Being "Argentinian," or National Pride

Tomorrow is a national holiday to celebrate the Revolucion de Mayo. This is the historic moment when Argentina began its path to independence from Spain in the 1800s, and apparently it has some of the flavor of our own Thanksgiving in the sense that it's a day when people feel especially Argentine. Elementary school kids celebrate their history on this day with school pageants where they play various traditional roles illustrating life in this period, and I have already seen some families walking around carrying dresses - their costumes - that are in the style of the 1800s. Among the traditional roles in these pageants are the street vendors who were the merchants of the period. Apparently these vendors were often black and the roles are today played in black-face. Race relations are a whole complex issue in themselves that I will have to write about another time, but for now I'll just say  that black-face seems to have none of the emotional weight here that it would back in the States (i.e., it's viewed as completely normal and no big deal).

In advance of the national holiday, I thought I'd write a few words about national pride in Argentina, which is a particularly interesting topic to me. In my previous visit to Buenos Aires, I had the impression that there was little or no national pride here - quite the opposite, in fact. I have a very powerful memory of sitting in a restaurant with my colleagues and, in casual conversation, asking them if there was national military service here. With disgust in her voice, my colleague said "Are you kidding? Absolutely not! After what's happened in this country, no one is going to stand up and fight for her!" When I hear strong views like this, they seem to stem from 2 things: rage over the military junta of the 1970s & 80s when thousands were tortured, killed or 'disappeared', and anger over the way the economic management of the country that has led to crushing poverty and wasted opportunities in the views of some people.

However, now that I've spent more time here, national pride is starting to surface in unexpected ways. This is a country where there are constant protests, and protestors often block off major roads in the capital as well as roads leading into the city. As a result, it can take people up to 2 hours to commute to work in the morning. It's very popular to blockade the Avenida 9 de Julio, which is THE major thoroughfare in town and only a couple of stone's throw from the main seat of government. Because this is so disruptive to city life, I've actually been surprised that the authorities don't force the protestors to move, but this never happens or is even considered. In addition, when I see these constant protests, I instinctively feel that something is wrong: there is social unrest, it's a big problem, and the government needs to address or resolve this somehow. Interestingly, most of my Argentine friends absolutely do not share this reaction. Instead, they view the unrest and public debates as extremely positive because it's evidence of the absolute freedom of speech that exists here. "It's healthy!" several people have told me, "We live in a true democracy. La Dictadura esta terminada (the dictatorship is over)" Affectionately and with smiles on their faces, I've heard several people observe "Oh we Argentinians! Opinamos, Opinamos!" (i.e., everyone has an opinion about everything!). In fact, when I watch the news on TV here, one of the most striking differences between coverage in Argentina and coverage in the US is the extreme length of time devoted to getting reactions from the Argentine man on the street. Whereas in the US, our network news would show very brief reactions from average citizens to events of the day (the weather, traffic tie-ups, a political scandal, etc), these reactions get major airtime in Argentina. Though the average citizen is not an expert and has no more information that you or I, that average Joe will be granted extensive airtime to share his views. I think this is one indicator of the high value that Argentinians place on freedom of thought and freedom of speech. In fact, this seems to be their primary source of national culture and national pride.

In the Grocery

Finally I encounter a culture with a bigger sweet tooth than my own! The Argentines love deserts in general, but they are particularly crazy about a caramel sauce called Dulce de Leche. I can't over-emphasize how omnipresent this flavor is. There is D de L flavored ice cream as well as yoghurt; chocolate bars are filled with it; and every pastry, pie, cookie and cake you can imagine is infused with it. In my average-sized neighborhood grocery, there is an entire aisle devoted to D de L sauce (see second picture). My friend tells me that when Argentinians overseas get homesick, D de L is one of the first things they miss - the flavor is that strongly associated with "home."

On an unrelated note, the last picture is of a well-known brand of rice called "Diana Arroz" - do you get it? This really cracks me up...

The Other Argentina

As people keep reminding me, there is Buenos Aires and then there's the rest of Argentina. The rest of the country is largely pampa - big flat tree-less plains with vast cattle ranches and fields of grain. This (and the wine industry) is really what fuels Argentina's export-based economy. The gorgeous mansions that were built here in the 1800s were owned by land barons who lived in Buenos Aires while their managers took care of the estate (or "estancia") back in the countryside. As a little digression, the export of beef is so critical to Argentina that Buenos Aires has several monuments to Tellier - a Frenchman who I'd never heard of, but who's quite famous here for inventing the refridgerated container ship, thereby opening their beef industry to the world.

Today I got a little taste of the pampa while staying in the city by going to the "Feria de los Mataderos." In Spanish, "matar" means "kill", and the Mataderos are the slaughterhouses where the cows are killed after being trucked in from the countryside. Gauchos or cowboys work in those slaughterhouses and this fair is given both to celebrate them and to give them a place to socialize with each other and buy and sell things. In one of the pictures below, you'll see a real, actual gaucho - they still exist! By the way, this working-class neighborhood strongly identifies itself with Chicago - another great meat-packing city. They even named their soccer team "Nueva Chicago!"

In addition to the gauchos, we saw teenage kids doing traditional campo dances, which are a fascinating fusion of flamenco and native dance styles. My pictures show the couples dances, but there is a men-only version too, which is like an indigienous version of tap-dancing. I took pictures of it, but the guys were moving so fast that none of the pictures came out!

More Elegance

Yesterday, my elegant weekend continued. First, I had tango class. You aren't supposed to take pictures there for some reason - but I managed to get in a few. This particular spot has big crowds of oldsters who have been dancing tango for decades. It is charming to see them dancing in the beautiful faded glory of the Confiteria Ideal.

Afterwards, I hopped on the subway - the A line, which was one of the first subways built in the world. It has wonderful old cars with wood paneling and the conductor has to lean out the window to check if the doors are clear before he sets off. My destination was the Confiteria Las Violettas - a very old and beautiful place that serves afternoon tea. Like most of Buenos Aires, the neighborhood is peppered with lovely old buildings, so I threw in the picture of the stained glass "Pharmacia" sign to give you that flavor.

An elegant weekend

Well it has been quite the elegant weekend! Friday night I went to the opera ("La Flauta Magica") at the Teatro Colon. This theater was built at the turn of the century & was the cultural center of all of South America for a hundred years. What surprised me the most was how HUGE it is! As you can see from the pictures, there are 7 levels of seating and I think it must seat about 2000 people. What could the population of Buenos Aires possibly have been in 1900? It seems like a huge venue relative to the city size.

On my way to the Colon, I passed by the theater where they are performing that old standard, The Rebellious Noviciate (!). I'll bet you're familar with this one. Now I'm super-curious: do they do the songs in English or translate into Spanish (seems very difficult)...

Ciudad del Libro

Buenos Aires is a reader's paradise. I have never seen so many bookstores in one place in my life! To the point where it's hard to understand how the population can support such a density of book outlets. I know that historically public education has been very good here and the literacy rate has been ~99% - but that doesn't necessarily translate into so many people reading for pleasure. Anyway, it's a mystery and a beautiful one. The first pictures you'll see are a wonderful bookstore that's located in a former theater. I stopped for a coffee in the cafe at the back of the store, and that's where some of the pictures were taken.

The last picture is quite different. Buenos Aires has a world-famous "Feria del Libro" (Festival of the Book) every year. For 2+ weeks, there are readings, lectures and panel discussions for about 10 hours a day about books. The session I attended was called "Buenos Aires, the imaginary city" or something like that. Some of the most famous actors in Argentine films read passages from fiction and non-fiction novels (if you've seen "The Secret in their Eyes," you've seen a couple of them). It pushed the limits of my Spanish, but was fascinating. They also sell books at the fair, though that description does not begin to do it justice. In fact, there are multiple pavillions that were absolutely jammed with people buying books - even waiting in line to get into specific bookseller's stalls. Though the prices appeared to be pretty much what you'd pay in any store in town, people were buying so much that they frequently hauled away their loot in roller bags. That was the situation with this gentleman, so I had to take his picture. 

"Kill Fire" - or, the fun of foreign-ness

One of the best things about being in a foreign country is the way it can surprise you with its strangeness. Things aren't the way you expect them to be, so you become hyper-aware of the small details of life and how weird they can be. Here are some of my favorites:

"Fire Extinguisher" in Spanish? "Kill Fire"

This sign is quite common in Buenos Aires. What does it mean? It looks like a really carefree guy with a briefcase...



A common greeting? "Como Andas?" (how are you walking?). I guess it's not any more odd than "how's it going?" but I see it with fresh and funny eyes.

One last observation - there is a huge Italian influence in Buenos Aires, as you may know already. Several decades ago, half the population of the city was recent immigrants, and many of them were from Italy. That heritage shows up in the language, so it's common when saying goodbye to say "Ciao Ciao" - twice, very fast. If you try, it will sound like you're a bad actor pretending to be Italian. I still can't do it with a straight face.

My Commute to Work

Here are some typical scenes on my way to and from work. Some of my favorite pictures are of the school kids. For some reason, elementary school kids here wear lab coats as their uniform. It makes them look so serious and professional!

Un Cuento Chino

Hi Dear Ones, I just saw my first movie in a theater in Argentina! I knew almost nothing about it beforehand, but it turned out to be incredibly suited to my circumstances. It's called A Chinese Story (Un Cuento Story) and large parts of it were clearly filmed in my neighborhood - in fact, even on the route that I walk to work! I wish I could show you the key moments, but here at least is the link to the preview. There has been significant Chinese immigration to Buenos Aires over the years, and this movie is about a Chinese immigrant who is befriended by a native Argentinian. My office is in China Town so I see these scenes every day...Of course, the movie was also about the immigrant experience, what it's like to not quite speak the language etc - and that I could also relate to!

http://filminginargentina.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/un-cuento-chino/

Street Scenes of Buenos Aires

Political Street Art

I love the political street art in Buenos Aires.

Easter in my neighborhood

Here are pictures of the outdoor Easter service at my local church!

Feliz Dia del Trabajo!

Hola todos - and happy May Day! In Argentina, this is an important time for celebrating workers, the common man, and labor unions. Actually - perhaps because May 1 fell on a Sunday this year - the big celebration took place yesterday, with a rally downtown that drew 400,000 people! Even my neighborhood, from from the center of town, was crazy last night, with parties, cars honking and revving in the street, and what sounded like someone doing construction at 1 in the morning! I assume this was connected with May Day, but perhaps it was just an especially exhuberant Saturday night. Today was sleepy and quiet in that 'morning after' way, and stores were closed up as though it were Christmas or New Year's. Tomorrow is Monday and I will be back to work. Speaking for the office workers, I'd like to suggest that they change the timing of the Day of the Worker to a weekday!