María Nieves

María Nieves Rego (6 September 1934 – 19 April 2026) was an Argentine tango dancer and choreographer who starred with her long time dance partner Juan Carlos Copes in the 1983 musical Tango Argentino.

Early life Born in the Saavedra district of Buenos Aires on 6 September 1934, she was the daughter of modest Galician emigrants. After her father died, she left school in the 4th grade to work as a maid in La Boca. She was introduced to the tango by her elder sister known as La Ñata. When she was 14 years old, the 17-year-old Juan Carlos Copes took her as his dance partner; the two would soon become lovers.

Career Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes brought the tango and the milonga to audiences throughout the world.

Nieves and Copes had married in Las Vegas; the marriage did not last, yet they continued to be dance partners for decades.

In the 1980s, they created and starred in the musical Tango Argentino. and during the 40th Tony Awards show a dance excerpt from Tango Argentino was performed. The book The tango in the United States: a history incorrectly reported that the show had won a Tony Award.

Nieves and Copes went on tour with Tango Argentino in 1999 before starring in Tanguera (2002) in Buenos Aires, New York, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and then in the West End (2010). Nieves was given the role of the brothel keeper as she is thought of as essential to a tango production.

Nieves offered a simple explanation for her success despite never having had a dancing lesson: "The first time I danced the tango, it entered my skin through my feet, passed from my skin to my blood and through my blood to my heart. It requires no acrobatics, you simply have to devote yourself to your heartbeat."