Post by Grubb When we joined the throng wandering the streets of San Telmo on Easter, it was hard not to catch a glimpse of tango dancing couples entwining themselves with their studied movements. In the doorways of cafés, on the tree shaded flagstones in the corner of a park, the pavement of a driveway,…
Day: April 2, 2024
Before there was graffiti
Post by Grubb. There were cannon balls studding the tower of the San Pedro cathedral from an Argentine assault against an English regiment holed up inside.
Activist graffiti
Post by Grubb. We’ve been expecting to run into numerous political demonstrations since Javier Milei, a Milton Friedman free market zealot elected in December, personifies the enemy in a heavily unionized country. So far we’ve only come across a small gathering of placard carriers blocking a street today, but when we were touring the San…
Colorful Conventillos
Post by Grubb. Immigrants getting off the boat in La Boca more than a century ago jammed themselves into the cheapest digs they could find. They were offered small rooms that in some cases were former convent cells. They painted their places with whatever paint was on sale, so there was no uniform color scheme…
The queen of markets
Post by Ella. We spent the day on Easter Sunday moseying around San Telmo, one of the oldest barrios in the province of Buenos Aires. Known for its antiques market in Plaza Dorrego, Sunday street fair, young tango dancers jostling for space to perform (and pass the hat afterwards), the place was crammed for blocks…
The furia of Argentina
Post by Ella. Some of you know, April 1st is Grubb’s birthday and our anniversary. So we decided to go all out on the celebration yesterday. Van loads of police in full body armor, the crush of fans in team colors, the heavy continual pounding of drums. All part of the experience we voluntarily signed…
Recoleta
Post by Ella. Argentina consists of 4 regions (Andes, North, Pampas, Patagonia) which contain 23 provinces. The province of Buenos Aires contains the federal district, City of Buenos Aires (CABA) which is quite small in area. In addition to the federal district, there are 48 barrios within the province. Population of the province of Buenos…