la Pasion de Argentina

After almost two weeks in Argentina, it's hard not to notice...this country has some serious heat and I'm not just talking about the humidity in Buenos Aires. Although "yo tengo calor" is one of my most frequently used phrases in the last week or so, it's the passion and heat of the people, the culture and the city of Buenos Aires that is pretty sureal. Certainly, there is a strong passion for the arts here as evident by a few events I've taken part in recently. Last week, on a recommendation from local Argentines, some new friends and I went to a showing of Hombre Vertiente at the Cutural Center Theater in Recoleta. For anyone who has maybe seen Fuerza Bruta in the states will understand the type of show. It's an amazing performance of visual and physical movement utilizing lights, water, fabric and sound. The audience is even able to partake in the energy by dancing along on the ground level. Both the dedication of the actors in the show, as well as the themes and performances were so electrifying one could only sit, watch and be amazed.

3-D dragon fight at Hombre Vertiente

Later on in the week I had the opportunity to experience another form of artistic expression exemplifying a type of passion I hadn't seen, well, maybe ever. La Bomba de Tiempo is a percussion group that performs every Monday night in a warehouse type-venue to an audience of dance-loving, beer-drinking, artsy, fratty travelers (and a few locals thrown in). Percussion group is probably the understatement of a lifetime. This is a drum circle/beat box/dance party/musical explosion on crack for nearly 2 hours straight. Not only are the performers super talented, they look they are having a blast which of course pumps even more energy into the crowd.

Of course, what would Buenos Aires be without Tango...You see it on the street everywhere, especially in touristy locations and I went one night to a bar which offers a big group lesson in the center as the night goes on. I don't have a huge desire to learn the dance, however, just by watching it's pretty surreal how passionate just movement can be...

group tango at La Catedral

on the streets near San Telmo

Aside, from dance, music, theater, I've started to experience so many other aspects of the passionate life of the Argentine. Food for one, similar to New York, is meant to be a shared, social occasion and your likely to see groups of friends or family dining together for big lunches in the afternoon or late dinners (as in 10pm late...) in trendy restaurants in Palermo or Recoleta or getting together for an Asado on Sundays. Unlike Chile, it is nice to see a wider range of cuisine here, including even organic and vegetarian options (which I'll get to in a later post). Following in the late night pattern is the nightlife, which doesn't even start to begin before 1am...whether its a smoky bar, rooftop lounge or pounding club, young adults here are likely out until the sun rises.

out and about in Palermo

One of my most interesting conversations to date has probably been with my Argentine roomate, the owner of the apartment, Carolina. She is very passionate about her country and its politics and she asked me a lot of questions regarding the youth culture's thoughts on politics in the U.S. In a country like Argentina, where it is literally illegal to not vote for your president (truth, you can get a ticket for not doing so), it is almost unfathomable to them that anyone in the U.S. would not be interested or knowledgable about the direction of our country and the current affairs. She spoke with me about how amazing it is that if the U.S. wants to change something in the entire world, it's possible...and yet, people aren't doing it or they don't take the opportunities.  If there is a demonstration going on or a big announcement happening, you better believe she and her friends are high-tailing to Plaza de Mayo to join the people. She talked to me about the limited power of someone here, for example, if someone in Buenos Aires wants to make a change, it might be able to affect Argentina, but literally our nation and government, even just the people in the U.S. can literally make a change onto the whole world. (I loved especially when she began to talk about Vietnam as an example...) But really, that in and of itself is really mindblowing. We do have this unreal power to make change in the world, so why aren't we doing more of it and why aren't we making better changes in our own country? I almost felt a little ashamed...but these are the ideas and thoughts I hope to take with me along my journey and find a way to harness them in my life moving forward. It is that passion instilled in the people here, that I really admire, both in their culture, their politics and their way of life. Perhaps the weather is just nature's way of reminding everyone here to keep the heat in themselves alive...