Buenos Aires, Alluring as Always

March 5, 2011

Buenos Aires always has something to it, some sort of touch, atmosphere and gritty grace that draws me to it. I lived there for about a month just after graduating university, and though I thought about it often, it took me over eight years to get back. Unfortunately, getting down there wasn't as simple as it could have been. I was flying standby on a buddy pass, so I had to postpone my flight twice at the beginning of the week after checking the capacity of the planes and realizing I wouldn't make it, followed by another night in which I checked in but was left standing at the gate as the plane pulled away with 20-30 empty seats and 10 of us passengers stranded as the plane was already way overweight with the cargo it was carrying. Luckily, it is a direct flight from Atlanta, so I could simply go back home, as I drove my car to the airport for this contingency. The fourth attempt was just as suspenseful, finally getting my clearance about 45 minutes before the flight was to take off. I didn't get an ideal seat, but I was just happy to be on the plane, meaning that I wouldn't have to try to re-route my trip through Brazil or Chile on my way down to the bottom of Argentina in a few days.

I arrived early in the morning, pushed my way through baggage and customs and got into a shuttle towards the downtown area, immediately greeted by the vast open fields of tall grasses, lined with shady trees with cars parked randomly along the highway while the passengers sat in the shade, enjoying the sunny day and a thermos full of mate (MAH-tay), the local tea that is beloved throughout the country. Soon enough, buildings appeared, first some rather dirty suburbs that evolved into apartment blocks and soon into office buildings and a bit of European architecture as we entered the center of this massive city of around 15 million people, around the same size as New York or Sao Paulo. I found my hostel and quickly made my way to the Paraguayan consulate for a Visa application before getting back to the center of town just before lunch. I had stayed in touch with one of the activity directors from the school when I was in Buenos Aires before, so I contacted my friend Majo (Maria Jose), and she was able to join me for lunch in the center of the city. Though I studied Spanish in college, it had been quite a while and to be thrown right into it with real conversations instead of typical tourist pleasantries was a good test, and it was also just nice to catch up on her life as I also was happy to dive back into the great restaurant scene of the city, opting for a plate of the special pasta and a local ice cream, a specialty of the country. Unfortunately, prices have gone up significantly since my last trip there, but inflation like that isn't a big surprise in this country as of late.

After lunch, I simply wandered the busy streets of the area, known as the Microcentro, passing by a few well-touristed zones including the Avenida 9 de Julio, claiming to be the widest avenue in the world, with 7 lanes each way, plus two more going along each side separated by a tiny median. Crossing this monster is almost always done in two phases, making it out to the concrete island in the middle in one crossing and moving to the other side on the next set. Pointing skyward from the center of this spot is the Obelisk (El Obelisco), a Washington monument looking structure, surely commemorating some sort of independence, though I couldn't tell you the exact meaning offhand. The massive office buildings and huge billboards lining the avenue make quite a sight, one of my many memories from my first visit to the city. I also paid a quick visit to the Plaza del Mayo and the Casa Rosada, a large plaza fronted by a few government buildings, a cathedral and the president's palace - the Casa Rosada. Literally meaning the Pink House, it is said to be pink because it was either a combination of red and white, the colors of the two dominant political parties at the time or simply because that was the color of paint available at the time. Every Thursday, nonviolent protests are held by the Madres de los Desaparecidos (Mothers of the Disappeared Ones), a group of women continually protesting the abduction, torture and/or murder of their husbands and sons during a dark period in Argentinian history during the 70s and 80s were somewhere around 30,000 people disappeared. The women march to this day, demanding answers or retribution from the government.

Finishing off the night in the classic city, I opted for a simple Argentine pizza and empanada (a meat turnover), taking it out to the center of Avenida 9 de Julio, sitting underneath the shadow of the Obelisk as I watched night set in on the city. Though I had only been back for a day, I already rekindled my interest in the city with its mix of busy corporate life, Latin flair, European heritage, fine dining and everything else that makes it so special (and causes many to refer to it as the Paris of South America, if that makes any sense). The next day I decided that I'd take a quick bus trip up to Santa Fe, mostly just for a weekend out to explore another part of the vast country.

(The Obelisk of Buenos Aires, poking out of the middle of the road, as seen from the Plaza de Mayo, just in front of the president's office at the edge of one of the business districts of the city.)

(The Cabildo - a governmental building from the 1700s on the edge of the Plaza del Mayo. I believe this building was larger, but then it was cut in half when they decided to extend one of the adjacent streets.)

(Looking out on the Plaza de Mayo. Every Thursday, this spot is the epicenter of protests of mothers whose sons were killed or tortured by the Argentine government during the 70s and who are still "missing" today. Their name, Madres de los Desaparecidos, means Mothers of the Disappeared Ones, as they are known in the country.)

(The Casa Rosada - Argentina's version of the White House. The name simply means the Pink House, and the color is said to come from a) a mix of the red color of one political party and the white color of another a century or two ago or b) from the primary color of paint that was available at the time. The first idea is definitely more romantic.)

(Inside a courtyard in the Casa Rosada. You can actually enter into a small part of the building, though the part open to the public is just a few atriums filled with portraits of Latin American liberators.)

(The Catedral Metropolitana, again on the edge of the Plaza de Mayo. There's a lot going on in that small block.)