share a moment or a dream from their mind or heart with another human being.
Besides our own Queen City Tango Marathon 2018-22, I have DJed at Charleston Encuentro, Newport News Encuentro, Sugar Hollow Encuentro, Los Angeles Encuentro, Columbia Tango Marathon, San Miguel Allende Festival, Tango Utopia - Durham, NC, Milonga Del Barrio - New York, Augusta, Atlanta, Charleston, Boston, Orlando, Knoxville, DC, Greensboro, Winston-Salem.
Placed 5th in the finals in the Remolino DJ contest.
Working with "Tango Tunes" to create a US based music restoration & digital transfer studio for the preservation of Tango music.
DJ Yatma Diallo
Yatma Diallo, born in Senegal, has lived in Italy for over twenty years. His first dance experiences in Dakar, belong to the world of salsa and hip hop, disciplines that he continued to cultivate for many years in Europe as well. In tango, after the first study experiences in Europe with Monica Maria Fumagalli, current partner, with Susana Miller, Ana Schapira, Jorge Firpo and many others, he spent a period in Buenos Aires to deepen his studies, reaching, in a few years, interesting professional awards. In 2019 he distinguished himself at the Milan Metropolitan Championships (Lombard selection for the World Cup) as the only dancer competing to get on the podium in all dance categories: tango, vals and milonga. In 2021 he was second in the Italian Metropolitan Championship, category: International Milonga. Semifinalist in tango at Buonenos Aires Mundial 2021 In 2013 he obtained the CONI diploma of couple dance teacher. Together with Monica Maria, he carries out an intense didactic activity with a permanent school in Milan, workshops in different towns of Italy, Europe, USA and Africa, trips in collaboration with Horca Myseria with which they created the "Vela y Tango" project, events and holidays for sailing and dancing tango in the harbors. Since 2014 he has been president of the ASD "Mundo Milonguero". As a TDJ with the name of El Africano Bien milonguero, also with solid professional training as a sound engineer, he worked for international events in Italy and many other communities around the world.