Our ride into downtown BA took us past some substantial slum areas on both sides of the freeway, with what appeared to be squatter houses built up out of various types of scrap. Some were multi-story, some built on to bridge and overpass piers, and some had penthouse verandas. We learned later that they were immigrants ( we were told that most were from Paraguay). There are said to be large numbers of illegal immigrants living and working in the area, and we did see what looked to be a level of tolerance for people living in parks, sleeping on sidewalks (with mattress and bedding). Live and let live.
As it happened we arrived in BA on a national holiday, and most shops were closed. Walking near our hotel, we came upon a large stage, with barricades and preparations for some kind of major event. We learned that Placido Domingo had chosen BA for a 50th anniversay performance. It was due to take place at 8:00 p.m., and people were gathering in mid afternoon. Our dinner reservations were for 8:00 p.m., and after consulting with the concierge at our hotel, we decided to give it a miss. He said if we did go, leave all jewelry, wallets, watches, etc. in our room, as the area would be full of pickpockets. As it happened, the paper said that 120,000 people came out, so we would have been listening to speakers blocks away anyway. The concert took place on Avenue of 9 July, said to be the widest street in the world. It may be, as there are about 4 lanes of traffic in each direction, and a very large middle boulevard, with parks and monuments, along the whole length.
The next morning we had a three hour guided city tour. Our guide turned out to be a very interesting fellow in his own right. A lifelong Buenos Airean, now 60ish, he had trained as an architect with no desire to be one (didn't like the construction industry). He worked a bit in a small family owned publishing company, and wrote short stories, and finally a few books. He said that one, about the Titanic, had some success due to fortuitous timing, coming out at the same time as the movie and a major Titanic exhibition, and he also wrote by request a follow-on childrens' book on the subject. His subsequent book on the Concorde didn't recover expenses, and he's currently writing one on the 747. He was a fountain of knowledge and strong opinions on local history, culture, and politics.
He took us first through the area of 19th century mansions, nearly all built in the French style. BA has been called the Paris of South America, for good reason. Much of the upper stratum of society at the time was French, the architects were French, and you can easily imagine walking from many of the streets directly on to the Champs Elysee. Many of the mansions reverted to state ownership over the years, and quite a few are residences for foreign ambassadors. One that was built by its owner as his personal Versailles is now the home of the American ambassador.
Our guide included a visit to the most spectacular bookstore, El Ateneo, we will likely ever see, although he told us it is rated #2 in the world. It is a former theatre,beautifully renovated. You can sit in one of the old boxes or balconies and read and browse, enjoy a beverage in the orchestra pit, or just buy books from the very extensive collection.
Our first full day in Buenos Aires ended with a visit to a Tango show. Tango is a national passion. The show was presented in a theatre dedicated to Carlos Gardel, considered the best Tango singer ever. He died in a plane crash in 1935 at the age of 45. The show had a variety of well staged individual and group dance acts, Tango singers, and orchestral performance (three button accordians, two violinists, a bass fiddle and a piano, on a stage elevated above the dance floor. Drinks and appetizers were served. It was an interesting experience even for gringoes, but I wished I understood the language to appreciate some of the nuance.
The cast taking a bow at the end of the show
The next day we had a liesurely breakfast and then went for a long walk. We started off in the reconfigured 1896 docks area. It was more or less abandoned for some years, then became the object of a renewal effort. It now hosts restaurants and offices in the old warehouses, and luxury apartments and shops accross the water on the other side. There is a large nature reserve between the residential area and the Rio Plata (River Plate).
The rehabilitated docks area
We continued, walking for a total of about 4 1/2 hours, through different parts of the old and new city, then back along a boulevard near the docks where I'd run in the morning and saw the food vendors setting up in the rain. By now the weather was sunny and warm, and the area was crowded with people eating, drinking, meeting and enjoying their Saturday. One think we hadn't seen before was the local biker gangs. These were groups of early teens with highly modified bicycles. The mods were for style rather than practicality, and showed some mechanical ingenuity.
Low riders with lots of spokes are hot
Some were equipped with loud speakers, blasting the choice of music to the world. We also discovered a new way for a couple of pillowless folks to enjoy a comfortable rest on a concrete bench.
Head to head, resting on each other's shoulder
We continued with a detour through the nature reserve, and then on home, with a brief stop for some bagpipe practice.
Why we don't stay long in one place
In the morning, we checked out of the hotel to head back for San Fernando airport and the next stage. It was a short but intriguing visit to this major city of about 12 million people. Will learn Spanish before the next visit.
El Ateneo bookstore
Monument to San Martin (background)
We visited the Recoleta cemetery, which, like New Orleans, has crypts and mausolea instead of graves. Some were very extravagantly styled, with room for generations of corpses. Quite a few were abandoned and not maintained, with deteriorating caskets sitting on the shelves. We finally arrived at the star attraction in the cemetery, the Duarte family crypt wherein repose the remains of Eva Peron, Argentinia's and Andrew Lloyd Weber's Evita. She died of cancer in 1952 at the age of 33, and has been the subject of controversy ever since. Her body was secretly transported to Milan during a period of "de-peronisation", but after fourteen years there and a couple of years on the dining room table of Juan Peron and his third wife, it was returned to BA and the bizarre journey ended with entombment in the family crypt.
The final (or at least current) resting place of Eva Peron
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