Columbia Tango Marathon

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

Ken Broom is a multi-faceted DJ with more than 15 years experience playing music for dancers. Since 2004, he has been playing Latin dance music (salsa, chacha, bachata, and merengue), Argentine Tango music (traditional as well as nuevo/alternative tandas of tango, vals, and milonga), and Ballroom dance music (International (ballroom and latin) and American (smooth and rhythm)).

Ken has been a guest DJ at 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 (2018 to present), Dancing with the Stars (9 seasons), Las Carolinas Tango Marathons, SouthEast Tango Festival, and Milonga La Pantera along with numerous private tango events and grand openings

As event organizers, Ken and his wife (Zenaida), have hosted Spoleto Tango Festival (Charleston, SC) 2006-present, Tango by the Lake (Columbia, SC), WinterHeat Salsa Weekend (Columbia, SC), and The Columbia Tango Marathon (Columbia, SC). In 2022, Ken and Zenaida launched Dragon Productions LLC, a company focused on providing event planning, audio, video, and theatrical lighting services.

As an Audio Engineer, Ken has been honored to mix live performances by Alejandro Ziegler Orchestra, Pittsburgh Tango Trio, Osvaldo Barrios, Athens Tango Project, De La Noche, Orquesta MaCuba, and Palmetto Latin 9.

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 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. `