Elvira Santamaría also known by the artistic name of Elvira (1929 in La Tablada – July 8, 1999) was acclaimed as a ballet dancer, milonguera and choreographer of Argentine tango. She was known worldwide for her role as a cast member of the show Tango Argentino, aired for the first time in 1983, for which she was nominated with the other ballerinas in 1986 at the Tony Awards for best choreographer. She danced with her husband Virulazo (Jorge Martín Orcaizaguirre), they presented themselves artistically as Virulazo y Elvira.
Elvira Santamaría was born in 1929 in La Tablada in the Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1959 she casually re-encountered her first boyfriend, Jorge Martín Orcaizaguirre, known as Virulazo, who was known as an Argentino Dancer. She started her life partnership for the rest of her life, under the artistic name Virulazo and Elvira. Virulazo recorded these moments of dance in the following way:
In the 1960s, with the rise of rock, the tango ceased to be a big music genre and dance for young people:
Virulazo and Elvira then worked in quiniela (illegal gambling),[1] when they were contacted in 1983 by Juan Carlos Copes for a trial of a tango programme that Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli wanted to do in París: Tango Argentino. Virulazo then weighed 126 kilos, was 57 years old, and had five children and six grandchildren. Segovia, on seeing him arrive, looked at a Copes incredulously; Copes just said "watch them dance":
Years later, Claudio Segovia said of Virulazo and Elvira:
Argentine Tango proved a worldwide success, in addition to promoting the revival of tango everywhere. Virulazo and Elvira took part in all shows and became global celebrities. In 1985 they presented the show on Broadway, where the entire dance company was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography.
In 1990 Virulazo died, at age 63, from lung cancer caused by smoking. Ten years later, in 1999, Elvira, died at 70 years of age.[1]