It was to have been a strange day. The whole of Buenos Aires would be shut - schools, offices, shops, industry, everything and everyone had to stay at home waiting for the Census person to come so they could fill in the form together. I asked why they didn`t do it through the postal system and one of the replies, after asking several people, was that the Portenos just wouldn`t bother to do it otherwise! So there was no school and I had thought to go to Colonia, in Paraguay, for the day but decided to save my money for tango this coming month. So on the way home I bought sandwich/picnic material to keep me going on Wednesday. It was an opportunity for me to catch up on a few irregular verbs so I studied in the morning and then joined Rita with my picnic. She told me in a shocked voice that the ex President had died of a heart attack during the morning and Argentina was reeling from the news. His wife Cristina is the President but he has been the power and support behind her since she took office. He was president before her so between them they have been in government for nearly 10 years. I decided to go to the Plaza de Mayo, which is like our Parliament Square. It became a focus for the people during the day as the Census was completed and people were free to move. Nestor, the ex President, died while they were in Calafate in the South so neither he nor Cristina were in Buenos Aires but people came to share their sadness, to post notices on the surrounding fences and to leave flowers. They waited patiently in the queue - young and old, some wrapped in the Argentinian flag, some waving bandieras, some holding messages "Fuerza Cristina, Gracias Nestor". They were in everyone`s hearts - at least everyone who were there - he was not loved by the opposition party. The only flower seller there must have been thanking his lucky stars that he had flowers to sell on the Day of the Census when BA was `cerrado`.
The parakeets still screamed overhead regardless of the gravity of the moment - they remind me of the birds in "Island" by Aldous Huxley. Is this their role in BA to keep me conscious, to keep me awake - I wonder. I don`t think anyone else even notices their noisey calls.
It felt a privelege to be in the Plaza de Mayo on such an historic day. I met some wonderful people. A young Dutch lass who was studying here and was completely in love with BA - it had unwittingly slipped into her heart. I had a long chat with an older portena and had my first Molvinas conversation - she was very political, probably a Progresista, married to a lecturer. I said I`d have a chat with David Cameron when I got home. I realized how poor my history of Argentina was and also how different our paths have been in England and here. They have only had a democracy for about 25 years. How was life under a military coup? I can only imagine how awful it was but when I think of the Madres de Mayo and their sons who were disappeared and to this day they do not know what happened to them. My heart warms to these people who are learning to grow up in a country with so many problems. I also have a certain sympathy with this need to demonstrate and to speak out about their difficulties. The next step, as the Dutch girl said, is also to take action and do something, not just paint banners and march. But maybe this is where you start.
We now have 3 days of mourning. Because of the Census the streets were empty and it was with a sense of freedom that I walked down the centre of the Avenida de Mayo. The rollerbladers also took advantage of this emptiness. This was a day of gentleness and a certain tranquility maybe brought about by the Census.
Today has been utterly different. Nestor`s body was flown back to BA and the general public were able to view him in state. The queue wound its way round the city and people came in their hundreds. I think they will still be queuing at midnight. Helicopters circled overhead constantly. The atmosphere of quiet tranquility had gone completely. All the hawkers were out in force - flowers, banners, hot dogs, burgers, drinks, flags, whole families were queuing with little ones asleep on parents shoulders. The bands, the drums, the clapping and singing - it felt almost like a festival - and the rubbish, of course. It was good humoured and the police force were having no trouble making sure it was a trouble free day funnelling people as they got closer to the Plaza. A huge blow up version of Cristina hung over the square along with other huge balloons carrying messages of support.
No-one could have predicted what an unusual historic day Wednesday would turn out to be. The funeral will be near Calafate which is where he was born. Apparently he died at the same time that he was born and he was only 60 years old.
It`s my last day at school tomorrow which is unbelievable and sad. I have so enjoyed trying to learn spanish and to always have someone to check in with if I need some help and generally mixing with so many different nationalities and it will be strange having a month of English with Elsa. But the joys of a whole of month of tango with Elsa is a whole different thing and I am certainly looking forward to that and I am sure we shall continue to explore the city.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Monday, 25 October 2010
Being streetwise in BA 26th October Monday
Yes we have beggars and the homeless on our streets but seeing kids work here is another thing.
Often they are expert jugglers astride the pedestrian crossings while the cars wait to move off as the lights change - they try and catch the drivers as they roar off, usually ignoring the youngsters. They work the cafes and restaurants inside and out with things to sell. They work the buses and the tubes. No one seems to forbid them, they are just tired of being asked. Some kids have such amazing confidence and voice projection you cannot help but be impressed. I have bought chewing gum so far! It`s a start. One fantastic young juggler on a subte (tube) last week got a round of applause and people did give. I am surprised that there are not more buskers but suspect they are confined to one particular street. They are not common on the Subte like the London underground.
The big march last week where a young man was shot was taken very seriously although no-one is owning up to who it was although apparently everyone knows. The police did not intervene and are now trying to decided which faction to support. The following day there was an even larger march in sympathy with Mariano who died - it was huge and everyone who had a banner or a cause to plead was on the street marching to the beat of the drum. You hear these demonstrations long before you see them - always to a steady heartbeat.
I have spotted a professional dog walker with 8 dogs in one go - best record so far! Most people seem to have fairly small dogs but they still seem to produce and amazing amount of crap which just lies around on the pavements. Yuck!
I had a lovely day on Sunday, two gardens, one botanical and one Japonese. I then visited Evita`s museum which I found very interesting set in a fabulous house in Palermo. Lots of footage of her life and the work she did for the poor and the elderly and how instrumental she was in women getting the vote. Yes there is always another side of her maybe being ambitious and self seeking - I saw a lot of parallels with Princess Di. The funeral was immense and the flowers given were in their thousands.
Great jazz band in one of the parks and then I found what is now my absolutely favourite art gallery. Museo de Ates Plasticas in Palermo. Fabulous sculpture by 4 visiting Argentinians and lots of very modern paintings that definitely had a different departure point from English artists. The art gallery itself had been designed by an architect, can`t remember who but yes, he was an Argentinian. He specifically wanted to include light and the outside in each separate gallery so lots of views of the small courtyard - with cafe and trees and more sculpture - dappled sunlight falling into smaller courtyards enclosing the trunks of growing trees and giving a feeling of space and air and the outside and the inside being part of the same space. Small and intimate but the exhibitions strangely seem quite extensive. The staff were great and forgave me for illegally taking some photos, they helped me find the right bus home and in broken spanish, me, and broken english, them, we had a great chat about art and life!
I went to a french film in the evening called `My Life` which had subititles in Spanish - it was partly for homework - I really did try and stay awake and almost succeeded. Subtitles are great but they need to leave them up for longer!
My last week at school and then a month in Palermo with Elsa with loads of tango. This week is going to go so fast. We have Wednesday off for the National Census and two consequent long days on Tuesday and Thursday to make up for it. I shall wait and see what this week brings.....
Often they are expert jugglers astride the pedestrian crossings while the cars wait to move off as the lights change - they try and catch the drivers as they roar off, usually ignoring the youngsters. They work the cafes and restaurants inside and out with things to sell. They work the buses and the tubes. No one seems to forbid them, they are just tired of being asked. Some kids have such amazing confidence and voice projection you cannot help but be impressed. I have bought chewing gum so far! It`s a start. One fantastic young juggler on a subte (tube) last week got a round of applause and people did give. I am surprised that there are not more buskers but suspect they are confined to one particular street. They are not common on the Subte like the London underground.
The big march last week where a young man was shot was taken very seriously although no-one is owning up to who it was although apparently everyone knows. The police did not intervene and are now trying to decided which faction to support. The following day there was an even larger march in sympathy with Mariano who died - it was huge and everyone who had a banner or a cause to plead was on the street marching to the beat of the drum. You hear these demonstrations long before you see them - always to a steady heartbeat.
I have spotted a professional dog walker with 8 dogs in one go - best record so far! Most people seem to have fairly small dogs but they still seem to produce and amazing amount of crap which just lies around on the pavements. Yuck!
I had a lovely day on Sunday, two gardens, one botanical and one Japonese. I then visited Evita`s museum which I found very interesting set in a fabulous house in Palermo. Lots of footage of her life and the work she did for the poor and the elderly and how instrumental she was in women getting the vote. Yes there is always another side of her maybe being ambitious and self seeking - I saw a lot of parallels with Princess Di. The funeral was immense and the flowers given were in their thousands.
Great jazz band in one of the parks and then I found what is now my absolutely favourite art gallery. Museo de Ates Plasticas in Palermo. Fabulous sculpture by 4 visiting Argentinians and lots of very modern paintings that definitely had a different departure point from English artists. The art gallery itself had been designed by an architect, can`t remember who but yes, he was an Argentinian. He specifically wanted to include light and the outside in each separate gallery so lots of views of the small courtyard - with cafe and trees and more sculpture - dappled sunlight falling into smaller courtyards enclosing the trunks of growing trees and giving a feeling of space and air and the outside and the inside being part of the same space. Small and intimate but the exhibitions strangely seem quite extensive. The staff were great and forgave me for illegally taking some photos, they helped me find the right bus home and in broken spanish, me, and broken english, them, we had a great chat about art and life!
I went to a french film in the evening called `My Life` which had subititles in Spanish - it was partly for homework - I really did try and stay awake and almost succeeded. Subtitles are great but they need to leave them up for longer!
My last week at school and then a month in Palermo with Elsa with loads of tango. This week is going to go so fast. We have Wednesday off for the National Census and two consequent long days on Tuesday and Thursday to make up for it. I shall wait and see what this week brings.....
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Little chatting from BA Tuesday??
Hi Everyone,
I have just written this once and then deleted it - grr! The weather is getting hotter and the bin men have been on strike for 3 days. There are loads of demonstrations but it is hard to work out exactly why. There was a large one last night that I passed on my way home from tango and apparently one person was shot in a personal feud. No one seemed to be very surprised. The Labour party is aligned with the government which is right and the Mafia also plays its part. Who knows!
Last week-end I went out to Tigre which is on the River Plata. It has over 5000 islands where many portenos have their week-end houses. Some houses are still under construction, some very beautifully tended and some falling apart. I took a boat trip. For me it could be a perfect situation boats, water, swimming but the river is very polluted with hundreds of dead fish and others gasping for breath. Sad.
I am very impressed with the way that the potenos treat their disabled - electronic ramps on buses and at every junction there is a scooped out part of the pavement to allow for wheelchair access. However on the other side of life I have a lasting image of this poor man running barefoot away dressed only in binbags from head to foot - like some wild ghost haunting the streets.
This is just a short chat to let you all know I am alive and well - apart from Spanish doing my head in and being deconstructed with my tango - it will all pass and tomorrow is another day.
Lots of love to you all
Sal xxx
I have just written this once and then deleted it - grr! The weather is getting hotter and the bin men have been on strike for 3 days. There are loads of demonstrations but it is hard to work out exactly why. There was a large one last night that I passed on my way home from tango and apparently one person was shot in a personal feud. No one seemed to be very surprised. The Labour party is aligned with the government which is right and the Mafia also plays its part. Who knows!
Last week-end I went out to Tigre which is on the River Plata. It has over 5000 islands where many portenos have their week-end houses. Some houses are still under construction, some very beautifully tended and some falling apart. I took a boat trip. For me it could be a perfect situation boats, water, swimming but the river is very polluted with hundreds of dead fish and others gasping for breath. Sad.
I am very impressed with the way that the potenos treat their disabled - electronic ramps on buses and at every junction there is a scooped out part of the pavement to allow for wheelchair access. However on the other side of life I have a lasting image of this poor man running barefoot away dressed only in binbags from head to foot - like some wild ghost haunting the streets.
This is just a short chat to let you all know I am alive and well - apart from Spanish doing my head in and being deconstructed with my tango - it will all pass and tomorrow is another day.
Lots of love to you all
Sal xxx
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
City living in Spanish Wednesday 13th October 10
Hi Everyone,
Tony, I didn`t find the quote at Recoletta or Gardel`s tomb - something to look for on the next visit. I liked the quote - I have seen something rather similar on an English grave.
Great you are coming out to BA, Madeline and Gary. I hope to have returned from my travels and be back in the city by then.
It is really lovely that people put comments and read the blog. Thanks Tim and Sharon. This week I have hit a bit of a brick wall with my Spanish classes and am definitely in the bottom league. Brain seems to be in a constant fog. But I have realised that living in a foreign language is tiring until you learn enough of it for it not to be a major effort - I have to have my dictionary available constantly. Today I gave myself a treat in the afternoon and went to MALBO which is BA`s equivalent to the Tate. Much smaller but a new build that is light an airy. Some pieces of great sculpture, a modern installation video about flies and their collection of modern art from the early 20th century. Also a visiting exhibition. It was very peaceful and quiet and I didn`t have to speak Spanish to anyone except on the way home to find the right bus stop!
I went to a fabulous `Feria de los Matadores` on Sunday. A huge fair with with a main stage where bands played and groups danced. The general population all danced the Checkerera (!) at the drop of a hat - maybe I shall have to learn too. Amazing guachos (I`m sure that`s not how you spell it but my dictionary is not being very helpful tonight) on horseback thundering down a street they had cordoned off. In the centre was a ring that they had to spear with a small dagger like stick - not many did! Very dramatic but I felt for the horses legs on hard tarmac but no-one else seemed very concerned.
OK Sal and Tango in BA. I am having private lessons with a young porteno called Gustavo who also teaches at the school. He is taking me back to basics - again - my line of dance, my posture, my relation to him, my pivots, knees and ankles together etc. He is not fierce but for me at the moment with my emphasis on Spanish and trying to stay awake it is perfect. Next month when I leave the school and Elsa arrives it will be a complete emersion and I shall review who I want to teach me then. Until then I shall milonga at the week-ends, take private tango lessons, explore BA and learn Spanish during the week. The two milongas I went to last week were interesting. One was very traditional with the cabaceo in operation but there was one dance during the evening where the women could ask the men by offering them a chocolate and the men could invite the women by offering them a rose. For me it was a relief to be able to ask the men - accustomed as I am! No one asked me with a rose. But I was sitting on a table with a gang of women who I had met at my first milonga and they were very inclusive and asked their guys to dance with me to give me a start. They reminded me a bit of "Sex in the City" - they were definitely out to have a good time and this milonga was where they felt comfortable and at ease with friends they knew of old.
The second Milonga was a mistake - I went to the wrong one where I was meant to be meeting friends from the School. This one was small and not a cabaceo in sight but it seemed to me that friends had come in groups or couples and were not willing to take a chance on a stranger. So I left after an hour. I know where I am going this Sunday so better luck there. Maybe I shall ring Rose the friend who invited me to the other one and go to one of her milongas. I wasn´t overly impressed with the level of dancing but maybe the good ones weren`t asking. It´s a bit like casting on a river, you never know what you are going to catch!
I love my walk to college every day - there are now familiar landmarks, people, shops and squares, dogs who bark from balconies above my head, the pavement washers, the homeless and the street cafes. I also love that I cross Chile, Mexico and Venezuela on my way to and from home - street names amongst others.
The sunshine is hot when it`s out but it can rain hard as well so don`t be too jealous.
Lots of love to you all
Sal in an Internet Cafe in BA
Tony, I didn`t find the quote at Recoletta or Gardel`s tomb - something to look for on the next visit. I liked the quote - I have seen something rather similar on an English grave.
Great you are coming out to BA, Madeline and Gary. I hope to have returned from my travels and be back in the city by then.
It is really lovely that people put comments and read the blog. Thanks Tim and Sharon. This week I have hit a bit of a brick wall with my Spanish classes and am definitely in the bottom league. Brain seems to be in a constant fog. But I have realised that living in a foreign language is tiring until you learn enough of it for it not to be a major effort - I have to have my dictionary available constantly. Today I gave myself a treat in the afternoon and went to MALBO which is BA`s equivalent to the Tate. Much smaller but a new build that is light an airy. Some pieces of great sculpture, a modern installation video about flies and their collection of modern art from the early 20th century. Also a visiting exhibition. It was very peaceful and quiet and I didn`t have to speak Spanish to anyone except on the way home to find the right bus stop!
I went to a fabulous `Feria de los Matadores` on Sunday. A huge fair with with a main stage where bands played and groups danced. The general population all danced the Checkerera (!) at the drop of a hat - maybe I shall have to learn too. Amazing guachos (I`m sure that`s not how you spell it but my dictionary is not being very helpful tonight) on horseback thundering down a street they had cordoned off. In the centre was a ring that they had to spear with a small dagger like stick - not many did! Very dramatic but I felt for the horses legs on hard tarmac but no-one else seemed very concerned.
OK Sal and Tango in BA. I am having private lessons with a young porteno called Gustavo who also teaches at the school. He is taking me back to basics - again - my line of dance, my posture, my relation to him, my pivots, knees and ankles together etc. He is not fierce but for me at the moment with my emphasis on Spanish and trying to stay awake it is perfect. Next month when I leave the school and Elsa arrives it will be a complete emersion and I shall review who I want to teach me then. Until then I shall milonga at the week-ends, take private tango lessons, explore BA and learn Spanish during the week. The two milongas I went to last week were interesting. One was very traditional with the cabaceo in operation but there was one dance during the evening where the women could ask the men by offering them a chocolate and the men could invite the women by offering them a rose. For me it was a relief to be able to ask the men - accustomed as I am! No one asked me with a rose. But I was sitting on a table with a gang of women who I had met at my first milonga and they were very inclusive and asked their guys to dance with me to give me a start. They reminded me a bit of "Sex in the City" - they were definitely out to have a good time and this milonga was where they felt comfortable and at ease with friends they knew of old.
The second Milonga was a mistake - I went to the wrong one where I was meant to be meeting friends from the School. This one was small and not a cabaceo in sight but it seemed to me that friends had come in groups or couples and were not willing to take a chance on a stranger. So I left after an hour. I know where I am going this Sunday so better luck there. Maybe I shall ring Rose the friend who invited me to the other one and go to one of her milongas. I wasn´t overly impressed with the level of dancing but maybe the good ones weren`t asking. It´s a bit like casting on a river, you never know what you are going to catch!
I love my walk to college every day - there are now familiar landmarks, people, shops and squares, dogs who bark from balconies above my head, the pavement washers, the homeless and the street cafes. I also love that I cross Chile, Mexico and Venezuela on my way to and from home - street names amongst others.
The sunshine is hot when it`s out but it can rain hard as well so don`t be too jealous.
Lots of love to you all
Sal in an Internet Cafe in BA
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Places to go in Buenos Aires 6th October 2010
San Telmo market was colourful, fascinating and full of things to feast your eyes on. I walked up through a park with huge beautiful trees their roots sprawled away from the trunks. The branches were home to familes of noisy parakeets. The market itself was full of antiques - ancient guacho equipment, harnesses, knives and all manner of stirrups; beautiful coloured glass soda syphons and a stall of intricate macrame necklaces mixed with precious stones especially the Inca Rose which is the stone of Argentina; mate gourds, hats, besides a host of other crafts and antiques. There was also a fantastic tango orchestra playing in the street - El Afronte - with 4 bandoneon players, 3 violins, a double base, piano and singer - very high energy and completely compelling - the first of many.
On the way out of San Telmo I watched entranced as 2 yummy young clowns played with the traffic at a cross roads - they were delightfully mischievious.
I have now had 3 days in Language School and my brain is struggling but everyone says that the first week is the worst. Great teachers with endless patience and they all seem to have a good sense of humour. My class has 3 students from Holland, 2 from Brazil, one from Belgium, myself and a lass from Belgium. So we have to speak Spanish!! Even if very badly.
The other thing I did this week was visit the Cemetry where Eva Peron is buried. All the graves are in mausoleums. For me it was a place for reflection. Cobwebs and some ancient trainers held up a rusting corrugated roof. Cupolas of coloured glass shone in the sunshine while angels guarded the summits. This was a place for nature to try again. Ferns and wildflowers grew from cracks in the crumbling mausoleums while these sat alongside those of gleaming black marble - the new arrivals. There were cats there too, sleeping and watching in the sunshine. Small decorations caught my eye, shells, crosses, snakes, azrec profiles.
I come across where Eva Peron was buried almost by accident - I had no map. She is in her family vault - Familia Duarte. She had 3 placques and these were some of the words enscribed on them. "Eterna en el alma de tu Pueblo" "EVITA Eterna en el corozon del Pueblo de Almirante Brown."
Some vaults are in ruins - the coffins long gone. Small birds sing sweetly in this peaceful place. The parakeets are the bully boys of the parks. Not for them this place of the dead. I dont know why but two vaults touched me. Maria Isabel Vidal Carrega 1945 "Your grave is broken open, cracked with age. I can see the rusting handle at the end of your coffin. I imagine above you is your husband, Fernando, his too is open to the sky.
This is a city within a city and like BA is is also designed on the grid system but there are no names to these streets only angels, urns, crosses, colossal monuments and crumbling facades to give you clues if you wish to return to where you began.
One Milonga last night - Milonga Catedral - held in a cavernous wharehouse. I did the classes beforehand which were fairly disastrous - hundreds of beginners and the next one was slightly better but my partner was not! I had 2 or 3 dances with Frederico, the teacher, so was definitely an evening of quality and not quantity. Not a cabaceo in sight but wasnt sure if I could ask so unlike me I just chatted to student friends instead. It was an amazing building.
A different one tonight with flowers and chocolates, so I have been told, I´ll let you know.
Kate, glad the 5th Anniversay of the Practica was lovely - it sounded it - and thanks for your note.
On the way out of San Telmo I watched entranced as 2 yummy young clowns played with the traffic at a cross roads - they were delightfully mischievious.
I have now had 3 days in Language School and my brain is struggling but everyone says that the first week is the worst. Great teachers with endless patience and they all seem to have a good sense of humour. My class has 3 students from Holland, 2 from Brazil, one from Belgium, myself and a lass from Belgium. So we have to speak Spanish!! Even if very badly.
The other thing I did this week was visit the Cemetry where Eva Peron is buried. All the graves are in mausoleums. For me it was a place for reflection. Cobwebs and some ancient trainers held up a rusting corrugated roof. Cupolas of coloured glass shone in the sunshine while angels guarded the summits. This was a place for nature to try again. Ferns and wildflowers grew from cracks in the crumbling mausoleums while these sat alongside those of gleaming black marble - the new arrivals. There were cats there too, sleeping and watching in the sunshine. Small decorations caught my eye, shells, crosses, snakes, azrec profiles.
I come across where Eva Peron was buried almost by accident - I had no map. She is in her family vault - Familia Duarte. She had 3 placques and these were some of the words enscribed on them. "Eterna en el alma de tu Pueblo" "EVITA Eterna en el corozon del Pueblo de Almirante Brown."
Some vaults are in ruins - the coffins long gone. Small birds sing sweetly in this peaceful place. The parakeets are the bully boys of the parks. Not for them this place of the dead. I dont know why but two vaults touched me. Maria Isabel Vidal Carrega 1945 "Your grave is broken open, cracked with age. I can see the rusting handle at the end of your coffin. I imagine above you is your husband, Fernando, his too is open to the sky.
This is a city within a city and like BA is is also designed on the grid system but there are no names to these streets only angels, urns, crosses, colossal monuments and crumbling facades to give you clues if you wish to return to where you began.
One Milonga last night - Milonga Catedral - held in a cavernous wharehouse. I did the classes beforehand which were fairly disastrous - hundreds of beginners and the next one was slightly better but my partner was not! I had 2 or 3 dances with Frederico, the teacher, so was definitely an evening of quality and not quantity. Not a cabaceo in sight but wasnt sure if I could ask so unlike me I just chatted to student friends instead. It was an amazing building.
A different one tonight with flowers and chocolates, so I have been told, I´ll let you know.
Kate, glad the 5th Anniversay of the Practica was lovely - it sounded it - and thanks for your note.
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