KEEPING UP WITH ANN – EPISODE VII
Elections, Travel and Living it up in Palermo Viejo!
May 25, 2003

MY NEW ADDRESS:

PASAJE SORIA 5012 1* “D”
1414 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
TEL: 001 54.11.4833.0809

Elections, ballotage, urnas (ballot box), a new president… a new world. This is what is talked about these days in the streets of Argentina. On April 27, there was the primera vuelta (first round) of elections against the main candidates ex-President Carlos Menem (Peronist), governor of the Province of Santa Cruz, Nestor Kirchner (Peronist), Ricardo Lopez Murphy (MFR), and Elisa Carrio (Alternative for a Republic of Equals (ARI)). As the constitution states, if one candidate does not win by both 40% of the votes and does not have a lead of over 10 points over the next candidate, there must be a ballotage (the French word for runoff elections). The results of the elections showed that there was not a dominating candidate. As the days passed after the first election with Menem and Kirchner in the running, it was clear that Kirschner would win the elections - surveys predicting he would win with 70% of the votes. Menem at 72 – a man completely without morality, ethics or character and who robbed the country of its profits after the privatization of its public utilities and transportation systems – claimed endlessly that he would achieve an easy victory. (He is also married to Cecilia Bolocco, a former Ms. Chile and CNN en Espanol anchor who is 38 and is having her first child with him soon.) On the 12th of May, there were rumors that Menem would remove himself from the elections. A day later, Menem threw a huge wrench in the works of the ballotage that were to occur the 18th of May – he withdrew. Current Interim President Duhalde, former Vice President under Menem and who now is his archenemy, declared that this action was an act of “historic irresponsability”. Kircher, who will today be declared president, would be forced to have a coalition government and share his power. It is said that Menem was pressured to renounce himself from the ballotage as governors of his party wanted to maintain a level of power in their provinces. Despite this last development, there is hope for La Argentina after all. (I had to leave the US since Bush became President, and I’d hate to have to leave Argentine if Menem were president. :)

Kirchner has many challenges facing him, namely his country’s poor and indigent. At record numbers, a staggering 57.5% (20.8 million) of Argentina’s population is considered poor (earning less than 723 pesos a month, $245US). The indigent figure is at 9.9 million people (earning less than 333 pesos monthly, $113US). The average wage is 512 pesos a month, $173US. His other tasks will also be to build political consensus, construct a working relationship with the US, negotiate with the IMF, and deal with the shrinking public and private wages. The rise and fall of the dollar is also an issue, but Kirchner has claimed that a stable exchange rate will be 1:3 pesos. (This is a positive move after the burbuja (bubble) in which Argentina lived in for 10 years when Menem pegged the peso to the dollar). Adjusting back to reality as a member of the Latin American economy has been a difficult transition.

* * *
The richness of life as I have experienced in Buenos Aires and in other cities of Argentina has been very wonderful – especially when I had the opportunity to share it with a special visit from Sean, who came here for 2 weeks and we literally crossed the country both litorally (south to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world) and laterally (east to Mendoza, Argentina’s Napa Valley). We were able to truly enjoy many of the cultural and geographic offerings of this expansive, beautiful country. In Ushuaia, we stayed in the luxurious Las Hayas Hotel (www.lashayas.com), took a tour through Tierra del Fuego National Park and strolled along Lago del Roca, went on a 3-hour breath-taking cabalgatas (horseback-riding) ride through Monte Susana, toured on a catamaran through the Beagle Channel to Isla de Los Lobos (seeing countless seals, sea lions and cormorants) and also arrived to their faro (lighthouse) located on an island in the middle of the channel. In Mendoza, we stayed at the best hostel I have ever stayed in, called the Damajuana Hostel (www.damajuanahostel.com.ar) , which is located on Aristides Villa Nueva – a street with no less than 50 bars and bolinches (clubs) located near the Universidad de Mendoza. Outside of Mendoza, we went on a tour of Alta Montana (High Mountain), saw the train tracks built by the English in the 19th century – of extreme importance in the development of Argentina’s economy, stopped at the ski resort Los Penitentes, took pictures of the Cerro Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America at 6960m, visited Cristo Redentor which is the 4,000m mountain-high historic border point between Argentina and Chile, ate in the town of Las Cuevas, and went to the spectacular Puente del Inca (Bridge of the Inca), a great natural wonder colored by the warm sulfur water that falls over it from the thermal bath above. Sean even dipped his feet in it for some great photo-opps! Around Mendoza, we went to visit the bodegas (wineries) of Norton (http://www.norton.com.ar/) and Chandon (www.chandon.com.ar/, part of the Moet Chandon family, of which this branch bodega is owned by the Austrian crystal Swarkovsky family). They were great tours and we left with a few bottles of normal and sparkling wine from each. Though the quality of the wine is very high, almost 70% of the wine produced in Argentina is consumed within Argentina. On our last evening in Mendoza, we had a special dining experience at Frances Mallman’s 1884 Restaurant. It was truly a divine meal! 1884 is part of the beautiful Bodega Escorihuela (http://www.escorihuela.com.ar/f_restaurante.htm))

Our time in Buenos Aires might have even been more enjoyable, from watching many nights of tango at San Telmo’s La Ventana (http://www.tangoshow.com/laventana/) and Mitos Argentinos (http://www.mitosargentinos.com.ar/), Teatro Liceo’s Vamos al Tango show, and the incredibly impressive Senor Tango (http://www.turismo.gov.ar/espect/sr_tango/home.htm) in Barracas. We even danced tango one night at El Beso, the bar-club where I had been taking tango lessons. We ate sushi (which in Argentina ONLY means salmon, though it’s been said there is pescado blanco (white fish) from Tuesdays through Saturdays) until we were a full (to the “max”), at some of the city’s best sushi joints – Dashi in Palermo Hollywood, Sushi Club and Itame in Las Canitas, Gran Bar Danzon in Monterserat, and even at Sensu in my favorite and the hands-down best shopping (mall) in Buenos Aires, Abasto. Others restaurants and cafes we enjoyed of note are Cabana Las Lilas (http://www.laslilas.com.ar/, I would say is the best power-lunch parrilla in the city), Rave and Sudestada in Palermo Viejo, Café Tortoni (http://www.cafetortoni.com/argentina.html, the oldest and grandest of Argentine café society) and Clasica y Moderna (www.clasicaymoderna.com), an intimate old café that has concert and jazz, where I saw the Porgy & Bess performed by a talented quintet.

* * *
For me, I feel an ease of living here, though for sure you will often hear me complain about the difficult of moving about in such a big city, and the complexity of carrying the appropriate monedas (coins) with you at all times – I sometimes do not understand how a business or a taxi driver cannot even break a 2 peso bill! I once walked 11 blocks from Plaza Serrano (where I now live) to Plaza Italia in order to take the subte home, when upon arriving to the subway, there was an electricity short, which left the subway inoperable. I had only a 100 peso bill on me, of which left me in a great quandary. There was no possibility of taking a taxi (I would be robbed or cheated, but mostly I just would not get any change), no possibility of taking a bus (they don’t even make change for 2 peso bills), and I was too tired to walk the 40 minutes to get to my old neighborhood. In the end, I was forced to buy a 40 peso clock (which I did actually need), in order to break my bill. The man who ran the store was nice enough to give me coins as change and tell me which of the labyrinth bus lines to take. It is exactly this dynamic in which most city dwellers must test their fate – between choosing the best alternative of which meets their needs, hoping not to meet the end of being cheated, or reaching an intolerable level of frustration. Often one is pleasantly surprised by the simple kindness of a stranger in offering useful advice or information, or giving you change. But all the inconveniences of the city are outweighed 10-fold by the cultural and pop heavyweight events that happen daily in the city… world-class opera, ballet, design fairs, concerts, and museum expositions… daily.

As always, My Highlights, Day 66:

Witnessing modern urban design at Ferias de Diseno (Design Fairs) at the National Library and in Las Canitas, and La Feria de Libros (Book Fair) at La Rural Argentina – both of which I’ve attended twice. I know such fairs exists in New York and other cities, but I’ve always noticed them especially in Latin countries where I’ve lived. As for the book fairs, it is a great encouragement to all sectors of society, to show the power of reading, of literature, of intellectual discourse. And the Design Fairs display cutting edge innovation of the city’s young designers – glass jewelry, steel housewares, knit sweaters and shoes, furniture and an endless sundry of bags and purses.
Attending Verdi’s beautiful opera Simon Boccanegra in the world famous Teatro Colon (www.teatrocolon.org.ar), regarded as one of the 3 best opera houses in the world and a true jewel of Italian architecture. Sean and I went on a tour of this facility that has special workshop and dance studies that are located below the city. The following day, on a Monday night while I was in class, Sean watched an almost full-house piano performance by Horacio Lavandera, a Rotary District 4890 benefit concert for the Hospital Garraban.
Enjoying a Boca Juniors (http://www.bocajuniors.com.ar/) futbol (soccer) game with a Swiss and Dutch classmates in La Boca, thought to be the most dangerous and rough neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Boca is the team that the legendary Diego Maradona played for before he took off to Europe to play for Italy and Spain. The fans for Boca were literally insane, with an endless list of memorized vulgar yet humorous chants that they addressed not necessarily at the opposing team, Olimpico, but addressed and cursed to their absent cross-town rivals, River Plate. Also impressive in their passion were these amazingly large banners that covered a whole side of the stadium with distinct messages. On one, it screamed in imposing bold letters, “Podran imitarnos, pero igualarnos, jamas!” (They will try to imitate us, but equal us… NEVER!) The love for futbol runs in the veins of these Argentines, and is carried from generation to generation, as even a 3-year on his father’s lap could be heard screaming, “Puto! Puto!”
Visiting friends from the Ship for World Youth in Santiago, Chile during Semana Santa, and staying with Sindy Parraguez’s family. I got the chance to witness the Catholic rituals of a family during Easter week – going to mass twice, attempting to attend class at her University (which has been on strike by the students for the last two weeks because the government cut some important tuition credit programs), and visiting artisan fairs in Los Dominicos with Alvaro. And of course, a special meeting of the Chilean Delegation on Friday night at Cristian’s house, where I got to see Tesi, Akiko, Francisco, Katina and her sister, and of course Sindy, her brother Sebastian and Alvaro.
Though I have not been a concert-goer since my early college days, I started to attend some pop concerts here in Argentina, that take place in their futbol stadiums. On May 3, I and another becaria (scholar) went to Shakira (www.shakira.com) and her “Tour of the Mongoose”. It was a highly-political recital (concert), with the mongoose as a symbol of the good that can kill the cobra in one bite – the cobra being the evil, death, killing and war. It was an explosive concert with large mechanical structures, ladders, and amazing pelvic-thrusts from this Columbian bombshell! Then on May 17th, Sean and I attended the recital de Diego Torres (www.diegotorres.com), the number one male pop star in Argentina. His song Color Esperanza (Color Hope) became the anthem of hope and healing for both the economic crisis and the 9/11 in the schools in Argentina. His show was an emotional one, where he sang about his mother who recently passed away (Lolita Torres, a very famous actress and tango singer) and a young friend that he recently lost (who was the son of one of Argentina’s most famous comedians).
As for Rotary, I have started to participate in several activities. The Rotary Club that I am a part of is called Club Villa Devoto Norte, and it is located to the western frontier of the Federal Capital of Buenos Aires. It is a relatively small and new club, with 20 members and it has been part of the Rotary organization for 12 years. The club is made up of businessmen and other professionals who work in the area. My Host Counselor’s name is Pedro Valora and his wife’s name is Maria Carmen. They are both very kind people, and have made me feel at home here and that I can count on them for any type of support I need. Pedro met me at the airport, and the weekend after, they both took me on a great tour of Tigre, a city north of BsAs, and on a relaxing boat trip through the River Delta there as we drank tea and ate small cakes. The next day we even went to the provincial capital of Gran Buenos Aires, La Plata, with their club’s Rotaract group. Another meeting I would like to highlight is the invitation of Guillermo Carella and his wife Nela, also from Club Villa Devoto Norte, to their house on a Sunday for asado (bbq) with their family – which included their four charming sons and his wife’s mother. Lunch at their house was a wonderful experience with delicious grilled meat and vegetables. It was a special day including the fact that it was a potentially explosive election day – with the possible re-election of Carlos Menem - and they brought me to vote with them. And last week, the becarios of World Peace and I were invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and met with two career diplomats and Rotarians that welcomed us and offered the services of the Ministry’s library for our research projects and their assistance in however manner we could use it.
Studying at La Universidad de Salvador has been a rewarding experience to date, both with high and low levels of inspiration and challenge, a mix of both respectively. The location of our class is in on a centralized street (Callao and Pte. Peron) in a building that is the law school, la Facultad de Ciencis Juridicas. It is in good-condition, clean, comfortable and has an air-conditioning. The subject material is on one-hand introductory in regard to International Relations, but where the class on World Economics meanders off into deeply confounding philosophical and theoretical spaces taught by a young French doctoral candidate. Both are interesting and I feel I am learning much about the state of affairs of the history of the world, international relations, and sometimes about the political and economic state of Argentina itself. The classes are taught by those that I believe are qualified to teach them, though none of our professors hold doctorates in their field. Our classes are a mix of the 12 Rotary World Peace Scholars, approximately 10-12 Argentine professionals and one Brazilian (that work during the day and are deepening their knowledge through these various subjects), and me (a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar). The mix is rich, but because of purely language and sometimes contextual matter, the discussion is normally dominated by the Argentines. For me and others, many speak in a manner that we cannot understand – be it a difficulty of both language, voice volume, clarity or concept. Of other language difficulties, we once watched a video about the loan debt negotiations in Uganda that was in French and English, with subtitles in Spanish. This was a very dizzying experience. There are also other challenges to studying abroad that are different to the American system that most of us are used to. For example, there is not a centralized university bookstore where you can get all your study materials easily. For the economics class, we were given a bibliography and told to find them all over the city and libraries. This has been a time-consuming and almost insurmountable challenge. For the international relations class, we are able to purchase all the photocopies of articles or sections of books in the one fotocopiadora for this department. (The photocopy system here is very interesting also – where each time a student asks for materials for class, they are copied at that moment. Sometimes there are a 1000 sheets which the employee does by hand instead of using the automatic feed (which is often broken)! Beyond other differences between the American and Argentine system is the status and low salaries of the professors. Most are professionals themselves and work during the day in order to survive economically, and seem to basically teach classes to supplement their other incomes. As a result, there are no fixed office hours where you can easily meet the professor. Everything must be arranged, meeting by meeting, and it is often done in a bar before class or a few minutes before class.


Well, that’s if for this installment. A lot has happened to me in my first two months, and I haven’t even mentioned that I have moved into my glorious new apartment that I live in the ultra-trendy area of Palermo Viejo (think SoHo and the West Village). I am renting it from an up-and-coming Argentine movie director named Alejandro Chomski, who’s movie Hoy y Manana was chosen to be viewed in Cannes this year. The apartment has a living room that has 2 beautiful French windows that incredibly lights up the room, in addition to a perfectly square window in the middle of a perpendicular wall painted the perfect provencal orange. There is a clean, new bathroom, and a cute small kitchen. And as for the bedroom, it is in a entrepiso (loft) where I have to climb up on a long ladder every night. The surrounding apartments around mine are at least two or three times larger and inhabited by architects and other design professionals. For all of you that have been in my apartment that I had in San Francisco, it is in the same style, but at least 3 times cooler! Please come to visit! I have a brand-new futon with your name on it!

Besos, chau… y suerte!


Ana Maria


P.D. For those of you curious about more Spanish Porteno-isms, here are a few more that I have picked up:
re-lindo, re-grande, re-cansando (meaning “super” – short for “requete”)
Esta enfrente de “mio” or “tuyo” or “suyo”
Punctuations of statements
“Que se yo” (What do I know?)
“Mira Vos!” (Look at you!)
“Che” (Hey!)