BUENOS AIRES... A CITY WITH A EUROPEAN BODY BUT A SOUTH AMERICAN STATE OF MIND

Friday 17th July - Thursday 23rd July

The Argentine capital was one of the (and quite possibly the) most eagerly anticipated places to visit on the South America itinerary for me; wine, steak and dancing - who could want more?! Well, considering that I would've been content with the above three options alone, Buenos Aires satisfied my thirst, hunger and obsession for always being busy in so many more ways than in the literal sense: my thirst and hunger for learning about the culture and current state of mind of a place was constantly fed in BA whilst the nightlife, city tours and dance lessons left me feeling like I'd felt the amazing capital right from my heart to my achy muscles!

Since we were in BA for nearly a week and crammed quite a bit in, I've separated this blog into topical sections for ease of finding out what you need and want to know. As per usual, I've also reviewed places we stayed in and given some tips for getting around BA and making the most of your time there.

History, politics and the current state of play in Buenos Aires

Argentina's recent history, to me, is startling. I didn't realise there had been so many military coups in the last century, the last being in the 70's which has now become known as the 'Dirty War'; up to around 30,000 people went 'missing', since the police and military stood for zero tolerance and did not take very lightly to those who rebelled against the imposed regime. In recent years, the government has finally recognised that this period happened and has started to put on trial those responsible during the time of the military coup (*in fact at the time of writing this blog, on 13th August 2009, Santiago Omar Riveros - a former general who was in charge of a detention centre in the 70's - was found guilty of human rights abuse and consequently sentenced for life; this is a good sign since in the past couple of years when other trials have taken place witnesses had gone 'missing', too).

More recently, Argentina saw their economy collapse in 2001 and another period of turmoil and anguish arose. This time, because unemployment had been on the increase throughout the 90's and because the economic collapse affected many other sectors of the community, the lower and middle class people came together to riot and protest against the government. At first, peaceful protests took place in Buenos Aires with people banging on pots and pans to attract the attention of the government and to make them heard. However, the peace didn't last long; the protestors became more passionate, angry and frustrated and the demonstrations became violent. Thus, the police retaliated. On Avenue de Mayo, just before the Town Hall (and even on the Town Hall itself) red paint splatters on the HSBC building mark where the police fired 59 lead bullets at civilians; the pavestones in the street stand as a memorial for those who were shot and killed. The president at the time, Fernando de la Rua, had to be airlifted from the presidential house to escape the protestors; he quit soon after. In the period following, Argentina had 5 presidents in just under 3 weeks; the front page of a national newspaper showed the president's empty chair with the headline "anyone want the job?".

Although times are still a bit tough, things are on the up for Argentina. Due to their economic crisis a few years ago, they haven't felt the effects of the world's economic downturn as much as other countries (that's according to our tour guide though so I'm not sure how true this is!!). Their standard of living is higher than most Latin American countries and because it's fairly cheap for travellers, Argentina gains from tourism.

In terms of how people currently feel about the government and the economy, I don't have firsthand information. However, protests and demonstrations took place in Resistencia, Rosario and Buenos Aires whilst we were there (all to do with different things, although the rate of pay for farmers is a hot issue at the moment so I read). To me, it suggests that the Argentines stand up for what they believe in and are passionate about politics and their rights. When the guide was talking about the 2001 riots and when some things rang true about the current state of the UK, I wished that maybe we were more vocal, opinionated and passionate about what we believe in and shouldn't let the media do the talking for us. On the other hand, I'm thankful for a democratic society that has no threat of military coups occurring and the kind of dark period that Argentina has endured in recent years.

Tango: the dance of passion, seduction and legs getting tangled if you're not too careful!

Tango can be found everywhere in Buenos Aires: in artwork on bins in the street or performances in the streets of La Boca, San Telmo and even the modern, western shopping centres; it can be found on the corner of plaza squares where old crooners dance with incredibly graceful yet at the same time strong, feisty women; you can find it in a little cafe where they not so much as dance but saunter, flaunt and strategically, playfully step, turn, flick and then longingly hold each other around the tables and chairs of said cafe; and, of course, it can be found in the many dance halls that Buenos Aires has to offer.

So finding Tango in Buenos Aires is pretty easy. Getting aquatinted with the tango is not as easy. The dance plays with your eyes and invites you in, luring you into a false sense of security as you become mesmerized with the feet, the legs, the tension of the body - not just muscular, but the raw, physical sexiness that seeps out of the dance then sucks you in. But try doing it yourself. None of the above happened for me. Instead, it was as if my feet had a long history with the tango and in a not so friendly fashion. Learning the footwork wasn't too bad, but it was the way it's done that was difficult. Ok, I'm a perfectionist, but there's no point doing the tango plodding away and simply placing each foot in the correct place. It needs to be done properly - which obviously takes time and practise - but I really wanted to feel the dance the way it looked.

I guess it didn't help that our dance lesson, at La Virtua in Palermo (a dance hall that runs lessons and shows of the dances throughout the week), was all in Spanish, of which at the time I spoke un poco (a little). However, it made the whole experience more authentic; we were at a dance hall with local Argentines learning the dance in a local, traditional way. It was also great to watch the locals dance as well as the professionals as a true sense of this dance being a symbol of their culture really came through.

After the Tango we learnt a non-traditional Argentine dance: rock'n'roll! That was a bit easier and I finally understood the Spanish instructions: "Tiempo tiempo rapido rapido tiempo" (something like: in time, in time, fast, fast, in time!!). Still, we didn't get to the point where Rich was spinning me around the dance floor, flinging me around his waist and chucking me over his head (and probably a good thing too!).

Districts of Buenos Aires (with a little something else)

On one of only three days that rained during our entire trip, we decided to go to Recoleta to see the cemetery. And when I say it rained, I mean cats and dogs and I think the entire Iguazu Falls tipped down on us!! Throw in a bit of thunder and lightning and you have two very wet, cold people stood in the middle of a cemetery with huge tombs and monuments peering and towering over them.

Despite not being able to feel my toes yet being able to feel the puddles of water sloshing around in my shoes, the cemetery was very impressive and well worth a look around. It was interesting to see how the Argentines respect the dead (albeit this was the elite of Buenos Aires and thus got the plush treatment); the tomb stones, some very ornate with large carvings and sculptures, had coffin(s) inside with offerings of flowers at the door/gate of the tomb. We saw Eva Peron's (Evita's) tomb along with the rest of the Peron family; strangely understated for what I understood as someone still important and influential but yet nice at the same time that she is left to rest in peace I guess. I'd advise not to go on a day when there's a storm though... if you have an imagination like me then you start to think that the coffins will suddenly fly open and out will come ghosts and corpses!

Another district of Buenos Aires that offers something a little different is La Boca. Situated on the 'boca' (mouth) of the river, La Boca consists of Caminito... a street lined with colourfully painted corrugated-metal buildings. Sounds of Tango dancers and sights of talented artists trying to sell their impressions of La Boca filled the street and the surroundings. The only thing with this district is to be careful; apparently many pick pocketers operate in the area and so taking as little as possible is a must.

Something for the culture vultures

Buenos Aires has 'cultural' things to do in abundance: from shopping in markets to museums to the different districts of the city to churches and the cathedral to parks and gardens. Oh and not to mention football! There really is something for everybody and the city does not disappoint with its offerings.

Shopping: Sunday is the day to get down to Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo where odd bits and bobs will most certainly be found. The antiques market has everything from old gramophones and cameras to jewellery and ornaments to hats and clothes to coins and stamps. And as pointed out before, of course a Tango performance will be found on the corner of the square.

There are many shopping malls in Buenos Aires. The most beautiful, in terms of structure as well as the products it holds, is the Galerias Pacifico. The ceilings are painted wonderfully making the whole mall feel very luxurious. And luxurious it was; I thought I'd been transported to New York or Milan!! Rich and I made a swift exit from this particular shopping mall and opted for the much more reasonably priced stalls on the street instead!

Cathedral Metropolitana: on Plaza de Mayo (the old and official centre of Buenos Aires which also holds the president's building - the Casa Rosada - and the original town hall - the oldest colonial building in BA) the cathedral stood, not looking like a typical cathedral. It looked more reminiscent of a Greek building, with the columns and triangular roof. Nonetheless, inside the cathedral took on its typical persona. It was huge and hosted many separate chapels off the main section. San Martin's chapel (he liberated Argentina as well as many other South American countries from the Spanish in order to gain independence) was a main attraction in the cathedral. Pity you couldn't take pictures inside... and certainly couldn't get away with it if you wanted to as the chapel was guarded by guards with swords!

Museums: So far in South America, we haven't had much luck on the museum front. The lack of luck unfortunately continued in Buenos Aires. We went to go to one museum off 'Manzana de las Lucas' (aka Block of Enlightenment) which ended up being closed (one of two S's: Swine Flu or a siesta) and then the city museum was simply a collection of objects from everyday life over the past few decades. We did go to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Recoleta which had a good display of contemporary, modern art, however. Yet, there were no explanations in English and thus we were left to our own devices for explaining why and how the paintings and sculptures came about. Same old story for the museums, just a different city!

Sport: My only regret about visiting this great city was not being able to see a game of football - whether it be a local or international match. And with the World Cup qualifiers for 2010 still in full swing, an international with another South American team would've been perfect (*at the time of writing this section, 15th Sept 2009, Argentina are 5th in the South American qualifying group and need to be in at least fourth place to guarantee their position thus competition is fierce at the moment!).

However, we did get to have a night at the races! A group of us caught the tube to Buenos Aires' hippodrome and with a 'libre' (free) entrance, you can't go wrong... well unless you're into a flutter and pick the wrong horse.

Great nights out: Like most places in Argentina, Buenos Aires doesn't stir and wake until very late in the evening. People don't often eat before 10 and go out before 12, maybe even later.

One bar we found ourselves in, after running into a group of Argentine lads who insisted we come party with them (well, you can't be rude and say no can you?!?!), was the 'Red Bell Saloon', a rock bar with a free beer on entry. Great music but the company made the night - they couldn't understand English and we couldn't understand Spanish yet we managed to get along and have such a fun time.

Each night in BA we did something different and on our final night we decided to try one of the nightclubs: 'The Museum'. Finally, a museum that didn't disappoint. Luckily we'd been given free entry since the drinks were a little pricey at times. The club itself had one huge dance floor with three levels of floors going round the dance floor. Topped with loads of glitter balls, a mixed bag of music and a bunch of friends dancing like lunatics and you have a great night! However, going out the night before an 18 hour bus journey may not have been the smartest move. Oh well, as they say 'when in Rome!'

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As you might be able to tell, I loved Buenos Aires... YO AMOR BUENOS AIRES!! It really did have everything and with its European look (minus La Boca) and its South American charm, swagger and warmth, the Argentine capital won me over every time my foot stepped outside the hostel.