Tag Archives: argentina

What’s another Year

26 Friday Mar 2021

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Who remembers me being a Pariah in Argentina? Who remembers that? It is a year ago. One year.

One year ago we were stuck in Argentina, one year ago our flight was canceled 9 times, and one year ago we were repatriated through an Air France flight, long after the airport of EZE was closed. One year.

Circle of life, Recoleta Cementerio, March 2020

One year ago, a bit more, was the last time I hugged someone else then my husband and kids. Lupe, Gustavo, Patricia, Gabriel,…to name but a few. More than once. And very close. Do people in Argentina still hug? Do they still share mate? I wouldn’t know, because…

One year ago was the last time we flew an airplane. Without face mask. We knew we probably should have, but they were not available, not in Argentina, not in Belgium.

All the things that did and didn’t happen in that one year, the things we did and didn’t do, it is too much to count.
Things that were unthinkable then, are normal now. And what we took for granted then, makes us crave for and embrace now.

We are supposed to see light at the end of the tunnel, or so they say. I don’t know.

Chacarita cementerio, Buenos Aires, March 2020

We are supposed to be able to travel again soon. But where to? While we are going towards summer and opening up, the southern hemisphere is going towards winter and closing down the borders again. While the north is going to take a short summer break, the south will go through yet another storm. Vaccination doesn’t catch up with the virus, not in Europe and not in Argentina.

But well, what’s another year.

Whats another year, Johnny Logan, Eurovision song contest winner 1987, my favourite song at that time. Probably secretly in love with him.

What’s another year, Argentina…. Wait for me. I’m coming as soon as it is possible. With or without hugging, with or without sharing mate.

What’s another year.

Retiro trainstation

All Black!!

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

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I always thought Argentina was a football (soccer) country, so was I surprised to see that the boys in school play rugby, not soccer.

Although my son was in the school rugby team in Belgium, his level was so low (as sports levels in Belgian schools are generally very low) that he couldn’t even join the school team here.

After living here a couple of months I was happy about that, about him not being able to play. It is a terror for all the moms. They all seem to break a leg or arm or even a hip (!) while playing. When you see a boy with a cast it’s almost certain to be a rugby accident. During a game in school there are always 2 ambulances present, and one day when I picked up the kids they were actually both leaving the school with a wounded guy -kid- inside.

Not that I know something about soccer, but of rugby I know even less. I never ever watched a game. They don’t even show rugby on Belgian TV. So it comes as no surprise that when last week my daughter text me, saying (all excited) that the ‘All Blacks’ were in her school, that I actually had to google them before I answered her message. They are -supposedly- the best rugby team in the world. And just a bit later she send me with a photo of her and the -again supposedly- most handsome player of the team, Dan Carter. Now on her Facebook, of course.

The team went to the school for a few times, practicing for the game against the Argentine Pumas, to be played last Saturday. They practiced rugby, and they also got the girls and the boys all excited about them. The team is legendary.

My daughter, who rather practices sports then to watch it on tv, arranged with her friends to watch the game at home. They were supporting the wrong team. The New Zealanders. The All Blacks. One of the girls said they better not mention that to the boys in school. Those boys are all in the school rugby team, and they are all, beyond any doubt, huge Puma fans.

They had me tempted to watch the game with them. My first rugby game. And I thought it was rather exciting, it had absolutely nothing to do with a boring soccer game. The players are so huge they look like walking fridges, but then very flexible and extremely fast fridges. They fight like animals to get the ball where they want it, but still they are so in control. More then once we said “ouch” or “ooh” or “ahhh” and “OMG that must hurt!”, but each time they get up and continue playing, as if it was nothing.

We laughed and smiled and agreed that these guys are what we call real men, and not, as my aunt would say, “postcards”…

It probably didn’t convert me into a rugby fan, but now at least, I can say I have seen the All Blacks play, and I will never ever have to google them again…which is already something!

The Mecca of Tango

21 Friday Oct 2011

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When you say Argentina, you say tango. It isnt quite clear how it started, nor when, but it is certain that the first tango-like dances originate around the Rio de la Plata, in Buenos Aires and in Montevideo.

The first tango music was created and became more popular in the years 1890-1900, when people used to go out to bars or brothels to dance. But it was also common to just dance on the corner of a street. In the beginning it were mainly men dancing with each other, trying out some new steps that were called milonguero or canyengue. They were accompanied by only two musicians, a guitar, a flute or a violin. It was not uncommon that these dances ended up in fights.

Around that time Argentina underwent big changes due to massive immigration. In 1869, Buenos Aires had a population of 180,000. By 1914, its population was 1.5 million. The mix of African, Spanish, Italian, British, Polish, Russian and native-born Argentines resulted in a melting pot of cultures, including dance and music.

Most immigrants were men, hoping to earn their fortunes in the new world. They were poor and desperate, hoping to make enough money to return to their family in Europe or to bring them to Argentina. Tango reflects their deep sense of loss and longing for the people and places they had left behind.

The worldwide spread of the tango came in the early 1900s when wealthy sons of Argentine society families traveled to Paris and introduced the dance there. By 1913, the tango had become an international phenomenon in Paris, London and New York. The Argentine elite who had shunned the tango were now forced into accepting it with national pride.

Around the 1930’s the Golden Age of Argentina started, and lasted until the 1950’s.The country became one of the richest nations in the world. Dance, literature, culture in general, bloomed. The tango became to be a fundamental expression of Argentine culture.

During the 1950’s, lyrics reflected the political feelings, and due political repression large dance venues were closed and prohibited. The tango survived in smaller bars only.

The tango decline lasted until the 80’s, until the show “Tango Argentina” opened in Paris, and then toured the world. This revival made Argentina once again the Mecca of tango.

If you an expert dancer, or if you just feel like trying it out, Buenos Ares is the the place to be. You can check out  Argentina Tango, and book your whole trip or just the tango classes there. Come to Argentina to dance the tango, and at the same time enjoy the vibrant life in Buenos Aires. Tango. Only in Argentina!