POR AMOR AL ARTE

no wonder argentina is considered the most european city in south america.  the air breathes la boheme. more than italian (most of the immigrants were from italy) the city has a french feel to it.  i attribute it to the tremendous influence of the tango.  come to find out the king of tango, carlos gardel, was born in france and moved as a child to argentina since his mother had had him illegitimately and she did not want to embarass the father who happened to be her cousin. carlitos brought with him the bandoneon,  an instrument much like the accordeon but with a subtler sound.

the city is  filled with street cafes, many on cobblestone streets, people read the morning newspaper, visit the bookstores, walk alot, dress elegantly and eat well. 

we had breakfast at the famous cafe tortoni

and had a parrillada in la recoleta

and stopped to drool over the sweets at the confiterias

 

being alot bohemian myself and loving street fairs and antique flea markets, my favorite places in buenos aires were san telmo and la recoleta.  it rained and poured that sunday as we visited san telmos antique fair but umbrellas in hand we did the rounds anyway ending up for lunch in a charming resto-bar that served a spectacular grilled salmon. here are vintage finds. on the street corner a small group played the concierto de aranjuez.

guess who i remembered when i saw this?

what i bring back with me plus the virgen de junin pictured above

what do you think of this tree?

and then the crowning jewel of buenos aires, the recoleta cementery.  i could have spent the whole day there taking photographs  was getting cold and i was getting hungry.

at night, a total contrast, again in san telmo, where we went to see a tango show beyond description at "la ventana".  photographs were prohibited so all i have is a little photograph i bought at el caminito art fair to remind me of the sexiest dance move in life.

 

El bandoneón tiene aquello especial que hace que quien lo escuche caiga en un sueño lento y profundo, sus requiebres y susurros hacen que no se conciba tango sin bandoneón. Abraza con su melodía a la mujer como el más fiel de los amantes hasta convertirse en poema hecho canción. Sin lugar a dudas es para los poetas del tango su querido y amigo compañero de tristezas.