Snapshots

January 17-18, 2024

“Buenos Aires is my favorite city. I think it's fantastic - but is a troubled, sort of psychologically troubled city."

-John Gillette

In 2014 there was a short lived comedy drama on Amazon Prime called “Mozart in the Jungle”. It was led by the charismatic Mexican actor Gael García Bernal and told the story of the a New York Symphony trying to revive itself by bringing in a new eccentric composer from Argentina.

It was on for only 4 short seasons then cancelled due to lack of ratings leaving several plot threads hanging. I was among the few that loved the show. Not only did it present witty eccentric characters but it featured glorious pieces of music that poured out of your television speakers and stirred your soul.

The eccentric conductor had an assistant that he would always send out in the city to get him his “Mate” - A tea like drink that is placed in a wooden cup and sipped through a straw. He would sip on it almost like a pacifier, throughout the episodes.

I never thought about it again until we arrived here in Buenos Aires. You find people quite frequently walking on the street sipping on the cup and carrying with them a thermos of hot water to refresh the brew. There are multiple stores that, like ornate bong shops, sell the cups everywhere.

I had to try it.

The full kit, leaves, thermos of hot water, and full cup

So hear it is - the “leaves” are more like coarse granules and have the consistency of dry soil. You obtain your cup and you can see the filter at the bottom. You fill the entire cup with the mixture and a little poof of a dust cloud rises from your cup as you scoop the debrie in. Then, you fill the cup with hot water and enjoy.

So, what does it taste like?

Dirt. Whatever you imagine dirt in a cup of water might taste like, this is it.

It is definitely an acquired taste. Mostly you get a sense of weak tea with a very bitter after taste. It was about the same level of caffeine as coffee. There are those that claim it has health benefits. In one study it has been shown to increase the development of mouth and esophageal cancer, so good times.

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The rain stopped and the skies were blue again. We did laundry and rested a bit. Then we headed to Casa Rosada. This pink, colonial era, mansion serves as the President’s office and part of the legislature. In front of it lies the Plaza Mayo, flanked on each side by various ornate government buildings.

The picture below shows the statue in front of the palace. Surrounding the base of the statue are thousands of stones many with names painted on them. These rocks serve as makeshift memorials and as an act of protest to “The Disappeared”. During the so called “Dirty Wars” between 1976-1983 between 10,000 - 30,000 Argentinians simply disappeared. They were likely tortured and killed by the dictatorships of the time. To date, the Argentinian government denies knowledge of their whereabouts and there has been no accountability . Every day at 3 pm, “The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” march around the plaza in protest.

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This balcony was used by Madonna for the filming of Evita. It seems likely that the real Eva spoke from the same balcony but I am not completely sure.

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This is the Cathedral of Buenos Aires. If you ever wondered what Pope Francis was doing before he ascended to his Papacy, he worked here as Bishop.

Here you will find the tomb of General Jose de San Martin. He is the George Washington of sorts for Argentina, the leader of the independence from Spanish rule.

The guard is changed here every 4 hours. There are multiple monuments to the General throughout the city.

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The interior of a massive shopping mall is shown here. Despite the economy being is such a precarious shape, the stores are open and busy.

I am not sure how when you have head winds of 200% inflation. Basic staples soar in price every 2 weeks.

There is a lovely rooftop view here which offers dramatic views of the area of the Presidential Palace area. Some of the city’s finest architecture can be found here.

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We took the train an hour North of the city to visit the delta area of the Tigre river as it empties into the Plate River. We toured the islands where locals kept vacation homes and battle man eating mosquitoes. They were quiescent today. According to the local news the prehistoric insects took away an entire school bus yesterday and are currently sated.