Tango and tea

So my first (free) weekend in Buenos Aires was pretty fantastic. On Sunday, I went with a couple of people from my residence to a couple of sites around town. Sunday was also the day of the elections and since its mandatory to vote in Argentina, pretty much everything was closed. We first went to Teatro Colon, the famous theater in Buenos Aires, because we heard it had an amazing tour that would take us backstage to see the costumes and scenery up close. Unfortunately, it was closed so we went to Cafe Tortoni instead.

Cafe Tortoni is the oldest traditional cafe in Buenos Aires and historically has been the meeting place of politicians, artists, poets, writers, etc for hot political discussions over a good cafe (yes, I know tea is in the title but it just sounded better with tango). These days its more of a stop on the tourist trail and sure enough, at every table there was either a camera or a guidebook. But the cafe was really cute and obviously had some historical significance so I didn't mind too much. We had some good cafe and a couple of pizzas (they are VERY popular here).

All the tourists in Cafe Tortoni

They had some really nice pool tables in the back, next to the wax figures of prominent Argentinean musicians and artists

The outside of Cafe Tortoni. Its on Avenida de Mayo, which has a lot of French-like architecture. Also, its right above is the Tango Instititute and Museum

Afterwards, I went to the Plaza de Mayo, the main plaza where there are a lot of famous buildings. Its also the birthplace of Buenos Aires and where the presidential palace is. For those who saw Evita (which I didn't), its where Evita stands on the balcony to address "her people". Anyway, the presidential house is pink, hence the name, Casa Rosada. The paint is mixed with ox blood to get the pink color but when they last painted it, they only had enough for one side so the sides and back of the house are sort of this dull beige color. Pretty weird but the house is huge.

Casa Rosada (well on one side at least)

I also saw some interesting grafitti as I was walking. Apparently, stenciled grafitti is very popular here and they are usually used to convey a political message. Bush is supposed to arrive in Argentina at the beginning of November and people here are up in arms. What's interesting about this though is the mickey mouse ears. Argentineans tend to equate Disneyland with capitalism, materialism and all things wrong with America. I thought it was pretty funny.

Can you see the Mickey Mouse ears? Its telling Bush never to take one step in Bs As

And then on Monday, I went to this tango show as part of my school's cultural activities. I wasn't sure what to expect since it was supposed to include a tango lesson and listening to tango music, which to me just sounds like the absolute peak of cheesiness. I don't think I would be able to sit through any type of tango dancing without laughing. Anyway, when the curtains went up, this was the band!

They were definitely jamming

They were playing traditional tango instruments (all the guys in the front are playing accordians and the guys in the back are playing violins) and traditional tango music but they were dressed in dirty t-shirts and dreads. Except for the instruments, they could have been any other wanna-be rock band. Anyway, it was fantastic. They were really good and it was awesome to listen to some live music. I bought a CD so you can all hear it when I get back!

The venue was pretty nice also. It was similar to the Bowery Ballroom in terms of size and layout but they had tables and chairs for everyone. It was great to listen to a great band without having to stand or shove the whole time. I would definitely go back there.

Well, I leave you guys with one last thing. I don't know if most of you recognize Kumon but the plague has spread. I didn't take it myself but I know plenty of people who did and I just died when I saw this! For those who may not be familiar wit Kumon, its this awful program for kids to study math as sort of an after-school program. But its all just practice, practice, practice. Can you imagine being 10-years-old and forced to do long division for hours at a time? Yeah well, it sucks. Those poor Argentinean kids!

Kumon! Its he-re!