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Published: August 16th 2006
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"I'm looooving it". And I am not talking about traveling. I'm talking about my new love for McDonald's. Give me a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese and a Coke and I'm in heaven. How did I miss this for all those years? The only glitch on perfection seems to be calling it a "double quarter pounder". Doesn't that make it a half-pound? One more quick item of business. I am sorry if you are receiving these and don't want to. I hate getting mass e-mails so, if it is not easy to cancel your subscription, write me and I'll do it no worries. Consider telling me more nicely than an old friend of mine who wrote "leave me the fuck alone." Onward to Argentina.
Argentina is a big country (8th biggest in the world) but fairly easy to travel in due to incredible buses and a fairly flat terrain. The people are very proud and passionate. The manner of speaking is very direct, at times rude, and was difficult for me to adjust to. The political atmosphere is very charged. There are flyers everywhere and protests often. One protest I saw was thousands of teachers marching to augment their monthly salary
of $250. Even adjusting for spending-potential, that is pretty lousy. Murals and graffiti everywhere blast the U.S and purport an alliance with the "New America" of Chavez, Morales and Castro. The people, indeed, are soccer crazy. During the soccer games there is space reserved for the fans of the visiting team and between them and the rest of the fans are huge empty stands that are monitored by scores of police officers in riot gear. This is done in fear of the predictable violence that would occur without these precautions. This threat of violence is palpable, as well, in some of the rougher neighborhoods. The national capital of Buenos Aires has about 13 million people. This city is amazing. There seems to be a perfect blend of beauty and grit. The capital building in called "the pink house". It's color is due to the mixing of Federalist Red and Centralist White as a symbol of the peace between these former enemies. Whatever the reason, having your president's headquarters be pink is lame. It doesn't have the stunning historical buildings of Europe but the city planning definitely leads to a European atmosphere. By this I mean that cities in the United
States are planned around the automobile, efficiency and independence and therefore we don't have the "European" ambience created by laundrymats, houses and restraunts sharing the same block. (I don't say "American" cities because South Americans are strangely proud that they are Americans, too, and find it arrogant that we have claimed that title for ourselves. I have had several discussions/arguments over my opinion that we simply call ourselves "American" because it would be ridiculous to say "United States of American" every time, but whatever.) One particularly charming aspect of the city is their subway. It is old-skool. In some lines you have to open the doors manually and the inside is all wood. The city is divided into different neighborhoods, or "barrios", that get more posh as you head north. I stayed in San Telmo, which is known for it's Tango and traditional architecture. The food was excellent; with a heavy Italian influence. The steak was great, but I think the main draw to the steak for foreigners is not that it's decidedly better, more that it's so much cheaper. The reason for the relative affordability of Argentina is an economic collapse that lasted roughly from 1998-2003.
Although the
roots of the collapse can be traced back much further, a decent starting point is 1991. In 1991 the Argentinan Peso was pegged to the U.S dollar in an attempt to stop hyperinflation and create investor confidence through a direct relationship to the American economy. It worked, at first, as prices became more stable and Argentina became a hip place for investments. Some factors that eroded national funds were brewing to undermine this process, however. A falling Brasilian Real, rampant corruption, little revenue from exports due to the dollar-pegging and an inability to collect taxes. Eventually the unpegging to the dollar was necessary to create revenue through exports. Many believed, however, that the Peso was overvalued through the pegging and wouldn't compete in the free market. This, indeed, occured as the national currency fell rapidly almost 75%. The downside is that over 50% of the population lived below the poverty line for several years. The upside is that it makes Argentina a bargain to travel in.
So, during my time here I went from Buenos Aires to Rosario (birthplace of "Che"), Cordòba and Mendoza. The smaller cities have a very logical grid system that surrounds a main plaza. Walking
the streets here is made more pleasant through the designation of several blocks in the downtown area as pedestrians only. Each city has several urban parks, mediocre museums and tons of churches. Extremely Catholic, there is a ritual here of making the sign of the cross over your body whenever you pass a church. One of my favorite photos is of a woman doing the cross thing as she blatantly walks past a homeless family. Without an agenda I basically spent my time walking, reading and learning about Argentinian history/culture.
During WWII the Argentinian president, Peron, was an open admirer of Mussolini and Hitler. After the war, he wrote thousands of blank passports for the Germans in an attempt to provide a refuge for many of the Nazi elite. In addition, he raised the prices of national wheat and meat to take of advantage of the wreckage in European nations. Sort of an Anti-Marshall Plan. Clearly, Peron was an interesting figure in his time; similar to Chavez today in his blend of Populist politics and military-dicator tendencies. That said, he is probably most famous as the husband of Evita Peron. In Argentina Evita is a legend. There are historical
markers wherever she went in her brief political career. (she died at 32) She is justifiably famous for her social policies. She created homes for orphans and the elderly, championed women's suffrage and doubled the salaries of the working poor. The other side of this complex woman is her political venom. Anything short of total loyalty to her and her husband was deemed "unpatriotic" and equalled polital suicide during their reign. This aggressive form of power politics played out in the streets where supporters of the opposing candidate were actually attacked by the police. In addition, very insecure about her poor roots (an illegitimate child, she basically slept her way to the top) she took personal vengeance on anyone whom she suspected of disrespecting her. Another interesting subplot of the Evita story is that her body was unearthed during the military coup in the early 50's and her whereabouts were unknown for over 20 years. During this time her body was mutilated and possibly involved in necrophylia. crazy, huh?
So, after almost 9 months in South America over the past two years I leave for Italy tonight. I think, in general, South America is a much more comfortable place
to live or travel in than the general preconception. That said, I am exhausted of many aspects of life here. My throat has been sick for months due to the smog. The constant, underlying possibilty of theft or violence in certain areas will not by missed. And, South America, start eating vegetables. I recognize my thoughts are darkened by the fact I was robbed last night by a Brasilian herion addict. He had been staying at the hostel for a week, hadn't paid a dime, and the owners were told to watch out for him because he had been seen robbing people in hostels in the past. Of course, the owners didn't say a thing to the guests, for fear of us changing hostels. Aaaahhh. Deep breaths, Nels. Deep breaths. What will be missed is the sense of adventure and possibilities here. It is so big, and with such diversity it seems possible to spend lifetimes here getting to know the distinct regions and cultures. Whether I will return I don't know.
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Tommy Webber
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Lonely Planet
I myself traveled around the world for about 2 years. You should think about writing for Lonely Planet. Your mother will kill me for saying this, but don't come back to the states. After seeing the world, everything back home becomes real boring... Trust me.