A European city in Argentina
Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, looks more like a European city, with its wide roads and architecture. When we arrived we crossed the widest avenue in the world named July 9th.
The long trip wasn’t going to stop us, as we arrived, my family and I made sure we ate alfajores, a cookie with dulce de leche, which brightened our trip. Buenos Aires was the second city in Argentina that we went to and we wanted to see its beauty.
Entering a cemetery on purpose was something I never thought of doing. The famous cemetery of Buenos Aires is called Cementerio de La Recoleta, it holds the memorial of Eva Peron. As we entered the cemetery, horror movies appeared in my mind. I was surrounded by the idea of death. Since I was young, I felt more scared than excited. I was a “mix of shaggy and scooby-doo” my parents told me while laughing. We walked around the great cemetery staring at the mesmerizing statues of angels.
Some stones were white but with a shade of black mold creating lines through the marble. The angels and other statues were smooth and evoked a perfect chilling image in my mind.
The most visited part of the cemetery is the tomb of Eva Peron. Eva Peron was the wife of the late Argentine President Juan Peron and also a film actress. She was liked by a lot of people because they felt she related to them, she came from a poor family and she wanted to help the people. My family and I stood in front of her tomb with awe. It was impressive to stand there and observe it.
Since we knew that Tango is the most recognizable Argentinian dance, a night of watching tango is a must do in Buenos Aires. My parents got the chance to take me and my sisters to a live show with dinner. As we left the taxi to enter the building, it felt like we were walking into the past. A dinner with a show is something that I didn’t ever expect to do, but after that experience I would like to do it again. We were shown to our table and the restaurant had a scheduled dinner with limited options, as a vegetarian I could only order one thing and it was ravioli. They brought the dinner before the dance show, so we can enjoy the food before enjoying the show. I was starving and when the food arrived, I patiently waited for the waiter to leave the area. When he did I started eating. My mom stared at the ravioli and said that she thinks that it had meat, so I stopped and waited for confirmation. My father responded by saying that it did not, so I took another bite, but after I took a bite my mom repeated that it did in fact contain meat. My dad quickly responded by saying no again as he took another bite. I took another bite and he quickly nodded and confirmed that in fact it had meat. I spat the ravioli out on my napkin and I didn’t eat for the rest of the night.
The show started and the lights dimmed darker. The choreography was delightful and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the dancers. The show was very well done and entertained everyone, regardless of age. Tango seems to create stories of different genres. I did not want the night to end, but when it did I tried to tango myself in the hotel room.
Oh Buenos Aires! The trip to that capital was like a voyage across the sea into Europe. It showed us its successful mixture of the European culture with its own native roots. I saw things that I thought I would never see, like The Casa Rosada, murals of Messi and Maradona, and the beauty of the city.
We also visited Puerto Madero and Palermo Viejo, both areas are great with a variety of restaurants. Buenos Aires, you will always be in my heart.
written by Diego