RoamingRajuThose of you who are political junkies would get the tagline for this blog post (ref. Gov. Sanford of South Carolina)! For the rest of you who are curious, stay tuned to get the scoop at the end of the blog.
Argentina is a beautiful country. They call it “Less Salt, More Rhythm.” In October 2012, I was invited to give a keynote speech at a technology conference. You know I cannot resist a microphone, so I had to go😊
On a transcontinental flight, I always pre-order a vegetarian meal. But on North America and Caribbean flights, they almost always have a pasta dish, so I did not pre-order a meal. Turns out South America is full of beef lovers. We had two options on the flight and both of those were beef. I had never experienced that before. The flight attendant was nice, so she prepared a plate with a couple of salads, bread, and dessert. I was good to go.
This was a short 4 day trip but I was excited to explore Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. I arrived in Buenos Aires the day before the conference. My hotel was a mere five blocks from the conference center on the riverwalk. It was obvious this was a newly built conference center and a revitalized riverwalk. As I was checking in, a young lady with decent English was helping me. We started talking and she was so interested in learning about the US that we ended up chatting for half an hour before I went up to my room! She and her boyfriend were hoping to get an opportunity to move to the US someday. Of all my travels, I always find that given an opportunity, most young people would like to relocate to the US!
Anyway, after I settled down at the hotel, I started to explore the riverwalk area. What a vibrant place this was. There were families with children, street jugglers, food vendors, and the whole nine yards. This was a wonderful evening.
The next day was busy with a few meetings after my speech. I decided to explore Buenos Aires in the evening.
Birthplace of Tango
So here is an interesting tidbit. Tango was invented in Bueno Aires 150 years ago give or take. Café Tortoni in Buenos Aires is famous for its nightly Tango performances. This café was founded in the city in 1858! Talk about historic.
I had booked a ticket for the Tango performance that evening at Café Tortoni. It is a nice and cozy place which seats about 30 people at most… that is with everyone elbowing each other! While we were waiting for the performance to start, I noticed an Indian couple two tables away from me. It turns out they were working in Chile (a country on my list) for an Indian conglomerate doing project work for a US company. Talk about the effects of globalization! Anyway, the performance was wonderful and after the performance, I headed back to the hotel.
The next day, I kept most of the afternoon open. So right after lunch, I hailed a cab and headed toward the La Boca neighborhood. This place has so much energy. There were street artists everywhere. I started walking and appreciating the artists. It was almost like a combination of a farmer’s market and craft show. I came across this unique artist that piqued my interest. He was making trees from copper wire. The way he was creating leaves was amazing. He would create a leaf shape with the wire and dip the whole thing in some kind of paint to create the leaf. I really liked the idea and wanted to buy one. I was not sure how I would take this tree home without damaging it. I don’t speak Spanish and he did not speak English! Anyway, with the help of some hand gestures, I think I got the point across. He explained to me that he can straighten out the tree, roll it in a paper, and once home, all I had to do was extend the branches out. At least, that’s what I understood😊 After the purchase, I continued exploring the La Boca neighborhood. The colors on the buildings are as unique as it gets.
Recoleta Cemetery
During my research, I found out that Recoleta Cemetery was a must-see in Buenos Aires. I was wondering to myself, what could be so interesting about a cemetery? Even so, the next morning, I decided to visit the Recoleta Cemetery. I don’t think you have ever seen this type of cemetery before. It was out of this world! There was a grave that looked like a mansion and one that looked like a bus stop! I just could not believe my eyes. It was amazing to see the length people go to design tombs.
The next stop was the National Museum of Fine Arts. This was walking distance from the cemetery and truly is an Argentinian national treasure. After a couple of hours, I strolled through the plaza surrounding the museum. I later had dinner with some potential clients and spent the rest of the evening with them.
Argentina is famous for its leather industry. So, the following day, I went to Murillo Street leather district in the city. The leather in Argentina is supposed to be soft, durable, and luxurious. After visiting a number of shops, I really liked a purse that I thought my wife would appreciate. I picked up a leather purse before flying back home that evening.
What a wonderful trip this was! It was my first time in South America and the trip was nothing short of amazing. Did you ever visit a place so foreign you were awe-struck? Please do share below in the comments section. Until next time….
p.s. Back to the title of this blog post. There was a Governor from the State of South Carolina named Mark Sanford. He had an extramarital affair with a woman from Argentina and one day just vanished. He never showed up at the Governor’s mansion. His family did not know where he was. For the better part of a week, no one knew where the Governor was. A week later, his Chief of Staff announced that he was with his girlfriend in Argentina and wait for it, that “Argentina was for Lovers”!