First Day of NYU Conference on The Global South, Tango Lecture and Lessons and Museum of Fine Arts

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Buenos Aires

First Day of NYU Conference on The Global South

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Buenos Aires

First Day of NYU Conference on The Global South, Tango Lecture and Lessons and Museum of Fine Arts

   

   Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

Like any day that involves a conference, there was much to do and I literally hit the sack today at 9.45 pm after finding it impossible to keep my eyes open.

I awoke early at about 6.00 am and had a long WhatsApp conversation on the phone in the bathroom with my cousin Meera (as I did not want to disturb Llew who was still asleep) about an issue in Bombay concerning my Dad who is in the process of making up his mind whether or not to hire new domestic help. I hope that my input (delivered through Meera as Dad does not have a smart phone, was helpful). While Hub did use the bathroom, I blogged and then got myself ready in just 15 minutes.

We were downstairs in the hotel’s restaurant having breakfast with my colleague Tim by 8.30 am: decaf Americanos to begin with followed by bowls of muesli with a lot of vanilla yogurt, milk, nuts and fresh fruit. It is about all I can eat before feeling stuffed! There are also wonderful croissants here, but there is only so much one can eat before going off to face a full day’s conference program.

    Llew and I said Bye and parted. Tim told us about an extraordinary book store, supposedly one of the most interesting in the world, called the Athaneum.  And since Llew has never met a book shop he has not loved, it was a no-brainer. That was where he was headed. Meanwhile, I joined a long crocodile of colleagues as we made our way to the campus of NYU-Buenos Aires to begin the proceedings of the conference for which we came here.

Long Walk to NYU-Buenos Aires Campus:

It was such great fun catching up with my colleague Ray Ro from NYU-Shanghai en route to campus that I did not keep track at all of which turns we were making along the city’s excellent urban grid. Llew and I had last met Ray in Shanghai, China, where he teaches at NYU. We had spent a lovely morning together over coffee after visiting the Shanghai National Museum. We talked about my Fulbright experience in Bombay and what I have been up to since last we met including my just published book on Goa and my forthcoming memoir. 

     

Arrival at NYU-Buenos Aires:

The walk took about 20 minutes and no one was more surprised than I was when we reached the place. It appears to be a sort of palacio that has been converted into a university campus. The outside is red brick-clad and the inside has a modest-sized medieval Great Hall complete with stained glass windows, a balcony that overlooks the space below, stone carvings and Greco-Roman figures holding up the fire-place mantelpiece. It is lit by a giant brass chandelier. The entire space was thrilling to the medievalist in me and I loved it.

     The morning began with coffee—but I did not have any as I would like to sleep well at night! Instead, I found a seat right besides my colleague Heidi, right in front where I listened to the welcome remarks made by Julie and Molly. It was so good to see many of my colleagues all assembled together in one spot after ages and to find so many familiar faces from past conferences of NYU colleagues who have come here from our global sites.  Sadly, many of our colleagues are still arriving here in dribs and drabs as they were affected by the national strike, bad weather conditions and other factors that delayed their departures from different parts of the world.

We split up immediately and went off to our little rooms where we assembled with folks who opted for the same topic in which each of us had a personal interest. I decided to learn about Tango which Prof. Edgardo Dieleke of NYU-Buenos Aires described as emerging from the margins. He told us about the culture of the barrios and the brothels  where the dance form originated. We had visited one of the conventillos (slum tenements) of San Telmo yesterday and I was able to visualize the setting in which the dance form was created in the 1880s. He took us historically through to the present time, enabling us to listen to some clips of music that developed as part of the form especially the use of the bandeleon (similar to an accordion). He then told us how the position of the women who danced the tango, the misogynistic situation involving gender-relations, the emergence of tango queer (which emphasized gender-freedom), the use of drugs like cocaine and absinthe that became addictive and led to the grip in which female dancers were caught. Finally, we talked about tango as a part of the culture of the city and its spread to other parts of the Latin-American world and the globe. We ended the session by listening to a recording of a song by one of the best-known female singers that spoke of male exploitation and addition to substances that brought a sordid element into the world of the tango. He also emphasized the Afro-Argentinian elements of the tango as many of the rhythms of the music and the moves were derived from black African settlers in the city.

    It was a very enlightening lecture-demonstration with video and audio clips that kept us all enthralled.

Lunch and a Panel Discussion:

Lunch followed right there in the same room in which we had assembled in the morning. It involved meatball sheesh kebabs, baganoush, goulash over spaetzel (small noodles), salad, a selection of cheese, bread and small cups of pumpkin soup. Everything was very tasty indeed and we ate well while listening to a panel composed of my colleagues talking about the various methods and approaches they have adopted through the years in making our Liberal Studies syllabus global. Each panelist spoke for about 10 minutes and there was a Q and A session that followed in which they threw more light on the resources they use to enlighten our students who come from varied backgrounds and cultures, bringing a lot of first-hand exposure and experiences with them into the classroom—much of which , I have always believed, can be tapped to make learning interactive and two-sided.

The First Keynote Address:     

The first of two keynote addresses was then give by Anna Stahl who is the Director of NYU-Buenos Aires. She is a bi-lingual scholar of Spanish Literature and is writing her first novel in Spanish. Her keynote address focused on the battle of the Global South to break away from the hegemonic North. In this context, she brought in the works of Jorge Luis Borges by referring to the ideology of this Nobel-Prize winning writer. She also emphasized the role played by Argentina in attempting to establish a new world order, in a sense, through its long history of Spanish colonialism and after.

Tango Lessons!

Finally, we reached a point in our program where those of us who had opted to listen to the lecture on Tango could be introduced to Maria, a tango expert, who is also a tango teacher and who was supposed to show us a few moves. About seven of us gathered together in the same room (we did not leave to go anywhere else) where Maria spoke for about half an hour about the discipline, rules and regulations of the milongas (dance halls) where tango is still danced, taught, learned and mastered. There is an unspoken protocol involving male-female relations in a dance form that advocates physical intimacy and eye contact. That was the reason why Tango Queer emerged—as a reaction against the rigidity of rules involving two genders. Maria has a book out (in Spanish) on what tango means today and how it continues to evolve in light of our rapidly changing world and its freedom from restrictions.

The dance lesson that followed was a lot of fun as Maria instructed us on basic aspects of posture, direction of movement, stance with partners, etc. We learned the difference between leading and following and how indications are given through the arms and shoulders of where a leader would like a follower to go. It was a lot of fun as we danced in circles, pirouetted around the room, changed partners every few minutes, learned about how we should hold ourselves, etc. We were about six couples and at the end of the session, we did learn exactly how it is done. We also learned that ‘Valentino’ is the name given to the stylized form of tango with which the entire world is familiar—the one with the red rose in the man’s mouth and the hands held straight ahead as the couple marches forward purposefully. 

It was 5.00 pm when we finished and started the long walk back to the hotel. Chris, my colleague and I, kept on a lively chatter as we talked about things that have happened at New York during my absence. We were so engrossed in our conversation that we became separated from the rest of the group that was following behind us and then got lost. We ended up finally figuring it out but I had told Llew to meet me down in the hotel lobby at 5.30 and we did not reach there till 5.45 pm. 

Off to the Museo des Belles Artes (Museum of Fine Arts):

Llew and I did not waste much time. I told him that by instinct I was pretty sure I would find the museum and that if we walked quickly, we would have about 90 minutes to see it. We had seen part of it yesterday, of course (the Medieval and Renaissance portions) and I was keen to see the work of Diego Rivera and Freida Kahlo (as I rarely get to see their work). As it tuned out, I was mistaken because their work is in MALBA—the Museum of Latin-American Arts (where we shall go tomorrow).

   Instead, we started with the Impressionists and ended up on the top floor with various Modern artists. There were lovely works by Sisley, Pizarro, Monet, Manet, Renoir, etc. and upstairs a few canvasses by Picasso, Leger, Kandinsky and Klee. There was also a special exhibition on the work of Carlos Alonso which featured some really huge canvasses.

But for some odd reason, I was really exhausted today. I think it had to do with the fact that I was not wearing good walking shoes. I ought to have gone up to my room and changed from my Mary Janes into my sneakers—which I shall certainly do tomorrow.

    

Dinner at Las Delicias:

I was keen to get back to the hotel for a shower and a nice rest and thought it would be best to pick up dinner from a place close by en route. We passed a small neighborhood restaurant called Las Delicias where because it is so cold, I would have loved to have some steaming soup. But I did not find it on the menu and settled for a plate of Spaghetti Carbonara instead. It was absolutely superb but the portion was more than enough for two persons and I had to send half of it back. Llew had a hamburger—which is something I should also try as Argentinian beef is so good. Perhaps tonight we shall go to a proper steak house and eat a good steak.

     It was only a ten minute walk then to our hotel where we reached very shortly. I jumped straight into the shower and found it extraordinarily rejuvenating. Llew watched some TV and, as I said, by 9.45, I as ready to drop.

     Until tomorrow

More Sightseeing in San Telmo and Welcome Dinner on First Day of NYU Conference:

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Buenos Aires

More Sightseeing In San Telmo and Welcome Dinner on First Day of NYU Conference: 

Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

We had to take a compulsory day off sight-seeing today because the municipal authorities in Buenos Aires decided to call a strike. Not only were all government offices closed but all museums and historical sites were too. All forms of public transport (buses, the metro) were non-functional (taxis were running)—which meant that offices were closed as people were unable to get to work. The streets were emptied of humans and vehicular traffic and it was actually quite a joy to have the city to ourselves, as, refusing to be daunted, we decided to go out on a walking tour.

Breakfast with Colleagues After a Year:

But first, we had to get down to breakfast. I was aware that some of my colleagues would have arrived and right enough! I did meet a few of them and so breakfast was quite a companionable meal today as I introduced Llew to a few of my friends. We enjoyed bowls of cereal with vanilla yogurt and I had a croissant with cheese and cold cuts before finishing off with fresh fruit over decaf coffee. 

It was at this point that we became aware of the strike as one of my colleagues, Nancy, told us about it. The Receptionist at the hotel confirmed this and, left with little choice, we nixed our plans to see the museums in the afternoon. However, we did not realize right away that buses would also be off the road and we did go and stand at the No. 37 bus stop. It was about ten minutes later that it struck me that the buses were probably off the roads. A lady passerby confirmed this. Left with no choice again, we hailed a passing cab and told him to take us to the Plaza de Mayo. It was my intention to start a walking tour from that point—a walking tour that was a part of an article entitled ‘12 Hours in Buenos Aires’ that I had downloaded from the Net.

Re-Exploring Plaza de Mayo:

So the great part about the strike was that we had the Plaza de Mayo entirely to ourselves today as it was emptied of humanity. We decided, as soon as we alighted from the cab, to retry and get into the Metropolitan Cathedral as it was closed two days ago and we could not see the interior.

Today, the gate was open and we were to see one of the most magnificent churches in the country. This was the cathedral of which the current Pope Francis was once the Cardinal and there is a prominent poster at the entrance of the church that announces this fact.

Inside, the cathedral is built in pure Baroque style. There is a soaring nave and the most opulent gilded details you could imagine. Lavish paintings on the ceiling and the embellishment on the dome which are very reminiscent of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London took my breath away. I was ever so glad we could get in here. 

Viewing the Grave of General Jose San Martin and the Changing of the Guard:

Only a few straggling tourists milled around the vast environs of the cathedral and strolled towards the grand monument that contains the mortal remains of one of Latin-America’s most famous sons, General Jose San Martin who liberated a large part of the sub-continent from Spanish rule in 1810. He did not die in Argentina, but after liberation, there was a move to bring his body back to the capital city for a proper interment. Like most Victorian mortuary monuments of the era (there are similarities with those of Nelson in the basement of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and Napoleon’s in the Cathedral of Les Invalids in Paris), it soars on an impressive white marble pedestal to end in a huge black marble casket that is lovingly draped with the sky blue and white flag of Argentina. It is surrounded by metal wreaths that announce his many military campaigns that brought freedom to Chile and Peru as well. Standing at the entrance to the chapel in which the monument is housed are twin guards from the Argentinian military. 

We happened to be in the cathedral at the time when the Changing of the Guards was about to take place. Six uniformed guards looking all purposeful and spiffy in their official attire marched in formation very smartly to the entrance and going through the commands, changed spaces and joined the ones taking over. Except that a take over did not actually occur and the two guards who were literally holding the fort simply joined their colleagues and marched off. The heavy wrought-iron ornamental gates to the chapel were then shut and place was vacated. We were very lucky not only to have able to enter the mortuary chapel but to also catch the spectacle of the Change of Guards on a day when not much else was available for tourists to gawk at!

  

Beginning our Walking Tour Along Defensa:

The New York Times article had instructed us to begin our tour at Plaza de Mayo and to walk along a long street called Defensa which would get us into the heart of San Telmo. But before we did this, we were struck by the grandeur of the buildings that surround the plaza with their heavy Grecian ornamentation that consists of full-sized sculptures that adorn the facades of official buildings. We took many pictures of these marvels including the Legistura Building which is topped by a pretty clock tower. 

As you make your way further and further south along Defensa towards San Telmo, the street and the neighborhood get more gritty. This is not Recolleta where the well-heeled congregate—probably descendants of the original colonists who put Argentina on the map. This area is filled with lovely old Spanish churches (a couple were being extensively renovated and were not open to the public) and speakeasies, not to mention a pharmacy that has been in business since the 1700s and still sports the original ceiling and paintings that make it visually a treat. 

     We kept walking further on, passing by a huge amount of antiques stores for San Telmo is the Antiques’ capital of the city. Some of them were open but, for the most part, they were shut and we could only appreciate their wares in the shop windows. We did take in the sights as we moved further down past a whole lot of blocks and arrived finally at the pretty Plaza Dorrego which dates from the 1700s and remains almost entirely as it looked at that time. There are official buildings that surround it and the center is taken over by bars and cafes and a number of small-time black African sellers in stone jewelery. Making a sharp left, we arrived at another grand church which was shut. Prior to that , we entered what used to be a slum tenement (called a conventillo). Apparently, in days gone by, a lot of the San Telmo region used to have such habitations. They are quite unique and are filled today with shops seeing skins, leather and pelts. 

     By this time, we had arrived at the end of our walk and were instructed to take a bus to La Boca, the region which is noted for its futbol crazy fans. But with everything closed today, there was no way we would get into the famed stadium called La Bombonera where the Boca Boys, Buenos Aires’ famed football team, are based. 

Lunch at La Biela:

Hence, we merely hailed a cab and decided to get a spot of lunch at  one of the city’s best-known restaurants called La Biela on Avenue de Quintana in Recolletta, not far from our hotel, which was described by Lonely Planet as an institution. It turned out to be the sort of place in which well-known figures from sports (car-racing champions) and literature (Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares) would hang out. Inside the restaurant comprises a vast space that has old-world style imprinted all over it. 

At the entrance on the street outside, life-size effigies of the Glavez brothers who are legends in the land in the world of car-racing were surrounded by young folks getting their pictures taken in their august company. Just behind the entrance is a table at which the two famed writers are seated and, of course, we had to take pictures with them.  

When we did get seated, we opted for chicken burgers which were simply breast of chicken served on a hamburger bun. The meal deal features salad and a coke which Llew and I split. It made for a far more filling meal than I would have liked to eat as I was aware that we would be eating a big meal in the evening. Still, left with little choice, we took our time and lingered over it.

Visiting the Church of Our Lady of Pilar:

The restaurant opened out on a large and very colorful square which was dominated at one end by a very pretty colonial church called the Church of Our Lady of Pilar. We decided to pay a visit and were, once again, completely taken by the lavishness of the ornamental design, the heavy gilding upon every single altar—the main one and the side chapels that were numerous—and the iconography of the niches. There was a statue of Saint Teresa of Calcutta that I was seeing in a church for the first time and of Jesus seated in the exact same pose as Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’—which was a most unusual pose and again never seen before. We spent a few moments in silent prayer and then left the church to follow our map which got us back to our hotel after a 20 minute walk.

A Long Rest and a Nap in our Hotel:

Perhaps it was just as well that everything was closed today as it gave us the opportunity to take a long and very welcome break in our hotel where we ended up having lovely naps. When we awoke, we watched a bit of TV—it is great to have English channels here and to be able to keep abreast of world news. 

     A little later, I awoke and started to spend some time on personal grooming. Then, I got my clothing ready for the dinner and tango dance outing that had been planned as a Welcome event by NYU for all conference participants. As a few of my colleagues had been detained by the strike and had not arrived, there were extra seats available and Llew and a few other ‘guests’ who are accompanying delegates were able to join us.

     A shower and shampoo later, I was actually able to use a hair dryer after more than a year (I do not own one in Bombay) and was actually able to style my hair. Llew also got ready and we went down to the lobby at the appointed hour where I then met with a lot more of my colleagues who had lovely reunions with me, including Tim and Heidi and Michael. I did many introductions so that Llew got to know a few of them and then it was time to pile into coaches that had been arranged to get us to an exciting venue—El Querida, a restaurant that offered a three-course menu and over an hour of tango entertainment. 

Dinner and Tango Dancing At El Querida:

The food was nothing to shout about—we had a starter of creamy corn in a taco shell with pesto sauce. The main was good: we were finally going to eat Argentinian well-aged steaks (for which the country is famed). It was good but much too huge and I ended up having to leave some of it. Dessert was the famous flan that is well-known on the entire South American continent. It had a crisp sugar shell, similar to Creme brûlée.

     The dancing then began and went on for over an hour. It featured a full set of musicians including an ace pianist. The show took us through the decades from the origin of the dance form as a type of protest in the barrios of the city to the later years when it became a glamorous part of the evening’s entertainment in posh restaurants and clubs. Costumes were lavish and grand, movements perfectly timed and precise so as to create amazing co-ordination among the partners who created the three or four couples that danced throughout. It was a grand combination of music and dance that brought a distinct cultural ethos to the space and was much enjoyed by all spectators, Certainly a stay in Buenos Aires would be incomplete without participation in this unique cultural experience and we were lucky to have the chance to enjoy it as we did through my colleagues who did all the organizing and were also able to include Llew in the evening’s plans.

It was not long before we piled back into the coach that got us back to our hotel past the gorgeous buildings and monuments of Avenue 9 de Julio with its Obelisk and the Colon Theater. 

Back in our hotel, we were ready to call it a night after a lovely day in this elegant and very historic city. We are now all psyched up and ready for the start of our conference which will kick off in the morning right after breakfast. What a wonderful opportunity this is for us and how grateful I feel for this ‘gift’ that has been offered to us.

     Until tomorrow...          

Following in the Footsteps of Evita Peron! More Sightseeing in Bewitching Buenos Aires!

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Buenos Aires

Following in the Footsteps of Evita Peron! More Sightseeing in Bewitching Buenos Aires!

  Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

From among the many impressions we gathered today, Recotta Cemetery was a real stand-out.  No wonder it is the star attraction of Buenos Aires. But first, brekkie...

Waking at 8.00 (Llew) as I was up much earlier (about 6.00am) we got ourselves quickly organized for our day on the town. There is so much to see and do in this city that there is little time to lose.

  Breakfast in the hotel was a generous affair. Careful not to overeat while making sure we fueled up well for the day, the two of us started with muesli with strawberry yogurt and requested decaf Americanos which were brought to our table. We followed up with scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage and left to start our exploration of the city. A few more days of these breakfasts and I shall have to go on a diet again.

Reaching out for Evita Peron at Recolleta Cemetery:

   Recolleta Cemetery is only a few blocks away from our hotel—so I made up a sort of itinerary that I thought we could follow for the day and we headed off there.

The Cemetery is a real gem of a place. It dates from the early -1800s and was created to house the mortal remains of the rich and famous of the city. It is a vast space surrounded by high red brick walls and fancy gas-lighting. The tops of the burial vaults peak out from over the walls and offer tantalizing glimpses of angels with wide wing spans that give indication of what one can expect to see within.

    Very shortly, I realized that this Cemetery is built in the same style as some of Europe’s best-known burial spots: think Brampton or Highgate Cemeteries in London or Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris for you are in the same ballpark. The difference in London is that grand family vaults line a few of the ‘streets’ in the cemetery as many of the deceased occupy just one little plot that is indicated with a funerary monument (usually a cross). Here, the entire place is made up of ‘streets’ that radiate from a central monument. There are no burial plots—just burial vaults here (all are family owned and occupied). Unlike Highgate in London where there are many notable graves to visit (George Eliot, Karl Marx) or Pere Lachaise in Paris (Jim Morrison, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir), here the only really notable figure is Eva Peron who is buried in her family vault as she was born a Duarte.

     Don’t expect to find, as we did, a grand monument to mark her burial spot. It is actually hidden in a narrow side street because although she was given a grand state burial (and we saw video clips of this affair in her museum that we visited next), her modest family claimed her body and buried it with their own members. Most visitors make a beeline for this spot which is well-known to all the attendants.

However, the real jewels of this Cemetery can be found all around in the magnificent Victorian mortuary sculpture with its exquisite details. The vaults themselves are lined with marble cladding in white or in black basalt. The entrances to them are made of elaborate wrought-iron gates. Ornamentation in the form of towering sculpture is profuse—there are angels, veiled women, mourning muses at the foot of the monuments of the well-heeled, military memorabilia in the case of men who served in the fight for Independence from Spain (achieved in 1810 and made official in 1816), loads of metal plaques. We even caught sight of a monument that featured both a Jewish menorah as well as a crucifix above it. Most of the vaults are designed in Neo-Classical style but there were some in Baroque style with grand domes and decorative details in stained glass. One was covered with ivy and another was clad in rustic rough-hewn stone. In many cases, the doors were open and we could see the caskets piled on shelves one on top of the other. It was all quite fascinating indeed and I could not stop taking pictures. The place is impeccably clean, beautifully maintained and plantings of flowers and other greenery around the monuments is on-going.

     We spent more than an hour in this spot but one could easily spend an entire morning in this miniature city reading family names derived from the colonial era. We could not help thinking how wealthy these people might have been if they could afford to spend so much on funerary trappings. Indeed, it is a great place to visit and we felt fortunate that we were so well located to this spot in terms of our hotel.

    I suppose having received an introduction to Eva Peron, it was only natural that we should gravitate to the Museo Evita (Evita Museum) next.

Visiting the Museo Evita:

We took a bus (the 37) from Ave de las Heras to Lapridu from where we found the Evita Museum on foot just a few blocks ahead in what remains a very upscale part of downtown BA. Everywhere we were struck by the affluence of this city, the solidity and decorative nature of the Baroque buildings, the quality of the shops and the many coffee shops that dot it. We realized why so many of the Nazis headed to Argentina and to BA bringing their money with them to live anonymous lives with name and identity changes to enable them to stay in luxury as if in a European city. 

    The Museo Evita opened only at 11.00 am—so we had a few minutes’ wait before we entered. There is an entry fee but my Met Museum ID card got both Llew and me inside for free. The Museum is housed in a gorgeous villa or ‘pallazo’ as they are known which dates from the early 1900s. It is dedicated to keeping alive the memory of Argentina’s best-known First Lady who had such an impact on her nation and the world in the early to mid-20th century that Andrew Lloyd-Weber wrote a whole opera dedicated to immortalizing her contribution. 

I first became aware of this extraordinary woman on seeing the opera Evita many decades ago. The Museum filled me in on the details of her life through its many fascinating objects that actually belonged to her. So here is what I gathered: Born in a rather humble peasant family as Eva Duarte in 1895, she aspired towards stardom and made her way to BA. There, in keeping with the mass media of the moment, she attained stardom on the radio. Film was just arriving as a medium and she sought roles as an actress, getting the female lead role in a film called La Prodiga. However, when a really massive earthquake hit the San Juan province of the country, then Minister of Social Welfare, Juan Peron sought the help of celebrities to create relief projects. Eva Duarte was roped in to assist and met Peron for the first time. They were inseparable after that first meeting. Within a year they were married and devoted themselves to the uplift of the people. She was married by the time her one and only film was released. Eva started a foundation for local welfare called the Foundation Eva Peron that was aimed at helping children, the elderly, the sick, etc.She endeared herself fully to her people and was dubbed ‘Evita’ (meaning Little Bird because she was so petite). At the same time, as an actor, she knew how to play the crowds and used her beauty and glamour to mesmerize them. As a fashion icon, she had clothes designed for her by some of the leading fashionistas of the time such as Marcel Rochas and led dazzling tours around the country and the world to win over the people. One such tour was the Rainbow Tour which also took her and her husband to the Vatican for a private audience with the Pope. By the time she died, she was adored by one and all and was given a state burial that brought thousands to the streets to watch her funeral cortège pass by—an early precursor of Princes Diana, if you will. 

    The museum houses a great deal of memorabilia that actually belonged to her—there are her dresses accompanied by pictures of her actually wearing them, hand bags, shoes, gloves and other accessories. There are jeweled accessories too. Video clips play short sequences that show her at her best. There are also editions of her own autobiography, The Reason for my Life in several languages. Portraits of her wearing a black dress with a rose in her lapel are iconic and dot the space. It does not take long to walk from one gallery to the next—each of which is carved from the beautiful spacious rooms of a manor that resembles a castle. There is a garden room in the center of it whose walls are covered with ceramic tiles, an overhanging balcony, beautiful ceramic tiled floor. Outside too, the manor is visually striking. It is wonderful to see how well these grand buildings are being put to public use for they enable the public to get a glimpse into the ultra-wealthy lifestyle of the privileged in that era. 

On to the Japanese Garden:

After over-dosing on Evita, it perhaps made sense that we should get some air in a space that is most unusual—a Japanese Garden in the heart of BA. Following our map, we walked about ten blocks north to get to one of the open green spaces that are so plentiful in this city and that remain its lungs. 

  The Japanese Garden is vast (unlike the small Kyoto Garden in Holland Park in London) and sprawls through the urban landscape with some incongruity. It is punctuated with all the motifs of a typical garden of its kind: lipstick red bow bridges across a massive pond that is  filled with massive koi (Chinese goldfish), wind chimes, a bell with an accompanying bamboo gong, loads of azaleas that must be stunning in the spring, lots of miniature Japanese maple trees that are tinged golden in this autumnal season, speakers that play soft and very lilting traditional Japanese music and a vast pavilion at one end. There are lots of bushes that are topiaried into perfect orbs as well as the striking centerpiece of the garden—the sort of monument that we had seen at Miyajima in Japan—the red sculpture against which most visitors posed for pictures. 

After we had rested ourselves adequately (because our feet were already protesting by this point), we left the lovely tranquil garden and went on to the next port of call—the National Museum of Decorative Arts.

Exploring the National Museum of Decorative Arts:

I have to say that we are really lucking out with the weather. It is fall here in the Southern Hemisphere and there is a decidedly delightful nip in the air which makes it perfect for long walks in this absolutely visually glorious city. However, it is also a widely spread out city and not really a walking haven as it runs in East-West direction across a vast span. To get to the next place, we hopped into a bus for a few blocks and when we arrived at the National Museum of Decorative Arts, we actually took a break on a bench outside in the beautiful little garden which is also occupied by a cafe. 

     The Museum was the mansion home of a Chilean millionaire called Errazruiz Alvear who married a woman called Josephina. As in the case of the Jacomart-Andre Museum in Paris which is a hotel particulier (mansion) that became the venue for displaying the collection of 18th century decorative arts accumulated by a power couple, so too here, the mansion houses the personal collection of a couple that amassed a brilliant miniature museum of objects d’art from the medieval period to the early 20th century. 

     We were given a floor plan for a museum that is free and open to the public. Inside, we were able to walk through rooms that were actually occupied by the couple and, later, by their son Mathias (known as Mato). The mansion was, in fact, designed and built to house their collection,. Hence, the main room is designed like a Great Hall in a medieval castle to display their collection of tapestries, sculptures in marble, alabaster and wood and paintings on wood including one by Lucas Cranach the Elder. There is a gallery-balcony that runs on three sides of the house (similar to what you find at Castle Le Clerc in England, scene of the shooting of the TV series Downton Abbey) and visitors can climb a floor up to encircle it and visit the personal bedrooms of the worthies who once occupied this space. Occasionally one comes across an Old Master (there are paintings by El Greco, for instance, by Manet and Corot) and in the main hall, there are excellent temporary exhibitions—we saw an interesting installation by Sylvia Guefin who has made white metallic hives that you can enter and in which you can pose. She called it ‘bones’ and in a distant way, it does resemble them. 

We saw most of the highlights of this incredible palace and went upstairs from one room to the next to take in a marble bathroom, bedrooms filled with carved teak furniture all done in the style of Louis XIV as the couple were quite enamored by the grandeur of the Palace of Versailles. There is even a music room in Rococo style in off white with gilded wooden highlights that depicts musical instruments and are strung with crystal chandeliers and lined with floor to ceiling mirrors in the manner of the great Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Also, this palace houses one of the best collection of miniature portraits in the world and had I more time and energy, I would, no doubt, have lingered over the vast variety of porcelain paintings set in the most decorative settings that line the walls and fill many vitrines in one of the galleries. 

Seriously... we were so glad we made this place a stop on our itinerary as it gave us a glimpse into some of the most noteworthy 19th century collector’s items but it also enabled us to understand how lavishly one could live if one had the kind of money that such folks had. 

It took us about an hour to see this place but one could easily spend a whole morning here, had one not been hard pressed for time. Apparently, BA had loads of such private mansions that are filled with such priceless items—-but this collection was bequeathed to the nation and has become a National Museum—which is why it features in most tourist guide books as a spot to be covered. We were predictably floored.

Off to MALBA (the Museum of Latin-American Art of Buenos Aires):

This museum is one of the best-known in the city and features in every itinerary. However, although we walked  several blocks to get to it, through neighborhoods that were extremely charming and sweetly tree-lined, we had a disappointment when we arrived as it is closed on Tuesdays. This means that we will have to schedule some other time to see its treasures.

Instead, we decided to make a long walk to the second-most renowned museum in the city.

The Museum of Fine Arts (Le Museo des Belles Artes):

Another long walk (all we seemed to be doing was walk and walk and walk today), past sprawling green parks filled with sculpture (including one of a huge metallic tulip flower), brought us to a massive Greek Neo-Classical Temple-like Building which housed official departments as we could tell from flags flying from its rooftop. 

Right opposite it is the Museum of Fine Arts which is also free and in which the likes of Renaissance painters such as Luca Giordano and Ricci share space with contemporary painters such as Picasso and Rothko. Sadly, by the time we arrived here, both Llew and I were really tired and hungry and hoped to get a bite and a rest in the Museum’s restaurant. Unfortunately, our hopes of sustenance were dashed as there was no cafe to be found. Nor did they even have a map or a floor plan. It was unbelievable. Hence, there was no way we could restrict ourselves to seeing any highlights. We would simply have to wander from one gallery to the next and take our pick of the offerings.

We used rest rooms and then began at the Medieval galleries where we saw several Masters before veering towards the Impressionists—of which there are many significant names and canvasses. However, we were simply too tired and hungry by the time and decided that it would make sense to keep both art galleries for tomorrow. A rest urgently beckoned and we thought it would be best to find a restaurant or a bus stop that would get us home—whichever we found first. 

Homeward Bound:

As it turned out, we came across a bus stop and found a bus that would get us towards our hotel (the No 93). We hopped off a little later and took a connecting bus to Ave de las Heras which dropped us off just a short block from our hotel. As we actually passed by a supermarket and were both simply starving by this time, we entered it and bought a pack of beef empanadas and a Caesar Salad and decided to make a meal of it in our room which we reached about 10 minutes later. With coffee which we brewed in our room, we had a meal that filled us up even though the snack was far from tasty. 

     A short rest and a nap followed and by 6.00 Pm, we were ready for some more exploration. I was keen to visit a huge mall called The Galleria Pacifico and that was where we were headed next.

Exploring the Galleria Pacifico:

The Galleria Pacifico is apparently modeled on the Gallerie Lafayette in Paris and is one of the more magnificent buildings of its kind. It was a very long walk of over an hour to get to it—the sad part about the location of our hotel is that although it is in the very affluent neighborhood of Recolleta, it is nowhere close to a metro station—in fact, it is about a half hour’s walk to the nearest metro station at Caballo. Since we are not familiar with the buses (and do not have a bus map), it is difficult to find our way in this far-flung metropolis. What seems like a walk of about 12 blocks tends to be a very tiring one hour trek as the blocks are long. 

     Still, it was worth while. One we got there, we were stunned by the interior decor of this vast indoor mall. The building is ornate to say the least and is filled with decorative details inside and out. The main ceiling is completely covered with murals by the Argentinian modern artist Carlos Alonso whose work is reminiscent of that of Diego Rivera. The entire glass ceiling is mirrored and covered with lights. Shops radiate through three floors offering an enticing variety of luxury goods—the type you see in most malls, of course, but ingeniously displayed in a great feat of merchandizing. I could not take my eyes of the shop windows which were poems in marketing. 

     After going through two floors, we reached the top floor which is a cultural center named after Jorge Luis Borges, the country’s best-known writer. It offers performances all year around from opera to tango. Meanwhile, down in the basement, there is a huge Food Court where most visitors linger. As we’d eaten a very late lunch, we contented ourselves with chocolate and tiramisu gelato that was served in a massive serving cup that took us forever to finish. 

  When we were done and had our fill of this institution to Mammon, we decided to take a cab back to our hotel as there was no way we could possibly walk back for another hour, given the immense amount of walking we had done today.

     We found a cab immediately and were in our hotel in ten minutes. Really beat by this point, it was all we could do to take our showers and then hunker down for the evening with TV, a bit of blogging, texting with friends, etc.

     What an amazing day of sightseeing we’d had! And there is still tomorrow that will enable us to see other parts of the city for I am free until 7.15 pm when we shall meet my NYU faculty colleagues after one whole year as we assemble to go out for a Welcome Dinner to El Querandi for a meal and an introduction to tango. 

    Until tomorrow...

Goodbye Iguazu, Hello Again Buenos Aires

Monday, May 27, 2019

Puerto Iguazu-Buenos Aires

Goodbye Iguazu, Hello Again Buenos Aires

Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

Today we were offered a bit of breathing space in-between hectic days of exploration and sight seeing. When we awoke in our lovely deluxe suite at La Aldea Lodge de Selva, we were struck by the utter silence of the space. If there were nocturnal creatures waddling about the  Rain Forest at night, we certainly did not hear them as we were dead to the world. Upon awakening our first thought was of breakfast and check-out—not necessarily in that order. 

     We packed our few belongings and at about 9.15 (yes, we did have a slow start today), made our way along the beautiful, sturdy wooden walkways to the restaurant for a princely buffet breakfast. Llew and I tucked into cereal with yogurt, scrambled eggs with sausages, croissants with ham and cheese and fresh fruit with good decaf coffee—which we are able to obtain very easily here. (Is India the only country in the world in which decaf tea and coffee are not available?)

     Breakfast done, we had some sorting out of Llew’s return journey to do as we discovered very late last night that his Norwegian Airlines flight that was supposed to leave at 1.30 Pm was cancelled. Email correspondence with kiwi.com (through whom he had booked the flight) informed him that he was booked on an Aerolineas Argentina flight at 3.00 pm which was the same time that my Andes Lineas flight would be taking off. 

     Hence, we had the whole morning to use at leisure, but we could not hang out in our room as check-out time was 10.00 am. Instead, we decided to call for our shuttle to the airport at 12.00 noon and spend the morning exploring the Rain Forest surrounding our hotel on foot.

     Except that the best plans of mice and men...are thwarted. It came down so heavily that we could hardly believe our eyes and ears. Honestly, it simply bucketed down in sheets and the sound of the air drumming on the tin roof of the hotel was truly deafening. But then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the rain stopped. We considered ourselves very lucky that we were able to view the Falls in great weather conditions. It would not have been fun had it been wet.

    

Visiting an Indigenous Rain Forest Village Settlement:

As part of our exploration on foot, we strolled outside the property of our resort and came upon a sign welcoming us (in Spanish) to an indigenous village settlement of the Guarini, a Rain Forest people. On impulse, we decided to visit the place.It would be a way of learning how these people lived. 

     We entered the settlement and were welcomed by two young men and asked for 200 pesos each for the short tour—this was all we could manage as we had limited time at our disposal. The guide told us that his name was Bernard—his English was almost non-existent and his commentary was delivered in monosyllables. Basically, he pointed out various plantations such as banana, pineapple, sugarcane, etc. helping us realize that this is a sustainable community of people who grow their own food. 

The heavy downpour had left the village mucky and filled with squishy red mud that coated our shoes and the bottoms of our trouser—we wondered if it had been a good idea to go exploring in such slippery conditions. 

We were also shown a couple of homes—no better than huts really—maintained in poor condition with a great deal of untidiness all around. There were chickens running around (making it clear that they are reared for eggs and food). We were told that there was a school in the vicinity and that the language was dual—Guarini and Spanish. Finally, our tour finished with a visit to an artisanal hut where, if we wished, we could purchase the local handicrafts that the people make—we saw wooden carved coaties and monkeys, hanging wind chimes and the like—needless to say, we bought nothing. But with this last stop, our tour ended and we were led back to the entrance. 

     

Off to the Airport for Our Return Flight to Buenos Aires:

  Our shuttle bus arrived on schedule and off we went after thanking the hotel for the generous upgrade and a very comfortable stay. It took us 30 minutes to reach the airport where, after a few anxious moments, we were able to resolve the issue of Llew’s ticket. He ended up buying a ticket on my flight so that the two of us could fly together. He will follow up with kiwi.com where he returns to the US to get compensated for the losses incurred over his cancelled flight.

On the Flight Back:

     The flight back was comfortable and uneventful. We did glimpse the Falls fleetingly from a great height and I did get a few pictures but nothing to really write home about. Since Jorge Newbery Airport is right in the heart of the capital, we had the most brilliant sights of the city’s complex but utterly stirring urban design from a height as we came down. In the suburbs, one saw neat houses each of which had a swimming pool. Closer to downtown, the many green spaces that dot this city were clearly visible as was the superb town planning which sees the city designed around a perfect grid. The more we explore of this city the more we realize how superbly it has been conceived. Indeed we could be in any European capital—either London or Paris or Berlin—so chic, neat and affluent is the place. 

     Once at the airport, we stopped at McDonald’s for a bite of burgers with fries and sundaes and then asked at the information desk for public transport into the city. We were instructed to buy a card that we could fill with as much money as we pleased and top up as we used it. We were also instructed to take Bus No. 37 to get to our hotel as well as told where we would find the bus stop.

     With Card purchased, we made our way to the bus stop and were pleased to find that the 37 arrived in about half an hour. We hopped in and enjoyed the bus ride to the city. We passed by vast gardens punctuated by the most striking statuary and sculptures of various Argentinian luminaries. I asked a young student seated besides me on the bus to tell us where to get off and he did. It did not take me long to find out exactly where our stop would be as Llew and I decided to make a detour before getting to our hotel. We thought that while the evening was still young, we could visit the city’s best-known attraction, Recoletta Cemetery.

   

Too Late for Recoletta Cemetery:

Alas, it was not only dark but late by the time we did actually find Recoletta Cemetery which has been the burial place for the city’s rich and famous since the 19th century. It was also closed—which meant that we would have to wait until tomorrow morning to see it at our leisure. However, it was good that we were able to figure out exactly where we should go. The place is encircled by high red brick walls that are reminiscent of a medieval castle and surrounded by wrought-iron lamps that are more than slightly ornamental.

     Unable to enter the Cemetery, we did get a peak through its impressive main entrance, conceived in Greek Neo-classical style. Then resolving to return tomorrow, we walked back just a few blocks to our hotel. 

    

Ending Another Tiring Day:

Our hotel, the Grand Hotel Recoletta, was like a refuge and the fact that we were given the exact same room that we had occupied before our departure made us feel at home. We showered, changed and got ready for bed. I did a bit of blogging, Llew watched some TV and then sent out a few of his pictures to friends before we called it a night.

     We are looking forward to a continuation of the sight seeing we had started, two days ago, as we re-enter the city and undertake a look around its main attractions...because, of course, tomorrow is another day.

     Until tomorrow...