What should I choose?

Don´t you get these kind of cravings too? You just have to ge a piece of cake? Well it sure happens to me so I bring you today a selection cranberry, chocolate, peach pies. I ate one with dulce de leche... heavenly! 

Amelie flashback

I just loved the picture Amelie and as I was walking the other day around my neighbourhood I saw this dwarf sitting in this garden. I felt compelled to take this picture because he looked so happy, as he would have returned from all the journeys around the world like in the movie. And it´s also pretty difficult to find these dwarfs mainly because it´s not part of our gardening-tradition. I love his grin!!! 

Fotostories all over the subway

I was susprised that new entertainment has arrived to our subways: fotostories! I am used to underground musicians, beggars and actors but I´ve never seen one like this. It´s a story about how to not fall in love and found it hilarious. Talk about fun entertainment under tons of concrete!  

Tha fireman's hat

I don´t know but this hat looks pretty sad to me, taking no part of a fire nor being on someone´s head. I saw it in an abandoned parking lot and had to take the picture..and I was tempted to steal it but then I chickened out. 

A cloudy day in Buenos Aires town

Had me kind of low, had me a little down... and suddenly I was freezing my ass off as in cloudy Buenos Aires town it started to pour down down on me!! (See the grey cloud on the left)
Please forgive my inprov of the jazz standard "A foggy day in London Town". It was not only cloudy but also extremely cold yesterday afternoon.

The huge pineapple

I saw this and thought, this looks like a gigantic pineapple!! Do you agree or am I just crazy? Happy sunday everyone! 

On the inside...on the outside

Tree people were drinking beer at this Av. de Mayo café while c.a. 100.000 people protested outside at the 30 year march, see below.  

Acá no pasó nada

Today is "feriado nacional" (non-labour day) due to the coup d' etat´s birthday...30 years (see previous post about this here). It has been widly debated here in the past weeks if there should be a feriado or not. Human Rights assosiations were against it, saying that that would give people reason to celebrate and not to remember the dictatorship that took place here from 1976-1983. (by the way, tickets to turistic places were sold out for this weekend and invitations to numeourous parties were handed out), yet the government insisted there should be a "memory day" and passed the law. I really hope that people are aware what this holiday is for.
But having this "memory day" is like saying: NEVER AGAIN (Nunca más is also a book that stated all the investigations about the missing people, the "desparecidos", tortures, testimonies and so on).
This picture shows the artist´s opinion on that period and "acá no pasó nada" (nothing happened here) were the words you always heard in that period of time, and also "algo habrán hecho" (something they [the desparecidos] must have done).

Here is a song by Astor Piazzolla that allegorizes about the dictatorship and it´s victims:

Nacé, nacé, dale vida, metéle hermano que es duro
pero muy bueno el oficio de morir y renacer.
Renaceré, renaceré, renaceré,
y una gran voz extraterrestre me dará la fuerza antigua
y dolorosa de la fé para volver, para creer, para luchar.
Tendré un clavel de otro planeta en el ojal,
porque si nadie ha renacido, yo podré.
Mi Buenos Aires, siglo treinta, ya verás,
renaceré, renaceré, renaceré.

Be born, be born, let's go life, go ahead brother that it is hard
but good the task to die and to be reborn.
I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn,
and a great extraterrestrial voice will restore the strength, old
and painful, of the faith to return, to grow, to fight.
I'll wear a carnation from another planet on my lapel,
because if nobody has reborn, I will.
My Buenos Aires, thirtieth century, you'll see,
I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn.

Full lyrics + translation here

More info about what´s going on in the city around this subject on this cool website.

One for the tango lovers

This is Michelangelo one of the famous "for-export"-tanguerías, even though what they dance in there looks nothing like traditional tango. But I guess it´s beautiful in its own way. I´d wish I could post pictures from the inside but the entrance fee is hellish expensive.
What makes this place located on Balcarce 433 so interesting is that the building dates back to 1849 (when it was an "almacen" (grocery store), but the ground on where it was built has tunnels from the XVIth century. Here used to be the Santo Domingo the Michelangelo Convent and it has still its tunnels beneath the ground. This is part of the oldest block in Buenos Aires called "Manzana de las Luces" (Block of the lights) and has been excavated recently by archeologists, where thay found porcellain and other instruments of daily life.

One for the tango lovers: Grrrrr

Ok...I´ve been trying to post this pìcture all day long, but neither blogger or picasa are cooperating with me today (AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) So, I´m terribly sorry!! I´m trying no to lose my nerve (AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Daily life picture

So... I hope I can post this one without problems....
This is the first time I ask someone for a picture, hesitant first but very confident later on I had the pleasant surprise that she said "ok".
I was walking down the street yesterday and in a corner café a tv-commercial or film was being shot. Inside the café the actors and producers were drinking champagne and taking pictures of themselves. Meanwhile outside the crew and technicians were getting everything ready to shoot, and the waitresses of the catering service were also preparing everything. I passed them and noticed this girl and asked for her picture. She replied: "but all the famous (people) are inside". So I thought that every person needs to be famous sometimes (even on my blog) and today it´s her turn.

Grrrrr second part

Now I´m really getting upset! Can´t upload pictures and picasa has gone insane!!!
I´ve seenthat Pierre has the same problems!

Bird watching

Well first I have to say: finally!! Uploading this picture was dreadful but I could do it yeee blogger!!

And I guess I´m taking this whole spying game a little too far when I caught myself spying on this poor pidgeon who just wanted to sit there in peace. It´s kind of a peaceful scene for this busy city...and we still can enjoy the company of birds since the bird flu hasn´t flown in here yet.

Grrrr

Hi everybody!!
So, I guess today I won´t be able to post a picture because I´m dealing with the same blogger problem like Luggi, Midnitebara and Karine...I hope this problem will get fixed soon and I can post one picture.
hugs,
Cynthia!

Just caotic

This is a typical patio in the San Telmo quarter. Lots of antiquities, craftsmen and rare books...but this patio is just caotic.. they piled up all sorts of things: veranda parts, little ceramic angels to be used outdoors, vessels and some strange things I can not even decipher. Anyway, its a really cool place to go because it has the right vibe between traditional and interesting. The building is also historical, but most of them are in San Telmo. There in the corner you can see two men... well, they were negotiating, the owner had a laptop, that didn´t fit in the picture at all and the other one was a Dutch man drinking beer and poiting at things that he wanted to have shipped to his homeland. I guess he bought a ton of things!

Guess who was in town...

Well, sneaking into not so public places is now my mission :) I got the chance to get into the dean´s office and guess what I saw!! I know that Albert Einstein had visited Buenos Aires
but I´ve never seen a picture of it and it was long before my time. Here it is!! Well it´s not the best picture because it has the office lights but well, it was a quick snapshot. You can see him with prominent Argentinian engineers like Butti, Huergo, ect. It´s also has their signature on it...his is extremely tiny and sharp.

General rehersal

This is some kind of premiere... I had the enormous pleasure to go yesterday to the general rehersal of Ernani an opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi. The premiere is on the 17th march, so if you are in Buenos Aires and want to see it you can check out this webpage where you can find all sort of information of this opera company called "Buenos Aires Lírica" and get the adress where to buy the tickets (its being played at Teatro Avenida).
Ernani was inspired by Victor Hugo´s "Hernani" (1830) and was premiered for the first time in 1844 in the "La Fenice" theatre of Venice. The drama tells the unfornate story of "rebel" Ernani who is in love with Elvira, but his love is tainted with sorrow and death due to Carlos V and a spanish count Silva who want this woman for themselves. More about Ernani here.
I didn´t use flash nor trypod so I apologize for the picture being slightly blurry :)

Law faculty

Like I promised I´m posting a picture of the "clone" of a previous post . This faculty dates back from 1882, but this building was built in 1949. You can´t imagine how huge it is! Inside is a basketball/soccer field, a huge half-olimpic swimming pool and many many students. I really envy them, they have the best faculty building of the whole Buenos Aires University.
It was initially ment to be in this building, but due to constuction errors that building was never finished and looks now like this. As you can see the top was not built because it was said that it would fall off. Now it´s one of the engineering faculties. 

Old signs

These a coulple of old signs used as decoration in the Bar "El hipopotamo" across the street from Parque Lezama. This is also a traditional Bar like the "Bar Británico". I found that the products advertized on these signs almost don´t exist anymore, but they are really great memories. 

The fall is coming...

These are Platano-trees. They grow all around the city. I guess they are the only source of oxygen in every street of this city (although we have parks, they are scarce). When I took this picture those few brown leaves reminded me that fall is coming... 

Gardelito

This is one of the many street-performers that populate the Recoleta quarter. This is Gardelito ( in honor of Carlos Gardel: see previous post here ) The Gardelito is somewhat considered as an icon of out city because he´s been doing it for so many years. He doesn´t sing, he´s just a look-alike and mimics as he would be actually singing. He´s very popular amongst photographers and you will find pictures of him in all the traditional fairs. 

Bon anniversaire Paris Daily Photo!!!

1 year of Paris daily photo and I´m Paris-crazy!! Thank you Eric for starting this wonderful phenomenon and doing it in the most beautiful city I can imagine...

Does anyone want to buy the Eiffel Tower? I saw this in a antiquities shop and couldn´t resist... this is my little tribute for this wonderful year you´ve given us Eric!!! 

Vernissage: 30 years of memory

Today I bring you a bit of creepy and horryfing Argentinian history. On the 24th of march will be 30 years from the coup d'etat that was perpetrated on our country. I had the privilege yesterday to be at the opening of one of the several art manifestations that will take place in this city to remind us of the terrible things that have happened in the military government of 1976 to 1983. The statistics tell that around 30.000 people "dissapeared". It´s not a nice post, but important for us Argentinians (and I think the world too) to remember. More art: here

A garden of statues

This is the "caged" statue garden of Lezama Park. These statues populated the park a 100 years ago but due to the stealing, destruction and people who just didn´t care they were "imprisoned" in this cage and now it opens only an hour during the day so that people can enjoy their company. These statues where brought from Italy imitating famous works of art of the "old world". Nowadays the statues in the park, like the one of mother theresa (yes, she has one!) is made of polycarbonate...It´s a nice and quiet place to visit and maybe take a book with you and read... 

The garden

I was just walking the other day, crossed the railways and saw this: a garden! This garden is made out of left-overs of former barries that have been broken by hurrying cars or buses. Everyday there is a special train to pick up the leftovers all around town, but I never knew they used these for something! There´s also always someone working there who waters the plants every day. Here's another perspective of it.

A lion watches over our history

This is our National Historical Museum. It´s located on Lezama Park Between the San Telmo quarter and the Balvanera quarter. It is inside the fromer mansion of the Lezama, a very wealthy family, built in italian-style and holding 30 rooms. It tells our history after the conquest and colonization by the Spanish, through the jesuit missions and the war of Independence. I have to tell you, it´s a nice place to visit although it´s not my favourite...I'd rather go to the Ethnographic Museum that has all the history before there was destruction and mass murdering going on. I´ll post several pictures of it later on.

Loco, loco, loco

I really love this strange corners of Buenos Aires where you might encounter Cat woman drinking mate (a typical herb infusion, some might know it as mate-tea) or other strange creatures staring at you. This is a bookstore called "El loco berretín" also located in the San Telmo quarter that sells antique books, magazines, LPs, pictures of old famous people and god knows what else is hiding in these shelves. I guess if you stay there a while and look around you might find a treasure... "El loco berretín" is part of a song called "Balada para un loco" (Ferrer-lyrics/ Piazzola-music), a song that I especially love.

Loco! Loco! Loco!
Como un acrobata demente saltare,
sobre el abismo de tu escote
hasta sentir que enloqueci tu corazon de libertad...

Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!
Like a demented acrobat I'll dive,
into the abyss of your cleavage 'till I feel
I drove your heart crazy with freedom.

La biblia y el calefón

I´m not used to looking up but every time I do I find myself with some realy cool things going on above. This is another shot taken in the San Telmo quarter. This building holds an ice-cream/ beer/ café place. There up above sits Gardel, one of Argentinas most worshipped and great tango singers of all time, holding a Bible and a "calefón" (a device for heating water we have in most our houses), and of course a beer (the place sells it). "La biblia y el calefón" is a song of Joaquín Sabina, a spanish songwriter and singer that sang this song in honor of Argenina and all of it´s cultural icons and typical Argentinian problems (like getting screwed by the governement, having a lousy job that takes your whole life away, corruption, etc.)

Tattoo...anyone?

Today another advertising sign... a Tattoo shop on Defensa St. in the San Telmo quarter. You can see the museum of modern art in the back (which is being remodelled and is currently closed).
Well I guess, poor mannequin, mutilated and nearly bold (although it holds proud some "rastas" on its head) is covered with beautiful tattoos, so if you want to get tatooed in the city, this might be an option...

Dreaming of Japan

Japan is one of those great places I always dream of, that´s why I really love Buenos Aires' Japanese Garden. It´s located in the "bosques de Palermo", an area filled with parks and trees. Every day there are cultural events taking place in this garden: Origami lessons, videos about Japan, Zen meditation, TaiChi lessons and Bonsai maintenance. It´s a really quiet place and when I´m there I always feel like I´ve traveled to my dreams. The Koi fish are currently in a separate pond, because the soil was polluted and the government decided to clean the whole area, that´s why there's no water in this picture. They took the fish out to prevent them from dying and now they´re save in another pond :), hopefully they´ll return to their original place swimming under the red bridge. 

It´s the small details that make all the difference

I was walking around palermo and stopped abruptly to see this -and of course take the picture :) -. It's an absolutely normal house but with a tiny difference. The owner must have extreme good taste to embed this work of art into the front of his house. Take a closer look at the details! I guess they make this nice house into an extraordinary one.