Tuesday was the day the team came home from Qatar, and it was declared a national holiday. The sky blue and white shirts were out in even more numbers than on Sunday. I had put mine in the wash, and I kind of felt I had let the side down because I wasn’t wearing it!
I had to go up to Avenida Santa Fe, a main road across the city, and I came across crowds of people walking along towards Avenida 9 de Julio, but I was not adventurous enough to join them. You’ll see from the photo below (from the newspaper) what it was like down there. Crazy!
Well all the anticipation finally ended on Sunday with the World Cup Final, and although they made us suffer through penalties, in the end they won. And what a time it was here. Argentina is a wonderful country with a lot of problems. We needed good news, we needed something to celebrate — and this certainly filled the bill!
I went with four friends to a cafe in San Telmo, a funky barrio where we knew the place would be hopping, and we weren’t disappointed. We stayed in our cafe until the cup presentation was over, and then we joined the throngs in the street. We walked up to another favourite bar of ours, La Poesia, where we sat outside, quaffing champagne and celebrating with the constant stream of people passing by. Everybody in a blue and white shirt was your friend!
When it finally came time to go home, we realized there were no buses or taxies, as traffic was at a standstill, so Venetia and I walked almost ten kilometres from San Telmo to my place in Recoleta! It was fun though, because there were street parties all the way along the route.
I’m so glad I was here to be part of this — it’s certainly a day I’ll never forget.
I am several posts behind from last week, but this one I just had to post right away, as Argentina just beat Croatia 3-0 to advance to the World Cup final on Sunday! The whole country is jumping with excitement.
I watched it at home on my computer, but just had to get out in the street for the celebrations. Venetia’s wifi went out and she missed the first half, but then she went to her local greengrocer and they let her join them to watch it!
She then came over here and we went up to La Biela. There were only a few celebrants there, but the place next door was really hopping, and I took some shots of them as we went past.
I was walking up the street today wearing my “camiseta” (shirt) when three young boys about twelve came up to me and asked how many goals I thought we would win by. Without even thinking, I said 3-0 — and my prediction came true!
Argentina is having its troubles these days, and we really need something to celebrate, and this is certainly it!
I’ve talked before about the concerts we have seen at the CCK, and last night was one of the best ever.
There has been a multi-day conference about Portuguese fado going on this week, culminating last night with a fado concert by Mariza, generally recognized as the best fado artist of this time. People in Portugal say she is the best since the iconic Amalia Rodriguez, and there are times when you feel she is channelling Amalia! But Mariza brings a lot more to her audience.
She is Portuguese but from Mozambique, and there is a big African influence in her music. Fado is very melancholy, and a lot of it all at once can be a bit much, so the more upbeat music was a welcome change of pace.
Also, unlike the stereotypical fado singer all in black and not moving very much, the beautiful Mariza wore a fantastic gown that sparkled and shimmered as she moved. With her short two-toned hair and tatood arm, she is definitely a departure from tradition!
Her show was unforgettable and I’m sharing a little with you here. The lighting was dramatic and very difficult to photograph, but Venetia did a great job as always, I think you’ll agree. Gracias chica!
After the debacle of the football match on Tuesday, everybody in Argentina was on tenterhooks about the next game. I didn’t want to go all the way out to that park again, so I was on the hunt for a new place to watch.
One of the local restaurants I go to has a fairly small television and it’s always on, with the sound off and usually football. I asked if they were turning up the sound for the game and they said they were, so my plan was to go there for merienda on Saturday afternoon and watch the game.
But my plans were changed at our Thursday afternoon champagne get together, when my friend Beth invited me to watch it at her place on their giant screen television. I jumped at the chance. Her husband is Danish and he is a fan too.
It turned out that Denmark was playing just before Argentina on Saturday — and they lost to France. I wrote to Beth and asked her if Jens was OK. She wrote back, “Well he says the world has ended, but he seems to be OK with it!”
I went down there at the appointed time and took some Portuguese custard tarts, as I knew they had champagne. Another friend, Joanna, who used to live here but moved back to Canada and is now here on a short vacation, came along too.
It was fun watching in comfort with friends, the champagne didn’t hurt, and as we won this game against Mexico, it was all good! They’ve invited me to watch the next game there next Wednesday afternoon, so I’ll have to dash home after it and get ready for the milonga!
Their apartment is ten minutes from me, and their 9th floor balcony has this glorious view. That’s the Rio de la Plata in the background!
I just came home from my Fileteado class. Here’s the next iteration of the dragon, which is coming along but still has quite a bit to be done.
This dragon is teaching me a lot about the detailed techniques of this art form. I’m fascinated by how it starts as a flat image and then comes to life as I add the shadows and highlights. I’m hoping to finish it next week, but not sure. I still have to do more shading on the dragon, and then the flowers and the flag. But I’m liking it!
First, I got up at 5.30 am because I wanted to leave enough time to get to the park before the game started. I took my sketching chair with me, so I needed a bit of space to open it up. I didn’t mind the early rise too much — as soon as my feet are on the floor it doesn’t matter what time it is, so I just showered and dressed as usual.
The park is in the barrio of Palermo, which means I am immediately at a disadvantage because I always seem to get lost there. There is a bus I could take, but Gillian had warned me to make sure I get the right one because apparently there are two 130s that go different ways — very Buenos Aires. So I decided to take a taxi, not thinking in advance that at 6.15 am there might not be many taxis! After standing for a good five minutes and not seeing any, I started walking towards the bus stop — and no taxis passed me. Fortunately, the bus arrived immediately. Unfortunately — you guessed it — it was the other one. I asked the driver to let me know when we got to Sarmiento, and he told me I would have to get off just before Sarmiento, and I did.
Sarmiento and Libertador is a wide open, green area made up of lovely parklands — and wide roads with fast traffic. Damned if I could figure out where I was, so I asked a young guy where the giant screen was and he pointed me in the right direction. It wasn’t too far to walk.
The atmosphere at the park was lovely. Trees and lamp posts were festooned with sky blue and white, what we call albiceleste, which is also the nickname for the team. People were selling flags and shirts and (unfortunately) those horrible noise makers. The tournament here is just called the Mundial, and the City has designated the park Emocion Mundial for the duration of the tournament. There were quite a lot of people there, but probably not as many as there will be at later games, and the fact that it was 7 am didn’t help as Argentines tend to stay out very late at night. So it was easy to find a spot in front of a lamp post. I opened up my chair and sat down, but it was soon apparent that if I sat in it I wouldn’t be able to see! So I stood leaning against the lamp post for the whole game and sat down for a rest at half time.
I hooked up by iPhone with my nephew Ally in Scotland — a little tradition we have for big international sporting events that involve countries we are interested in. As Scotland is not in the tournament — again! — it is Argentina and Portugal for us, although Ally may have an interest in other countries too. Little did we know the nature of the messages we would be exchanging.
The first half started, and Lio Messi scored a penalty within ten minutes. A few minutes later we scored again, but it was later ruled offside. Argentina put the ball in the net four times — and three were ruled offside! So although we dominated the game in the first half, we only had one goal to show for it at half time. I hadn’t realized what a disadvantage it would be not having a commentary in English — just rapid Spanish punctuated by sudden yells and screams. So I didn’t know they had disallowed three goals until half time came around and I saw the scoreboard!
This situation must have given the Saudis a psychological charge because they came out at full throttle for the second half, and it wasn’t long before they scored a goal. That was bad enough, but when they scored the second one the air went out of the balloon for us. Nothing went right — it was as if the football gods were with the Saudis.
And that’s how it ended. Ally said to me at the beginning that he thought it would be a nightmare for the Saudis, as they are arguably the worst team in the tournament, but it was Argentina — arguably the best team — that suffered the nightmare. They have dug themselves a big hole with this result, as they now have to beat Mexico and Poland. Draws won’t be enough. So it was a dejected crowd that made its way to the gates.
Where the heck am I and how do I get home?
I hadn’t a clue where I was! No taxis were in sight, so I had to figure out where to get a bus, and I had no idea. I couldn’t tell which avenue was Libertador and which was Sarmiento. I crossed the street to a bus stop, but those buses were going in the wrong direction. I asked a fellow at the bus stop and it turned out I was on Sarmiento instead of Libertador, where I could have taken the 130. He said if I walked a couple of blocks I would come to Plaza Italia, and I knew I could get a bus home from there so I kept walking. It was more than a couple of blocks, and more than my poor knees are used to walking, so as soon as I got home I lay down on the bed and immediately fell asleep! I slept for two hours, so I guess that made up for the very early rise, as well as the emotional upheaval of the loss.
I’ve often asked myself at big sporting events in the past why this matters so much. It is, after all, just a game. But somehow it just does, and a loss like this does hurt. But it’s not over yet and I’m sure we can come back. One good thing is that Saturday’s game against Mexico is at 4 pm, so I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night!
Here are some shots I took before the game. And now I’m going to take some paracetemol and see if I can get my legs to work again — no tango tonight!
Well the World Cup tournament has finally started after weeks of build-up. Argentina is popping at the seams, as we are touted as one of the top favourites to win it all. It is Lio Messi’s “last dance” and we’re so excited we can hardly sit still (I’m speaking for the population at large here!)
As I haven’t had a television for years, I’ve been searching high and low for a public location to watch my selected games, and today I finally found it. Here it is.
Looks like fun, no? It’s not just around the corner from me, so I plan to go just for the Argentina and Portugal games.
As you can see below, I’m all set as I have my two scarves ready! The Portugal one is a bit crushed, as I brought it with me from Canada, so I must steam it before the first Portugal game. Actually, some of us are going to a fado concert next Saturday featuring a famous singer from Portugal, so I may wear it then and embarrass my friends!
Unfortunately none of my friends are football fans, so I’ll be going on my own and just merging into the atmosphere and the crowd. But I usually watch these games with my nephew Alistair in Scotland. We both have our iPhones at the ready and exchange comments as things happen – it adds another layer of fun.]
You’d think all I did was eat and drink here, going by the number of food related posts I do. And here’s another one.
A new place has opened around the corner from me. It’s called Gontran Cherrier. I understand it is a chain, but I don’t know if it’s international or not. I popped in for a cold drink and a pastry one afternoon this week and really enjoyed it. The pain au chocolat was different from any I’ve had before and defnitely worth a return visit. And the homemade lemonade with mint and ginger was just the thing to cool down on a hot day.
Last Sunday Venetia, Viviana and I had lunch at La Petanque. It’s a French bistro type restaurant in San Telmo and it does feel authentic. The food never disappoints and it has what we call here buena onda — a nice atmosphere.
Here are Venetia’s photos of the occasion. There is a little bit of a football flavour behind the bar, but not as much as I would have expected given that both France and Argentina have high hopes!
