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My trip to Argentina
By Patty |
Hello everyone,
To kick off my first blog, I wanted to tell you about my trip to Argentina. It was a combination of work and play.
During my 10 hour flight I finished reading a book called “Eat, Pray, Love”. I absolutely loved it! Some of you may have heard of it or read it. Well, the moment I arrived in Argentina, I decided to make my 5 day trip an “Eat, Pray, Love” journey. So here it is. Enjoy!
Argentina Day One
Hello everyone,
The moment I landed in Bueno Aires, my body welcomed the heat. I was craving for the sun’s rays to sooth my skin.
I went exploring around the city and tried to take in the sites, sounds and smells of the latin city. I’m staying in a district called Palermo considered to be the “little Italy”. Interestingly enough the simple task of walking was a challenge. I needed to keep my eyes towards the ground to watch where I stepped. The sidewalks are not maintained therefore very crooked (I must have tripped at every block). Once I adapted to the instability of the sidewalks, the next obstacle that became very consistent was dog poo! It seems there is no law for owners to pick up after their dogs.
My first stop along my walk was an Italian ice cream shop. I ordered not 1, not 2 but 3 scoops of ice cream! It tasted just as good as the one I ate in Italy. Very creamy and lots of calories.
As I continued to explore, I began to people watch…one of my favorite things to do. I noticed that an Argentinean doesn’t really have a specific look. There are all shades, all nationalities, a true melting pot of nations.
Then I began to watch the women. To my surprise, not many woman show their cleavage. I find that odd. When I was in Italy, every woman of any shape and size, was proud of her body and flaunted it. I wore a dress in the afternoon that exposed my assets…my cleavage…and I had so many men staring, honking their car horns even clapping. It was a little too much to handle, so I went home and added a tank top underneath the dress.
Emily, BoRyan (her brother) and I went out to dinner for pizza and champagne at a cute restaurant that had a balcony on the 2nd floor that overlooked the city. Food was good…service not so good. But still, very enjoyable.
Then Emily and I headed out to the old city to see and hear tango musicians. It was all I could have imagined. The club was dark and the only light was the candles on all of the wooden tables…it felt very seductive. We sat and watched the musicians play in such harmony on stage. The music seeped through my skin and an overwhelming sense of tragedy was felt. Could this be what Argentina was about? Almost like they are proud victims that have accepted their destiny.
As I continued to watch them play, I was captivated by their synchronicity. The leader was an older gentleman that played the bandoneon, the soul of tango music. He would be in a hypnotic state experiencing every emotional pain one could imagine.
At that moment Emily and I decided that our trip together should have a purpose…to comprehend the word that best described the pulse of Argentina!
Argentina Day Two
I woke up this morning and went out for my first cappucino, fruit salad and croissant (or media luna = half moon as they call it here). There are 2 types of croissants, with butter or with ___?__. I chose the one with __?__ because I assumed the word the woman used meant “less calories”. I found later that the missing word was LARD! This is what happens when one pretends to understand spanish.
While I sat outside and enjoyed the warm cappucino, a young man decides to start his diesel car. Shall I say that the black cloud that came out of his muffler added a tasty and toxic frosting over my fruit salad. Strangely, my discomfort was not shared by others. No one else seemed to have minded the fumes that rested over our meals.
By the afternoon, Emily and I headed off to where the Cosmotango convention would be happening. To my disappointment, my intermediate classes were full, which meant I couldn’t attend. But, Emily and I are determined to come back tomorrow and check out other tango schools.
We decided to stop for food at a cafe. It resembled a diner which felt out of place in such a European city. We ordered a huge beer and a salad. That’s right…I drank beer. And to my surprise, it went down like water. At the end of our meal, Emily went to the washroom and on her way, a man handed her a note. A few minutes later, she came out of the washroom, went towards the gentleman, thanked him, came towards me and gestured for us to leave. The moment we stepped out, Em was like a school girl needing to show me the “note” from a boy in class.
The note read: “You both beautiful girls. May the USA invade Argentina withy soldiers just like you. Enjoy Bueno Aires.” He ended with his email address.
The note was enough to shoot our confidence through the roof. For the rest of the day we had a skip in our walk.
Our next stop was an outdoor fair that was situated in an area where there were a lot of antique shops. We did round 1 of the fair just to take a glance at the merchandise. Round 2 we bought our first item…purses made of cow hide, which required some bargaining (thanks to Emily). Round 3, I bought leather belts…this woman didn’t budge on price but they were too nice to simply walk away from. Round 4, I was supposed to buy a bracelet, but to know avail, the man wouldn’t budge on price, so this time we walked away. Then we headed towards the outdoor cafe to watch a tango performance instead.
Later that evening, we went back to Palermo, dropped off our things and walked about 40 minutes to Recoleta…a very “shee shee, pooh pooh” district in Argentina. There were so many ice cream shops along the way that resisting them remained to be futile…so we ate dessert first, sirloin steak later.
Tomorrow’s goal…to finally dance tango!
Argentina Day Three
The morning started with the usual ritual…cappucino and a media luna (this time with butter). Emily and I were trying to rest our feet from hours of walking the night before. When it was time to head out for tango class, I put on my dress and fancy flip flops. My feet had blisters, so any kind of shoe was a painful experience…unless I wore running shoes. Emily convinced me to wear running shoes…with my dress! I fought with her on this idea because it was just not right to wear running shoes with a dress. She insisted that it was a common practice in Argentina….really? I allowed myself to go against every fashion god…moi wearing a dress with running shoes…gosh!
The moment we stepped outside I felt dreadful. To avoid being scene in public, we hopped into a cab and headed for the tango class. The moment we arrived at the studio, I took off my running shoes and put on my dancing shoes…thank god!
I signed up for an INT/ADV class. Obviously, there were too many women so the men had to be shared. My first partner was the oldest, shortest with dyed hair man in the class. To make matters worse, the moment the music started, we embraced…and he turned into a bull! He lead everything from his head…guess where that put his face…in my breasts! (Last time I wore a v-neck to class). All I could do was hold on tight and anxiously wait for the next partner change, which only happened 1 hour and 15 minutes into the lesson. The last 15 minutes I had the privilege to dance with an assistant. Needless to say, my first tango class experience…not good. BTW, Emily had a worse experience. She’s a 5’11” blond…her partner…5’2”. Where were all the tall men?
To make ourselves feel better, we went out on the town dressed up wearing heels…I wouldn’t have any other way. Our first stop…a wine shop. There was a sign outside that read, “Wine tasting available. Cost 50 pesos” (less than 20USD). We jumped at the opportunity to release our tension from the day of bad tango partners.
The 2 gentlemen sat us on bar stools and proceeded to place the empty wine glasses on our table. Before we began our tasting, one of them explained the process of wine tasting. He said in a spanish accent, “It’s like meeting someone for the first time, we make decisions based on first impressions and the first sense we use is our sight. Everyone has a different opinion on what our eyes prefer. There is no right or wrong…only what You prefer.”
He started by pouring us some white wine. He then spread a white cloth on the table and proceeded to demonstrate the color against the white cloth. “As the light hits the glass, you can see if there are rays of green or orange. Green rays indicate the wine is young, orange rays indicate the wine is older”. He then swirled the wine in the glass and talked about the next aspect of sight. “If the wine has many tears then it has high a alcohol content”.
The next sense we used was smell. “When you get close enough to someone, you smell him/her to see if it excites another part of you”. He then took out a chart that illustrated 150 aromas. Em and I immediately wanted to buy it. It would look so good in my kitchen. Although his was not for sale.
And finally he talked about taste. “The taste of someone…well need I say more”. He talked about the different taste buds in our mouths. Where we taste the sweetness, the acidity, the bitterness, etc. At this point I’m feeling a little moist…nothing like fine wine followed by poetry to make a woman feel nice 
At long last, we drank. We continued this analysis with every bottle…a total of 4 to be exact. They brought us cheese, cold cuts, olives, bread, nuts and great conversation. The entire tasting lasted a good 4 hours. Can you imagine the condition Em and I were in. We left the store and bought a total of 8 bottles of wine. The cost of this event…140USD. This included both the tasting and the 8 bottles of wine. I say that was a great deal!
We stumbled and giggled all the way home. I took a 1 hour nap because I was going to a milonga with a taxi dancer that I hired for the night. A taxi dancer is a professional that dances with you for as long as you want. The cost is 25USD per hour and it’s a minimum of 3 hours. It’s a great way to guarantee a partner that will dance with you all night.
I arrived at the club and he was waiting for me in a nice suit. His name was Hugo from Patagonia (southern part of Argentina). He was very respectful and was good at maintaining small talk. As the went on I felt frustrated because I wanted him to do more dance moves with me, but he kept things very simple. All he would say when we danced is “In order to dance the tango you must be relaxed and feel…just relax and feel”. Sure, that was easy for him to say. The most frustrating thing about this dance is that there are subtle rules that have many possibilities depending upon the music and the dancer.
I can admit that it is not easy to surrender to that idea. Maybe this is why I’m in Argentina…to learn to surrender. Humm?
Argentina Day Four
After my milonga last night, I decided to search for a teacher that would give me private lessons. No more short, beginners for me! I did send an SOS to my argentine tango teacher in Montreal for help on possible teachers that were good in this city. Em searched online and found a place that had a teacher available, the cost 120 pesos for 1.5 hours (about 40USD). It was a cheap risk.
I arrived at the studio, which turned out to be a cafe that had a dance floor in the middle surrounded by tables. Luckily the place was empty. The last thing I wanted was to be entertainment for people while they had lunch. Moments later, my teacher showed up. It was a short, petit woman!
I tried to stay open minded and just allow the lesson to flow. Well, to my surprise she was a good teacher and a good leader. It felt a little awkward in close embrace with her. She kept reminding me of the role of the woman within the embrace…”be slow, relax and patient because he must wait for you to finish your move…no hurry…slow down.” Ok, ok…I think I got the message. She was a sweet and passionate teacher.
I decided to discover the city before heading home. There are so many people and so many cars…like NY city in the summer…sticky, smelly and toxic. I think I’ll need to detoxify when I get home.
I’ve also learned to take the “subte” (subway) in Bueno Aires. It’s faster than a taxi and avoids all the traffic (which happens all day long). When I do take a cab ride, I’ve also learned to avoid looking straight ahead. See, cab drivers here are all frustrated formula 1 wanna be drivers. Picture streets filled with little black and yellow cars that are weaving around trying not only to get to the finish line but to intimidate some drivers along the way. I sometimes try to have a conversation in hopes of slowing him down…no chance. So, I just looked at the shops as they wooshed by to avoid my teeth from grinding in fear.
I also spent some time with “la famiglia” that I have here. They welcomed me in their home and introduced me to all of my distant cousins. They were warm and actually began to pet me in awe, surprised to see such a “linda” (pretty) cousin from Canada. We ate, drank and talked in a mixture of spanish, italian and english. What a true immigrant family is all about.
Argentina Day Five
After breakfast I went for my 3rd private class with Orlando Farias. He’s an excellent teacher that has been able to balance feel with technique…my kind of teacher. I’ve progressed nicely with him. The metaphors he uses create good pictures for me to understand what he’d like for me to do. I feel like I’ve graduated from elementary school and ready to go to high school of Argentine tango.
I then stopped at Neo Tango shoe store. They had a tremendous amount of styles. I tried everything from the simple to the outrageous. Naturally I could not decide which one I preferred…so I bought 3 pair. One to satisfy every occasion.
Since this was my last night in Bueno Aires, Emily and I dressed up and went to dine at a nice restaurant. She found a great spot that had comfortable couches nestled in every corner with colorful pillows. We’ve gotten into the habit of ordering food that we can share..aren’t we cute.
Tonight’s choice was beef carpaccio with arugula and parmesan cheese. Followed by roasted lamb with spinach stuffed pastry and risotto…delicious! After our delightful conversation about men, woman, love and life, we had a liquor coffee outside of the restaurant on comfortable couches.
As I sipped my Calipso coffee (Tia Maria, coffee, and crema), Em and I continued our in depth conversation about the word that describes the pulse of Argentina. We agreed that there is a sense of tragedy but Argentineans live for the moment. They don’t plan, they don’t save…they surrender. Could this be the word? I know it has been my lesson during my trip.
What are they surrendering to…pleasure, circumstances of life, the embrace of tango, inflation, gelato, emotions?
There’s an intensity in Argentineans which is very evident when they dance. During my last milonga night in Bueno Aires, I was drawn to the intense focus that a woman described it to me like this: “You must give the man your chest as he gives his chest to you, because for that one song you are sharing your soul. Once the song is over, you decide to close or not…your choice. But…during the dance there is only 1 option…surrender.”
It was impressive to see people of all ages going through this experience of giving their soul to the music and the dance. In fact, most women have their eyes closed when they are in the embrace. Once the song is over, all the couples stop look at each other and have a conversation during the intro of the new song. After a few bars of music, there is a short interlude of a different style of music where there is a partner change.
I could have watched this ritual all night. The “regard” as we say in french, was intense, deep, authentic. This is something that is not as evident in the ballroom or even salsa world. I look forward to feeling that when I dance the tango.
I know I returned to Montreal with a more mature understanding of the dance…connected to the music and it’s message…surrender. The real lesson comes when I learn to surrender to love and life on a daily basis. Time will reveal that answer.
Topics: Travel & Adventure | 4 Comments »
4 Responses to “My trip to Argentina”
Comments
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September 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 am
it’s great (your blog)
May 14th, 2010 at 1:07 am
hey there, i really liked how you described my country, i hope you had a great time here (it looks like you did)…hope your tango lessons are improving btw, greetings from Arg!
December 31st, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I am planning on going to Argentina sometime soon and your blog post has me convinced it is a good decision. My mom and step-dad are afraid I am going to die so I am doing some research. Your blog showed me a very good side of Argentina and I hope to have an experience as good as yours someday soon.
Thank you for sharing.
January 9th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
Hi Ashley! I enjoyed it very much. I did have friends that lived there which made the experience easier. I don’t think it would have been the same without them. They told me where to go (even if I was alone most of the time). Also, being of Italian heritage, most people thought I was from there. They’d begin every conversation speaking to me in Spanish…I’d have to respond in English or Italian. The main thing is to not wear expensive jewelery, key your wallet/money in a pocket that no one can reach. The same type of safety measures one would do going to any foreign country. Enjoy!