An Argentine-Greek couple stood at the top of the podium at the Tango de Pista final of the Buenos Aires Argentine Tango World Championship. Lucas Gauto and Naima Gerasopoulou took second place last year, but this year they finally secured the gold medal. On the evening of September 1st, the Teatro Gran Rex hosted the Tango de Pista final of the 2026 Tango BA Festival y Mundial. I was sitting in the audience, and even before it began, you could feel that this wasn’t going to be a simple “let’s just see who wins” kind of night. The Mundial final is always on a different scale. A massive theater, spotlights, a jury, and tense anticipation.
Lucas Gauto and Naima Gerasopoulou Are the 2026 World Champions
This year’s world champions in the Tango de Pista category are Lucas Gauto and Naima Gerasopoulou. Lucas is Argentine, hailing from Córdoba, and Naima is Greek. Last year, in 2025, they came remarkably close to victory: back then, they finished in second place behind Aldana Silveyra and Diego Ortega. So this year, they returned to the Gran Rex stage knowing exactly how it feels to miss the title by just one place. This time, no lingering regret remained: they became the 2026 champions. This is how they danced when they won the final:
Tango at the Gran Rex: Five Rounds, an Incredibly Strong Lineup
In the final, the couples danced across five rounds. The Tango de Pista lineup was exceptionally strong again this year, and the road leading up to this point was long. The festival and world championship took place between August 19th and September 2nd. The competitive field was assembled from couples who qualified through 26 preliminary competitions across Argentina and abroad, as well as the Buenos Aires city championship. Around 800 couples from more than forty countries registered for the 2026 Mundial. Incredible numbers — and seeing it live makes you truly appreciate how international the tango world has become.
Tonight Brings the Tango Escenario Final
The 2025 Tango de Pista world champions were Diego Ortega and Aldana Silveyra. Lucas Gauto and Naima Gerasopoulou finished in second place that year. The reigning champions entered the Tango Escenario category this year and advanced to the final. The stakes are particularly high for Diego: if he and Aldana also win the Tango Escenario final, he could become the first dancer in the history of the Mundial to claim three world championship titles.
