We knew that Buenos Aires was famous for meat, football and tango. But what we discovered over here is that it is actually an amazing open-air museum! While walking we are always surprised by amazing graffiti and when we say graffiti we mean actually incredible street art. It begun in the '50 as artists were paid to paint slogans for political parties. During the military dictatorships when protesting was banned, the street art was drawn back. But as soon as democracy reached Argentina, people started expressing their minds on the walls of the city. But it's not all about politics, there are incredible art pieces which are vibrant, joyful and humorous. Almost every piece is signed by the author and some even have a web page written on it. Even though it's still banned, it is tolerated probably because it makes otherwise grey buildings look fresh and cheerful. Actually nowadays a lot of the street art is commissioned and the artists are being more and more recognised. Some are able to sell their canvas in art galleries. Perhaps also because so many of them have an artistic background like graphic designer or architect. What is incredible about that type of art, is that it changes very often as every wall can be painted over and over again.
Tag: Umami
Sunday market
Many cities in the world have a Sunday market and so has Buenos Aires. But like everything here, this one is bigger, meatier and with more soul than the others. It takes place every Sunday in San Telmo which is the oldest neighborhood of BA. It is well kept and it shows colonial side of the city. And during the market it changes into a jungle with its 10.000 visitors each time. But it's amazing, full of soul and things to see like tango and performances of musicians. And where there is music there has to be food and in Argentina of course meat, cow meat. So there are grills everywhere and on them all cuts of a cow that you can imagine. And when you're done eating there are plenty of things to buy or look at in our case;) amazing cups for mate, vegetables, meat, canvas, antiques and many many others.
First impressions
Buenos Aires has a population of 3 million and the Greater Buenos Aires of 13 million. And we feel it, oh yes we do!!! It's really busy, there are plenty of cars and people everywhere. Every time we think next street will be calmer we are wrong. It's really noisy too. Tourists in Amsterdam (even those who only visit the coffee shops) don't get anywhere near the decibels that we experience here. But it's a fascinating city too. Although it's busy, noisy and polluted there is plenty of amazing flora and fauna in here. Most of the roads have trees that are green. There are also quite a few parks but even from a park you can see the booming metropolis and you can definitely hear it which creates an amazing contrast. The most amazing trees that that we have seen so far are called palos borrachos (drunken branches). The have beautiful pink flowers which are pretty big (up to 15 cm). Another remarkable tree is ombu which has limbs growing parallel and above the ground which gives it a fairy tale look. It grows up to 18 m. As far as wikipedia informs it's wood is soft and spongy so it's easy to shape it and perfect for bonsai art. It's also a symbol of Argentina, Uruguay and the gaucho's.
I guess Argentinian people enjoy their nature as much as we do as there is even a sculpture of an enormous flower which opens everyday in the morning and closes when the sun goes down. It's really spectacular and original.