Hi Tangueros: I'm posting this message to people all over the country because I know Nestor Ray has many friends around the U.S. As our L.A. students know, Nestor has been very ill the last couple of weeks and has not been able to teach this week at all. He has had several tests and the doctors have found a cyst on his esophagus. We do not know yet if it is cancerous or benign. He goes into Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on Monday for surgery. He will probably be in the hospital for about ten days. Fortunately, one of Nestor's private students is a doctor at Cedars and has arranged for the surgery to be done gratis. However, we do need to raise about $2,000 to cover the cost of the tests, as well as Nestor's rent and untilities and other expenses for the next month while he is recuperating. Tomorrow night (Friday, May 17) Nestor and Raul Perotto will be hosting a milonga at Raul's Tango Garden in Reseda to help Nestor with his expenses. (since this is the third Friday of the month, there is no Salon Recuerdo milonga at Hollywood Dance Center.) They will be making a dinner of Argentine "churripan" and grilled chicken and there will be dancing afterward. The charge is $20 per person. Dinner starts at 8:30 p.m. The address is 18859 Strathern St. at the corner of Wilbur Ave. (Directions are below.) Everyone who knows Nestor knows what a great milonguero he is and how much he has to teach. He is one of those rare icons who can pass on to us the essence of the tango danced for many decades in the clubs of Buenos Aires. He's somebody we need to keep around for a long time. For those of you outside the L.A. area, if you would like to help out you can send a check or money order for whatever amount you would care to contribute. Since Nestor will not be able to get to the bank for a few weeks, please make the checks out to me, Linda Valentino, and I will get the money to Nestor. You can send contributions to 1209 N. Kings Rd. #2, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Also, I know he would be greatly cheered by your messages of support. If you'd like to send him greetings in Spanish or English, you can e-mail them to me at the address above, as he does not have his own e-mail, and I will pass them on to him. Thanks in advance for all your support for Nestor. DIRECTIONS TO MILONGA: You can take the 101 Freeway to the Reseda Blvd. exit, go north about three miles and Strathern is just past Saticoy. Turn left on Strathern and go three long blocks until you get to Wilbur. The house is on the northeast corner of Wilbur and Strathern. OR take the 405 Freeway to the Roscoe Blvd. exit. Go west on Roscoe about three miles until you reach Wilbur Avenue, which is about four blocks west of Reseda Blvd. Turn left on Wilbur and left on Strathern.
