Dakar Rally Opening Yesterday At Plaza De Mayo

[camel]

I went to Plaza de Mayo yesterday to check out the Dakar Rally opening ceremony. It was great, everyone excited, the racers talking to the crowd, taking photos, etc. At one point there was a biplane doing aerobatics at an altitude of 300 - 1000 feet, directly above the Casa Rosada, while tango dancers danced to Carlos Gardel. I classified that as "things you'll never see in the US (stunt plane over the whitehouse)."

Anyway, at one point one of the drivers who didn't speak Spanish came over to the crowd and wanted to buy 2 bottles of water from one of the many vendors who were selling it for 10 pesos per bottle. He crowd was too thick so he had to rely on two people in the crowd to talk to the vendor. The vendor said "20 pesos" for two bottles. The first guy in the crowd yelled "fifty" to the racer. The racer didn't understand, so another guy in the crowd who was closer yelled "hundred". The driver handed over the money and got his water, overpaying by 80 pesos. Wow, opportunists eh?

 

[estebandepraga]

Really that surprised?? Sad to say, I am not!

 

[jbeas176]

went to the opening ceremony a couple years back. the drivers were really friendly and would let you look at the cars and bikes up close. answered all you questions. really surprized someone didn't give him some. they don't have to stand there.

 

[Matt84]

I would have thought they d give them water for free, or at least that some enthusiastic fan would buy it for him.
If I had known there was gonna be a plane at low altitude I would have gone!
There was another famous aero stunt over casa rosada in 1955 but that is totally off topic.

 

[camel]

So is anyone going to watch any of the rally stages? They're heading to Chile, then Bolivia, then back through Argentina through Rosario and ending in Buenos Aires (outside the city). Then there's another celebration at Plaza de Mayo.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

When are they going to change the name?

 

[camel]

of Plaza de Mayo?

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

of Plaza de Mayo?

of the rally no longer involving dakar...

 

[TWB103]

Rich playboys seriously bothering some of the most pristine wilderness on the planet and killing livestock. They remind me of colonialists rampaging through 'discovered' lands. I like sports but this seems to be one of the most extravagant, unnecessary elitist 'sports' there is.

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

Rich playboys seriously bothering some of the most pristine wilderness on the planet and killing livestock. They remind me of colonialists rampaging through 'discovered' lands. I like sports but this seems to be one of the most extravagant, unnecessary elitist 'sports' there is.

The enviromental impact Of The dakar rally is probably a lot less than that of the Argentina "a" division futbol games.