A Tango DJ Dies and Goes to Hell

On Earth, Derrick James seemed to be born to be a tango DJ.  Partly it was because of his name.  He liked dancing, but quickly became more interested in being a DJ.

Because of his initials, his friends and even his parents called him "DJ".  He became a top 40's dance DJ as a teen.  Although he was a bit of a nerd, Derrick became instantly cool with his friends when he played music at parties. 

Eventually, Derrick James became a tango dancer and then a connoisseur of tango music.  As a tango DJ, Derrick was praised for how he constructed an evening following a well-establish pattern as it is done in Buenos Aires.  He followed the traditions of the best tango DJs, which made the evening more predictable for dancers with discriminating tastes.  He found the best quality recordings, and didn't have to blast his music to get people to dance.

Unfortunately, DJ's death came suddenly and early from falling asleep at the wheel after trying to drive the three hours home after being a DJ one late night.

Derrick goes straight to Hell. He knows he's in Hell right away because when he arrives, he hears tango music, but immediately is astonished that the tango music that nobody in their right mind would play! "What is this mierda!" he mutters. It only gets worse. The DJ from Hell plays a tango, a vals, a milonga--just three songs--and all within the same tanda, shattering every norm DJs of any worth follow religiously.

His focus of derision--the DJ from Hell--continues to play music from the 1950's to the 70's, and mixes in tango nuevo along songs with tangos sung by Gardel in the same tanda! They all dance and seem to be perfectly happy, even ecstatic!

"How can they just hold each other in silence before the next poorly chosen song begins? This is the worst thing of it all! They love it," he tells himself.

"They should all sit down in protest!"

DJ Derrick resigns himself that he is indeed in Hell. He had already experienced Hell like this at some milongas on earth. But Hell is much worse. In Hell you cannot go home. The punishment is eternal.

"God," he implores, "what have I done to deserve this?" He sobs, realizing he hadn't addressed deity since he was 12-years old.  With blurred vision he begins hearing sirens. He goes through a tunnel and sees the medical team treating is bloody body. He reenters his body, and lives. In his long road to recovery, he is perplexed by having gone to hell. DJ tells no one. But stills asks, "Why Hell? What did I do?"

His answer comes at a milonga he goes to with friends.  They invite a women he does not know. The DJ from Hell evidently followed him there! Horrified and breathless that Hell's DJ is haunting him.  The woman, whom he had just met, gives him an intense mirada.  The music starts. There is an immediate magic between them. The music is bad but immediately transforms into the angelic Music of the Spheres the they embrace. The music and embrace's enchantment are so powerful he can not speak between songs. He did not want to break the magical and mesmerizing spell.  The tanda comes to an end. The DJ from Hell looks at him at the end of the tanda, points at him and winks. There is an immediate lesson here.  He realizes the music must be good to inspire dancers, but sometime the embrace itself at times can over-ride the power of music. 

Derrick James eventually married this wonderful dancer. He was a DJ less often. He wanted to embrace and dance more often than before, even when the music wasn't perfect (which according to his inner critic was very often). He never changed his belief that the magic of a great milonga evening is the music. But he also came to see that the community of people who come to embrace find Paradise in many different ways. Some find it in the embrace, or graceful musicality, or deep friendships forged through the joy of dance, or great music. When they all come together in one package, of course, that is really what defines heaven on earth for a tango dancer.

DJ died many years later--just 3 years after his wife's death from breast cancer. Again, he was met by the same DJ from Hell, playing really shitty music. The DJ from Hell points at him and winks. Before sorting out what is happening, Derrick catches sight of his wife and is flooded with joy. As they embrace, the music transforms into the clearest Biagi music he had ever heard. (No wonder, Derrick! That's live music and Biagi is on the damn piano!) 

In Paradise, you see, the music sucks only when you are not embracing someone. When DJ had his near-death experience as a young man, he was never in Hell, but the experience helped him find out that there are many paths to Tango Paradise.  

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A note:  This tale is not about Tango DJ's alone.  It is about also about the dancers who quit tango when something is missing.  Tango Paradise (and heaven on earth) is about our own perceptions.  In other words, one can leave a Milonga from Hell, but you cannot escape the hell of one's own judgmental perceptions and the multiple earthly paths to being unhappy about most everything.  I have met the DJ from Hell in many different incarnations.  But just the other day, the worst DJ from hell I have ever met presented a wonderful playlist for quality music.   Do you believe in miracles?  I had just finished writing this story, and decided to go just for the wonderful list of things I mentioned above. 

Photo Credit:  www.alainmarie2.com   Photo used by permission.