Nick Wallach is a dancer, educator, and researcher of Argentinian and South American folkloric culture and dance who lives and shares the endless ways folklore is danced socially and artistically in urban and rural communities across Argentina and the region.

In addition to winning this year’s edition of Cosquin—Argentina’s largest folklore festival—with Ballet Sumampa, Nick has danced competitively and professionally with Recuerdo Salteño, El Federal, and Proyecto Folklore Moderno. He is also a postgraduate candidate in social anthropology at the Universidad Nacional de San Martin, researching historical transformations in tango in Argentina’s Northwest, and he is a regular student in tango, folklore, and contemporary dance at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes

 Nick shares folklore and folkloric dance as community-based practices that can foster critical intercultural exchange and resistance to cultural commodification, that connect us with Argentinian and South American history and tradition, that reconnect us with the natural world, and that enable us to find freedom in our own bodies and collectively. In doing so, he fuses contemporary, traditional, and queer perspectives. Apart from performing and teaching, he facilitates cultural immersion experiences around Argentina, he organizes the peña and workshops Noches Norteñas that bring Argentinian culture from the Northwest to Buenos Aires, and he teaches English and anthropological resources for cultural exchange to artists and academics.

Alejo de los Reyes began playing the guitar during his childhood, encouraged by his parents, who both taught at the conservatory in his hometown of Chivilcoy, Argentina. He was trained in classical guitar by his father, Oscar de los Reyes, while sharing a love for tango with his mother, Patricia Astarita. The roots of the family musical tree extend back to his grandparents: Héctor de los Reyes, luthier and guitarist, and Gaspar Astarita, tango historian and journalist.

When Alejo moved to Buenos Aires to continue his musical studies, he started playing in concert halls, as well as at tango dances and “peñas”, which are traditional Argentine social gatherings featuring folklore dance and music. He also began performing as a regular accompanist for relevant Argentine musicians such as Juan Carlos “Tata” Cedrón, Norma Peralta, and Rubén Llaneza.

In 2011, he began to tour regularly in Europe, performing both as a tango musician and a classical guitarist. There, his contact with harpsichordist Michel Kiener, luthier and researcher Luc Breton, and the musicians of the Ensemble Fratres, introduced him to the performance of early European music on period instruments.

The album “Al compás de la vihuela”, released on the Pasacaille label in 2022, presents all of these musical universes, where Argentinean folk music and tango meets Renaissance music played on three period guitars. It joins his other two guitar albums, Sobretarde (2017) dedicated to the music of Abel Fleury, and Tierra Querida (2011) featuring his arrangements of tangos for solo guitar. Alejo’s discography also includes collaborations with other notable artists/musicians. For example, he participated in the album “Jacinto Chiclana”, playing alongside Ciro Pérez, collaborated with the aforementioned “Tata” Cedrón in a soon to be released album, and recorded as part of the trio Fulanos de Tal. Leading the Cuarteto de los Reyes, he accompanied the most recent albums by Rubén Llaneza and Paula Serrano.

Alejo has had numerous performances in Argentina, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, France, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania and other countries in Europe and the Middle East. Among them, his presence in the 2016 Geneva concert series “Les jeudis de la guitare” (Thursdays on Guitar) earned him the accolade “the young Argentine virtuoso” from the Tribune de Genève. Other noteworthy performances include “Amarcordes” (2015) at the Chateau de Dardagny in Switzerland, his appearance with the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society in the United States (2018), and concerts in Spain at the Andrés Segovia Foundation in Linares (2014) and the Romanillos-Harris Lutherie Association in Sigüenza (2015 and 2018).  He also played as a soloist in the festival “Les internationales de la guitare” (International guitarists) in Montpellier, France and led his quintet in performances at the “Festival y Mundial de Tango” (World Tango Festival) in Buenos Aires in 2012 and 2018.

In addition, Alejo has given private classes for almost two decades, an activity which fuels his blog with thoughts on music, the guitar, its history, and technique.

“La Posta,” an interview program featuring fundamental Argentine musicians, is another aspect of Alejo’s musical production.  The initial season debuted in 2018, and the second season will be released in 2022. In addition, he performed in the short film “El arreglador” (2014), by Gerardo Panero, about the life of Argentino Galván, as well as in the Swiss filmmaker Andreas Fontana’s “Azor,” which received several awards.

In addition to some of his own compositions included on his albums, his work as a composer on the project “Mariposa del aire” stands out. Alejo collaborated with the graphic artist Isol to commemorate poems by Federico García Lorca for the Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and based in New York City, Emiliano Messiez is a Latin Grammy–nominated composer, pianist, and music director. One of the most in-demand tango pianists in the U.S., he is known for his versatility across tango, jazz, classical, rock, and Latin American rhythms. He has performed worldwide at prestigious venues, including Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Houston Grand Opera, Carnegie Hall Citywide, and many more.

A prolific composer, Messiez has written music for several musicals, including Bordello The Musical, which just performed in London and has already received recognition from the National Alliance of Musical Theater with the 2020 Writers in Residence Award, the 2021 Eugene O’Neill Theater Center Festival selection, and The Broadway Bound Theater Festival. He also composed The Guava Tree, Casa Alfonsa, The City Dog and the Prairie Dog, Coyote and the Counting Game—all commissioned by Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado—and Cousins The Musical. Additionally, he is the orchestrator of Ghost in the Machine by Janine Robledo.

Messiez has released multiple albums as a performer, composer, and arranger. His discography includes Ahora (with the Romo-Agri-Messiez Trio, nominated for a Latin Grammy); Psicoporteño (recorded with his 10-piece orchestra Típica Messiez) Silencio (recorded with José Luis Infantino and awarded the UNESCO Prize for Music); El Charrúa (a tribute to Raúl Jaurena with the Underground Tango Ensemble); and Con Todo (his most recent release).

Throughout his career, Messiez has received significant recognition, including a Latin Grammy Nomination, grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and the UNESCO Prize for Music. His composition De Vidrio has been performed in tango shows and festivals worldwide. His work has been featured in major media outlets such as NPR, NBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Playbill.

?Messiez has performed and recorded with some of the world’s top musicians, including Ute Lemper, John Patitucci, Paquito D’Rivera, Diego El Cigala, Dino Saluzzi, Concha Buika, Raúl Jaurena, Fernando Otero, Pedro Giraudo, and Hugo Fattoruso. He is also the pianist for the Broadway and West End hit show Forever Tango, seen by more than eight million people worldwide. In addition, he has served as music director and pianist for the show Tango Buenos Aires, created by Mario & Daniel Celario.

?He has led numerous projects in the U.S. and Argentina, including Típica Messiez (a 10-piece tango orchestra), the Romo-Agri-Messiez Trio (a Latin Grammy–nominated tango trio), Cello & Piano (an original music duo with cellist Amy Kang), Tango Opera Duet (with bass-baritone Federico De Michelis), and Dueling Pianos (a unique tango piano duo with Pablo Estigarribia).

?Messiez’s musical talent was evident from an early age—he began playing piano by ear at three. He studied at the National University of the Arts (UNA) in Buenos Aires, where he later became a faculty member, teaching Counterpoint, Harmony, and Music History. He also graduated from Berklee College of Music’s Escuela de Música Contemporánea (EMC) in Buenos Aires and received two scholarships to study with distinguished Spanish composer Antón García Abril at the University of Santiago de Compostela. With his rich background, vast experience, and continuous creative output, Emiliano Messiez remains a powerful force in tango and contemporary music worldwide.