Buenos Aires: The Beginning of the End

Friends and family, sorry we’ve been out of touch so long.  I haven’t kept up with the blog since we arrived in Buenos Aires.  It’s an intoxicating city; full of so much life that it both draws you in and at the same time makes you wonder how to fit into it all.

(Recoleta Cemetery)

I’ve found some work in the time that we’ve been here.  It’s just writing articles for different companies, more related to advertising than anything.  It may not be the most interesting work in the world but it keeps me writing and gives us some spending money while we are here- a necessity!

(Open Air Art Exhibition of Bear Sculptures Representing Countries Throughout the World)

Trying to describe the city itself is almost a frightening task, and I certainly wouldn’t attempt it in one blog post- I want to at least have someone still reading by the time we reach the end!  I’m going to make an effort to publish a post every Wednesday from here on out while we are here.  It’ll just be a few thoughts on what BA is like, how we are finding our way in the flow of the city.

We are living in the neighborhood of Monserrat.  It’s one of the older barrios of the city, on the southern side.  The south of the city was the first area to grow and prosper, where all new immigrants arrived.  In the 1800’s a Yellow Fever epidemic hit Buenos Aires, at which point in time all the wealthy residents moved to the north of the city to the neighborhoods of Palermo and Recoleta, among others.  Most of the city’s wealth is still in the north, an area full of magnificent buildings and green parks.  The south is much more urban and still has a much lower income population, but has a vitality that can’t be found anywhere else.  Old cobblestone streets intersect with paved roads and grandiose buildings are interspersed with brick apartments.  Some of the older constructions have been abandoned and are currently in a decrepit state, with vines climbing through cracked windows and crumbling walls.

(A Tomb in Recoleta)

One example of the madness that we’ve plunged ourselves into.  May 25^th is a day of commemoration for the 30,000 Argentines who were “disappeared” by the government during the Dirty War.  Intellectuals, dissidents, and students all disappeared from their homes and jobs.  Some of their bodies washed up on shore, having been thrown from helicopters.  The mothers of the disappeared hold a weekly vigil in the main square of the city to ask for accountability.  On May 25^th, what seemed like the entire city turned out in a march that closes down many of the main streets in the city center.  Bands of students, families, and political activists all marched through the streets, banging drums and waving flags.

We’ve also done plenty of sightseeing while we’ve been here; both day and nighttime.  New York might be called the “city that doesn’t sleep,” but BA deserves the moniker.  Any night of the week it’s possible to find a rocking party that goes until sunup, so a nightlife post is in order at some point, listing a few weekly highlights.  Some photos of the city itself are also on the way, and there’s a chance that Megan and I will get the opportunity to put something together for a local English language paper.

Hasta pronto amigos.