Dreaming of Buenos Aires

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July 1st 2006

Earlier in the week I had a dream. I don´t remember the dream, just a name, Boedo. Boedo is a barrio in Buenos Aires and I saw this as a sign. And so I did what all books, movies and art tell you to do. I followed my bread. Boarding the #126 bus until I arrived on Avenida Boedo.

I wonder, do many people have dreams that they follow? Concious dreams, yes. But what about subconcious dreams...the ones you do at night. How many people act on that? Is it truely a good thing to act on these dreams? What if you don´t know the reason for the dream and its a trap? I did not know the answer to this question. I had never had a dream with the name of a place. Never have I really received a "clue"....and so here I am.

Boedo is a bit uninspiring compared to my other favorite barrios like San Telmo or Almagro (even though all my students think Im CRAZY for liking Almagro...it has old house, big trees and a street that has TONS of flower vendors.) and it´s not as ritzy like Recoleta or has the right life of Palermo.

The buildings that stand are not old. Many are low with the elegence of weird tiles from the 1960's. It is also Sunday and so most stores are closed. Two stores of interest that I have found are leather/fur stores. Thick bolts of leather stacked all over. Heavy lines of fur pelts hanging. At first I thought the stores were fake leather and fur...then I noticed the thick smell...these things are real!

Another important part about Boedo is it´s normalness. This is just a neighborhood with normal people...in other words...the people here aren´t the kind you want to take pictures of. As I walk by open windows I hear the loud clatter of families sharing the traditional Sunday meal, asado, and I smell the smell of the steak on the grill. Its just normal.

Now that I am here I think I know why I came. I have become stagnent in my world in Buenos Aires. Due to not wanting to spend money and pure laziness I spend most weekends in the house. Only venturing out to teach Pablo or go get groceries. Some of the time I am on the internet, reading, cooking. But most of the time I watch tv. Yes, I know. I am dulling myself. I don´t like it. Most know me as a bouncy girl with a headfull of dreams. I don´t think this is girl is dying, just hybernating.

I have stopped doing one of the things that gives me the most pleasure in life....exploring. My dream about Boedo was a clue...a swift kick in the ass. Get out of the house!!!! Explore. Get to know the city!!!!

Oh, and one more thing. Before I got to Boedo, when I was looking for the right bus I found a street littered wih old x-rays from the cartóneros (people who pick through garbage for recyclables). I grabbed a few of the best ones...including x'rays of a baby with two big toes on each foot.

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Photos

Boedo
The subway sign

tiles
a mural in the boedo subway station

Moo
cows. ill see you at dinner

The Leather Store
Where you can buy leather and fur to make your own creations

Baby in a Bottle
a stencil in Boedo

roof
the top of someones house in Boedo

Telo
People don´t move out of their parents house until they get married...telos, like this one, are a common perk in Buenos Aires

mural
a weird mural under and overpass in Boedo

la provencia almagro
a factory built when Boedo was not in the city limits

trenes
going home on the subway

seat
on the subway

moving
through a station

Comments

[adriana mouzo]

Boedo?
The way you describe Boedo ,make me think about going there!!!Thanks....and sorry abot the taxi gay...really sorry!!!

[Auntie San]

TV
TV can be a good tool in learning a language. Watching the "telenovelas" (soap operas) with my peruvian mama helped me learn Spanish. The simple language is easier to understand.. cartoons can be good too.

[Scott]

lh
I love that the thought entered your head that the dream might be bait in some sort of trap. That would not occur to many people. I can't help picturing some sort of evil genius implanting dreams in your head, and then when you go to the place, when you are walking down some interesting looking alley, he drops a giant mason jar on you, and then puts you on a shelf in his lab. But I am not sure that I agree that "regular" people (what ever those are) don't make great photo subjects.