Braniff's "Beautiful Buenos Aires," in the 1950s

More than 30 years ago, the first time I ever went to Buenos Aires, I flew from Santiago with the now defunct Braniff. That was barely a year before the company closed in 1982 but, at one time, Braniff was a prestige airline that pioneered many South American routes and even called itself the “Conquistador del Cielo” (Conqueror of the Skies).

Memories of my own first visit resurfaced when I stumbled upon Braniff’s video of “Beautiful Buenos Aires,” dating from the 1950s. Given the orderly optimism that pervades it, I’m guessing it’s the early 1950s, certainly prior to the so-called “Revolución Libertadora” that overthrew president Juan Domingo Perón in September of 1955.

In the eight-minute film, streetcars still operate downtown, private automobiles occupy parking spots directly in front of the Casa Rosada presidential palace, and architectural landmarks such as the Obelisco, the Bank of Boston, the Edificio Kavanagh, the Plaza Hotel and the US Embassy (now the ambassador’s residence) are conspicuous. Astonishingly, though, the narrator (presumably reading a scriptwriter’s words) misidentifies the Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes (the waterworks popularly known as “Obras Sanitarias”) as the Correo Central, the central post office that's now being recycled as a cultural center. As my photographs above and below show, the two don’t look much alike.

Braniff tried, though, to attract its clients with promises of premium shopping on Florida street – like “the featured street in a block party” with “practically everything the civilized world has for sale” after its closure to automobile traffic at 3 p.m. every afternoon. Today, of course, Florida and several other downtown streets are permanent pedestrian malls, but it’s no longer the elite shopping paradise it once was – partly but not exclusively because of Argentina’s current import restrictions.

To escape the crowded central city, of course, Buenos Aires had the open spaces of Palermo and the world’s largest man-made swimming pool for 100,000 bathers (something I had never heard of, though La Salada and Ezeiza are possible candidates).

One segment that shocked me, though, was that Buenos Aires was said to be the world’s only large city without traffic lights, “as pedestrians considered that to be violation of their civil rights and “heaven help the driver of a vehicle who claims right of way over them…” Instead, police on elevated pedestals directed traffic.

Once, about 20 years ago in the northern city of San Miguel de Tucumán, I had to talk my way out of a ticket for unintentionally disobeying one of those elevated traffic cops, who were an anachronism even then. Today, anybody who accepted at face value Braniff’s assertion that Buenos Aires drivers would respect pedestrians would, like Braniff itself, probably not survive to catch the flight home.

Who Is an "American?" What's In a Name?

Recently, in the online magazine Slate, author Chris Kirk published a rant about the propriety of United States citizens calling their country “America.” In particular, he called out South Americans for complaining that those of us in the US too readily appropriate a term that, in their opinion, applies to the entire Western Hemisphere.

That may sound xenophobic on his part, but I can see the point. Words can have multiple definitions and, while using “America” as a synonym for the United States may sound myopic, there’s no alternative that rolls as easily off the tongue. Prestigious international journals, such as The Economist, readily use it as a synonym for the United States. Much depends on context.

Still, “America” is a loaded term, a Europeanism that derives from the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. To Spanish speakers, “América” comprises both North and South America, as the album cover of the late Argentine rock singer Sandro might suggest. In English, I would normally use “the Americas” if referring to the entire hemisphere.

For my own part, though, whenever anybody asks my nationality, I would never say “American.” Nor would I say norteamericano (“North American”), because that’s an ambiguous term that could apply equally well to Canadians, Mexicans, and even Frenchmen (the French overseas territory of St. Pierre et Miquelon is 2,373 miles from Brest, but surrounded by Canadian waters only 12 miles from the coast of Newfoundland).

Rather, I would usually say I am from California, and let them fill in the blanks, but that might be more difficult if I came from a lower-profile state such as Delaware or Nebraska. If they ask where I was born, I say “North Dakota” and, when that elicits a puzzled response, I add “Fargo” which, among cinema-goers (especially Argentines), gets me some notoriety.

Argentina, for what it’s worth, is the only country I know whose name can be applied to individuals – Julio Argentino Roca (pictured above) was its 14th president. That, it seems to me, takes nationalism to the extreme. On the other hand, I can’t ever recall having seen the feminine form “Argentina” as a personal name, though my wife tells me a distant relative of hers went by that name, but it's now considered archaic. In other countries, to mention a few examples, I have never heard of anybody named "Chileno," "Uruguayo," "Brasileiro" or anything similar.

There is, of course, the US actress América Ferrera who, however, comes from a Honduran background. Sandro, for his part, broadened the claim of his album cover - "Sandro of America" - by playing Madison Square Garden; to the best of my knowledge, though, he never made it to Canada or St. Pierre et Miquelon.

Visual Baires, From Palermo to La Boca

Over the weekend, I received an unexpected email from my nephew Juan Massolo, whose first public exhibition of photographs will go on display tonight (Tuesday, September 3) in the Buenos Aires barrio of Palermo. I have no first-hand knowledge about the T-Bone Bar & Grill where the exhibition will take place, but the menu looks rather more diverse than the name would suggest, as it also offers tapas, sandwiches, fish and seafood, and a diversity of pastas. Oddly, while wine glasses feature prominently in their own photographs, the website does not include a wine list.

In any event, Juan’s work will adorn their walls until Sunday, October 27 so, if you’re in the Argentine capital, please drop by for a look. So far as I know, no consumption is required.

From the Theater to the Screen? “We Came from Far Away”

One of my favorite Buenos Aires experiences is the Teatro Catalinas Sur, a community theater group in the barrio of La Boca, which has a repertory of works that it sometimes repeats (and updates). One of those is Venimos de Muy Lejos (“We Came from Far Away”), a musical theater take on the Argentine immigrant experience that’s also filled with politically inspired satire (or, alternatively, satirically inspired politics). Still, it manages to avoid overdoing the polemics and topicality to focus on more enduring themes.

Now, apparently, Venimos de Muy Lejos is making the transition to the big screen under the direction of Ricky Piterbarg, about whom I know next to nothing – until now, Catalinas Sur has operated under the professional direction of Adhemar Bianchi, even though the performers themselves are (skilled) amateurs who even collect tickets and usher spectators to their seats. At their own theater, though, Catalinas Sur provides a libretto that lets even monolingual visitors under what’s going on (though they provide plenty of visual cues as well).

If Venimos de Muy Lejos makes it to English-speaking cinema audiences, the libretto obviously won’t work, and rendering the subtitles understandable from lunfardo (Buenos Aires street slang) will be challenge. Again, though, the cast’s sheer joy and skill in performing should cover any possible shortcomings. Several trailers have been posted to YouYube but, unfortunately, when I try to open them I get an error message. I’ll keep trying, though, and suggest that you do so as well.

Chile's Latest Ferry Tales, Plus Hangar Pains at Buenos Aires

Almost every year, when updating my Moon Handbooks to Chile and Patagonia, I eagerly anticipate the four-day ferry trip from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales with Navimag’s M/V Evangelistas (pictured above at anchor in its homeport at Angelmó). In the course of a job where I rarely sleep in the same bed for more than a night or two, the slow but steady pace of sailing through some of South America’s greatest scenery is a true pleasure. It’s an equal pleasure to see the region through the eyes of the first-timers, from around the world, who spend almost every waking moment on the decks, and converse with them then and at mealtimes. It’s a voyage of discovery, but it’s also a social (and sociable) experience.

Unfortunately, this summer, I may not be able to do so. Last Thursday, in a phone conversation with Navimag’s e-Commerce manager Marcelo Puga, I learned that the company has decommissioned the Evangelistas and suspended passenger traffic on the Patagonian fjords route until at least January. At that time, a new vessel should be in service, but in the interim they will return all deposits to those who have purchased tickets.

When, precisely, the new service will commence is not yet certain, and this will affect many passengers who had planned to sail to Puerto Natales and continue to Torres del Paine, or return from Natales after visiting Paine. Until it comes into service, it will probably increase the demand for flights into Punta Arenas (the closest major Chilean airport, though Natales has a smaller one with fewer flights); some travelers may choose to travel via Argentina, by air (to El Calafate or Ushuaia) or overland by bus. Either way, until the new ship is ready, the logistics will be a little more complex this summer.

Hangar Pains at Aeroparque

OK, I borrowed the phrase from the Wall Street Journal’s Buenos Aires correspondent, but it’s such an apt description of the dispute between LAN Argentina and the Argentine government, which wants to abrogate a contract that guarantees the company use of a hangar at the close-in city airport Aeroparque (photograph below from Creative Commons) until 2023. Aerolíneas Argentinas, the state-owned airline that’s hemorrhaging upwards of US$2 million daily, argues that its profitable rival, financed by its Chile-based parent company, engages in unfair competition.

Aerolíneas, which operates under the flagrantly political management of the Peronist youth group La Cámpora, would probably not survive without those subsidies, so it’s appropriate to ask who’s really engaging in “unfair competition,” especially since it’s Aerolíneas’ CEO Mariano Recalde arguing that “LAN had a position of privilege that it didn’t deserve…” It’s also worth noting that the government has refused to allow LAN to import additional planes to expand its service; though Aerolíneas has complained that Chile does not allow it to operate domestic flights within its territory, Aerolíneas already did so for several years under the name Aerolíneas del Sur and, later, Air Comet.

LAN has suggested that, if forced to move its Argentine domestic operations to the less convenient international airport at Ezeiza, it might just leave the country. That’s probably hyperbole, since it would no doubt retain its international services to and from Ezeiza, but the Argentine passengers who count on LAN Argentina’s reliability and the 3,000 employees whose jobs are at risk have genuine cause for concern. For the time being, at least, a judicial injunction has blocked LAN’s eviction from the hangar.

An Argentina App Upgrade (Including Uruguay)

As the Southern Cone travel season approaches – though I consider the region is really an all-year destination – I’ve done more than just the new edition of Moon Handbooks Chile, which I featured in a recent post. There is also a new, expanded version of my iPhone/iPad/Android app for Argentina that, I  hope and expect, will be worthy of your attention.

While the cover may be the same, that masks dramatically increased coverage of Buenos Aires in particular, with its arts and entertainment scene, cultural offerings including galleries and museums, the burgeoning restaurant scene, and the best new accommodations (such as the Algodón Mansion, pictured above). As before, there’s a barrio-by-barrio orientation that makes finding your way around the city easy, especially if you’ve done a full download of the maps and photographs (you really don’t want to pay the data charges that can accumulate if you depend on a cellular rather than WiFi connection in Buenos Aires or elsewhere in Argentina, Chile or Uruguay).

Speaking of the Banda Oriental (“Eastern Shore”) of the River Plate, I’ve expanded the app’s coverage to include a “Weekend in Uruguay” itinerary that takes in the nearby World Heritage Site of Colonia (pictured above) – less than an hour from Buenos Aires by ferry – and the capital city of Montevideo before returning to Argentina by the longer ferry. The Montevideo itinerary suggestions include the city’s colorful Mercado del Puerto and its Museo del Carnaval (pictured below) – if you can’t make to Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo’s a good Plan B, though Carnaval is also experiencing a renaissance in Buenos Aires.

As a country, Uruguay flies below the radar, but there are reasons that many Argentines take their vacations there. The biggest reason is the beaches of Punta del Este, whose coverage I have chosen to postpone on the rationale that most long-distance travelers prefer the Caribbean or Brazil for their beach holidays, but there are other unexpected reasons to enjoy Uruguay.

One of those is the wine. Next month, in fact, I will attend the Wines of Uruguay US Trade Tour in San Francisco, which will of course feature the country’s signature varietal of Tannat. There are more than a dozen top wineries within an hour of downtown Montevideo, open for tours and tasting, such as Bodega Bouza (pictured above), and several more in and around Colonia.

Another is Uruguay’s cachilas, or antique automobiles. I’m not car-crazy, but I do enjoy seeing what must be the greatest assemblage of them south of Havana, in a country that (unlike Argentina) never really had its own automobile industry. While there aren’t so many on the street as there used to be, there are still great collections at the Museo del Automóvil (pictured above) in downtown Montevideo and, also, at Bodega Bouza (pictured below).

The new Argentina Travel Adventures app costs just US$2.99, available through iTunes or Google Play. Readers who already own the app can upgrade at no additional charge. If you do purchase or upgrade, please review it on iTunes or Google.