Interview with Patricia Serafini and Stewart Yerton in Hawaii

It's springtime and Milonga is expanding its horizons. We are excited to meet other tango lovers and enthusiasts from the four corners of the world. Our first interviewees are Patricia and Stewart from Honolulu. Read on!
Belén: How did the video come about?
Stewart: We decided to make this video because we were very inspired to have a ukulele - the Hawaiian instrument - in a tango. If you watch the video of the Romantica Milonguera orchestra, you'll see the bandoneon players making hula gestures with their hands. So we thought, "Super! Hawaiian tango! Let's make a Hawaiian tango video."
It turned out that my friend Troy Christopher Plota was in town. He's an amazing photographer and was shooting a hotel. He wanted to use his drone to film us dancing, which we thought was cool.
Belen: Why did you choose that location?
Stewart: We originally had another location in mind, in the heart of Waikiki, where there's a little grassy hill where people do hula, a huge bronze statue of surfer Duke Kahanamoku, surfboard rentals, coconut trees, lots of people in bathing suits. It's very Hawaiian, but using the drone there would have been difficult.
Belen: What does this version of Mariposita evoke when you dance to it?
Stewart: I just love the song because with the ukulele, especially the beginning, it's so Hawaiian. That simple strumming of the first few chords evokes the beauty and the aloha spirit - the spirit of love - of this place.
When it starts, it could be a Hawaiian song. But when Ximena's voice sounds in Spanish, you know it's something different, not a Hawaiian song, but a tango. Dancing to it is pure joy. It is so delicious and light. Her voice is magical and evokes two loves: Hawaii and tango.
Belén: What is it like to dance on that floor? It looks like a slab.
Stewart: The surface is very difficult. It's uneven with cracks between the stones. That Patricia can do carousels so well there amazes me. Fortunately there's a little sand, which makes it easy to turn. You may have noticed that I didn't try to make turns! Fortunately, the song didn't call for it, I guess. Still, the place is beautiful for sunset, and it's easy to use the drone there. Plus you can see the sidewalk is wide.
Belen: And what about the passersby?
Stewart: Yes, it's funny. They just look at us. It's like in a milonga. I have to watch out for them and navigate.
But there's a funny anecdote about the biker. I'm sure you noticed that I do what looks like maybe an ornament with my left leg after the bike goes by. Well... it was because Patricia was afraid I was going to step back towards the biker and so she steadied me in the way a good follower usually does in the milonga if you're about to collide with someone.
So I steadied myself a little bit. I think I saw the biker, but he was going pretty fast and close.Both the biker and the dog walker looked cool to me. My daughter said they really look like extras in the video.But it was really like a crowded milonga!
Here's the thing...That place is really "our place" where we love to dance at sunset. So that made this video really special.
Troy came up with the idea of us sitting on the benches while the drone went up and the music started. I think it's really sweet.
Belen: One last question for now, what is it like to be a milonguero in 2020?
Stewart: I think the video captures what it's like for me these days - like a milonguero in 2020 without milongas. We have to find other spaces to dance. We feel very fortunate to have each other as partners, but it wouldn't be the same without our teachers and people like you that we are getting to know.
It's also a good example of how we meet people through social networks and that feeds our passion and encourages us. We try to share tango with people here and the beauty of Hawaii with tangueros around the world. That is our intention.