A few things about Buenos Aires were readily apparent. First and foremost, it is a very developed city. Compared to Rio, for example, nearly every part of the city is bustling with people. And in Buenos Aires you can find access to most things you would be able to get in the United States. Second, Buenos Aires is a massive, sprawling city with each section feeling completely different from the adjacent ones. It is similar to Atlanta in this way, where pockets like Midtown, Little Five Points, and the Highlands have distinct vibes and are all amazing in their own right.
Though our tour director is Peruvian, he has been a resident of Buenos Aires for the past seven years and was excited to share his city with us. The first place he took us was Calle de Florida, a touristy street along which individuals of various ages stand and repeat "Cambio! Cambio!", or Exchange! Exchange! as people walk past. These individuals are part of the blue market, the common means of exchanging money in Buenos Aires; the national exchange rate is 8 pesos to 1usd, but on the blue market it is at least 13:1, so paying for everything with blue market cash is an obvious choice. However, it is not unusual to be given fake pesos in this manner, so our guide directed us to a reliable source where we exchanged our money and also learned how to identify fake bills. The whole experience of handing over US dollars and being given a wad of cash in return felt sketchy to say the least, but it was also oddly thrilling.
With pesos in hand, our group ventured off to Plaza de Mayo. This plaza is one of the main squares in Buenos Aires, and also an important political hub. Of the notable surrounding buildings, the most important is the aptly named Casa Rosada, a pink building that serves as the home of the government's executive branch. The plaza is also renowned for holding regular protests, including a weekly march led by the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, which we happened to witness.
From our tour guide, we learned that the Mothers march in response to a terrible incident that took place during the late 70s. At that time, the government was under a military dictatorship, and an estimated 30,000! people who had in some way expressed opposition toward the regime "disappeared." The mothers of the men and women who went missing formed an organization, and they continue to hold weekly marches around the Plaza as a means to spread awareness and demand answers about this disturbing tragedy.
At night, our tour group headed to a tango show. I have to admit I was apprehensive about this experience because I expected a kitschy tourist trap that would be a waste of money and a missed opportunity to watch the Steelers play the Ravens. I wrote it off as a "when in Buenos Aires..." And went along for the ride.
Three hours later, I was smiling wide from what turned out to be a great evening. Our night began with an hour long tango lesson with an extremely engaging instructor. Dan and I had several opportunities to try our hand at Latin dancing, though due to the ratio of guys to girls, I was not his only partner. I made sure to keep a causal eye on his counterparts as he danced his way through each sequence of the class. At one point, he was called to demonstrate his skills in front of the class, and had to select a stranger to dance with in order to model (successfully!) what they had learned.
After the lesson, we had a surprisingly tasty three-course dinner accompanied by all the wine we could drink and an impressive tango show. All-in-all, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the evening and utterly stunned by how cheap the evening was (round-trip transport, tango lesson, food, drinks, and tango show for the equivalent of $38). I was also happy I did not forgo the experience to watch a disappointing Steelers loss.
Sounds like such a fine night. I wish I had paid someone 38 dollars to avoid watching that steeler loss. More blogs please
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