buenos aires, viernes por la noche

Dinner was to be at el restaurante El Espanol at 10PM. Knowing Emily, that probably means 10:30PM. By 8PM, I was getting ansy. This is the part I hate most about vacation-- I actually have free time on my hands that I don't know what to do with! I start getting ready at 9:30PM, and arrive at 10:15PM. Yup, Emily is not yet there. But she shows up soon, so she's actually early ;)

There are 8 of us, all of whom know Emily, but don't really know each other. There's Chris, a string bass player from Boston. Chelsea, from Portland, but has been in the LA tango scene. Kevin and Lacey, also from the LA scene. Luiz, a dancer in the porteno tango scene. And Michael Ragland, whom I actually know from LA. El Espanol is a parillada, which is a grill house. So, they serve meat. I order the parilla vacio. Vacio literally means empty. That means that what I ordered does not have bones, and man, is it great. There's a chorizo, mancilla (blood sausage), chitterings (I can't remember the Spanish term), rinon (kidneys), and a de-boned piece of cross-cut (Korean style) rib. Pic above. Emily and Luiz share a parilla asado (mixed grill, all with bones) and it's massive, but I think mine's better ;) Chris orders a bife de chorizo, and it's even bigger than the one I had the other day. Chelsea had a bife de lomo, and that cut is tasty. Our table also goes through 4 bottles of wine (2008 Norton Malbecs) and 6 desserts. Depending on our orders, our total costs are different. Mine is AR$70 (less that US$20).

Someone mentions that while it seems cheap in dollars, because of the differences in income, that AR$1 to an Argentine is approximately equivalent to US$1 to an American. That actually seems about right, given everything I've spend money on, I'd have been happy to spend the same numeric amount in American dollars in the US.

We finish dinner around 2AM, and then head over to Villa Malcolm, arriving around 2:30AM. We get in for AR$5, because it's about to end. But we do get to see the performance. I look around, and I think this milonga has the highest female:male ratio of any milonga I've attended in BA. Obviously, would be good for me. But alas, I only have one tanda, and the milonga ends.





Afterwards, everyone heads over the next milonga-- La Viruta (above). It's free after 3:30AM, so we stroll there, and when we get there, there's a huge group of people waiting until 3:30AM to enter. It's the same one as last night, in the Armenian Association. This time though, it's jam packed. We're able to find ourselves a seat and order beer. I dance a tanda with a girl from Germany. She's quite good at the dance, and I also notice afterwards, she's very proactive about cabaceos. Her MO is to basically find some guy, stare them down, and when she catches the eye, wait from them to ask. It seems to work-- definitely worked on me! But that's the only tanda I get, I get rejected time and again. Eventually, I just sit back and enjoy the beer. Then Emily orders a cafe con leche and medialunas for me. She says the medialunas are the best she's had, and they're quite good. Hits the spot.

The milonga ends at 6AM, so like previous nights, head home, in bed by 7AM.

buenos aires, viernes por la tarde

It's now Friday. I can't believe that I'll be leaving so soon.

I wake up after noon. And this shows how lame I am-- the first thing I do is to check my email using my iPhone. I get an email from my friend Alu. She proposes that we meet Sunday afternoon for ice cream. I'm so excited. I haven't seen her in 6 years, and I thought I would miss her, because she was going to be out of town this whole week.

I head out for my daily cafe con leche y medialunas. Having raved about them so many times, I figure I'd take a picture of them (see above). I also hit up the ATM. This time, I pass by a bakery that I could not resist, enter to buy some pan dulce with custard on top. It's a huge loaf, and only AR$6. I'm not sure when I'll be able to eat it in the next couple of days, but I'm going to try, damn it. I'll also have to buy more Monday morning so I can enjoy it on the plane and when I return State-side.

The weather, which had cooled down the past couple of days, heated up again today. I've been very fortunate on this trip, as there has been no rain at all. Very unusual for a tropical climate area that rains year round, but I'm not complaining. So as I'm strolling, I head into a market to buy some water. It's AR$3.10. Not expensive, but more so than a commercial supermarket. And thinking about it, of all the places that I've bought water, the commercial markets are the cheapest. Which makes me wonder, how the small mom&pop shops expect to compete? I also notice cans of sardines for AR$3.90. That's ridiculously cheap. I may have to buy a bunch and bring them home, as my friend Dima has been looking for sardines, and not able to find any.

That's it for now. I'm just going to chill before heading out tonight. Obviously, going to be going to a milonga. We were going to go to a performance by Otros Aires at Villa Malcolm, but Emily says that they've cancelled the performance. I think we're still headed there, because it's still a good place to dance. And maybe then to La Viruta (the Argentine Association one) afterwards. But, as I've learned about portenos, plans may change.

buenos aires, jueves

I can no longer keep count of the days and nights, so I'll just go by the day of the week.

As mentioned in the previous post, Thursday I slept till close to 3PM. The rest of the day was spent trying to recuperate. I went out for cafe con leche and medialunas (I think) To be honest, at this point, I'm not really sure. Emily and I arrange to meet for dinner before her class, but at 7PM, she texts (yes, I'm learning to text) and says she can't make it. I then head out to get some food, because I haven't had anything substantial. I have a craving for choripan, but there's nowhere close for it. I followed with roasted chicken, but I just had that the day before. So I went to a restaurante arabe that I passed by a couple days earlier, thinking, shawarma (sp?). They have it, but there's no roasting pit in sight. So I order instead a keppe al horno, which is quite similar to a meatloaf, except much tastier.

I was really excited by the night. Tanghetto would be performing at Salon Canning, and we had 2 for 1 tickets! Around 11PM (which could not have arrived early enough, because by then, I was recuperated and getting restless), I get ready and catch a cab to Emily's place. She complains that I arrive too early, that even though the event starts at 11PM, porteno time dictates that 1AM is probably more like it. OK, well, I had nothing better to do, so I wait around while she gets ready. She shows me pictures of her shoe collection. It's crazy. We discuss a possible business venture for tango shoes. Sounds promising; I'll have to learn more about it.

Finally, we head out after midnight. At this point though, I'm feeling a bit hungry and really in the mood for a choripan. And my talk of it apparently prompts Emily to crave one too. So after catching the bus to Canning, we get a couple choripans from the kiosk across the street. AR$8 for two of them. We scarf them down really quickly, then enter the milonga. The picture is an image of the salon that I took while the lights were on. And proceed to order a bottle of wine (Trapiche is the winery). I still can't get over that it's only AR$24 (US$6.70) for a bottle of decent malbec in a bar.

Around 1AM, Tanghetto comes on. They're good, but nowhere as exciting as Bajofondo. The dancing though, was dismal. The first woman I danced with asked to stop after 2 songs because she does not like nuevo tango. So why is she there, instead of being at El Beso (a very traditional milonga)? The second woman wouldn't talk to me or look at me between the first and second song, and then said "gracias" just as the second song hit the last note. The third woman was from San Francisco, and quite beautiful, but one could feel that she was not into the dance. Apparently she didn't like milonga style (which was that particular tanda). This is stupid, why do they agree to dance then? Oh well, at least I got to watch Tanghetto.

We then head to another milonga around 3AM. It's at the Armenian association, called La Viruta. So if anyone see Varo, tell him that I'm now part Armenian ;) Seriously though, its rather empty when we arrive, and there's really no one to dance with. I don't even change my shoes. The milonga ends at 4AM. By then, Emily had only danced 2 tandas, Luis (Emily's friend) only 1. Not a very productive night. So we head home. First we catch a bus back to Emily's place. That's actually one of the best things about BA-- all the buses run 24H, and all for AR$1.25 (US$0.35).


From Emily's place, I catch a cab. The cab driver is hilarious. He strikes up a conversation about my sex life. He asks if I'll be sleeping alone tonight. He asks if I like the city, if I am getting any in BA. He asks if I get a lot in Los Angeles. And he does it by using the term "focky-focky". And all in Spanish.


Again, around 5AM, I go to bed.

buenos aires, part 4

Not much happened during the day, so I'll combine the posts.

The weather got better, in that it was less humid, and much more tolerable. I went back to NonnaBianco for cafe y medialunas. This time, I got 3 medialunas. And still only AR$9. Crazy. I also wandered into a shop in the afternoon and bought grilled chicken leg, flan, and Fanta. Total: AR$13.50. Wierd how I have these cravings when I'm travelling.

At 9PM I head to a tango class in San Telmo. The address is Peru 708. I get there, and it turns out that the class doesn't start until 9:30PM. So I head up the street and end up back at Cafe La Poesia. Order a glass of Finca Gabriel tinto (see above), which was only AR$10. And did they load up on that glass.

Took the class, and afterwards headed over to a milonga a block away, at Peru 571. I invited the instructor to come along, and she came for a tanda. Which is always good in a milonga, when your first tanda is with someone who is recognized. This milonga has a live band, and damn, they are good. There are a lot of non-dancers there, who simply go to watch the performance, but they leave soon after midnight.

I see Rebecca, the woman who I danced with on Sunday, and who had invited me to this milonga. We talk a bit, dance a bit, and she gives me more BA insider tips. One of the things she mentions is that the level of dancing at the milongas in San Telmo is a whole step below that of those in Palermo. And she is right. Canning was probably 3 times more crowded, but I never had a problem with people bumping into me. At this place, people kept crossing the line of dance and doing more nuevo moves, thereby resulting in more injuries.

At PracticaX, I had discussed the embrace with Emily, and she pointed out that mine is too subtle, and does not convey an intension of desire. So she gave me some tips about how to convey that sense of "I want to be here dancing with you" in el abrazo. I see what she means, and it will have to be something to work on. I try to work on it at this milonga, but I struggle. Ultimately, I enjoy distance-- both emotionally and physically. We'll see how that goes.

The milonga ends at 2AM. I'm pretty hungry, but don't want to eat that much, so just get a grilled ham sandwich on the way back. Costs only AR$4.50. Once I get back, there are some people sitting around the outdoor patio smoking and drinking beer. I join them. We start off with 6 people, but by 4AM, it's just two of us left. The other person is Laura, a Canadian woman who came with us to Canning the other night. So we keep chatting, and keep buying bottles of beer from the receptionist. I think we went through 4 1L bottles. Soon the sun comes up. At that point, we decide that we're hungry and go for breakfast. cafe con leche y medialunas (3 of them)-- AR$9.50.

Afterwards, I head straight to bed, and finally wake up close to 3PM. As I walk out towards the common area to come blog, the receptionist strikes up a conversation, and laughs at me. I am confused... Apparently she was there when we returned from breakfast at around 8:30AM, but I just didn't see her. And I guess I'm earning a reputation for partying... A different person has seen me return home early morning each day. I suppose that means its a good vacation...

buenos aires, night 3

So it's been 2 days since I last blogged, and my memories of what happened are fading fast.

I head out to a practica at 10PM that's being held by Diego and Gabriel somewhere in Palermo. I don't know their last names, but Emily says they are world famous. This is a problem for me... I don't know the names of all the famous dancers, so my appreciation for this whole scene is, relatively, quite muted. The practica is good-- what was supposed to be 1 hour turned into 3 hours. We did three steps, and it was quite hard. I realize that I currently do not have good enough balance. Emily was very nice and worked very hard to help me on the moves, but in the end, it's just something that I need to practice more.

Around midnight, we are starving, and get choripans (grilled sausage on French baguette with chimichurri sauce) from the place next door. At only AR$5, I wish I ordered more. What seemed ridiculous to me is that the studio where the practica was, sold us sodas for $AR6. Only in Argentina is meat cheaper that beverages.

I also notice that I am beginning to calculate prices like a porteno. For example, I had bought a monedero (debit card for the subway) and put AR$15 (US$4) on it. Then I instantly regretted it, because there was no way I would ride the subway 13 times the rest of the week, and wished that I had saved myself AR$10. The other example is in a practica, I had to purchase a small bottle of water for AR$4. That's just slightly more than US$1. But I was not happy, because one can buy a bottle 3x the size outside for AR$2.70.

After the practica, Emily takes me to PracticaX. It's a nuevo style milonga, even though it's called a practica. That is, people there dance more nuevo style, but the music is still classico. I find it interesting that the cortinas in BA often are nuevo tango, because people here seem to dislike dancing to it. The space is huge, but unlike Canning, well ventilated. To the point where it almost felt cold. The milonga ends at 4AM and we share a cab home. I finally crawl into bed at 5AM.

One final observation. Before I left my trip, everyone who had visited BA kept telling me how much I would love it, how they loved it, etc. Everyone except one person. She warned me that I would feel something was missing. I asked her to elaborate, but she was vague. I'm beginning to feel that to some extent. Not sure how to describe it, but I'll try over the posts over the next few days...

buenos aires, day 3

I couldn't wake up this morning. I think I finally dragged myself out of bed by 2PM. Head out for a cafe con leche y medialunas. However, everything is closed. I finially found this place, Cafe La Poesia. It is crowded, and I have to wait a while for a table. At this point I'm starving and needing to eat some meat, so I order a bife de chorizo (thinking that it would be a sausage). And a cafe con leche as well. Turns out a "bife de chorizo" is a cut of steak, and not sausage. Pictured above. It's a huge steak with bacon and an egg on top. A bit overwhelming, and definitely too oily. So what can I do, but to order a beer to wash it down? Total cost: AR$50 (~US$14), including tip.

I head back to my room for a nap, and and wait for my friend Emily. Once she arrives, we had to La Boca. La Boca is a neighborhood in southern Buenos Aires with very colorful buildings. She took pictures. I avoided being in them ;)

We sit at a cafe for cafe con leche y medialunas. Then the funniest thing happens. Across from us is a store that sells tango souvenirs. And hanging in the window are pictures of tango poses. She looks carefully, and then tells me to walk over there and look at them. Turns out, they are of her and her boyfriend Sergei.

Anyway, we finish up and head towards the bus. At this point, she explains the mentality of hoarding coins in Buenos Aires. And it's true. Now that it's been explained to me, so much makes sense.

That's it for the day... now onto the night.

buenos aires, night 2

met up with my friend Emily for dinner. we went to a petit restaurant, where I ordered some beef ribs (cross cut, Korean style) and a bottle of beer. Total cost: AR$30 (~US$8.50). I learn something that I find extraordinarily ironic, and a bit sad. However, to protect the involved parties, I won't blog it.

After dinner, she went to a tango workshop, and not having a partner (it's couples only), I hung out until the end of the class, at which point, we met up, and a total of 6 of us went to Salon Canning.

Salon Canning is supposed to be one of the best milongas. We got there around 1AM, and and it was jam packed. And very hot. Everyone was fanning themselves with something, and I started sweating-- I never sweat! Some observations about the (mis)conceptions of milongas. I was told how formal everything here is, but it is not at all. Plenty of men were wearing T-shirts and jeans. Everyone had taken off their jackets because of the heat, so it would've been OK to not have worn one upon entry.

I got a lesson of the politics of tango, about how people are seated, about how people interact and how that demonstrated relationships, and how that translates into the dances one gets. Being new in town (the caliber at Canning is different than that at Tasso), I only got a few cabaceos. My proudest moment was that I conducted an entire conversation in one tanda in Spanish. The woman was quite interesting-- she's a professor of German who moved from Germany 6 years ago and has stayed ever since. I also got shot down a few times. Its amazing how impersonal people are, how judgemental they can be.

The next day is a holiday (don't ask me which one) so the milonga goes until 6AM. By then, the 4 of us left had gone through 2 bottles of wine. We then catch a cab home, and I finally go to bed at 7AM.

buenos aires, day 2

I didn't wake up until past 11am. The breakfast service had stopped, and the receptionist was so apologetic. I told her it was OK, I was heading out for a cafe con leche and a medialuna (croissant) anyway. I find this place that is part internet cafe, part Asian themed coffee shop. Order, sit down, and a few minutes later, comes a tray service not unlike those at Funnel Mill. I was surprised as she brought over two croissants. Anyway, I sit there, use the computer a bit, and enjoy my brunch. Total bill? AR$9 (less than US$3)!

Next, to take care of the business of the day. Two things I have to do-- buy a SIM for my phone, and withdraw more money. The latter is quite easy. Once I hit one of the major streets, there are plenty of banks. The former, a bit more troublesome. After winding around everywhere, I finally find a place that sells a SIM for Movistar. I needed Movistar because they are known to work for iPhones unlocked using yellowsnOw. So now I have a phone. The number is 11-5949-1529. Don't ask me how to call it. Argentina has a screwed up system where the prefix changes based upon where you're calling from. Here's a page on the info.

Thats it for the day. Just resting up now, and waiting for the phone to be activated so I can add money to it.

what a day.

What a day.

I finished packing and my usual pre-travel preparations around 9pm. Oxygen milonga was that night, and my flight wasn't till 2am, so what the heck, I shuffled to the milonga. Danced with many familiar faces, a few I hadn't seen in a while. At the stroke of midnight (or, just a minute before), I rushed for my car just like Cinderella did for her carriage. Got to the airport and went through security in 5 minutes. That's the good thing about travelling at 2am. Though that just meant I sat there waiting for the flight and wishing I was still at Oxygen.

15 hours later...

We landed in Buenos Aires at 9PM local time. Went through immigration-- got my first Argentine stamp! And on my new RFID passport, no less. Then spent the next hour trying to get Argentine pesos. The ATM (cajero automaticos) rejected all 3 of my debit cards. Calling the bank collect kept connecting the call back to me. I finally gave in and went to the currency exchange, ready to exchange what little American dollars I had for backup. And I complain to the guy about the ATMs. He tells that the maximum withdrawal is 300 pesos. WTF? That's not even $80US! OK, so I go back and finally is able to withdraw some money. But at that rate, I'll probably have to hit the ATM everyday.

Take a taxi, costs me AR$98. The ATM had only given me AR$100 bills, so I felt bad about giving the guy only AR$2 for tip. Check in. Ask the receptionist about milongas. She calls around and points me to this place that's 2 blocks away. It's on the same street as the restaurants that she points me to, but in the other direction.

Not knowing how late these places might be open, I head towards the restaurants first. Ended up at this place called Todo Mundo and sat at their outdoor seatings. I chose that table because it was right next to the outdoor milonga happening right in that square. Of course I had to be there. Ordered a canejo florentino. Or I think that's the name. It's rabbit in florentine (rosemary tomato) sauce. It also came with scallopped potato fries. Total including tip comes out to AR$50 (i.e. US$14). Not bad. I finish paying, and head to the floor. I dance with this tall blonde. Her friend had left her empty cup on my table as they were headed to the milonga. The blonde is from Russia, her friend from Spain. The milonga ends at midnight, so I only got 2 tandas in. Oh well, onto the next milonga.

The next milonga was a bar/restaurant, so there was no cover. If only I had known that there would be places still serving food past midnight, I'd have just danced my heart out in the outdoor milonga. Oh well. I order a cerveza. They only have 1 brew, an import from Germany. It was large (500ml) and quite good, and best of all, only AR$12. Where in Los Angeles can you get a large beer for less that US$3.50? El Baron charges US$4 just for a small bottle of water! The place was only half full when I arrived, but within a few minutes, filled to capacity. I recognize a few people from the outdoor milonga-- I guess I came to the right place! I dance a few tandas. One with a Canadian expat, who is living in Buenos Aires while writing her dissertation. How I envy her-- I wish I could do the same, to live in a foreign city without interrupting your work/life. And just as quickly, the crowd dispersed after 2AM. So, I head back to my room for some sleep.

Ok, that was more than 24 hours, but, what a day.