Urban Art of Palermo

"Confundido"

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I take the subway to a nice area of the city called Palermo.  The school I teach at is only a few blocks away from the zoo and the botanic gardens.  Since winter has slowly been making its way to Argentina, I usually take the subway in the morning; since it’s still dark when I leave my apartment at 7:15am and usually cold, I have discovered that traveling underground is warmer.  However, by the time I finish my class and leave my school later in the morning, the sun is out and I hop on the #55 bus and head back to my apartment in Caballito.  For the past few months I have noticed that Palermo, which is a “hip” area, full of bars, restaurants, cafes, and night clubs, also has some really interesting urban art.  Avenida Thames, the street the #55 travels down, is riddled with beautiful, bizarre, and very interesting murals and urban art.  Last Thursday I decided that I was going to bring my camera with me to work and then take a stroll down Thames.  Here are some examples of  urban art in Palermo:

"Pirata"

"Little Pig, Little Pig"

"Wall Rat"

"Corner Art"

"Confundido II"

"Anita's Wall"

The Lonely Shoe

On my way to work I spied a lone shoe on the sidewalk...

"The Lonely Shoe"

Meat Shop

"The Butcher"

Today during a walk in Palermo Hollywood I passed by a "carneceria".  I spotted huge meat carcasses hanging from a rack, and decided I had to have a picture.  I entered the meat shop and kindly asked the butcher if I could take a picture, he agreed.  He was smiling at me with an amused grin from behind the counter, and I asked if I could take a picture of him.  Most people become shy, bashful or uncomfortable when I ask if I can photograph them.  The butcher however, happily agreed and struck a nice pose.  

"Meat Rack"

Yerba Mate

For some who are traveling in Buenos Aires and arrived without any prior knowledge of yerba mate, have probably mistaken Argentines for major stoners who spend their days ingesting green looking “weed” from a bizarre looking bong.  The bong is not really bong but “mate” a special cup, the weed is not cheeba but “yerba” tea leaves, and the metal spout sticking out of the cup is called a “bombilla,” and it is basically a metal straw that contains a filter at the end.  Argentina is the land of Yerba Mate; a tea which is drank year round and packs quite a punch as it is a natural herbal stimulant that served as my life blood during long nights of studying back in my college days.  Argentines are addicted to their yerba mate.  Adults, teens and even young children can be seen slurping yerba mate at parks, social gatherings, work meetings, on the subway…basically you name the place, and more than likely someone is carrying around a thermos of hot water and all the mate fixings. 

A Very Very Brief History of Yerba Mate:
The first people to discover, make use of and the yerba mate were the Guarani people of South America.  The conquistadors arrived and decided “Que saaabor!” We like this stuff too!  Let’s grow it!  Then the Jeuits decided they too liked Yerba and decided they we’re gonna harvest the stuff and make plantations,  however the Jesuits were eventually expelled and yerba mate was adopted by the guachos of the South American pampas.  Guachos are cowboys, and yerba served as a wonderful campfire drink. 
As this is a short a sweet history…basically the drink became popular and is now a popular beverage in various South American countries in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. 

Yerba mate has a very distinct flavor.  For me it is impossible to describe, kind of a woodsy flavored green tea, but one word that comes to mind is fuerte or strong.  Most people… or I guess I should say most of the people who I have personally drunk mate with prefer to mix sugar with their yerba.  Some prefer that disgusting (this is a personal opinion and yes, I know some will not agree) fake aspartame sugar.  I prefer the real stuff.  I know there are “rules” when it comes to preparing a cup of yerba mate, but I am ignorant of these specific norms, but the yerba leaves are placed in a mate cup along with sugar and hot water.   The mate cup itself is not that particularly large, and it is often made from a variety of materials including: glass, ceramic, wood, hollowed out gourds and I have often seen these in gift shops, but I have seen mate cups that are made from a hallowed out bull hooves.  I think this is more of a novelty as I have yet to see an Argentine drinking from one of these.  Personally I prefer glass or ceramic mate cups.  The wood and gourd ones have the tendency to become moldy and yucky in the inside.   Every time you suck down your portion of yerba, you refill the cup, sprinkle a little sugar and pass it to the next person, it is almost ritualistic.  The metal straw serves a great way to prevent the spread of germs.  Back when I was a student at the University of Buenos Aires, my teacher would bring yerba mate and my entire class of fifteen or so students would all drink from the same straw and cup.  I managed to make it through the entire semester without a case of oral herpes.

So if you ever make it to Argentina and someone invites you to drink yerba mate take advantage of the offer, you won’t regret it and you’ll experience a taste of Argentine culture.  Yes, pun intended. 

Skeletal Vestiges

About three times a week I take the bus to an area of the city called Floresta, home of a very large Korean community, although not the prettiest area of Buenos Aires, it is also not the worst.  I have three students who each live about three blocks from each other and their apartments are separated by a park.  I have begun to notice something peculiar, parked on the curb adjacent to the park people have begun to leave abandoned vehicles.  Two of them look as though they met a rather unfortunate end, as they are simply the burnt remnants of what was once someone’s vehicle.  Other cars look as though they were involved in an auto accident of some sort, and have been left to wither and rust on Avenida Chivolcoy y Avellaneda.  I wonder how long these sad skeletal vestiges will remain before the city finds the motivation to tow them off to the junk yard.  Knowing Buenos Aires, it will probably be a long time.

"Burnt"

Pajaritos-"Little Birds"

"Pajaritos"

 

 

 

I wonder what it would be like to be bird...

Perfect Timing

I have a student I tutor every Saturday in an area of the city called Floresta.  He lives on the tenth floor of a high rise building and his balcony provides a spectacular view of the city.  Buenos Aires truly is a concrete jungle-high rises for as far as the eye can see...  For a long time I have been meaning to bring my camera and take a picture and today was perfect, because I arrived at his home right at dusk, and the brilliant sunset that I captures vanished minutes after this picture was taken.

"Dusk Over Buenos Aires"

Telefono

Since the invention of the cell phone, it seems as though the world has little use for pay phones these days.  Back in 2004 I lived in Buenos Aires for a semester.  Eight years ago cell phones were not as common, people who could afford such a luxury were carrying around clunky Motorolas, the kind that had the black and white screens that folks spent hours playing "Snake" on. Those who didn't have a cell used pay phones as well as Locutorios.  What is a Locutorio?  It is a private phone booth that can be found in a "kiosko" or better known as a corner store.  You enter the private phone booth, dial your number (local or long distance) and a little box in the phone booth keeps track of how much money you are spending per minute.  In 2004, Locutorios could be found all over the city.  Today they are somewhat hard to come by.  Flash forward to 2012, and a large majority of the Argentine population is carrying around a smart phone equipped with Wifi.  Locutorios are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  Phone booths have become neglected, worn and are often littered with advertisements for call girls.   

"Phone Booth"

Broken Dreams

"Broken Dreams"

Most people I talk to seem less than impressed with Argentina's president Christina Kirchner.  Tattered posters bearing the president's face can be seen throughout the city.

Street Beans

"Street Beans"

Meet Boston Baked Bean's cousin: Buenos Aires Baked Beans.  These vendors are parked on street corners for just a dollar you can buy a bag of crunchy, sweet, slow roasted goodness.  I almost enjoy the smell as much as I do the taste.