Basically 100+ years ago, Argentina was one of the world's top 10 economies, and Buenos Aires' high society, architecture, and cosmopolitan culture rivaled the greatest European cities of Paris, London, etc. There was a rush of construction and migration of foreigners to Argentina that all collectively served to contribute to Argentina's label as the "Paris of the South" by the turn of the 20th century.
However, with the approach of the world wars in the mid 1900s, the country was exposed to changing trade conditions and political strife. The exact history is too much to put into one blog post (click here for a more comprehensive article with details), but essentially the country entered into an economic decline and never really recovered to its pre war state. Today, the country faces financial crises, corruption, inflation, and political unrest. The economy has slipped from its brilliance of the last century, but the city still maintains a vibrant Latin American culture and an uncommon beauty. Throughout the city there are visual reminders of this history. As you walk around, the architecture reminds you of Paris, but then the slight disrepair of the buildings reminds you of the city's recent struggles.
I managed to experience the city in a few different ways, first up with a Tango show in the oldest part of the city (San Telmo). Tango is a dramatic, romantic, and historically rich dance performed by expert dancers. There are many different varieties of the dance, and each dance tells a story. We went to El Querandi for a dinner + Tango show, where we discovered that 2 of the performers recently won the world championships of Tango! Sadly I wasn't able to take any pictures, but here is someone else's YouTube video so you can get a sense of the dance itself:
I also took a half day walking tour of the city and was able to hear about the architecture and history first half. Almost any large city will have free walking tours, and I always try to participate in them as it is a good way to learn quickly about a city and get your bearings. Take a look at the beautiful architecture:
By far my favorite part of the city though was the Recoleta cemetery. Let me explain. This is a cemetery for Buenos Aires' high society. Wealthy families build themselves huge, orange sarcophagi that celebrate their life before and after death. Each sarcophagi is uniquely designed and decorated, to reflect the personality and beliefs of that family or person. The cemetery itself is HUGE, it is literally a maze that you could spend hours in. It is beautiful and serene yet also slightly hair raising at times -- the cemetery and coffins are in various states of repair and disrepair which contributes to the overall eeriness of the place. In each of these pictures, check out all of the details that fascinated me...
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| The one obligatory photo with my face actually in it! |
Here is a video I compiled from walking around the cemetery... it gives you a feel for just how massive and maze-like it is.
Overall, Buenos Aires was a fascinating city that I would love to explore more of in the future -- and I also would like to see the non-urban areas of Patagonia and Malbec. Maybe next time!
EAT: No where specific, but Argentina is known for its meat, so you must try it!
STAY: We stayed at the hotel Faena Buenos Aires, which had a cool vibe to it and was in the Puerto Madero area
PLAY: Do a walking tour and check out a tango show
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