Babes at Bach Bar
Estelle, Sophie, and I go to one of the most lesbian schools in the entire world. So sometimes we have the urge to throw off the yoke of our male oppressors and go find something familiar. So where did we go? Bach Bar (Cabrera 4390).
Our night began at 00:00 at Freddo, a chain ice cream restaurant. We ordered cucuruchos (cones) loaded with ice cream, which we then proceeded to eat out side. In the middle of winter. Ice cream. It was very cold. Anyway, Estelle nearly passed out for lack of sleep (for reasons mentioned in the previous post) so Sophie and I went to Bach Bar together.
When we got there, a few straight men were trying to get in. The security guards wouldn’t let them in at first, saying “this place is for the ladies,” but eventually relented. Sophie and I then waited for about 20 minutes to be let in as the line got longer and longer, winding around the corner.
Sophie and I got in eventually, checked our coats, bought some beer, and began dancing. We had been dancing for about an hour when a woman and her friend came up and began dancing with us and you know what- the women are just as aggressive as the men. The woman I danced with was a persistent chamucherra (sweet talker) who tried to tell me how cute I was every other second. I am just learning how the straight dating/sex culture works here, so I’m completely lost when it comes to the gay/lesbian scene.
We left the bar around 6. Got home around 7. A little bit early, given some of my nights.
Also, if anyone calls me “antiojos” or “glasses” again, I will brutally murder them. It seems to happen at least once a night when I go out.
How to find lovers (and friends) in Buenos Aires
I’ve decided to write on this topic to celebrate the fact that after a long, one and a quarter month stay in Argentina, my friend Stella is going to get laid. Should it take this long to get laid in Argentina? Not really. There are a lot of single men in Argentina that would love to take you to a telo for 2 hours (the normal time allotment for a sexual activity). Does it take a month and a quarter to find someone worthwhile? You bet.
So. How does one go about finding a lover (or a friend) in Buenos Aires?
First- make one friend. A great way to do this is through friends from the USA who have been to Buenos Aires before. They may know a few people, and introduce you to them via the internet. Go out to coffee or a bar. Begin friendship. Although this sounds hard, it is not at all uncommon. The first weekend in Buenos Aires, nearly everyone on the program met up with friends of friends. I am lucky to be friends with Sophia, who knew Eugenia, a lovely Argentine girl, through a friend. We met up the first weekend, and have been hanging out ever since.
Second- meet their friends. If you become good friends with an Argentine they will introduce you to their friends sooner or later. They may have a party at their house, go to a party at someone else’s house, or meet up at a bar. When you meet these friends, talk to them. As I said in a previous post, parties in Argentina resemble speed dating. You talk to everyone there and eventually find a few people you really get along with. If you want to continue being friends, contact them on Facebook or take their number. If you are really lucky, like my friend Stella, you may even find a lover at one of these parties. She found him at the party of a friend who she had met through another friend.
Third- always speak Spanish. I hate to sound so “Amigos de las Americas,” but speaking Spanish is necessary for relationships. We’re not in Kansas anymore. Speaking English can be alienating for people who only speak Spanish. If you are clustered in a group of USA students, speaking English you will be less approachable, and at the worst, people may think you are talking about them. On a brighter note, Spanish is fun! Learn new expressions and words, talk with people about school, your impressions of Buenos Aires, whatever. If you only know a little bit of Spanish, move around a lot so you can have the same conversation with everybody. (Most people will ask you the same questions.)
So, as you may have noticed, it takes awhile to find a decent lover- a few weeks, perhaps. First friends, then friends of friends, then friends of friends of friends….etc.
If you are lazy, of course, you could probably just grab the first person you find at a boliche.
Grafiteros
Today Pedro and I became grafiteros. He found a construction site covered in beautiful, untouched wood near the Plaza Francia. We went there last night at 1 am and stenciled. The stencils came out beautifully (well, maybe not beautifully, but at least it worked). I wasn’t so sure his would work because it was extremely detailed and made out of paper, but it did! So after that, what did I do? I got paint everywhere. I leaned on the stencils to take a picture, got it all over my coat, all over my hands, and then all over Pedro’s coat. Oh well. I’ll bring gloves and common sense next time!
Oh, on another note- I finally tried the slackline and didn’t fall! (Though that may have had something to do with the fact that I was holding on to someone…) I balanced on one foot for about 9/10ths of a second. Anyway, there were only two people there other than Pedro and Francisco, so I didn’t feel too awkward trying it.
Things I love about BA: Delivery!!!!
One of the best things about Buenos Aires is delivery. You can order alcohol and coffee as well as more common items like pizza and empanadas. And you can order any time during the day. If I want coffee while I’m at work, I simply place a call and an attractive (hopefully) young man brings it to my office. If I’m having a party and we (gasp) run out of booze, I can call delivery and the party can continue.
Long Weekend
My weekend days are divided into two distinct sections- the day and the night, separated by a two hour nap. I usually wake up around 12 and then read, travel, etc. until 7. From 7-9:00 I take a nap, so that I can go out from 11-7.
Friday, Part I
I went with Pedro to the Montana store to look for spray paint, but it was closed. We walked around Belgrano for a bit until we found black paint at a hardware store. After completing our mission, we took the bus to the Plaza Francia to hang out with circus people. If you ever want to find these circus hippies, just look for the triangle of palm trees connected by slacklines (sort of like tightropes). I went home after an hour of watching people run, stumble, and nearly fall across the lines.
Friday, Part II
Estelle, Sophia, and I went to a bar called InFamme for a birthday of someone we hadn’t met before. Which I guess is pretty common because it’s happened like 3 times so far. I sat next to a Columbian girl named Lyda and we talked about how Argentine men are much more sketchy than other Latin American men. One of them came up to her and said “I would leave it all for you” three minutes after making out with another girl.
Saturday, Part I
Read 100 pages of economics texts in Spanish.
Saturday, Part II
Sophia, Francisco, Estelle, and I went out to eat at a Tucumanian restaurant in Barrio Norte. Great empanadas, but a little too expensive. Afterwards, we went to a party at the apartment of a Brasilian man and chillaxed with a bunch of Columbians. Going to parties with lots of random people is like speed dating. You talk to a lot of people, and eventually find 1 or 2 you like, then spend the rest of the night talking to them. I met a guy named Octavio from Mexico. We talked about Mexican words (“Mande” instead of “como”) and he and a Columbian had a swearing match. At one point, I realized that I hadn’t been hit on the entire night. And then I realized that there wasn’t a single Argentine in the room.
Sunday I
Pedro and I made stencils, then looked for a place in Recoleta to graffiti. Unfortunately, Recoleta is one of the richest areas in all of Argentina, so we couldn’t find any dimly lit allies/ sketchy construction sites with lots of wood lying around. We went back to his house to eat toast and mate with honey (tastes so much better, who knew!). Sophia, Estelle, Gabrielle, and Francisco came over and we played music and had a Green Day sing along.
Sunday II
Great night, but I’m keeping it a secret. ;o
Palace of Graffiti
The past few days have been relatively uneventful. I’ve been sick and using that as an excuse to sit around and watch television (Very good TV- I watched Fight Club yesterday!).
Today was going to be one of those relaxed days, but then I got a text from Pedro, an Argentine friend. He invited me to a graffiti show at the Palais de Glace (1725 Posadas ). Pedro is a pretty cool dude. He enjoys comics (!) and wants to start doing graffiti around Buenos Aires. I told him I knew a little bit about it, and wanted to try it out. I learned about graffiti through Devin [see: http://www.fotolog.com/startsolvency/944520] and Omar[see: http://www.fotolog.com/misnomer/17230411]. Devin always created graffiti that wasn’t obvious or noticeable- pieces of paper pasted to the wall in interesting shapes, spiderlike carvings in metal. Omar works with stencils and gravity. His Muslim heritage is illustrated with stencils of mosques and minarets. In one piece, he painted red clouds above the mosque in water color, and let the water run down onto the mosque. Anyway, most of my knowledge and appreciation for graffiti comes from them.
So, Pedro and I went to the museum. On the second floor there is a wide open space filled with wooden walls covered in stencils and larger scale pieces. We were in heaven, pointing out the stencils we thought were best. A curator from the museum came over to us, and invited us to a lecture about Argentinean graffiti. The first presentation was about the different forms, like tags, promotions for bands, and memorial and political graffiti. The second presentation was about hip hop graffiti in Mar del Plata, a city 4 hours away from BA. Apparently there is a huge movement there, and the artists mix their own paint and everything! I sat and listened to people speak in Spanish for 2 hours and didn’t get bored.
After the presentations, Pedro and I made plans to go buy paint on Wednesday. We decided that we’re going to paint on the boards covering construction sites and abandoned buildings instead of defiling private property and national monuments. We lack any form of artistic skills (he’s training to be a doctor and I’m training to be an economist) so we decided to start out with stencils.
He walked me home, and on the way we critiqued the graffiti we saw. We held imaginary glasses of wine in our hands, and pretended to be snooty art buffs. Most of the graffiti looked like it had been done in a hurry, and we judged it harshly.
Until next time!
Things to know about BA #1
There is dog poop everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Smeared all over the sidewalk, plopped on the side of the street. All the skat comes from the dogs walked by the dozen. Apparently you can make more money walking a dozen dogs than you can teaching at the University of Buenos Aires. When you walk twelve dogs at a time, picking up poop is not an option. So, beware the streets of BA. Look at the sidewalk, not the lovely architecture!
Sundays in San Telmo
San Telmo lives up to it’s reputation. In every single guidebook, ST is described as “bohemian” with artists and musicians on every corner, culture spewing out the seams. Lots of guidebooks exaggerate to make places seem more authentic, but San Telmo lived up to its description. My first stop was the Feria de Antiguidades in Plaza Dorrego (Defensa and Humberto). I spent an entire hour wandering around the plaza, checking out religious pendants and old photographs. A lot of the stuff is too expensive for my taste (aka more than 10 pesos), but I bought two photos. One was a family photo from the 1960’s and the other was of a glamorous man with a mustache. According to the lady at the booth, this type of man was the chamucherro of his generation, sweeping the ladies off their feet with his smooth tango moves.
San Telmo’s feria isn’t limited to one plaza, it spreads out through many blocks and streets. Sections are devoted to impressionist and modern art. Bands can be found on nearly every block, playing jazz or the tango. The best part about the fair was it’s authenticity– Argentines visit the area as well.
Street vendors line the streets, selling everything from meringues filled with dulce de leche to popcorn to basil, tomato, and cheese empanadas the size of my head!
Mendoza’s finest
After a string of sub par and terrible days, the wonderfulness of Saturday caught me by surprise.
Friday night wasn’t bad. I went with SC girls to Euge’s house where we met some of her friends from the facultad. They were pretty awesome. Around 1 pm I got really tired, so took a nap in her room for 2 hours. When I woke up around 3, everyone was drunk and a few people were making out. (I guess I missed a formative few hours!) For the next 2.5 hours I drank Sprite and tried to dance, but mostly just sat and listened to music. At 5:30am I went home, and by 6:30 am I was asleep.
That said, it is no wonder my day began at 1 pm this afternoon. At 1:15 I chatted with my family over Skype (I highly recommend getting it if you haven’t already!). By three I headed to my new favorite art gallery of all time….
The MALBA– Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires
The current exibition is La Era de la Discrepancia, visual art and culture from Mexico during the years 1968-1997. One of my favorite pieces was a photo series of the evolution of man from nakedness and rock weapons to underwear and knives to fully clothed with machine guns. Another was a video montage of images of Mexico from the USA called “Para Leer el Macho Mouse” by Ruben Ortiz Torres. It mixed images of Mexican laborers with Speedy Gonzales and the Three Amigos and also had a scene where puppets of Minnie Mouse and Micky Mouse had sex. One of my favorite scenes contrasted Speedy Gonzales promising to find cheese for the mice with protest marches and images of Zapata.
The permanent gallery is also very impressive. I saw my first ever picture by Frida Kahlo. It’s not a famous one, but it was still a milestone. There are also paintings by Diego Rivera and Alejandro Xul Solar. “Descendimiento” by Alfredo Guttero, a modern day interpretation of Christ’s descent from the cross, caught my eye. In most paintings (or older ones, at least) Mary faints as her son is being taken down from the cross by men, like Paul the Baptist. In this painting, Mary was looking at her son. She isn’t crying. She isn’t weak. She looks over Jesus and covers him with a cloth. I like this new interpretation. It always bothered me how Mary was always in a state of weakness in every picture.
Tonight I went with Estelle to Lucio’s on Scalibrini Ortiz near Santa Fe. We wandered around for 3 hours and found a cute plaza with a lovely church, a man with four cats, and an adorable old couple. We spent about 2.25 hours in the restaurant from 10-12:15 during which we consumed an entire bottle of Santa Isabel Malbec, a red wine from Argentina. You wouldn’t think a bottle of wine could do it, but Estelle and I were media borracha before we ordered dessert. The food was decent (I had gnocchi), but the wine and company really made the dinner. Topics of conversation ranged from Ed Norton to mixed income housing to the ladies and our lives. Argentinians really do know how to do dinner.
Gatos y Gauchos
Good question, stilllifeinbuenosaires! (SLBA asked “So a question about the botanic garden: to pet or not to pet the cats?”)
Pet the cats. Definitely. The cats at the Jardin Botanico seem to be abandoned house cats who rely on the kindness of the portenos for food and water. These cats are well fed and clean, not matted and skinny. That said, you should only pet the cat if it will let you. Hold out a hand, and if the cat comes forward, then you can pet it. Do not treat it like you would your own cat (pick it up, pull its tail, etc.). If the cat looks irritated, stop doing what you are doing. Wild cats may have rabies, and if it bites/scratched you, look forward to a series of seven shots in the stomach.
Exposicion Rural 2008
The ER2008 is a livestock/agricultural show that takes place in Buenos Aires every year. The ER consists of tents filled with sheep, horses, chickens, cows, pigs, and rabbits. Some of these animals win prizes (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) and others go home losers. Another feature of the festival is farm machinery and technology. I saw at least 3 tractors that were taller than houses.
The ER2008 was especially exciting, because Catherine and I were given personal tours. I smiled at a young boy working with the cows. He ran up to me and asked me if we wanted to drink mate with him and his pals, a bunch of young, rather attractive gauchos. (Apparently this boy was appointed the task of asking young people to come hang out with the gauchos.) We went into the corral with the cows and joined them. One of the guys filled up a cup of mate that they had been drinking from and handed it to Catherine. After she finished, he filled it up again and passed it to me. Mate is a very bitter drink. At first, I hated it, but after a few sips it became more bearable. After we had finished drinking, a few guys took us on a tour of the fair. Damian, a nineteen year old and future veterinarian, was my guide. He took two years off during high school so he could work on a farm with cows. He described the campo in such a way that it made me nostalgic for something I had never experienced. In the campo, you wake up with the dawn, and it is completely silent except for the mooing of the cows. And, of course, there are those hansom gauchos with berets, boots, and small silk scarves. Definitely worth going.
