paris of the south?

I´ve been in buenos aires for more than a week now, staying with javier, a 28-year-old argentine who works for my dad´s company, but remotely, from BA. This is a city that oozes old-world charm. Cobblestone streets, classical european architecture, and beautiful old wooden doors that line the streets and offer tantalizing hints of the homes and history inside. This is an easy city to live in. The restaurants are fantastic and sophisticated, the wine is good and cheap, and the infrastructure works. For those hunting for good fashion, boutiques are everywhere and they sell interesting and well-made clothes for prices that, because of the economic collapse in 2001, are reasonable by american standards. Can you tell i´ve been doing a little shopping?I´ve also fallen for the tango. It´s a bit cliche I know, but i couldn´t help myself. I´ve taken two classes this week and also visited two milongas, which are the halls where people go to dance into the morning. I´ve only learned the most basic steps but already, i´ve become attached. The movements feel natural and comfortable, unlike the salsa, whose requisite hip movements sometimes make me feel awkward and silly. The tango is quite smooth and yet has sudden changes in movement that give it passion and spontaneity. And watching a woman dance the tango is beautiful--the way she looks, stylishly dressed and always in high heels, the way she leans on her partner as if she could not stand without him, and they way she closes her eyes as she waits for him to lead her around the dance floor. She submits, for a few songs, willingly and naturally. The gender roles at the milonga feel of a different time. They are simpler and clearer, and both the men and the women seem to enjoy the opportunity to, respectively, lead and be led.

Buenos Aires feels different from rio and sao paolo, and from what i have heard, other big cities in south america. There is a stability here that somehow reminds me of the u.s. or europe. It feels more developed and for that reason, familiar. One argentinian i spoke with mentioned that argentina is unique in south america for the extent to which there exists a middle class. I´m not sure why this is so, but it feels right. There is a sense of safety, prosperity, and equity here that is palpable and that fosters a larger sense of comfort and ease.

At first, I actually thought Buenos Aires felt a little boring for this reason. There is not the kind of palpable drama of rich and poor living side-by-side. Nor is the culture as colorful, exuberant, or loud as Brasil´s. People are also not as immediately or outwardly warm or friendly. Instead, the culture is quieter, and possesses strong intellectual and artistic strains. Museums abound and the city supports thriving theatre, ballet, and opera companies. And of the people i have met, a high proportion have been artists or intellectuals. For instance, of the local Servas hosts I met, one of the couples included a visual artist/painter and an epistemologist, the others a sociologist and political scientist. The mother of Javier, the guy i´m staying with, was a psychotherapist in her younger days. This all seems fairly common.

I have come to appreciate Buenos Aires. I have had some fascinating discussions about politics, about gender dynamics, the economic collapse in 2001 and the uncertain future of the internet economy here. Gender dynamics deserves its own post so let me talk briefly about the internet economy, which has not taken hold here as it has in the states. For instance, people here still book most of their travel through travel agents. The argentinians explained that people here do not trust the internet. This seemed funny at first, but it makes sense given the country´s long and consistent history of economic instability and corruption. During the 2001 collapse, many banks refused to give people the money in their accounts and one person I met said she saves in dollars. By this, she meant that she physically takes US hundred dollar bills and puts them in a safety deposit for security during the next crisis. Credit cards are frequently copied and loans are very difficult for the average person to get. In the context of this financial scarcity, instability, and cheating, it makes sense that people would not trust the internet. Shipping is also very expensive. I wonder what Amazon.com thinks about all of this.

Anyway, I am heading to Salvador de Bahia tomorrow morning for two weeks. Salvador is the heart of afro-brasilian culture and is where most of brasil´s four millions African slaves landed. First, I´m going to Chapada de Diamantina, a national park in Bahia, to hike for a few days. Then I return to Salvador for Carnival. Salvador´s carnival is reputed to be the best and the craziest in brasil. I´m looking forward to it with a mix of excitement and dread. I´m sure it will be a once-in-a-lifetime party and I hope I survive it.

I will try to get some pics up soon. Too many words!