Palermo

If La Boca represents the darker side of Buenos Aires, Palermo is the much lighter side of town. Here, BA's famous nightlife, fashion and dining collide. If you want to dance until dawn, this is the place. I never did dance until dawn... but I did start eating dinner after 9 p.m., porteno style - that outta count for something, right? At any rate, Palermo is the largest barrio by area, but it is loosely divided into several informal sections including Palermo Viejo (the epicenter of haute couture), Palermo Soho (also popular for fashion, design), and Palermo Hollywood (home to radio and TV stations, movie production offices, and a burgeoning dining scene). But overall, mostly due to its size, Palermo is largely residential, and therefore sort of boring and common during the day. So, since I never did partake of the nightlife, didn't much want to shop (save for the horrendously expensive Nike's I bought to pamper my aching feet), Palermo was somewhat lost on me.

What was spectacular about Palermo, however, was all of the parks. The parks, not just in Buenos Aires but Mendoza as well, are such an integral part of the culture, that they warrant their own post. So stay tuned... more on parks in just a bit.

Retiro and Recoleta

Well, this is where the other half lives. The distinguished neighboring barrios of Retiro and Recoleta are Fancy Schmancy (with a capital F and a capital S). Recoleta in particular is often referred to as "a piece extracted from Paris." No one bothered to tell us to tuck our cameras out of sight in these parts of town. Home to museums, cultural centers, luxury apartments, exclusive hotels and upscale, designer shopping, let's just say that the wide, tree-lined avenues in these areas of the city are completely devoid of graffiti.



Retiro boasts the city's most well-known street, Calle Florida, a pedestrian-only stretch of shopping madness; Recoleta is most recognized for its famous cementeria, the final resting place of Eva Peron.

Calle Florida

Microcentro

The Microcentro ("Centro," for short) is what porteños refer to as "downtown." Spanning two barrios - Monserrat and San Nicolas - the area is the BsAs hub of business and government. It's busy busy with people, and dotted with important and historically significant buildings, monuments and parks. Palacio del Congreso (the houses of Argentina's Congress), Plaza de Mayo (historically the main plaza where political demonstrations and rallies are held), and Casa Rosada (the "Pink House" - the presidential palace, famous for its balconies where Eva Peron addressed her adoring supporters) - those are just a few of the landmarks that you'll find during a stroll of the area. You'd also cross Avenida 9 de Julio, which Buenos Aires proudly boasts as the widest boulevard in the world (indeed - I counted eight lanes in one direction!), with views of the proud Obelisco monument anchoring your horizon.

Puerto Madero

Unlike everywhere else in Buenos Aires, there isn't much historically significant or lasting in Barrio Puerto Madero. This area is sparkling, shiny, and as modern as it gets. Fact is, this area of town has existed since the beginnings of the city, but fell into decay and neglect since the waterways were too shallow for most commercial port activity. But all of that changed less than 15 years ago. From wikipedia: "In the 1990s, local and foreign investment led to a massive regeneration effort, recycling and refurbishing the warehouses into elegant homes, offices, lofts, private universities, luxurious hotels and restaurants for this new district in a city that grew up turning its back to the river. Today one of the trendiest boroughs in Buenos Aires, it has become the preferred address for growing numbers of young professionals and retirees, alike. Puerto Madero currently represents the largest urban renewal project in the city of Buenos Aires. Having undergone an impressive revival in merely a decade, it is one of the most successful recent waterfront renewal projects in the world."









The most striking feature of Puerto Madero is the Puente de la Mujer, or Women's Bridge, designed by renown architect Santiago Calatrava. "Calatrava is said to have requested examples of Argentina's typical music upon receiving this commission. As a result, the bridge is abstractly meant to illustrate a couple dancing Tango, the man towering over the woman who is leaning back horizontally. This, along with the fact that the surrounding neighborhood has streets primarily named after women accounts for the name of the bridge." (Source)

(Did you know California has its own Calatrava bridge? It's true! The Sundial Bridge in Redding, of all places.)

Mendoza

One word about Mendoza: Go. I fell in love with this city-that-feels-like-a-town pretty much immediately. After being in the big city of Buenos Aires for the two-week photography class, once I got to Mendoza, I feel like that's when the vacation portion of my trip began. Mendoza's leafy, broad streets are laid out around five central plazas, which are arranged like the 5-spot on a die. The biggest, Plaza Indepencia, comes alive every night as locals take up spots on the lawn to kick back, maybe listen to a free concert. A craft market sprouts up around the perimeter, and the sidewalks of the nearby restaurants are packed. It doesn't hurt that Mendoza is the hub of Argentina's Wine Country, or that it's the jumping off spot for recreational activities in the Andes. I feel as though I have unfinished business in charming Mendoza, so I hope to return someday. Sooner rather than later!

Tango, the Dance

"I would say that without the sunsets and nights of Buenos Aires one cannot make a tango, and that the platonic idea of the tango, in its universal form, awaits us in heaven."
Jorge Luis Borges, 1930

Ahhh, Tango. Seductive, sultry, stunning. I couldn't wait to see the dance in its birthplace, and I didn't have to wait long. Tango is easily found throughout Buenos Aires, especially in my neighborhood of San Telmo. It's immortalized in graffiti, danced publicly on the streets and in theaters, and a source of national pride. It's beautiful to watch, especially when performed by gorgeous young couples, but sweet when taken up by the senior set as well. The footwork, the embrace, the lifts - mesmerizing. Even the clothing, shoes and hats contribute to its allure, and my words and pictures simply can't do it justice. For a dance that started in brothels "down by the river," influenced by the ceremonies of African slaves and melded with elements from Spanish and Italian folk dance, it's Argentina's signature cultural export.