Mendoza has just finished celebrating the wine harvest festival, called the Vendimia, and there are still signs of it around — including this fountain, which Venetia snapped as we quaffed a Malbec yesterday afternoon. So cool!
We were sitting having a glass of wine late yesterday afternoon when this fellow came along sweeping the street with what looked like some kind of palm frond — quite biblical, I thought!
Yesterday Venetia and I arrived in Mendoza, the most important wine region in Argentina. We only have a few days here — we obviously didn’t think that through, or we would have stayed a couple more days — but we are packing in as much wine activity as possible!
Last night we had dinner at a place called El Mercadito, which was recommending by Rob and Alex, some friends of ours in Buenos Aires. It didn’t disappoint. We both enjoyed our salmon dish, and as you can see, it is a delightful little place. We sat outside and enjoyed the ambiance as the sun went down.
Mendoza is on the other side of Argentina from Buenos Aires, on the other side of the Andes from Chile. Being a little north of Buenos Aires, the weather is warmer. Today was beautiful, warm but not humid, clear blue sky and bright sunshine. And the forecast is for more of the same while we’re here.
Here are a few shots of El Mercadito.
I’ve been busy with other things over the past few Sunday nights, but tonight I finally got to see another of Cliff Williamson’s cowboy concerts in Plaza Vicente Lopez. This photo shows just the small group of folks who know Cliff, but people around the plaza were enjoying it too.
A couple of nights ago, I was watching tango. And tonight I enjoyed a program of quintessential American music in a plaza in Buenos Aires. Music is certainly an international language!
This afternoon, Lina and I had a late lunch in a Spanish restaurant right downtown in the heart of Buenos Aires, called Plaza Asturia. Lina had discovered it on one of her walks, and enjoyed it, so it seemed a good choice.
I wouldn’t say the ambiance was particularly Spanish—the place is more like a Bar Notable of Buenos Aires, but very nice nonetheless. But the food was excellent—and Spanish.
Lina had lamb, and I had filet mignon, or what we call lomo here. As you can see from the photo, it was far too much for one person. Next time, we should split it between two—the problem is finding two people who like their steak cooked the same way! Anyway, definitely one to repeat.
The fellow who invited us to the George Harrison tribute concert, Viggo—the sound engineer at the venue—invited us this week to a concert by Concuza, a renowned tango singer. (It’s good to have friends in the right places!)
When I saw his photo, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as he sure doesn’t look like a tango singer—more like a rocker! But when he started to sing his origins were clear! He put his own twist on traditional tango without messing them about beyond all recognition, which is what some modern singers do.
In my mind, if I can’t dance to it, it’s not tango. Not strictly true I know, but it’s just the way I see it. If you listen to the video below, you’ll hear that even when he wanders off, the strong tango beat is still maintained by the piano and the bandoneon. In fact, one couple did get up just in front of the stage and dance.
Another cool thing was that it was definitely a tango audience, and they knew all the words to the songs, joining in when he invited them. All in all, a fabulous concert, and I’ll go to see Cucuza again any time I get the chance.
This is a great example of taking a historic old building that was languishing, and turning it into a hotspot for dining.
Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used for the carriages belonging to the President of the day. It was recently opened as The Carriage Marketplace, where you can find a variety of eating places all housed on two floors. It has a great atmosphere, and the restoration work is first class.
Venetia and I went last night after a lovely tango concert at the CCK, and we both ate steaks in a smaller version of a very well known parilla called La Cabrera. The place only opened last week, and they are not completely set up yet. For example, they don’t sell wine — what?! You have to go over to the wine place, buy your own wine and bring it back. Hopefully next time they will have it in house.
It was quite crowded, of course, but one of these days I’ll go down earlier in the day during the week and do some sketching. Lots of potential!
Every Monday evening, I go with my friend Lina and our teacher, Ale, to a milonga for what’s called a practica. In the milonga itself, it’s frowned upon to do any teaching, but in a practica it’s quite acceptable. So going with your teacher is ideal. Because there are two of us, we each find other men invite us to dance while Ale is dancing with the other one.
Anyway, last week I shot this short clip of Ale and Lina dancing milonga, and obviously having fun. I kept shooting until they danced out of sight!
Normally, I would have clipped the end off this one just before that other couple came into the picture, but I left it in for a reason. As you can obviously see, these two very old people. They have been married forever, but they only started dancing tango during the lockdown! I guess like everybody else they were looking for something to do, so they took up tango. And now they are there faithfully every Monday, dancing their little hearts out. How cool is that? I just love tango.
We in Buenos Aires finally saw a taste of long awaited rain this week, but I wish the same could be said for the northern provinces. Wildfires have been raging there for weeks, with no sign of a let-up. When rain does come it comes in trickles and doesn’t last.
The drought has seen the Parana River at its lowest level in about a century, which has affected the economy because farmers can’t get their product down the river to market. Soy is one of Argentina’s major sources of international revenue.
A number of years ago I went with Cecilia to Los Esteros del Iberá, a marshland of thousands of square kilometres in the province of Corrientes. That is home to thousands of wild animals, and one of the worst hit areas. The fires are taking a horrific toll.
Please pray for Argentina.
Last night Venetia and I went to a George Harrison tribute concert. It wasn’t one of those tribute shows where you feel as if you are watching the real person. There was no “George” character in the band, but they just played his music and told his story as they went along.
It’s funny, but although everyone of my generation seems to have a favourite Beatle (mine was John), I don’t remember anyone saying George was their favourite. Maybe that’s why most of us don’t realize just how prolific a songwriter he really was, and why he’s so highly respected in the music world.
I shot this little video near the beginning, as it’s one of the songs we all remember. Then I just put my phone away and enjoyed the concert. I hope you enjoy the clip.