Day 113 - Balconies and tango

I was a little nervous coming back to Buenos Aires after Patagonia. It is like falling in love with somebody, spending just a little bit of time with him, and then having to face the fact that you are about to meet him in the airport after a long trip (during which you missed and idealized his every feature to the point of no return). What if in reality his crooked nose is not as charming as you recall? A little scary...

But thank God, Buenos Aires still has no crooked noses, as far as I am concerned: steak is delicious (although cordero patagonico was certainly a competitive alternative), ambiance outstanding, culture exciting. Phew...


I'm fascinated by the balconies of San Telmo...



I am also fascinated by the fact that there are no modern (acrobatic) tango shows anywhere in the city! They sell tango electronico CD's on every corner, but all the venues (and there are surprisingly few!) - like Nocturna, for example, or Tanguetto - are currently either closed or traveling abroad. This is a serious shame. I walk into every store / restaurant where I hear tango music from and inquire... but nothing! I don't mind the traditional tango (in fact, I love it!), but I also want to watch something Cirque de Soleil'ish, but with tango. Hmmm, maybe the next Cirque du Soleil show should be tango-based. That would be super cool!


On the bright side, now I have a growing list of popular tango electronico and narcotango bands, so at least I can update my music collection:

• Bajo Fondo
• Tanghetto
• Otro Aires
• Gotan Project

Babel Suites - a new hotel that I'm staying in (also in San Telmo) - is awesome. It is affiliated with the Hotel Babel that I stayed at before Patagonia, but it is organized as a little apartment building with absolutely spectacular little (well, the size of my Manhattan place:)) loft-apartments. The breakfast is not as amazing as at the Hotel Babel (because they expect you to use your own fully-equipped kitchen, I guess), and you don't interact with the staff as much (although it's as helpful in providing insightful advice as at the other place, but for some reason I just don't feel as comfortable asking them many questions, as in my eyes they carry out the function of doormen and not hotel concierges), but it is so great to stay in your own apartment, instead of a hotel room. In other words, I highly recommend it.

At night, despite pouring rain, I ventured out 5 blocks away to see another play - Es Inevitable - a very controversial (because of some lesbian scenes) teatro cinematografico work by Diego Casado Rubio, a Spanish screenwright who resides in Argentina. This time, I didn't understand every word (they were speaking way too fast and with a lot of local lingo), but the general gist of it was pretty clear, althoug obscure at the same time (but I am pretty sure that I would have been left with the same feeling had I watched it in English). It is a very interesting work that touches on all the issues of being a woman, as well as different aspects of grief. It is fascinating (this seems to be my favorite word of today) how each individual is different, yet all of us are so similar in certain aspects. For example, if you start the grieving process (for lost love, a dead relative, a terrible job), it will inevitably (maybe hence the name of the play) lead you to grieving all the sad aspects of your life: if you start lamenting the death of your husband (like in this case, for example), it will only take you a little while to miss your long-dead mother along with a daughter that you have had... After reading a ton of reviews and viewers' comments (in Spanish!), I came to the conclusion that I had gotten the idea of the play pretty well.