Soccer is religion in Argentina. Even the heartiest American football fan seems fairweather after you've experienced a Boca Juniors game in Buenos Aires. British Airways does a nice job capturing the feeling with unlikely spokesperson Pascual Tatangelo.
There are few better ways to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in Buenos Aires than catching a match at the Campo Argentino de Polo which is located in the Las Cañitas barrio. Much more tranquilo than watching futbol, BA's other favorite sport draws a more genteel audience. Even if you're like me and know nothing about Polo, you'll pick it up pretty easily. Last November, we caught an afternoon contest that was part of the monthlong Polo Open Championships. According to BA Travel Guide, this annual tournament draws the best players in the world. Highly recommended.
One of the main reasons I lived in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires was so that I could run in the parks. It was a luxury to have the park system close by. Still, I did get tired of always running the same routes. There aren't that many other options unless you want to take a taxi to the Reserva Ecologica. It's easy to forget how spoiled we runners are in the Twin Cities.
Here are photos from a typical 5-mile loop through the parks. It was pretty calm the day these were taken. No protests, no dancing mascots, and it was too early for the transvestite prostitutes. Just a leisurely jog around the lakes.
Todos los fines de semana hay una feria en las calles de San Telmo. Tienen bandas, artistas, bailarines y (por supuesto) las personas que venden cosas a los turistas. Es un buen lugar para pasar el tarde con amigos. No tiene que gastar nada para disfrutarlo. Por ejemplo, yo vi Pollera Pantalon (una banda de ska) y hice este video durante la interpretacion. Que difrutes!
This was my first futbol experience watching the fabled Boca Juniors' club play at La Bombera stadium in the La Boca neighborhood.
We got our tickets from a friend who knew a guy who took us to his uncle's garage in La Boca. It all seemed rather shady but it got us into the game. We arrived about 5 hours prior to the start, which is necessary in order to get a bleacher seat. Even then there's no guarantee you'll retain it because the fans are literally crawling over each other to get a spot, and won't hesitate to catch you off guard and take your seat!
We were warned not to wear sandals, and not to sit directly beneath the balcony of second level of seating. This is because fans from the opposing team have a tendency to throw things down on the Boca fans, or even just take a piss on your head. They will also piss in the starewells, which is the reason for wearing shoes over sandals.
Don't get me wrong, it was a memorable experience. The fans are incredible, singing the team's various (and numerous) anthems in unison straight through the 90-minute game. And they absolutely erupt when the Juniors score. Someone jumped on my back and almost sent me tumbling after one goal. The footage above is actually tame compared to some of the other post-goal celebrations I witnessed.
By the way, the Boca Juniors won, 2-1.
Si, es muy turistico pero es muy recomendable. Deseo que estaba alli!
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La Bomba de Tiempo Myspace
When Argentina went through economic hell in 2001, protests and riots erupted. Unemployment reached 25%. Even some of the formerly wealthy were out on the streets. The country was in freefall.
In this doc, Current producers Lauren Cerre and Tracey Chang posit that there are benefits to going through such a collapse. It forces people to find creative ways to live and work. Definitely worth checking out (skip ahead to 3:45 for the good stuff).
In Argentina for example, closed factories were reopened as employee-owned cooperatives which give workers better pay. People began swapping goods and services at trading clubs, some of which still exist. Enreprenueurs created startups. To paraphrase one Argentine interviewee from the program, when you struggle you get more creative. You don't waste time doing things that aren't productive.
One of the things that I noticed living in Argentina is that nothing that still works is ever thrown away or replaced. Thus you'll often see Fiats from the early 1980s, TVs from the 1970s and computers from the dawn of the Internet. And many old (some beautiful, some crumbling) homes and apartments. I'm sure this is partly due to frugality borne out of the crisis now eight years past.
Will the US learn its lesson from this recession? I think so. Adversity is a great teacher. Then again, you wonder how soon we'll forget.
Why does the mullet thrive in Buenos Aires? Is it simply part of their back to the 80s fashion sense? Is it reflective of the alleged unabashed feminine side of some Argentine men? I don't know, but they were a constant source of amusement for me when I lived there. The gentleman above kept me entertained while enduring miles on a colectivo along Avenida Las Heras.
See also Buenos Aires: The Mullet Capital of the South, which points out that even well-healed businessmen are seen sporting the lovely locks.
This year, China will become the number one English speaking country. Two billion people worldwide are striving to learn English. Not because we're pushing it but because they're pulling it. They see it as the key to a better life.
Walker argues that this is a good thing because it gives us a common language to solve our common problems such as global warming, poverty and disease.
English mania has definitely struck Buenos Aires, where there are hundreds of English institutes of varying quality, often short on teachers. Despite the demand, being an expat teacher there is not the lucrative endeavor it is in some Asian countries. However it is an excellent way to get to know locals and get involved in the local culture.
