Heart of Tango (16 page)

“Dance, my darling,” I told her. “Dance the tango.”

I
want to thank all the friends and colleagues who, in one way or another, have helped me in the writing and rewriting of these pages.

To Gustavo and Luciana, who allowed us to stay in their apartment in Buenos Aires for several unforgettable days; to Petra Möderle, who, despite the excess luggage, generously brought me books, maps and photocopies from her stay in Argentina; to Mario and Ruth of Libertango Innsbruck, who encouraged us to enrol in tango classes, even though we unfortunately did not keep it up and I now only dance with words; to Biggi Steurer of the Textmusik in der Romania Archive of Innsbruck University, who waited more than a year for me to return the books and discs he had lent me; to all the specialists on the tango and the social life of Buenos Aires whose texts (printed and online) I have read with such pleasure: if, despite their erudition, there are errors in the novel, the fault is all mine; to Homero Manzi for the tango lyrics that open this novel, which I discovered after I had begun writing it; to Sabine März-Lerch
and my Landsberg friends, for their enthusiasm and their city; to Chavi Azpeitia, who extricated me from the labyrinth of narrators in which I had lost myself; once again to Ruth and Mario, to Gertrut, Wolfram and Michael, the best readers one could hope for, for their friendship and valuable suggestions.

To Klaus, my husband, for his enthusiasm, his strength, and his unconditional support.

And, of course, to the maestro Julio Cortázar, always.