What has Dan been up to?

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Yikes, so much going on!

I´ve been walking all over the city, sometimes literally from end to end. Of course, I visited the Casa Rosada, the Pink House from which Evita famously waved to the descomesados, and also saw the Mothers March, the rememberence of people who disappeared during Argentina´s dark days.

Tuesday night saw my first steak dinner, with Kevin, an American ex-patriot who, displaced by Katrina, moved here to start a new life.

Wednesday I went to La Marshall, the same-sex tango class and milonga (dance) that broke ground when it started three years ago. It´s still newsworthy enough that there were two camera crews filming the night I was there. I was the only person who didn´t understand Castellano, the local version of Spanish, so the instructor kindly translated for me while my leader, a slight young woman, didn´t grimmace too much when I stepped on her toes. After the lesson, my posse, made up of Kevin the American, plus friends of his from Chile, France and LA, watched as advanced dancers tangoed around the floor -- some same sex couples but a very mixed crowd, all great fun.

Thursday night was dinner at Casa Salt Shaker, a meal run in the home of an American food writer who has immigrated to BsAs. The meal was great, paired with Argentine wines for each course and the other attendees all very nice (all Americans). I did notice a certain amount of condescending toward the country, the city and the people, which I worked to counteract by meeting some locals later in the week. But it made me really think about how Americans act as we go out into the world.

On Friday, I went to the English Language Club, which meets at a fast food restaurant, to meet some locals and talk...politics!!! I asked about the upcoming election, in which the wife of the current president, a Senator in her own right and a Peronista, is the leading contender. It would be Argentina´s first elected female head of state. (Juan Peron´s widow, the woman he married after Eva Peron died, took over for several disasterous months in the '70s, but was not elected to that post.) The people I spoke with are not happy about the impending ¨coronation¨as it is characterized.

Saturday was spent cycling around the city's ecological reserve, which was a nice relief from the congestion of Buenos Aires. I ordered my first choripan, a sausage on a roll, from the equivalent of a hot dog stand -- my first of many of the trip.

Saturday evening was another same-sex tango class, this time with only 4 students instead of the 30 that had been at La Marshall. Personalized instruction in English, and then coffee afterward with Gustavo, one of the other students.

Finally, on Sunday I walked through San Telmo and La Boca with a city guide, Silvana. A 30-something teacher, she knows the history of the city and we also got to talk politics, my favorite local subject. Then onto a really great dinner at La Cabrera restaurant that still boggles the mind: an appetizer of grilled provolone cheese and a huge steak, with about 10 small dishes accompanying it. Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was about US$40 and very, very good.

Today, Monday, I head south to Patagonia to Peninsula Valdes for 2 days of whale watching and penguin sighting (I hope), then up north to Iguazu Falls ("Cataratas" or waterfalls in Castellano), before returning to BsAs on Sept. 29 for 3 more nights.

More from the road!

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Photos

Madres de Plaza de Mayo
One of the mothers of the "disappeared," the up to 30,000 people who were kidnapped and murdered during Argentina's "dirty war" from 1976 to 1983. The mothers still march every Thursday, demanding to know the fate of their children.

Comments

[Joan Price]

tango
Thanks for describing your experience at the Argentine tango classes/dances -- I hoped you would be dancing and would tell us about it! It sounds like you're not wasting a minute, and my gosh, Dan, what great shape you must be in to cycle, dance, and walk the city. I like how you're not sending us a travelogue -- it's a Danologue, with your kind of thoughtful commentary on what you're experiencing. -- Joan

[jamie duncan]

¡tu eres el jeffe!
mira! sounds like excellent adventures uncle dan. thanks for your message on the 20th. it means a lot and i appreciate it. looking forward to hearing more about your trip! cuidate.

[Matt]

Good times
Hi Dan, sounds like you're having a fantastic time. Provoleta, yum. Roquefort empanadas, even more yum. Keep the updates coming, Jen and I really enjoy reading about your adventures. You didn't meet a guy named Carlos Servantes at your English Language Club dinner by any chance did you? Matt

[matt]

Portenos
By the way, your comment about "condescending toward the country, the city and the people," we found that very frustrating ourselves. I know you know not everyone is like that, but it's those who are that make travelers from the US look bad. I'm sure you've found that the Portenos are also very critical of themselves. We felt BsAs was as enjoyable as it was BECAUSE of getting to know the Portenos. They are very passionate!