AVENTURAS Y CUENTOS

@manuontheroad

NYU Junior in Buenos Aires for Spring 2013 once upon a time a girl was born on a little island with lots of palm trees. she developed an appetite for fairy tales and cuban sandwiches so when she got older she moved to the big city, where she could study literature and always be surrounded by good food. she now hopes to travel the world, and wishes she could be Anthony Bourdain if Anthony Bourdain wrote like Hemingway/Cortazar/ Borges/Bender. this is her blog about her adventures in Argentina.

54 posts

Posts

I can't believe my time in Argentina has come to an end. It came and went so fast, I almost didn't have time to realize how lucky I am. Buenos Aires will have a piece of my heart forever, and I'm already planning a return trip.

For now, all I have to say is:

Mi Argentina querida, gracias por tus lindas noches, tus tardes dulces y más que nada tus personas. No puedo creer que ya vino (con vino) y se fue esta experiencia, que quedará por siempre tan cerca de mi corazón. A los que voy a ver en NY, nos vemos pronto. A los que se quedan, vengan a visitarme! Besos y onda para siempre.

#nyubuenosaires

Reflections on asados:

I had heard it. You've heard it. Everyone knows Argentina is known for it's meat. Yes, it is that good. Here are a few pictures/experiences about the best steaks I've had here.

1. Random place on Honduras and I want to say... Lavalleja. I had passed it and had wanted to end up there ever since seeing they give a complimentary bottle of wine when you dine on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. I ended up having my last steak here, and it was SO good. 2. Place across from the cemetery where Rishi and I had parrilla. Steak was good, all the other parrilla things I was not a fan of, but I never am. The asado we had when we went rafting in Salta was by far the best asado I had while in Argentina. No pictures, too busy eating, but I think the company is called Salta Rapids.

3. The asado courtesy of NYU at the estancia we visited on the Iguazú trip was also on point.

4 & 5. Rishi and I shared the Ojo de Bife at Parrilla Peña, so it was cheap as well as delicioso.

No picture, but I had dinner at the famous La Cabrera, and although the steak was good, I don't think it was worth the $175 peso price.

6. Sigue La Vaca. Another well-known place, but this one is worth every penny. You pay $135-150 pesos depending on the day of the week and get all you can eat asado and salad bar and a dessert. Went there a couple of times and was never able to take a picture before devouring my plate(s).

#nyubuenosaires

Milonga in Buenos Aires is a must. My favorite place was La Catedral, on Sarmiento. I also took a couple of tango classes, which I highly highly recommend; I wish I had taken more. Our teacher left her life in Paris to move to Buenos Aires because she fell in love with tango. One look at these people dance, and that seems like the most natural thing in the world.

#nyubuenosaires

San Telmo Sundays... are one my favorite parts and times of day in Buenos Aires.

And although the name may be bland, Coffee Town, inside the antique market, serves the best coffee I've ever had. Ever.

#nyubuenosaires

jardín botánico

#nyubuenosaires

Theatre thrives in the city of Buenos Aires. Something you must absolutely do while here is go see a play. Several plays. As many plays as you can. And I'm not talking expensive ones either, it's a relatively cheap endeavor. Two that I've really enjoyed are La omisión de la familia Coleman and Te amo hasta la luna. La omisión de la familia Coleman is the play that made Claudio Tolcachir the king of Bs. As. theatre that he is today. It's been running for eight years and it extremely entertaining. Funny, moving, insane, and the actors are incredible. It plays at Timbre 4, Tolcachir's home/theatre which is medium-sized for Buenos Aires standards with an intimate feel and has the cutest coffee shop in front.

I went to see Te amo hasta la luna with a friend, on the recommendation of his porteño friend and I was floored. I loved it. It was hilarious and absolutely sweet. I got to meet the actors and the director after, and went out to dinner with them and I am so impressed by them. They are all young and incredibly talented, so I recommend seeing anything by Matias Puricelli or with Franz Ruiz Barlett or Sofía Gonzales Gil.

#nyubuenosaires #theatre

el gran maestro

I know it's come up a couple of times already, but I just can't get over how brilliant Borges was.

I'm sitting here wondering out loud with Gaby and we just can't understand.

"Nadie rebaje a lágrima o reproche esta declaración de la maestría de Dios, que con magnífica ironía me dio a la vez los libros y la noche." - Poema de los dones

It's just so sad. To feel so alone. To be given the gift of writing, but above all reading, and then to go blind. I guess the Greeks knew.

And he felt like this about Mil y una noches and Stevenson and others and I feel this way about him and maybe one day I'll dream up my own creation entraña por entraña y rasgo por rasgo, or maybe I'll be like Pierre Menard- or isn't that the same thing?

Reading him, only beginning to understand after a semester, I feel like I've been given a gift and the gift is to realize that I'll never be able to articulate just what I want to say, just how things are, just how large the limits of representation are.

But damn, the man got close.

#nyubuenosaires #borges

Adriana Varejão at the Malba

#nyubuenosaires #malba

I was elated to learn that Buenos Aires is host to the biggest literary event in Latin America: La Feria Internacional del Libro. It is huuuuuge and it made me so happy to see how crowded it was every single day.

#nyubuenosaires #feriadellibro

The BAFICI festival, or the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival ran in the beginning of April and it is something I recommend for any one who is here during that time of the year. Each film is only $15 pesos, which is a steal for movies these days, and many of them include discussions with the directors. I went to see a couple of films, but especially enjoyed La parte del león, well-known Argentine director Adolfo Aristarain's first film. It was incredibly cool to listen to him speak after watching his beautifully-shot movie, and then get to meet him!

#nyubuenosaires #bafici

"Cambiará el universo pero yo no, pensé con melancólica vanidad" - El Aleph

estos dias me paso las tardes leyendo Borges en cafés olvidandome del inglés tratando de no ser cobarde leo cuentos, historias, relatos que trataron de ser retratos que trataron de ser salvaguardes de memorias, de momentos de todo lo que yo siento pero no tengo el talento para contar

#nyubuenosaires

on Thursday afternoon we went to the Rosedal with our host mom and drank mate like we've been meaning to do since we got here. it was real cute.

#nyubuenosaires

I've fallen in love with this city, with this country. The bitter reality of needing to leave has come over me like an eclipse; these last precious moments are darkened by the sad tinge of premature nostalgia.

#nyubuenosaires