¡Hola from Argentina! Gillian and I made it to Buenos Aires in the middle of the night Tuesday into Wednesday after our travel debacle. Much to our surprise, we learned that Argentina called for a one day transportation strike on Tuesday, which led to our canceled flight from Iguazù to BA. Eventually on Tuesday afternoon, we finally boarded our connecting flight from São Paulo to BA even though we were delayed until our arrival time fell after the end of the strike at midnight. We breezed through customs then arrived at the hostel by 2:30a; not even the "Paris of Latin America" is appealing at 3 in the morning.
On Wednesday, we slept in before taking a free walking tour of downtown at 11a. Our tour guide Nicolás led a group of us, mostly from Latin American countries, through the windy streets and broad avenues at the heart of Buenos Aires. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, the tour was mostly in Spanish to accommodate the group. The guide did his best to switch from Spanish to English and back, and Gillian and I welcomed the challenge of using our broken Romance language knowledge to follow along the tour in Spanish. We began the day at a replica colonial church and school near the center of the city, which was destroyed along with most colonial artifacts in the 19th century as the residents of BA tried to "modernize" the city. Within just a few blocks of seeing the city, you can clearly see how very different and European is in comparison to the lively and tropical Rio de Janeiro.
The next main sight we visited was Plaza de Mayo. The central square holds many of the most important government buildings of the city including the Casa Rosada (Rose House), the executive office of the Argentinian President, the Banco de la Nación Argentina, and the Cabildo museum. This central plaza is home to many of the protests often run by Argentinian citizens, which is evident by a permanent protest fence in front of the Casa Rosada and the accompanying police van parked outside with a water cannon. Also located on the square is the Catedral Metropolitana, the main church of BA that was once the seat of Pope Francis' cardinalship and holds the body of famous colonial liberator San Martin. During this part of the tour, we began learning of the dual history of Argentina as both a modern developing country and a dictatorial military state.
Next, we moved to tour the headquarters of the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), which is the largest and most established labor union in Argentina. Other than delaying our trip because of a transportation strike they organized, CGT is most famous for its relationship with the most beloved Argentinian politician Eva Perón, or Evita. Although she is most memorable to Americans for her portrayal by Madonna and the song "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," Evita is the national heroine of Argentina who's likeness and memory live everywhere in BA. Located at CGT is a small museum where Evita once had an office and eventually a place to hold her embalmed body for private display after her premature death from cancer at the age of 33. Evita is a symbol of the rise of the middle class during the 1950s as the aristocracy of Argentina yielded less power and influence. We also learned about the fall of populist Perónism and beginning of several decades of dictatorial rule until the final liberation of Argentina in the 1980s. Our guide provided us with much of this historical context that we wouldn't have had walking around on our own, and the weather finally began to cooperate after a whole day of chilly winter air. Unlike Rio, BA required us to have on jackets and layers to make it through the chilly day; however, it never gets cold enough to snow here.
Our tour ended near our hostel in the neighborhood in San Telmo, which is a bit off the beaten path but quickly gentrifying because of its location next to the city center. We rested up and began planning on final three days in South America, which will include a trip to Uruguay across the Rio de la Plata on Friday. Before dinner, we wandered to the nearest ATM to collect more pesos, which inflate at 25% a year and come in mostly A$100 denominations (or $9 USD) per banknote. It's a bit tricky to keep track of spending when the price of beers run A$30 and meals about A$150. Prices in BA are still pretty reasonable compared to the States but more expensive than Brazil. Later we went to dinner at the Casal de Catalunya, which served up delicious Spanish seafood and Argentine Malbec wine. Before calling it a night, we explored our neighborhood to get drinks at San Telmo Square complete with a funny Rolling Stones cover band.
Today we took another walking tour in a different part of town, Retiro and Recoleta, which are the most upscale neighborhoods in all of Buenos Aires. After taking a quick bus to the other side of town, we whizzed by the major skyscrapers and business people (Argentina has the most western business relations in Latin America) to begin our tour of the quieter life in BA. Retiro is the oldest aristocratic neighborhood in the city, which was modeled after 18th century Paris with its architecture and beautiful old avenues. The richest people in BA built elaborate mansions and palaces in Retiro to show their wealth and bring European culture to Argentina. Walking the streets reminds one more of a European capital than a South American city, which was much more my style than Brazil I must admit. Rio de Jaineiro was unlike any place I've been in the world with its spicy culture and scenic landscapes, but I could not imagine spending much more time there because of the relaxed culture and sense of insecurity. Buenos Aires feels more like a transplanted European city with high culture, modern amenities, and a slight Latin twist. Nearly 90% of Porteños ("port" people from BA) self-identify as European, with most coming from Italian, French, Spanish, English, and German descent. While it is not nearly as diverse in race and creed as Rio, BA embraces both its European and Latin roots.
Our tour wound through the streets filled with embassies, hotels, and wealthy complexes before finishing at the Cementerio de la Recoleta, which holds the final resting places of the BA elite. Just like the famous cousin cemeteries of New Orleans and Père Lechaise in Paris, the graves are built above ground in elaborate mausoleums meant to show the power of families during their lifetimes. Recoleta is a beautiful yet dark mix of cement and stone, and its most visited grave is that of Evita. This is the ultimate oxymoron be user the people's champion is buried in the wealthiest place in BA; however, after many years of her body being kidnapped and lost, her family hoped to find a permanent and safe place for her to be visited by the people of Argentina.
Finally, we walked through the Tribunales neighborhood (barrio) to visit the Teatro Colón, BA's opera house and nod to its cousins in Paris and Italy. We took a tour in English where our guide told us about both the building and the history of arts in Argentina. Much like in Europe, having tickets to operas and shows was a social gathering and display of wealth, which lasted until the 1980s when the govnerment finally bought all the remaining opera boxes and made the theatre public. We didn't get to see much of main auditorium because the lights were off as the crews did lighting tests in the winter off season. Still, it was cool to see the behind the scenes production work as the massive opera house gears up for its next season.
Although we're already halfway through our time in BA, we still have much to explore in this most popular tourist destination in all of South America. Tonight, we're hoping to visit a milango (tango club) to see the national tradition of tango dancing. Tomorrow, we're off to visit the colonial town of Colonia in Uruguary before our final day in BA. For now, ciao!
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