The most creative and colorful spot in Buenos Aires you find in La Boca. This place attracts tourists like a magnet, and we easily understand why. All around you there are tango dancing couples, inside the restaurant and out on the streets. Small, colorful houses make a fresh contrast to the dark, longing tango music coming from the live musicians on the corner.
La Boca was one of the main places in B.A where the immigrants settled, around 1800 – and the beginning of 1900. The immigrants, most of them men, came to the “Promised Land” from the whole world to make a living. They came over by the sea and settled down in the area of La Boca. For the most of these immigrants it was a tough life. They missed their family and it wasn`t always easy to integrate in the society. One day, some men decided to get rid of the dark feelings and sorrow, and started to paint their houses in strong and happy colors. This made their days much brighter, and somehow the sadness started to fade. The houses have remained the same, and have in a large extent made La Boca what it is today - a fascinating, colorful place with a burning heart and a strong soul.
In the end of the 18th century the tango was born. Men coming from all around the world, brought their dances, history and culture to B.A. Because they had to leave their family back home, most men where dancing and sharing culture experiences. They met in bars and brothels, sharing their sorrow and experiences - and danced. They melted all the different dances together (polka, mazurka, habanera,valse etc.)like a conglomerate, and by the time the tango was created. It`s not a convincident that the tango is melancholic when you concider its story. It`s the story of peoples life, which often consisted of pain, dreams, crisis and longings. As mentioned earlier in the blog, Mr. Villalba told us, “You dance proper tango if you dance to the words - more then to the music.” I tried my very best...
Carlos Gardel was the first tango musician who brought the tango to peoples ears and soul. But these wonderful and breathtaking musicians did a great job in following his steps.
The tango dancing couple pictured below shows what I mean. Here I think I managed to get the right sense in the picture. This melancholic expression is a natural ingredient in the tango. The tango is beautiful, mysterious and honest.
The Tango also reflects the culture of Argentina. We spoke with people who told us they have “given up” on their society and systems. The trust in the society is generally low and a lot of people have lost their faith in the politicians and government. Especially after the economical crisis in the early 2000s, when the currency dramatically fell and unemployment was very high, the situation was unbearable for many of the "Portenos". Argentina was subject to military dictatorship for many years, that resulted in a number of significant economic problems.
In the beginning of the 2000s, Argentina quickly lost the confidence of investors and the flight of money away from the country increased. In 2001, people fearing the worst began withdrawing large sums of money from their bank accounts, turning pesos into dollars and sending them abroad, causing a run on the banks. The government then froze all bank accounts for months, allowing for only minor sums of cash to be withdrawn. This is also much how it is today, we were still allowed to withdraw minor sums.
Because of this allowance limit and the serious problems it caused in certain cases, many Argentines became enraged and took to the streets of important cities, especially Buenos Aires. They engaged in a form of popular protest that became known as cacerolazo (banging pots and pans). These protests occurred especially during the period of 2001 to 2002. At first the cacerolazos were simply noisy demonstrations, but soon they included property destruction, often directed at banks, foreign privatized companies, and especially big American companies.
Although the situation is much better today, Argentina has a lot of work to do - building first and foremost trust into their community.
Buenos Aires was supposed to be a “Promised Land” but instead a lot of people have experienced dictatorship, lies and unstability. From one of the most known Tango songs the phrase: “Everything is a lie” seems to describe many of the "Portenos`" (Argentine people) situation.
Our plans was to leave South America on Saturday 12th of January, but because Aerolinas Argentinas was streiking due to political matters, we weren`t able to go. It was a mess! We went to the airport in the middle of the night and what we met was a terrible sight. Old ladies and young children were sleeping on the floor. We even heared that some had been waiting a week for a flight!
We tried to get information, but they couldn`t help us. Aerolinas Argentinas offices were totally damaged by furious passengers...
We waited for 7 hours hoping and praying for a miracle to come, but finally we had to take a taxi back again to Buenos Aires. No flights were departing...Our first chance to get out of the country was in 4 days...
In spite of the uncharming end of our stay in Argentina, which really made us longing for a new continent, we are grateful for the time had in Argentina. It has been a very educational and interesting experience. We have been dancing tango, we attended Spanish classes, we got to know many interesting and friendly people, made many new friends, and been travelling around in the country in addition to Chile and Uruguay. And last but not least - we got engaged!
GRACIAS!
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