For The Love of Travel

La Boca: is a popular destination for tourists, with its colourful houses and pedestrian street, the Caminito, where tango artists perform and tango-related memorabilia is sold.  

Outside this tourist area, it is a fairly poor and very seedy neighbourhood that has had many regular occurrences of petty crimes reported. I kept to the tourist precinct as instructed by hotel staff. 

It has also been a centre for radical politics, having elected the first socialist member of the Argentine Congress (Alfredo Palacios in 1935)  and was home to many demonstrations during the currency, sovereign debt and banking crisis of 2001.  As of 2016, the health of over 1,000 La Boca citizens is threatened by the pollution of the Matanza-Riachuelo river (which contains high levels of arsenic and lead due to centuries of unstopped pollution).  

San Telmo: Cobble stoned streets, a crumbling, faded grandeur, an amazing Sunday street market and many good places to eat and drink, San Telmo is a barrio (area) that simply cannot be missed. It dates back to the 17th century, when it was first home to dockworkers and brick-makers, and later became an industrial area.  

San Telmo today is part tourist trap, part Bohemian enclave, part rough-and-tumble inner-city suburb, and part tango centre…all of which makes it a pretty interesting place to visit.

The best place for a stroll is along Calle Defensa between Avenida San Juan and Calle Mexico, stopping to peer in the window or go into some of the many antique shops that line the street. Plaza Dorrego has professional tango dancers strutting their stuff most of the time (you need to tip them after watching a performance).

Ricky Martin: screammm!   30 million albums sold….50,000 fans pile into the stadium. I channeled my inner ‘Latino” at Velez Stadium and then looked for a loo (just to be on the safe side) before taking my seat in row 18, seat 34, section E.  Lordy, lordy! discovered 10 port-a-loos for the whole audience, with a HUGE queue….mental note: you will not think about bodily functions until you get back to hotel. What is it Latin America doesn’t get about needed infrastructure?? Anyway…

The support group was C-N-CO, formed in 2015 after the 5 boys (natch) won a Latin American singing competition series (La Banda) created by Simon Cowell and produced by Ricky. They were a popular choice with the audience and did a good job, but Ricky really does not need a warm up act.

He is a natural entertainer, and the audience leapt out of their seats from his first number and didn’t sit down after that.  There’s no resisting the provocative charm of this silky smooth lothario. 

His impressive vocal presence is capable of everything from emotional ballads to Latin American, fast-paced numbers. Performing his well known greatest hits including Maria, Vuelte, the Cup of Life, and Shake Your Bon Bon, Martin also provided the audience with many of his newest releases.  

Superbly accompanied by huge light displays, fabulous band which had a saxophone! and a troupe of agile and energetic dancers from all corners of the world… Ricky gave his audiences every iota of the Latin American charm they were lusting for. He excelled at interacting with the audience, encouraging and coaching everyone to sing along with a few songs, and instructed the eager crowd on dance moves.  The screaming was ten-fold following these interactions.

Ricky doesn’t try to be charming and sexy… he just is. His undeniable appeal makes even the most lead-footed fan bounce up and embrace their inner Latin dancer (there were a few in front of me!). The performance was a breakneck, feverish tempo of entertainment that showed all of us just how and why Ricky is the musical success that he is.

Half way through the concert, he promoted his Foundation which helps in the fight against child abuse and trafficking. He is also a founding member of the Alliance for a New Humanity, an NGO who’s mission is to create alliances to build a more peaceful and compassionate world.  

Livin’ La Vida Ricky! Sooo glad I finally got the ticket.

It was a long walk along Agenda Alcorta, but the glistening orb in the distance summoned. It was the sculpture “Floralis Generica”, a striking giant flower made of steel and aluminium. Gorgeous! 

As are one of my favorite trees here in Buenos Aires, the Palo Borracho. Their oval trunks remind me of chianti bottles that you see as candleholders in Italian restaurants. I have been told they are only full like this when there is water below for them to store. Palo Borracho means “drunken pole” and I’m not sure if it refers to fact that they store water or if they look like a wine bottle, either way it fits.  Most of the palo borracho trees in Buenos Aires have pink flowers, but some are somewhere in between white and yellow. I prefer the luscious pink flowers. They are a sight to behold.  

Visited the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA) created by Argentine businessman, Eduardo Costantini in 2001. Initially housing his private collection (made public),  the museum has continued to expand its selection of works from modern artists from across Latin America.  The mission of the MALBA is to collect, preserve, research and promote Latin Americana art from the onset of the 20th century to the present. Some nice stuff in Eduardo’s past collection – particularly like Diego Rivera; Frida Kahlo and Antonio Berni. 

There was a special exhibition of Claudia Andujar’s photos of the indigenous Yanomami tribe in Brazil in the 1980’s during a vaccination campaign to protect them from western diseases. She photo’d tribal people with numbers, as a health record that they had been vaccinated. There is a very touching ironical tale she tells about the very different ‘ branding of death’ (numbers) that her boyfriend and family received on their way to Auschwitz. Her work with the indigenous since the 1970’s led to land rights legislation being proclaimed in 1992 – what an inspirational woman!  

Walked around the streets surrounding MALBA – rich, rich, rich people live there, quite a few in Italianate splendour…and home to many embassies. 

Had to visit the Librería El Ateneo Grand Splendid, one of the grandest bookshops in Buenos Aires. Occupying a 1920s theatre in the city’s downtown, El Ateneo has kept the sumptuous auditorium’s original furnishings – balconies, painted ceiling, ornate carvings and crimson stage curtains – and added books. The former theatre boxes became intimate reading rooms. Putting finger to page, soaking in the cozy atmosphere in the café on the stage between red velvet curtains, a few hours perfectly spent.