Nice to Embrace You!

ABOUT

Our Actions

Our Organization

Our Aim

Our mission is to connect, foster, and grow the Tango community here in South-Central Texas.

We host events, maintain a comprehensive calendar, offer resources, and welcome all dancers.

We are a Texas nonprofit organization staffed by volunteers who are passionate about Tango as a way of connecting people from all walks of life.

The dance floors of the Tango practica and milonga should be safe and inclusive spaces.

Our Ethics

Board of Directors

San Antonio Tanquer@s was founded as a Texas nonprofit organization in 2023 through the efforts of Tanguer@s Nhora Prieto, Antonio Gragera, Sophia Azoubel, and Raquel Beechner. As of 2024, we are a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3), so your kind contributions to us are tax-deductible.

Our Board of Directors and Advisors are all volunteers with a passion for growing Tango in South-Central Texas.

Jenia (Evgenia) Espe

Secretary

Jenia has been dancing for about 8 years now. She started with ballroom classes and added Argentine Tango to her repertoire in 2021.

She started dancing because she had always wanted to, but she never had the time or the courage to start. She discovered dancing was a great way to “be in the moment” and not think about the next deadline.

Outside her dancing life, Jenia is a founder and President of a human-centered consulting and coaching company focusing on customer research, business strategy, and using your creativity in life and business. She also coaches young women navigating their career paths and finding their unique voices in today’s business world. She is married to Arne, who also dances Argentine tango, and she has two grown daughters and a new granddaughter (a future tanguera, that’s for sure!).

N. Sophia Azoubel, Esq.

Treasurer

As co-founder of San Antonio Tanguer@s, Sophia brings her business, legal and organizational development experience to form and administer this nonprofit.

As a relative newcomer, Sophia eagerly embraced the art of Tango, and her passion and dedication for the craft has allowed her to grow as a dancer. Sophia became a student of Angela Avila and Roy Montejano in early 2022, and thanks to that exposure and instruction Sophia now travels extensively to expand her skill set, as well as to promote Tango as part of the world’s “intangible cultural heritage” as declared by UNESCO.

Originally from the small South American country of Uruguay, Sophia relocated to California where she obtained a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Mount St. Mary’s University and a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law. Sophia has been a San Antonio resident since 2003.

Raquel Beechner

President

Raquel Beechner is a local San Antonio artist, born in Mexico City, and raised throughout Central and South America. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Our Lady of the Lake University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters of Education Degree from the University of Texas in San Antonio. Her teaching career spanned 42 years in which she created learning opportunities through art, theatre, and dance for children of all ages throughout many public schools and colleges in the San Antonio area.

Raquel’s goal for our Texas nonprofit is to create a safe and welcoming community of dancers where all can learn, practice and grow in the art of Tango.

Raquel is passionate about creating art and dancing Tango. Of Tango she says:

“If life should not be measured by every breath we take, but by the moments that take our breath away, then Tango is just the thing to do that all while connecting with a kindred spirit.”