Mi Buenos Aires Querido

Recoleta Carolina said:
Pericles,

You really are such a deep soul................ The article reminded me of my own love/hate relationship with Buenos Aires.

"She had discovered her worth, how much money she could actually make by selling her body to the new, growing line of international clients, but had lost a bit of her soul in the process."

I think that Buenos Aires brings out the best and the worst of all things human. For foreigners I think that the love/hate relationship is truly addicting. It is the insanity that keeps people going back or staying over and over again. Because Buenos Aires is not to be controlled. She is like the mistress that a man can never really possess. He might enjoy her body but he will never possess her heart!

Wow Carol you hit a cord here it's exactly as you mentioned, sometimes you hate the place and wish to get the hell out here in a hurry and as soon you leave the place for a while you miss the damn thing all over again be the good, the bad or the ugly, once one has had lived in BA for some time you will be not able to forgot her so easily....therefor the lyrics from the tango "Mi Buenos Aires Querido"... My beloved Buenos Aires, when I see you again there will be no more sorrow nor forgetfulness. Music by Carlos Gardel, Lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera (1934), number one tango for the City of Buenos Aires. and so true for locals living or working overseas.
 
Okay, I am sorry, I didnt know that Starbucks is proliferating at such a rate.
I dont drink coffee, and have been in a Starbucks, anywhere in the world, probably 3 times, so I tend to tune em out.

Still, I maintain that you could make the same complaint about every city in the world- my favorite jewish delis have all closed, in both Pittsburgh and Miami. (I still cry myself to sleep when I remember that the Rascal House is no more) All the great old family owned restaurants in LA have long gone. Seattle has lost it character, to be replaced by Starbucks...
Okay, the original Starbucks in the Market was okay- cute dreadlocked hippie girls used to work there, there were actual bales of tea on the floor, and the wood floor creaked when you walked on it. Nary a corporate logo to be seen.

If you think there are lots of chain conglomerate stores and restaurants in BsAs, you havent been in Phoenix, or Atlanta, or Vegas recently, thats for sure. The Venerable Colonel, as they call him in China, has opened 2000 KFC stores in China.
Even small towns in Italy are chockful of chains. I was in Brescia not that long ago, and every third storefront was a Benneton or chain store.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of american towns where EVERY store and restaurant is some soulless chain. Subway, Starbucks, McDonalds, every corner has 4 of em.

Me, I avoid em all- and most certainly in Buenos Aires. It is perfectly possible, in my neighborhood, to buy everything I need from actual people, who own their own stores and restaurants, and I make a point of doing it.
 
Ries said:
It is perfectly possible, in my neighborhood, to buy everything I need from actual people, who own their own stores and restaurants, and I make a point of doing it.

Exactly - this is one of the things I love about the city, how many heladerias, panaderias, fabricas de pastas, fiambrerias etc do you have within a three or four block radius of where you live, they all have their own quirks and idiosyncrasies. When a new store opens in my neighbourhood I'm always curious to find out what they have, what they do differently, its in stark contrast to when you see a sign for the grand opening of Chain X.

Regarding the article, does nobody else think this is a steaming heap of done to death westerner-in-latinoland cliches? I would just stick to the tango lyrics.
 
miloshz said:
reminds me of sugarcoated romanesque descriptions of paris!

people, please, do mind switching your reality distortion off. ;)


I don't what your first language is, but I love the expression "do mind switching your reality distortion off."
 
Moxon said:
Regarding the article, does nobody else think this is a steaming heap of done to death westerner-in-latinoland cliches?

Yeah, not keen either. Reminds of the mawkish articles you read lamenting that england isn't as full of thatched cottages and castles as hollywood made out. Buenos Aires is a city of millions of people, not a latin themed disneyland to live out romantic colonial fantasies.

Once you get used to the architecture, the language, the food and all the other superficial elements its the people and their culture that make the city what it is.

Its why so many community regeneration projects fail. They assume that if they build a cultural centre a vibrant artistic and commuity movement will flourish. It won't because it didn't exist previously. Likewise, a few starbucks, multinationals and torres aren't going to obliterate several hundered years of culture over night. Its a facelift, not a heart transplant.
 
I will be superficial and will just point out the the last sentence " We both know that she will forever remain, Buenos Aires, mi querido. " is a bit confusing since the author talks all the time about this female, and in the en talks to BsAs ! querido " adj/masculine... I guess he was bisexual? or he really never bothered with the language? ;)
 
BA is a transgender queen wiggling her wobbly bits at passing Westerners hoping for some respite from their chronic ennui.
 
nikad said:
I will be superficial and will just point out the the last sentence " We both know that she will forever remain, Buenos Aires, mi querido. " is a bit confusing since the author talks all the time about this female, and in the en talks to BsAs ! querido " adj/masculine... I guess he was bisexual? or he really never bothered with the language? ;)

Please don't forget that in the beginning it was Santa Maria Del Buen Ayre "Our Lady of the Fair Winds" - The original name of Argentina's capital city....adj/feminine

"Pedro de Mendoza: In 1536, Spanish seaman Pedro de Mendoza established a fort and port in current-day San Telmo (slightly south of Buenos Aires city centre) and called it Santa María del Buen Ayre ("Our Lady of the Fair Winds"). The city name was chosen by the chaplain of Mendoza's expedition, a devotee of the Bonaria Virgin. (Another version [2] says that one Leonardo Gribeo, that witnessed the original miracle, was on Mendoza's crew.)
Mendoza’s settlement soon came under attack by indigenous peoples, and was abandoned in 1541. A second (and permanent) settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción (now the capital of Paraguay). Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Ayre ("City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds"). The short form "Buenos Aires" became the common usage during the 17th century."


Anyway here is a video from Gotan Project - Santa Maria Del Buen Ayre

For people now in London can go to this restaurant: Santa Maria Del Buen Ayre
50 Broadway Market,
London,
E8 4QJ
0871 971 3568
 
Back
Top