The fair winds of Buenos Aires

     ARGENTINA

 

 

The singularity of some of the main Buenos Aires’s barrios (neighborhoods) seems to be a fair metaphor on the different aspects of the Argentinean personality.

 

	La Boca neighborhood

 

Popular La Boca is an explosion of colors and emotions. Corrugated zinc houses were vividly colored with a few coats of bright leftover ship's paint by the early settlers (mainly sailors from Genoa, Italy), as this was the site of the only port for Buenos Aires. The bright streets are filled with Italian taverns, tourists, more tourists, tango artists, arts and crafts devoted to this dance and, whenever there is a Boca Juniors football match, the euphoric crowds of fans. Football is, indeed, a national passion celebrated with all the Argentinean fire…

 

Elegant and sophisticated Recoleta is the upscale district, boasting the finest Parisian architecture in lovely boulevards.

 

Trendy Palermo offers design and fashion shops, posh restaurants and funky clubs and includes the zones of alternative Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood (which earned its name a couple of years ago, when a number of TV and radio producers moved in).

 

Typical buses of Buenos Aires

 

Modern and yuppie Puerto Madero, the capital’s most recent neighborhood, has all the streets named after women and a bridge entitled Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge).

  

Charming historic San Telmo, said to be the birthplace of tango, brings a bohemian atmosphere to the city, with its cobblestone streets full of artists, music and cafés, and a nostalgic tone evoked by the beautiful colonial architecture and abound antique shops.

 

Argentinean folklore dance

 

We stayed in the latter neighborhood, near the renowned Plaza Dorrego (Dorrego Square), which is full of artists selling their paintings and craftworks, and is a constant stage for music and dance performances.

  

Days were spent exploring the streets of Buenos Aires under the merciless sun of South America and, once in a while, sneaking into some of the fabulous antique shops of the capital. Virtually everything that is aged can be found there: from old coins, to vintage dresses, decadent gramophones, great hall chandeliers or even pieces of 19th century British ships. It is quite interesting the proliferation and specialization of such a business in relatively recent country, at least according to the European standards…

 

Our evenings would end invariably in Plaza Dorrego, enjoying the warm and cozy atmosphere of the place. We saw there the most beautiful tango performance we would actually see in Argentina. A couple was dancing with a distinct posture and a magnificent technique, their complicity magnetizing passers-by and their graceful movements filling the square with intimacy and art.

     

 

Once we arrived quite late in the evening to the hostel and looked for an open restaurant in the surroundings. Eventually, we found a pizzeria which was affordable and was supposed to have live music. As we went in, we saw a guy playing Argentinean rock music with his lonely guitar and shaky voice. His eyes were closed, his devotion was all there. Only one table was taken by a lady and soon we realized that it was his girlfriend.

 

Detail of San Martin Palace

  

When he finished the song, he opened his eyes, surprised by the collective clapping. The smiling man asked us where we were from and promptly started sing Brazilian rock with a strong Portuñol accent in order to please his enlarged audience, although unfortunately his musical choice was completely unknown to us.

 

Customs building

 

In this same evening we would have our first mate experience, the national drink of Argentina. Despite being non-alcoholic, it is said to be highly addictive. Basically, it consist of an herbal infusion that is drunk from the mate (a pot-like container in wood or metal) through a bombilla (a filtered metal straw).

 

We asked the waitress why there was no mate in the menu. Indeed, we could not find it for sale anywhere, although one can often see people drinking it in the streets. We learned that it is not supposed to. This is basically a cultural and social habit and, as in all traditions, there are strict rules to be followed. As an instance, in a family gathering the eldest member starts to drink it, then the second eldest person and so on, until the youngest one is given the mate (even babies drink it from their bottle). Also, moving the bombilla is considered a lack of respect to the person that is offering the drink.

 

Then, the waitress left the room and came back one minute later, now accompanied by a cook bringing her own mate. As work was ending, the latter was sharing the drink with her colleagues, as she presumably does every evening. Such kind and spontaneous offer could not be refused… Hence, under the rigorous instructions and scrutiny of our panel of examiners, we did our best to duly comply with the exact procedure of tasting the famous mate.

 

Drinking mate

 

When it comes to Porteños (name given to the inhabitants of Buenos Aires which literally means "people of the port") expectations are usually not very high. They have a worldwide reputation for being prideful and contemptuous. Yet, our experience was that they are kind and helpful, and the ones we got to know definitely made our stay an unforgettable one.

 

Underground cartoon

 

 In the last day, we met a National Geographic producer who is living in Ushuaya, Patagonia, and was staying at our hostel. As he was just heading to Russia for making a documentary on the trans-Siberian, we were able to exchange precious tips on our respective destinations and start to dream about our new journey…  

 

        

 

 

 

 

Highlights:         Eating…       Empanadas       Pampas grass-fed beef       Dulce de leche        Drinking…      Argentinian wines      Sharing the Mate with Argentineans            Shopping…      Great bargain for leather goods and antiques      Rhodochrosite jewelry (the national stone of Argentina, a.k.a.      “Rose of the Inca”)            Entertainment…      Watching a tango show and having tango lessons in a milonga      watching a football game in the stadium