Buenos Aires

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Joanna Sings Nina

Last night I went with some friends to see the wonderful Joanna Maddox sing Nina Simone at Notorious, a great little club just a ten-minute walk from my place. It was a great show, enjoyed with great company — what’s better than that?

I admitted to Joanna that she had introduced me to Nina Simone last night, as I honestly didn’t know her before. Having listened to some of her videos now, I know that Joanna did her justice!

When we brought her back for an encore, she surprised us by dancing instead of singing! Here’s the video.

By the way, if you’d like to see her sing Tina, check out my post here.

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Welcome to South America!

Last night when I went to cook dinner, I found there was no gas coming through my stove. So I switched off the gas at the handle on the wall and had cold meat and salad.

This morning when I stepped into the shower, the water was tepid. What gives? I checked the stove again and the gas was still off. Well, that explains it. The water is heated by gas!

A little later I spoke to my neighbour, Maria, and asked her if she had gas. She explained that there had been a gas leak in one of the apartments, so the portero immediately reported it to the gas company and the gas was turned off. I’m OK with that, as you can’t mess around with gas.

BUT, imagine my chagrin when she told me it would probably be off for more than a month! When I told my friends, they were surprisingly unsurprised about the whole thing. Apparently it’s not that unusual. Venetia lives quite close to me and she has invited me to drop by for a hot shower when I want to, so that’s helpful too.

Fortunately, I have an electric frying pan which can stand in for an oven in many ways, as well as a microwave, a kettle and a toaster. There’s also the option to eat out or order in, so there are plenty of food options.

Not having hot water is more of a problem, but even that’s not really bad because it’s summer and the water isn’t stone cold anyway. I’m a Scot and we’re hardy, so I’ll be fine!

Welcome to life in South America!!

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Who Lies Here?

This afternoon I went to the Recoleta Cemetery, which I haven’t visited since I came down in November. It’s a popular tourist spot and only five minutes from me, but the thing that always brings me back is the sketching opportunities. That’s why I went today.

It’s a huge place, and I don’t think I’ve ever been in this spot before, but I was attracted by the angel. Most of them are up high — which I guess is where angels are supposed to be — but it’s hard to draw them up there, so I was happy to find this lovely lady almost at eye level.

I spent an hour or so drawing. Then I went over to see who the tomb belonged to, and I couldn’t find a name! I searched every available surface, and all I could find were the initials JV and the year 1908 almost lost in the wrought iron of the door. Isn’t that strange? This large, very ornate and expensive monument, and nothing to say who’s inside! There must be a story there. Maybe I’ll try to find out.

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German Saturday!

Last week was the Christmas Fair at the British Embassy, and yesterday it was the one at the German Embassy. Actually, many of the artesans were the same, but it was fun looking at them again.

I was in the market for a handbag, and I actually found one. Here it is. You don’t often see real leather bags in metallic pink! OK, it doesn’t look pink in my photo, but it is.

We ran into some friends at the fair — predictably! — and enjoyed some bratwurst and wine together. I know it should be beer at German events, but I’m just not a beer drinker. I’m a Malbec girl!

Afterwards Venetia and I went with Scottish friends Marco and Jeannette to visit a church around the corner. It’s called San Bendito, and it was quite interesting. I don’t know when it was built, but I think quite recently. Although it’s definitely in the style of traditional South American Catholic churches, there is absolutely none of the stained glass, gold altars or fresco ceilings you usually see. It might be that they will add it as they get the money, although that’s just my speculation, but I actually rather like it the way it is. What do you think?

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Strange Art Exhibit and Great Lunch

Today I went with a group of friends to see an art exhibit by Anish Kapoor, who is described as specializing in installation and conceptual art. To be honest, I’m a bit bamboozled by it all. Here are some photos of the exhibits.

Called “Dragon”, these are river rocks from Japan, each weighing several tons, painted blue.

At the appointed time, a guy came and fired a large cannonball made of blood red resin into the corner. Apparently this happens several times a day.

When I was a kid, they had these at the fairground. They were called the hall of mirrors. Apparently now it’s art. Go figure.

Fortunately the lunch was delicious.

And the company was fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know art is subjective, and I try to keep an open mind, but sometimes …

Anyway, it was a fun afternoon.

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British Saturday

Today was lovely, and quite different from the usual.

First there was the annual Christmas Fair at the British Embassy, so I went along just after 11 am. As usual, I met up with several of my friends, all on the hunt for British goodies for the Christmas table. I bought a plum pudding to take to Cecilia’s Christmas dinner, and even better, I found tablet at the Scottish table. It was quite good but a wee bit sugary and, I have to say, not as good as mine!

Next, the afternoon portion of the day.

My friend Gillian, who is English by birth but more Spanish having lived in Spain for many years and now here in Buenos Aires, teaches English as a second language to a group of Argentines. On Saturday, she had arranged to take a few of them to see the Downton Abbey movie, and then for afternoon tea. As she wants them to be exposed to a variety of accents in English, she also invited Venetia (London accent despite many years in California) and me (Scottish accent despite many years in Canada) to go along.

If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It had all the intrigue, beauty and humour of the television series, and of course all the actors are superb — most of all, in my opinion, Maggie Smith. I’m not sure how well the students would have picked up on all the nuances, so they said the Spanish subtitles were welcome!

Gillian is on the left pouring tea.

It wasn’t Devonshire cream, but tasted good anyway.

Afterwards, we all gathered in a little teashop, whose name I never did catch, for cucumber sandwiches (specially requested by Gillian to the bewilderment of the Polish owners) and scones with cream. I’m so used to speaking Spanish every day now that it felt strange to be not only speaking English, but speaking it very carefully so that they would understand me!

By the time we left the cafe it was after 7 pm, and Venetia and I were ready for a glass of Malbec. So we hopped on the bus and headed for one of our favourite hangouts, the terrace at La Biela. We were enjoying our wine when, predictably, two of our other friends turned up! Jeanette is from Edinburgh, and her husband Marco, although actually Argentine, has lived in Edinburgh for so long he sounds like a native! They spend several months here every year, and we love their company.

All in all, a lovely, varied summery day and I enjoyed every minute!

 

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Dancing the Emotion of Tango

The deeper I go into tango the more I realize the importance of elements other than the steps. We are currently working on musicality, dancing to the various orchestras and noticing how the tango feels different with each one. These two songs are from the orchestra of Hector Varela, whose music is very dramatic! My aspiration now is to be able to not only feel the emotion in the music, but to dance the emotion.  Tango is oneness: with your partner, with the music and with the floor. With Alejandro’s help, I am coming to understand that achieving this oneness requires using my whole body.

The words of tango songs are almost impossible for foreigners (and even some Argentines) to understand, because most of them are not written in proper Spanish. Instead, they use a slang unique to Buenos Aires called lunfardo. Although I understand only a few of the words of these two songs, I can feel the pain, and I do my best to interpret it. It’s a work in progress.

I hope you enjoy my tango journey through these occasional videos.

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Cafe de los Angelitos

This is one of the Bares (or Cafes) Notables I am writing about for my new book. It is well known for its “tango” show, but none of my usual people were interested in going. I personally don’t like tango shows either, because they are more showy choreographed programs and not real tango. However, as I thought it would be useful for my book, I decided to go along anyway.

Two visitors I had recently met, Anneliese from Australia and Aytuna from Germany, were keen to see it though, so we three went together.

The cafe itself is beautiful, and has an interesting (read iffy) past. I will go again to do some sketching and perhaps have a further conversation with the manager, but in the meantime I thought I’d share some photos.

The theatre part of Los Angelitos is quite opulent, as you can see from this shot of the stage.

This lovely stained glass piece over the bar reflects the tango aspect of the cafe’s history.

I couldn’t resist a photo op with the lady who was checking in the visitors, in costume from the early 20th century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the video, you’ll see it’s not all tango. It’s more of a reflection of the music scene in Buenos Aires from the early 20th century. For me, this woman was the best part of the show. I should have made a longer videeo, but my phone was running out of juice. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Note the live tango orchestra on a platform behind the performers.

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Concert of Argentine Music

Venetia and I attended yet another great concert at the CCK (Centro Cultural Kirchner). It was by the Orchesta Nacional de Musica Argentina. Argentine music is much more than tango, but I have to confess that’s still my favourite.

It’s unusual to see a tango singer so dressed up and backed by a full orchestra, but we still loved it.

Venetia just told me she has tickets for the CCK tomorrow night, and it is a full tango orchestra this time, so looking forward to that. Stay tuned!

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My Anniversary Weekend Celebrations

Hard though it is to believe, this Sunday, November 24, was the first anniversary of my arrival in Argentina. Since November 23 was the day I actually left, I figured I might as well celebrate both days! Three events unfolded.

Tango and Champagne

On Saturday night, my friend Alejandro (who is also my tango teacher) took me to the milonga, where we danced every tanda but one over the course of two hours. It was marvelous! Before leaving, Alejandro took these photos. I don’t think they do much for us, but then selfies never do, do they?

Selfies aren’t flattering anyway, so you might as well get silly with them!

After the milonga, we went back to my place to quaff some bubbly — it was, after all, a celebration.

It was a beautiful, warm night, so we sat out on the balcony and had a lovely conversation as we drank the champagne and Alejandro blissed out on his pipe!

Paddy and John’s Picnic

On Sunday afternoon there was a big picnic for a couple in my group of expat friends. They are moving from Argentina to Italy, so we gave them a big sendoff. I had never been in this particular park before, and it is definitely a hidden gem. And it couldn’t have been a lovelier day for a picnic. Of course, this wasn’t technically part of my celebration, but I was there anyway so I thought I might as well tell you about it.

Night Out at the Parilla

Finally, last night I went with a big group of friends to La Gran Parilla del Plata, usually just referred to as La Gran Parilla. It’s in the lovely old barrio of San Telmo, and most people who have been there agree they have the best steaks in Buenos Aires — and that’s saying a lot! I also love the atmosphere, the friendly waiters (some of them very cute!) and the complimentary glass of lemoncello at the end of the meal!

I put up a note on our little friends thread of FB Messenger, thinking maybe three or four would be interested. 18 signed up and they all came! Here’s a selection of photos taken by Venetia and Anneleise.

All in all, it was a memorable celebration of my new life in this amazing country. I couldn’t be happier that I made this move and I look forward to many more years and many more anniversary celebrations!