CAFE TACUBA!!
Last Thursday night, the day before we had an EARLY, EARLY (we got up at 3:45am) morning flight to leave for Florianopolis, Brasil, we saw Cafe Tacuba live and in concert. They were AMAZING. Its been a long time since I have been to a concert where the band showed so much energy and enthusiasm, and the audience was giving them just as much back. For those of you that aren't familiar with Cafe Tacuba, they are an alternative rock band from Mexico. Their style is really hard to categorize... one song may have a hard rock feel to it (like "No Controles mis Sentidos'), the next a ballad ("Esa Noche"), the next a disco sound and the next a tejano polka sound (Ingrata).
The concert was at the Teatro Gran Rex and started at 9:30pm. It didn't end until midnight. There was no opening act and no breaks. These guys were high energy the whole time. Their music is a mix of Ska, Rock, Hip Hop and traditional Latin Music. They have been around for awhile. I remember first hearing of them when I spent a semester in Puerto Rico in 1996. The members of the group are:
Lead Vocals - Rubén Albarrán
Bass - Quique Rangel
Guitar - Joselo Rangel
Keyboard - Emmanuel del Real
They played all of their hits and the audience was going wild... the audience took their traditional Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole soccer chant and changed the lyrics to Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Cafe, Cafe. And these guys deserved every bit of praise they received. They even had famous "Rock en Español" artists accompany them on a few songs - Alvaro Enríquez of the Chilean group Los Tres and Adrián Dargelos of the Babasónicos (Argentinian).
The crowd went wild when the group played their "final" song, took their bows and left the stage. The cheering was so loud that the band came back.... there was a triple encore with the band playing yet another song, leaving the stage and then coming back again due to the crowds demands. The concert lasted 3 energetic hours. If you ever get the chance to see Cafe Tacuba in concert, its worth it!
Boathouse in Tigre
By the River
Canoes by the River
Canoes by the River in Tigre
By the Delta in Tigre
Seth and Claudio (our guide) on their way to Campo Konex
Festival Campo Konex - way out in the Country!!
Campo Konex
Well, we went to a music festival this past Sunday in the town of Lujan. Lujan is about 30 miles from Bs. As. and if you were driving out to the field where the concert was it should have taken about 1 hr. We were going to get a ride from our friend Claudio but he didn’t think his car would make it so…. We took the bus. Good ole’ bus #57 - and boy was that fun, Dorothy you are not in Kansas anymore! Basically standing room only (thankfully we got seats) for about the 1 – 2 hr trip. When we arrived into town you take another shuttle bus out to this open field where the festival was taking place.
The festival was very cool. vendors selling crafts, food (beef!), ice cream, fields set up to play futbol very chill…. Finally we headed into the music area, first up was Juana Molina (actually we missed the 1st performer) – she is an interesting story, the daughter of a famous tango singer (who we actually saw perform at our only tango show), also was 1st a famous t.v. star, and now is trying her hand at music. Supposedly she has a following overseas – meaning U.S., Europe, etc… - but in arg hardly anyone knows her for her music. She had a pretty voice, definitely some out there stuff – think Bjork – but it was cool just being in the open field enjoying the atmosphere as night fell. Next up was Kevin Johansen. Very interesting fellow, American dad, Argentine mom, grew up in both places, lived in nyc from 1990 -2000 (!) and was a regular at the world famous CBGB for years. In 2000 moved back to Bs. As. (just in time for the crisis) and has released 3 albums to much acclaim here and in Europe. His style is hard to describe, the press likens it to Manu Chao, Café tacuba (basically groups who perform in Spanish but cant really be labeled) anyway he was great! We have his latest cd, City Zen, and it’s a pretty cool mellow cd. he was the rare performer who actually sounded better live and was very comfortable on the stage (probably all those nyc crowds toughened him up). The last performer was spinetta but seeing as mr. johansen played a long time – finished around 12 – we figured it was time for the long trek back to Bs. As. – needless to say we got home close to 3am but as they say here “vale la pena” (it was worth it).
Other random music things, they actually have a thriving reggae scene here - that I discovered last week - this band named Los Cafres are pretty cool. And hopefully we are going to go to some reggae clubs the next wknd we are here. (Brasil this wknd!!!)
Puerto Madero - a view of the East Side
Color descrepancies in La Casa Rosada. The gov't ran out of funding to repaint, so only the front is the bright pink color. The back and part of the side is a more faded pink color
La Casa Rosada (The Pink House)
Our Fake 5 Peso Bill
Fake Money
Well, we had been warned... but I guess we became comfortable in the fact that it had yet to happen to us. Seth and I attempted to pay for something with COUNTERFEIT MONEY!! It wasn't on purpose. We were picking up our laundry and tried to pay with a 5 peso bill. The woman who we were paying, her name is Georgina (she is very sweet). She took one look at it and said - uh-uh, this is fake. In a way it was funny because we did not think that would happen to us - I thought that the Argentines were frankly being a little rude when they held a bill up to the light to see if they could see detailed hologram of the image on the bill (this is fairly common). Luckily it was a small bill... but we have learned our lesson! If we would have taken a close look at the peso bill at the time it was given to us, we might have noticed that it did not quite look right. If you look at the picture, you will see that there is a line at the bottom of the bill. Looks like someone didnot cut it right on the line. Also, on this particular bill the hologram is not as detailed as it should be. Oh well, if nothing else this is an interesting souvenir :-)
Hanging out on the grassy knolls at the Feria
The Feria de Recoleta
At the Feria Recoleta
Basquetbol in Argentina
Well, I finally played some basketball (simply basquet here) on sunday. Some interesting observations, futbol (soccer) is the only sport that has the pick-up game quality here. All other popular sports rugby, basquet, tennis, etc... you have to play at a "club" which means paying a small fee daily (or joining the club on a monthly/annual basis) - so after asking around, we found out that "club de amigos" has games on sat/sun (not to mention tennis courts, pools, futbol you get the idea) . onto the basquet...
- they play basquet with similar rules as soccer! that is there is no stoppage of play, if you call a foul, or the ball goes out of bounds, you just grab it and play - no such thing as checking it up. this makes for some interesting times, as you could be arguing the merits of a foul call (which is called at pretty much all times!) and the ball is inbounded while the defense isnt ready.
another aspect of their playing that is socceresque is they pass the ball a lot!! its actually a nice way to play but sometimes they are overly unselfish and really coming from the ny style of almost everyman for himself it feels almost unnatural.
- the courts are international (so the 3pt shot is a little bit further) but they count 3pters - just not done in nyc playground bball.
- portenos (people from bs. as.) love to give everyone nicknames, usually based on features. for ex, if you are older they will call you 'viejo' (old), a little chubby 'gordo', etc... kind of funny to hear.
- lastly, they literally treat basquet like its not a contact sport, any touching and they cry foul. this part is annoying and takes getting used to. there was another american on my team and in the great spirit of diplomatic relations he continually berated the argentines with some colorful english.
all in all a fun day, and i expect to play some more in the coming wknds.
Sundays in Buenos Aires
Sundays in Buenos Aires are a day for rest. Many restaurants are closed on this day and there isn't a whole lot to do on a nice day except be outside. The main activities are:
**A Big Lunch - oftentimes a barbecue at a friends house
**Hanging out in the Parks
**Checking out the many flea markets and street fairs that are only open on Sundays
**Go to a Futbol (Soccer) game
This past Sunday Seth and I started off by going to a restaurant called Olsen.
Olsen Restaurant
Gorriti 5870, Palermo
Olsen is one of the few restaurants in Buenos Aires that offers a Sunday brunch and it is very good. Brunch as we know it is a concept that has only very recently been introduced here. There are several different combination choices; no pancakes as we know them but they do have waffles (no syrup). You enter in a gate and then there is a long grassy rectangular yard that leads to the entrance of the restaurant. The entire inside is designed from blond wood. For $22 pesos we had a leisurely brunch outside on Olsen’s patio. I had an omelette, champagne, orange juice, fruit salad, yogurt, cereal, coffee… all very good. They also offer items such as smoked salmon, herring, grilled chicken, scrambled eggs and bacon. Under normal circumstances, Olsen is an acclaimed Nordic restaurant that has an extensive Vodka selection. I have yet to try the other foods they serve.Seth spent a few hours in the afternoon playing Basketball Argentine style at this place called Club de Amigos (which he wrote about).
Later that afternoon we checked out the flea market/fair in Recoleta. The market is huge and filled with vendors selling snacks, jewelry, leather, clothing, art and other artesian items. On the grassy areas in the middle of the market area there are hippies and other people juggling, playing drums, doing capoiera and just hanging out. This happens every sunny Sunday. The fair takes place right outside the gates of the somewhat creepy Recoleta cemetery. This cemetery is where all the high society rich people go to Rest in Peace. It is filled with Mausoleums, each one more elaborate than the next and some larger than studio apartments I have seen in NYC. I will write more about the cemetery in the future. I have walked around the grounds, but am interested in taking a tour.
We later ate dinner at a great restaurant called Ifresh Market in the Puerto Madero area. Puerto Madero (literally means Wood Port) is Buenos Aires riverfront port area and it is filled with waterfront restaurants that extend for several blocks (there are 4 diques or dams). This is also an area where many tourists go to eat, but there are also plenty of locals.
ifresh Markets
Bvd Azcena Villaflor esq Olga Cossettini, Madero Este
I would definitely recommend this restaurant. It is a restaurant that is also a market with sections for patisserie, wine bar, deli, flowers, cheeses, fruits and vegetables. It was kind of quiet on that Sunday evening. Their daytime menu is quite extensive and looks like this would be a great place to stop by for lunch. It is also probably livelier with the hustle and bustle of the market. It was more on the high end side costwise (25 Pesos per entrée approx), but was very good. We had a great shrimp kebab appetizer with mango and avocado salsa. Seth had a tuna steak (very rare to find this in BA – the first time we have seen it on a menu and they have actually had it) and I had a corn and red pepper risotto. We also shared some tea and a Chocolate cake with a warm liquid center. These desserts are very popular at the nice restaurants in BA. And they are very good!! I am looking forward to bringing my family here to try the restaurant.
On Sundays in the future we plan on checking out some Futbol games!!
Food in BA
Well, we have been to many restaurants over the last month and I wanted to take the time to write more about Porteño gastronomia. As the exchange rate is very favorable to the dollar, we have been eating out a great deal – at least once a day. In general we are averaging about $8- $15 per person for a good meal. The most we have spent for any one meal has been about 100 Peso – or about $35 US per person – for a 3 course meal including wine at one of the finest restaurants in BA. In a future post (when I have time to list them all!) I will write in more detail about the many memorable restaurants that we have been to. On this post I wanted to take the time to talk about the food here in general.
There is one thing that is in overabundance here in BA – Beef, beef and MORE BEEF. Bife de Chorizo (Sirloin), Bife de Lomo (Tenderloin), Chorizo (a type of smoked sausage that is usually grilled), Mollejas (Sweetbreads), Riñones (Kidneys)… you want it, you got it. A girl can get tired of Filet Mignon all the time ;). But if you are in the mood for steak, you can’t go wrong at any restaurant. It is a sure bet. It is much, much leaner than the beef you find in the states – the cows are generally fed a diet of grass from the pampas (instead of corn like the US), and they are run on the plains as opposed to being kept in a pen. Makes for a much healthier, more flavorful cut of steak than what you find in the US.
Chicken is also common. Good fish and seafood is a little harder to find. There is usually at least one fish dish on the menu and 90% of the time it is Salmon, occasionally a trout or hake. As far as shellfish, you can sometimes find Mejillones (Mussels), which I have found to be a little grittier than the ones I am used to in the states, or Langostinos (Prawns, or shrimp that are bigger than popcorn shrimp), but they tend to be expensive and not as good as you find in the states. This is a meat and starch kindof place. You can find vegetables and salads here, there are even some vegetarian only places, but you will probably enjoy your eating experience more here if you eat some beef.
The population here is made up mostly of Europeans, with the large majority descended from Spain and Italy. These foods you can therefore find in abundance and of good quality – lots of pasta, tapas, paellas and pizzas. Like most major cities worldwide, there is fine dining French food. There are people descended from Armenia, Poland, Germany, Ireland, Syrian, Greek, and Lebanese here (among others), so there are good restaurants representative of these cuisines. There is also a large Jewish community here, so Kosher restaurants and delis are not uncommon.
In addition, there are newer types of cuisines and foods that are emerging and resulting in a fusion of these tastes that suit the Argentinian palate (ummm…. Not too spicy please!!) – Swedish, Chinese (there is a Chinatown in an neighborhood called Belgrano), Brasilian, Peruvian, Mexican, Sushi (for the most part Salmon is the most common raw fish served – have yet to find any raw red tuna!) and Pan Asian (some Vietnamese and Thai influences).
Some other Argentinian Items that we have been consuming in copious amounts –
Empanadas - baked savory turnovers that come with various fillings including beef, chicken, corn, ham & cheese, spinach and several other flavors. An Argentine version of a Jamaican Patty, or a calzone. They are a great pick me up for when hunger pangs hits between the 2pm lunch and the 10pm dinner. My favorite are the Carne Cortado al Cuchillo (small pieces of beef cut with a knife - not ground, usually with olives, onions, tomatoes and other spices) and Humita (a type of thick corn filling).
Café – Coffee – usually a Café Cortado (a small cup of espresso with a drop of milk), a Jarrito (a doble cortado – 2 shots of expresso with a drip of milk), Café con Leche (half espresso, half milk), or Cappucino. They also have something called a Lagrima which has a drop of coffee and the rest is milk. Café culture is very similar to how it is in Europe. You can spend hours on end over a single cup and newspapers or magazines without being harassed by a waiter pressuring you to buy something else.
In general going out for a café or meal here is a very leisurely event. You can easily spend 2 or more hours eating a 3 course meal without feeling pressured by the waiter to leave. In fact, the waiter will never bring you the check unless you specifically ask for it. Very different from NY where they practically drop the check off at your table as soon as the last forkful of food hits your mouth.
We have also been eating some great fruit here. As it is summertime, peaches, plums and melons are in season. And I have yet to have a bad piece of fruit here. Great for detoxing after all that meat and starch!
Another observation – in general at restaurants here you seat yourself. You walk over to an empty table and sit down. Unless it has a “reservado” sign on it, its yours!
In general we have been eating in Palermo Viejo, the neighborhood we are staying in. It’s a very trendy area with a wide variety of New York style, high design restaurants with inventive menus… but without the NY attitude. Honestly, the service has been amazingly friendly at all of the restaurants we have been to – from the shabbiest to the most high end. Maybe we are just jaded by NYC...
Anyway, restaurant reviews to come!
At the Jardin Japones
Kathy at the Jardin Japones
A beautiful view of the Garden
Jardin Japones
Yesterday (Saturday) I played some tennis in the morning with one of my new argentine friends, Claudio, very interesting guy, went to school for engineering towards the end decided he wanted to do something more meaningful with his life and is now studying int. relations – he wants to change (positively) the direction he feels argentina is going in, he also has a very interesting freddie mercury (lead singer of Queen) tattoo! we have played a few times, and today we walked home from the courts and got some breakfast (water and toast!) had a nice inter-cambio (he gets help with his english, me with spanish) at a café. Later on, Kathy and I decided to go to the Japanese gardens. We ate lunch there as well, best sushi in town, duh!! First time a sushi rest has had something other than salmon. The gardens are beautiful, serene, and if anyone has been to the japanese gardens in sf golden gate park they are very similar check out the pictures(!) the entry cost is about 1.50$ us. After some tranquility Japanese style we headed out for a walk in this chic part of town and ended up at a café (where else?) that had a nice outside couch, read the local paper, some trashy magazines, a book or so and really just a nice way to pass an afternoon sipping coffee, without any cares. I think you could sit in one of these cafes forever and not feel any obligation to leave.
Seth with his tenis partner Claudio
Martin from Spain in action!
At the ATP Buenos Aires Torneo de Tenis - the first match - Feliz Mantilla vs Alberto Martin. Both from Spain
Buenos Aires ATP Tenis Tournament
My first blog entry how exciting! So, yesterday (Friday Feb 11th) Kathy, Roberto, and I went to the ATP Bs. As. Tennis tournament. It was a fun experience, kind of like a miniature u.s. open. The people here really enjoy and appreciate tennis – and I can relate :-) there were many retail vendors like Wilson, sony, hbo, etc… we bought some cool t-shirts “La ciudad se cubre de polvo” literally the city covered in clay (clay is the surface they play tennis on down here). Most of the vendors had some cute girls handing out fliers and Kathy really enjoyed that part ;-)! Finally we went to watch some tennis. The 1st match was btwn 2 spaniards and was very competitive Kathy picked out the cuter of the 2 players and we decided to root for him (and he won!) the match lasted awhile and the crowd was very polite. The next match was btwn 2 much more well known players Carlos Moya (spain) and Mariano Puerta (Arg) – moya was the favorite but puerta being from argentina inspired the crowd to go nuts. Kind of like rich people at a soccer game. Chants, songs, signs, etc… - we will discuss ‘la cultura de futbol’ in another post (season starts tomorrow) - Puerta played great and the crowd went home happy… all in all a very enjoyable sports experience.
Seth on a Motorbike in Colonia
A street in Colonia
Usama on a Motorbike
The lighthouse in Colonia
Nat and Kathy along the water in Colonia.
