San Telmo

Ok, so I have recently moved from where I was living before (Boedo) to a hostel in another bario of the city (San Telmo).

Boedo (Before):



San Telmo (After):



As you can see the barios are not very far apart from each other but they are actually a world apart in a number of ways. First, even though they aren't far distant, it is almost impossible to walk from one to the other. Again, not that it's far, but that little area in between the two is Constitution. I've been told to compare it to southside LA. Don't go there unless you are looking to willingly give away all of your possessions and potentially your life at the same time. Subte, bus, or cab it.

They are also very different culturally. Boedo is quite laid back. Most of Baires is, actually. But especially Boedo. If I remember correctly Helena told me that is one of the more "mature" districts, in that the people who live there are working class families. Not too much hustle-bustle, the shops close at a respectable hour, and the people you see quite likely live there.

San Telmo on the other hand is a bit different. It was a really cool little area until I found out that it is one of the main tourist destinations of the city. Lots of cool little shops. The aviendas are quite small so traffic isn't as hellacious as the main streets of Boedo. And Parque Lezama is pretty darn big with a lot of cool things going on there. I am going to have to write an entire episode on the parque itself so you'll have to wait for that.

So one of the things that has me a bit concerned about this area is the number of tourists. Yes. I know. I don't actually live here, but I am trying to blend in and become a part of the community and the culture as best I can so I don't consider myself a tourist. Helena and I went out yesterday (10-10-10 woot!) wanting to just walk around, grab our daily litre of beer, and maybe chill out in the parque for a while. Well... This is what we were greeted with...



Yeah. That's a lot of people. Turns out on Sunday's that one of many markets lines Av Defensa. Shops are all open, craftspeople, traders, and all other sorts of people have booths, blankets, spots with their stuff laid out for sale.





All sorts of interesting stuff from jewelry, to handmade clothes, the ubiquitous mate gourds, knick-knacks, artistic-y things like paintings, photos, wire bug sculptures... Name it and you can prolly find it there. Great place to do your touristy shopping though I guess. And of course there was the ever present music from one small group of kids on guitars doing a damn fine rendition of some Rolling Stones songs, old guys singing Tango songs, what seems like the 5th capoeira group I've seen since coming here, and of course yet another Batuka group marching down the middle of the street...




One weird thing we did see was this guy doing a human statue/tin man routine on a box. *shrug* Takes all kinds I guess.



So hopefully it is just becase the weather is beautiful out and it was the day before a holiday that there was a crowd of people 3 miles long. If that is a weekly occurance I may not leave my room on Sundays. We'll see...

Remember kids: A captain always goes down with his ship. That's usually because he was the one dumb enough to steer it into a rock in the middle of the ocean in the first place. Good riddance, here's your Darwin award.
Jumpn2nsanity