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Buenos Aires' bohemian beat
By Kate Armstrong.
Published in the July-September 2012 issue.
While the Argentinean capital has one foot firmly in the future, looking beyond its European past and finding inspiration in its own culture, the city still runs on nostalgia. From vintage markets to cafés suspended in time, Buenos Aires does bohemian well.
In rapid Spanish, my Argentinean barman declares dramatically, “Argentineans have three great passions: wine, women and football!”
During my brief visit to Buenos Aires, I hear this many times. Indeed, it seems malbec is a constant on bar menus, the ladies are beautiful and the colours of the Boca Juniors (Maradona’s alma mater) feature prominently. But after only two days in town, I sense there’s more to this city and its people, not in the least a fascinating sentimentality and a yearning for the past.
Verónica Lampón, my host from Say Hueque tour company, agrees. “To understand this intrinsic nostalgia, you must understand Argentina’s history,” she asserts as she brings me up to speed. Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816 (the British invaded unsuccessfully in 1806). In the mid-1800s, after the lifting of previous restrictive trade laws, the population exploded as tens of thousands of poor European immigrants – including many Italians – poured into Buenos Aires to work in the expanding meat and cereal industries. Economically speaking, this was a golden age for a privileged few. But it was short-lived. The 20th century brought control (under Perón), military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983, hyperinflation and, continuing to the present day, an unsteady economy.
“We are a country of immigrants who arrived at the same time. The new arrivals were missing Europe. They needed to keep their traditions to feel they were not too far away,” explains Lampón.
Not all traditions were imported; some, such as the tango, emerged locally. Although its origins are unclear, tango, or so one story goes, was developed by those who played music to entertain male immigrants waiting in line at bordellos. (A few days later, we visit La Boca, the district in which many of these poor immigrants lived and, supposedly, danced. It’s renowned for its corrugated iron houses of aqua and yellow and orange; costumed couples still perform impromptu tango performances here).
Tango songs are another matter, as I discover later that evening in warm, velvety surrounds at the Rojo Tango show, considered one of Buenos Aires’ best spectacles. Although I’m initially distracted by the sensual dance moves, sexy dresses and stilettos, when I do tune into the melancholic lyrics, I sense that many of these reflect a yearning for home.
Indeed Home, my hotel in the hip district of Palermo Viejo, is popular with the creative crowd and provides an introduction to more recent history – it’s an eye-catching mix of retro 1950s Scandinavian furnishings, sourced from local flea markets and restored. It’s right up my alley.
On my first morning, Lampón takes me to the Mercado de las Pulgas flea market, a massive shed located in the heart of fashionable Palermo Hollywood. Its stalls are piled high with antiques and collectables – everything from tables, chairs and chandeliers to fabulously kitsch lime-green telephones and lamps. It’s busy. “At the beginning of the 1900s, Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world,” Lampón tells me. “When you buy a table from that time, you can be 100 percent sure that it’s a better quality than today’s tables.”
The theme continues at our next stop: Palermo Soho, a residential area with elaborate French and European architecture. The pretty tree-lined streets are lined with boutiques selling replica vintage fashions, some of them reminiscent of ABBA costumes.
Bright swirls decorate the exteriors of some shopfronts; Lampón says this style of painting – meant to resemble Baroque architecture – was forbidden under the military regime but has made a comeback.
From Palermo Soho, we take the metro to Corrientes, a frenetic boulevard in the city centre whose landmark is a tall obelisk. It’s lined with second-hand bookshops and music stores.
By now, the temperature has dropped to a chilly 9ºC. We make a beeline for 90-year-old café La Giralda, a Buenos Aires institution known for its chocolate with churros – elongated fried doughnuts. Originally, these were a Spanish tradition but ironically, Argentineans eat them on Independence Day, while celebrating the anniversary of the end of Spanish rule. Inside the cosy dining rooms, groups of businesspeople chat over their steaming cups of sweet, dark chocolate.
Our bow-tied waiter clearly knows his stuff. We don’t even have to order – our small, marble-topped table is soon covered with pots of hot chocolate and platefuls of churros: simples (plain), relleno (filled with dulce de leche, the ever-present caramelised milk) and bañado (chocolate-covered). He announces that for 21 years he’s served customers, including famous Argentinean singer Mercedes Sosa and the much-loved comedians Olmedo and Portales, whose statues I’ve just passed in Avenida Corrientes.
This sort of longevity is not uncommon, notes Lampón: “Waiters have been working in many of the cafés for more than 20 years. In the past, it was a job you would pass on to the son. Nowadays, however, it’s to earn a few coins in tips... But many longstanding waiters are still very proud of their tradition.”
Tradition also carries into the café culture – more than 50 local establishments have been declared as “notable” by the government, and many of these are within the bounds of the city centre.
I am lured by the spicy aromas of El Gato Negro, a stunning space lined with spice jars and wooden cabinets full of teas and dried herbs. An elegantly dressed Porteño patron impresses on me the historical importance of this place: “For nearly 100 years, it has served every type of spice to customers,” she says.
Nearby, La Academia – so named because of the lawyers who once frequented the place to study – is in a 1930s time warp. The barman looks like he’s stepped off the set of The Sopranos, billiard tables fill a large room and elderly men are hunched over chessboards.
Even the city’s metro system has links with the past. We board a charming wood-panelled train (Line A) and alight at Plaza de Mayo, home to Casa Rosada, in which are housed the President’s offices.
By now, I feel as if I’m in a time machine, experiencing a panoramic sweep of the late 19th and 20th centuries before returning to the present day.
From Plaza de Mayo, we head a few blocks west to the district of San Telmo. Here, colonial-style buildings house designerware, and vintage shops are crammed with everything from mirrors to baubles and gramophones. We peruse Farmacia de la Estrella, the city’s oldest pharmacy, its staff more than happy for me to take photos of the ceiling murals and what look like original glass bottles of lotions and potions from a bygone era. Nearby, the equally appealing bookshop La Librería de Avíla has plied its trade (originally as the Librería del Colegio) since 1785.
Stomach pangs bring me back to the present. It’s 4 p.m. by the time we stop for lunch at Bar El Federal, a classic café founded in 1864. Over a homemade beer and picada (an appetiser plate), Lampón tries to explain the local mentality: “We keep trying to be a city that we are not anymore, in terms of wealth and culture.”
As I head back to the cosy, mid-century-Scandinavian-meets-1970s confines of Home, I realise that the Argentinean passions – wine, women and football – are mere distractions. The sentimental Porteños haven’t forgotten their past, but they embrace the present and look to the future. And it makes for great (time) travel. •
Photography by Kate Armstrong.
getting there
Aerolíneas Argentinas has non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Buenos Aires. 61-2/9234-9000; aerolineas.com
When to go
Buenos Aires can be visited at any time of year, though in the height of summer (December through March), temperatures can soar above 40°C. Given the size of Argentina, different regions have different climates. The best time to visit Patagonia is October to April (or June to September for skiing). The northwestern region around Salta has beautiful weather, though the rainy season (January to March) makes some roads impassable. The northeastern region (Iguazu Falls) is a year-round destination.
Where to stay
Home. 54-11/4778-1008; homebuenosaires.com
Where to Eat
•
Bar El Federal. Carlos Calvo 595, San Telmo.
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El Gato Negro. Av. Corrientes 1669, San Nicolás. elgatonegronet.com.ar
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La Giralda. Av. Corrientes 1453, San Nicolás.
Further Information
For tips on travelling to Buenos Aires and beyond, check out destinationargentina.com and bue.gov.ar
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