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Published: January 23rd 2007
Sponsored horses...
Each polo player needs on average four horses per game. No need to say that despite the sponsorship, a polo player is high in the class pyramid...Polo: The King's Game
Horses represent an important element of the Argentinean culture whether is for rich polo riders to play on a green field or for pampas gaucho to gather the cattle to the farm. In addition to horse racing, the sport of polo, fairly called The King's Game, is exclusive to the rich bougeoisie of Argentina. There are four horses per team on the ground but each player uses at least four horses per game. Add to the horses, the equipment, training, grooming...Only very rich individuals can afford to play this sport. Let's say that these players are not all going to work on Mondays...As for the crowd, you can observe that the spectators are from the middle/high class of Buenos Aires. Besides, polo is (how surprising!) a world reserved to men.
During our stay in Buenos Aires, we went to two different important tournaments including the national championship and watched the athletic polo horses racing for the ball across the field. It is quite impressive to see them sprinting and hearing their hooves on the grass. However, despite the constant action, you can get bored rapidly...unless you know all the complicated rules! For a horse lover
Grooms
Each team also requires an important number of grooms who will warm up and cool down the horses...most of them wear beret... like me, I simply enjoyed the athletic horses...unlike other well-dressed women who come to fish for rich polo players!
Looking Back (4/5)
As a Canadian raised in an “orderly” environment, it was often frustrating to live in such chaotic city. “Everything is possible but nothing is certain” was the motto of my daily experience in Buenos Aires. Nothing really happened as expected. Nothing really started on time. This is this “really” that caused frustrations. But surprinsingly, the chaotic life seemed to work for the Argentineans of the city. One can argue that harmony is possible even if not following the rule is the ting rule.
Another aspect of the porteños lifestyle that surprised me as an organized North American was the dynamics of the workplace. My observations of the outside world and discussions with workers from different sectors and industries complemented my personal experience of the working life of Argentineans. In terms of efficiency, it is first important to remember that Argentina has recently experienced a devastating economic crisis, and therefore can be defined as a current patient in recovery with limited resources. In this perspective, it can be argued that the resulting lack of available technology,
in addition to the "tranquilo" culture, may impede an improved productivity and efficiency.
In an economi perspective, the so-called informal economy is omnipresent on the streets of the capital from the orange juice street makers to the shoe shiners; one may fairly argue that this "parallel economy" represents an important dimension of Buenos Aires, even more following the recent economic crisis. I have read papers and books on South America and Argentina, but discussing with individuals about their experience before, during and after the economic crisis has provided me with different lenses to look at this event. The opinions I gathered varied from one generation to another. The older generation always reminded me how much Buenos Aires has changed in the last 20 years and how much the capital, that used to be the Paris of South America, is now unsafe while becoming too much “Latin Americanized”. There is a real nostalgia when these 60-70 year old men talk to me… On the other side, the younger generation seems more optimistic even if frustrated by their financial loss.
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