So here we are in sunny Buenos Aires – 13 hours and 30oC away from the gloomy days of an English winter – at the start of a 3 week tour of Argentina.
Robin and I arrive at 8.30am after an overnight flight and it’s already hot, hot, hot. To make the most of our time in the capital, we have arranged for a guided tour of the city and thank goodness our lovely guide, Veronica, turns up in an air-conditioned car.
By lunchtime she has whisked us around BA’s most iconic sites and filled us in on the country’s recent political history and current state of affairs.
First stop is Recoleta cemetery – an extraordinary city of the dead, where street after street of marble clad mausoleums extend many feet below the ground to house members of the city’s grandest families in the same luxury in death as they expected in life. It’s not a coincidence that the cemetery is sited in BA’s most expensive neighbourhood. Such splendour doesn’t come cheap – one mausoleum sold for US$80,000 recently, and there’s an annual service charge on top to keep the marble polished and the cobwebs away. We peer in through one open door and marvel at the ornate altar and the gilded mosaic ceiling. While another open door reveals two rows of coffins stacked at least five high, with room for five more on top.
Eva "Evita" Peron, the former president’s wife immortalised by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has the honour of the most visited tomb, though it is by no means the grandest. And she was only laid to rest here 30 years after her death, and after her embalmed body had been snatched by rival political groups, mutilated and smuggled out of the country to Italy, before being returned to her exiled husband in Spain. Even after his return to Argentina, it was many years before Evita’s remains returned to their final resting place.
Our tour moves on to Plaza Maya, overlooked by the Red House, the equivalent of 10 Downing Street. The square itself is where Portenos (citizens of BA) go to protest. The mothers of the disappeared – 30,000 young people disappeared during military rule in the 1970s for opposing the government – still assemble there every Thursday afternoon ostensibly to demand public accountability for the murders, in reality to keep the memory of the atrocity alive. While veterans of the Falkland War set up a more recent encampment, demanding Las Malvinas for Argentina, so those who died in the war will not have done so in vain.
Politics and football are twin passions in Argentina. And the stadium of Boca Juniors – famously Maradonna’s team – stands in the centre of La Boca, one of the poorest but most colourful districts of BA. Originally BA’s main port, La Boca was the first place that many European immigrants set foot in, and still houses today’s economic migrants from Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay. It is also where the tango originated, as a dance between men killing time waiting their turn for the local prostitutes. Today the colourful houses in the Caminita are a photo-opportunity for tourists, but their idiosyncratic style stems from using paint meant for ship’s hulls, and probably stolen from the docks.
Economically, BA’s heyday spanned the 100 or so years from independence in 1810 to the 1930s, when its agriculture served the world with beef, corn and other transportable produce. This was also the era of mass immigration, especially from Italy and Spain, and the European influence of this time is clear in its architecture. There are few stand-out buildings – in fact the offices of the public water board built around 1910 are amongst the most magnificent – but there is a Parisian feel to the wide boulevards and many of the building materials used are imported from Europe.
It’s a great place to wander round and soak up the atmosphere – and Veronica finds a final gem for us, the city’s largest bookshop housed in an old theatre. Looking up at the circle and balcony floors packed full of book shelves, with a café on the old proscenium arch stage, it’s a perfect use for the place.
An overnight thunderstorm brings the temperature down a few degrees, just right for exploring the city by foot. San Telmo is another historic area, the original heart of BA until an outbreak of yellow fever saw an exodus of the wealthy to build again in Recolta. The cobbled streets and old houses with wrought iron balconies around Defensa house a treasure trove of antique stores whose goods reflect the European style the turn of the 19th century. We love the rapiers disguised as walking canes – perfect for getting a seat in rush hour. And of course, plenty of refreshing cafes!
San Telmo’s covered market brings another treat – a traditional butcher working with some of BA’s finest beef. Nothing goes to waste and there are counter displays of tongues, kidneys, livers, intestines and other unidentifiable innards. Make note to be very careful ordering in the local restaurants. One delicacy does look worth trying – a very thin pizza sized round of beef to which herbs, tomatoes, cheese etc is added before cooking. Just like pizza in fact.
The city has the oldest underground system in America, and the original trains run on the A line. The system is just below ground level, presumably built at the same time as the roads above. And the A line is definitely worth a trip though the health and safety police may not approve of the manually opened doors sliding doors for much longer.
The essence of the tango pervades BA. The music is the backdrop of every café we visit, and the slightly mournful sound matches well the slightly rundown air of the city. Its building and pavements have seen better days, but it is not a rundown city. Its people, the Portenos have their own confidence. They enjoy life at a seemingly leisurely pace – though I’m told that is because it is holiday time here. They are helpful and welcoming, but there is a formality here. I realise with some surprise that everyone is unfailingly polite. I like it!
And you can’t come to BA without experiencing tango first hand. So we go to a show – yes it’s for tourists and not the same as the milonghas – but it’s a good place to start. And we start with our own lesson, which almost sees us master 8 basic steps in half an hour! Just need a little bit more practice and my toes will be safe….
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