The Paris of the Southern Hemisphere! Where do I
start? The wall of sound generated by the passion of the “hinchas”
at Boca Juniors’ temple to the beautiful game “La Bombonera”
who sing as one to the sound of an intimidating drumbeat as any
one of a string of their stars (Maradona, Riquelme, Tevez…)
dances past a hapless opposition fullback? The melancholy sound
of a Carlos Gardel tune on an accordion played by a grey-haired
porteño, who probably knew Gardel, as an elegantly suited
man and his devastatingly sexy dance partner in fishnets and a black
dress move gracefully to express the emotion and sensuality of the
tango either on the street or in a San Telmo tango club? A trip
to the maze of waterways of the Parana delta near El Tigre, where
you can indulge in the carnivore’s dream of a tenderly cooked
and tended asado done over an open fire? The energy of the boliches,
where young porteños dance the night away to modern cumbias
after going out at 2am? The stylish archicture, modeled on Europe
and yet so different; the casa rosada and palacio de gobierno in
the centre of town and in the vaults as big as houses at the Recoleta
cemetery? The newly remodeled Puerto Madero – Buenos Aires’
docklands? The high quality bargain fashion items in Florida street?
Al this is quintessentially Buenos Aires, but as a regular visitor
to this buzzing and vibrant city I have to say it is the passionate,
warm, beautiful and humorous people of Buenos Aires who have brought
me back there on several occasions. Even if they won’t ever
stop mentioning THAT goal in Mexico…
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| 17 December 2007 15:44 |
Posted by Alex Wolfson |
