最後的康帕德里托（The Last Compadrito, Part 4）
無論這種感覺是否合理，在聖塔菲的追思舞會之後，
我開始對 Ricardo 心生歉疚。
我多麼想告訴他——他曾給我的幫助有多大，
而我終於學到足夠的東西，能看見他其實是多麼偉大的舞者。
但，一切都太遲了。
最後我想，他真正渴望的，其實只是一份友誼。
而我並沒有好好回應。
我記得在他生命最後的兩年中，曾見過他一次。
雖然身體狀況不好，他依然那樣開朗、熱情。
他聊著出國旅行的計畫，
講述著過去的探戈故事——
而當然，在那些故事裡，他永遠是主角。
他先告訴我們：
Néstor Rey（一位曾在美國待過、幾年前過世的優秀 milonguero）
小時候是他們街區的擦鞋童。
每當看到 Ricardo 打扮整齊要去 milonga，
Néstor 就會說：
「Ricardo，有一天我會跳得和你一樣好！」
接著他又說，
Osvaldo 和 Coca 剛拿下世界探戈冠軍，
他興奮極了，因為 Osvaldo 是他「以前的舞伴」！
依他講的版本，當年他是街區裡資深的探戈舞者，
所以由他帶領（leader），而 Osvaldo 則得當跟隨者（follower）。
他說 Osvaldo 是在 arrabal 的街角，跟他 Ricardo 練探戈起家的——
而如今，他成了世界冠軍！
那時我對 Ricardo 的話半信半疑。
因為每次見面，他都說自己正要出國教探戈，
但過幾天又會出現在布宜諾斯艾利斯的 milonga 裡。
所以當幾週後我在報紙上看到一篇關於
「Ricardo 歐洲探戈巡演」的文章時，我真的嚇了一跳。
Alej 根本不信，我還得把報紙拿給她看。
從那之後，Ricardo 真的開始常出國演出，
我們見到他的機會越來越少。直到大約一年後，
我們走進 Barrancas 的一家舞會。
一入場，我就看到一對舞得很有趣的搭檔，
立刻拿出攝影機錄了下來。或許 Ricardo 並不像我們想的那樣「誇大其詞」。
那天我拍下的影片是這樣的——
Ricardo 與 Osvaldo ——他街區的老舞伴。
Osvaldo 的舞當然不錯，
但我還是覺得 Alej 的腳更漂亮。（2006）
那段錄影真是珍貴又有趣：
首先，Ricardo 和他老舞伴 Osvaldo 共舞；
接著，Ricardo 的女友 Ewa 和 Osvaldo 跳，
而 Ricardo 則與 Coca 共舞。
對我而言，那晚格外重要——
因為那是 Ricardo 在布宜諾斯艾利斯的最後一夜。
他告訴我們，隔天他和 Ewa 就要飛回美國，
所以得早點離開舞會。
就在他準備離開前，Ricardo 走到我們桌邊，
以老派 compadrito 的正式禮數，
恭敬地向我請求與我妻子共舞一曲。
他走上舞池，像往常一樣全力以赴——正如阿根廷人說的，
“Puso toda la carne al asador.”（把所有的肉都放上烤架——意指全力以赴。）
但那時他的身體已經不太行，只撐完了一支舞。
結束後，他走過來對我說，
他期待著有一天能到美國來探訪我和 Alej。
然後，他親了我的臉頰，離開了。
我再也沒有見過他。
後來聽說，他因病取消了美國的工作坊，
又短暫回到布宜諾斯艾利斯。據說他仍到處去 milonga 拜訪朋友，
但已經太虛弱，無法再跳舞。
之後，他回到新墨西哥，
由 Ewa 陪在身邊走完人生最後一程。
看來一切歸結於此——
在將近七十年的探戈人生之後，
我相信，這就是 Ricardo 在布宜諾斯艾利斯的最後一支探戈。
Ricardo 與 Alejandra（2006）
Ricardo Vidort
.(Part 4 )
Whether it was justified or not, after the memorial in Santa Fe I began to feel bad about Ricardo. I wanted to tell him how much he had helped me, and how I had finally learned enough to see how great he was. But it was too late. In the end, all I think he really wanted was friendship, but I didn’t do a very good job of returning it.
I remember seeing him once during his last two years, and although he was sick, he seemed as happy and enthusiastic as ever. He began talking about travel plans to Europe, and he was full of stories from the old days... and of course he was the hero in all of them. First, he told us how Nestor Rey (a very good milonguero who lived in the U.S. for awhile and died a couple of years ago) was a young shoeshine boy in his neighborhood, and whenever he would see Ricardo dressed up and heading out to a milonga, he’d say, “Hey Ricardo… you watch. One day I’ll dance as good as you!” Then he told us that Osvaldo and Coca had just won the World Tango Championship, and that he was very excited because Osvaldo was his old tango partner! As Ricardo told it, he was the senior tango dancer in the neighborhood, so Ricardo would lead, and Osvaldo had to be the follower. According to the story, Osvaldo learned tango on the street corners in the arrabal by practicing with Ricardo… and now he was World Champion!
With Ricardo at that time, I was never sure what to believe. Every time we saw him, he was on his way somewhere in the world to teach tango—but he never seemed to leave Buenos Aires, and the next week we’d see him back in the milongas. So I was kind of surprised a few weeks later when I happened across an article about Ricardo being on a tango tour of Europe! Alej didn’t believe it, and I had to actually show her the article. After that, he began to travel a lot, and we didn’t see much of him, until about a year or so later when we went into a club in Barrancas. As soon as we entered, I saw an interesting couple dancing, so I grabbed the camera and started to film as quickly as I could. Maybe Ricardo wasn’t quite as chanta as we’d thought. Here's what I shot:
Ricardo with Osvaldo, his old dance partner from the barrio.
Osvaldo's not bad, but I think Alej has prettier feet. (2006)
What an interesting piece of videotape: First, Ricardo dances with Osvaldo, his old partner from the arrabal. Then, Ricardo’s novia Ewa dances with Osvaldo, while Ricardo dances with Coca. For me, it’s especially important because it was Ricardo’s last night in BsAs. He told us that he and Ewa were leaving the next day to fly back to the U.S., so they needed to leave the milonga early. But just as they were getting ready to leave, Ricardo came over to our table. He came up, and in the formal manner of an old compadrito, he respectfully asked for permission to dance with my wife. They went out on the floor, and as always, he gave it everything he had. He put all the meat on the fire as we say—but he really wasn't very strong. He was only able to finish one dance. And then he came over and told me he was looking forward to visiting Alej and me in the States. He gave me a kiss on the cheek, and left.
I never saw him after that. We heard he had to cancel a workshop in the U.S. because he was sick, and that he returned for a short time to BsAs. They said he went around to visit in the milongas, but he was too weak to dance. After that, he went back to New Mexico where he passed away with Ewa taking care of him. So it looks like it came down to this. After almost seventy years of dancing, I think this was Ricardo's final tango in Buenos Aires:
Ricardo and Alejandra. (2006)
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