Buenos Aires Bravura Part 1: Magic, Messi, and Milei

Buenos Aires is a magical vision only brought to life by the swagger of Argentinos.

“Why do you love Buenos Aires?” I asked her.

“Because it’s magical.” She replied.

I could not summarize Buenos Aires better.

Buenos Aires (BA) is a hidden gem, so I have mixed feelings about spreading the good word lest the hipsters of Williamsburg add yet another outpost to the Avocado Toast Empire. My sense is that Argentinos over the centuries felt the same, beginning with the Spaniards (Buenos Aires named for “fair winds” by the Spaniards) who first established the city along El Rio de la Plata (“Silver River”) followed by the battalions of Italians in early 20th century, and waves of others since. Given Argentina’s remoteness, (it is the largest city South of the Tropic of Capricorn) one would think its culture would be rather provincial, but BA is the opposite. Throughout its varied neighborhoods you will encounter Chileans, Chinese, Colombians, Frenchmen, Germans, Japanese, Russians, Venezuelans and even some Americans here and there.

BA’s dynamism is truly something to behold. Its barrios are distinct in character and flare, making the city rather like a syncretic cornucopia of architecture, language, culture, and food. San Telmo where Pedro de Mendoza established base camp in 1536 looks very much like Nueva España (More on “New Spain” in my coming essay on Mexico City). Recoleta, by contrast, is Parisian in style and pomp, and could just as easily be an arrondissement on the outskirts of the “city of lights.” Then, there is posh Puerto Madero, a series of stylish riverfront high-rises and fine dining for the rich folks. All the tourists end up in La Boca to see vintage Spanish homes, eat delectable street food, and attend Tango spectacles. Downtown you will find microcentro where you can see the vaunted (somewhat diminutive) Obelisk, Plaza de Mayo, and Casa Rosada, “the Pink House”, whose current occupant is the quixotic new president Javier Milei (more on him later).

Let’s not forget about Palermo where most expats, internationals, and Yanqui’s (“Yankee” is what they call Americans) tend to reside. Those who know me well know my passion for café society and BA’s café culture is centered in Palermo. Here, along the internationally named streets (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Armenia), BA’s locals, the Porteños (“people of the port”) gush forth like a geyser with the gusto of an Italian Spaghetti Western. Porteños love their cafés, tostadas, vino tinto (red wine), fútbol, their rock music their clase de alto (upper class) vibe. Argentinos are still blissful after Argentina’s World Cup win followed by Copa America earlier this year, making them and the fútbol Gods they worship – Messi and Maradona – the best footballers in the world. Don’t agree Argentinos are the best? They won’t argue the point, they’ll just return a wry smile because they know you are wrong.

Scratch an Argentino, find a…

It would be too facile to say scratch an Argentino find an Italian, but it smacks of some truth. Argentinos tend to be extremely outgoing, bold, warm, and have a flare for dress, a taste for tostadas and gelato, and speak a flexed version of Spanish a touch like upper class Brits who learned Received Pronunciation (“RP”) in public school. In UK vernacular you might describe Porteños as cheeky while other Latinos call them arrogante. I would say they have panache, like a 20th century dandy (Oscar Wilde anyone?). Whatever it is, they have it, that charm, that energy, that Je ne sais quoi that leaves you wondering what the hell just happened when they leave.

Argentinos have it, that charm, that energy, that Je ne sais quoi that leaves you wondering what the hell just happened when they leave.

But Argentinos are not really Italians or Spaniards, or Latinos, they are swagger personified. Latinos in general tend to love their domiciles, they love the street, they love their slang and fútbol, but more than anything Argentinos love their conception of Argentina. Sometimes uppity Euros will say Americans are loud and pompous, but that is not really accurate; Americans simply live on “planet America” so to us the world orbits like a remote moon. As a rubia (blonde) Argentina I know said to me, Americans are the only people to crown ourselves world champions when no one else plays our sport (like the “Super Bowl”). Argentinos, by contrast, are keenly aware of geopolitics; many travel to America, most prefer to live abroad in Italy or Spain where the culture is closer to home. That said, worldly Porteños have toured the globe and concluded its doesn’t get better than Argentina.

Why do the Porteños think that way? Well, partially because Buenos Aires has world class accoutrements. The coffee is bold and cafés like Cuervo, Mila, Café Tortoni etc. are endless. The cafés, nightlife, and restaurants (Go to Fogon Asado for pure class) are clustered along Nicaragua and Costa Rica streets, and most are incredible. My top recommendations are La Arena and the Colombian Café Vive (Colombian coffee is still the best). If you fancy something grand try Ateneo Grand Splendid (see above), formerly an opera house converted into a massive bookstore; like I said, Argentinos have bravura. Speaking of books, Porteños revel in reading, and you will find bookstores in great supply, though less than the seemingly infinite wine shops, pizza places, and steak restaurants.

And there is more. BA has glorious museums, parks, palatial estates, and a generally artistic look and feel. Perhaps their most celebrated museum is Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (though a bit small compared to European peers) and a trip to Recoleta’s famous cemetery is worth a trip. One can also visit El Rosedal, the Rose Garden, the best park in the city with a killer winter light show if you time it right (seasons run opposite ours). That said, BA is not about the sites, it is about city living so allocate your time to Palermo Soho and Hollywood where boutiques, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, and speakeasies are always hopping, always. My personal favorite place to hang out was Presidente Bar in Recoleta, Uptown is the trendy place to be in Palermo, and here is a list of some others.

A Messy State of Affairs

Much is made about the mess of an economy that Argentina has made over the last century. Times are not easy for average Argentinos, which I will expound upon in greater detail in part 2. Try to remember that economy (like democracy) does not dictate quality of life, a fact that utterly confounds Americans who believe with religious conviction that standard of living and quality of life are the same thing, which is far from the truth. Indeed, economic times are hard, Argentine Pesos inflate away as if floating in the summer breeze, and absolutely no one trusts the banks, the government or the legacy oligarchs (Kirchnerism) who dominate Argentina (more on this in Part 2) However, Argentinos are generally gleeful people, and in my experience far more so than average Americans. How can this be?

Americans believe that standard of living and quality of life are the same thing but that is far from the truth.

In part it is because Argentina is wealthy. Rich Porteños bank offshore in Panama or Uruguay, average Argentino’s store US dollars however they can (many under the bed), and increasingly save in Bitcoin. Argentina is also plush in resources: the country has oil, natural gas, exports agro-commodities like soybeans, and even possesses rare earths and gold. Still, Argentinos have a more relaxed approach focused on good food, good wine, good company, and close friends and family. In short, like Latinos in general, community is the source of their happiness and quality of life. Americans think community means company happy hours, some – enter issue here – awareness march, and cycling clubs when in fact it is organic, something cultivated like coffee beans in the fertile grounds of strong local culture, common language, shared heritage, and a collective pride in homeland. In this arena, Argentinos score more goals than Messi, and cheer loudly for him for the same reason.

Many Latinos regard Argentinos as a separate group, and Argentina as a front for blanqueo (“whitening”).

Many Latinos regard Argentinos as a separate group, and Argentina as a front for Blanqueamiento (“whitening”). Unlike other parts of Latin America like Mexico and Colombia, there was decidedly less racial mixing with indigenous in Argentina. It was not quite the violent displacement that Anglos affected with Manifest Destiny but not far off either (read here). That said, I find their culture to be closer to Latinoamérica than many think, including perhaps Argentinos themselves.

Tango, for example, is a uniquely Argentine creation and strikes me as a very Latino cultural expression, which is in part why it has spread across Latinoamérica. Tango is a somewhat violent dance between masculine and feminine that produces the kind of fireworks consistently on display between muchachos y chicas (young men and women) in this part of the world. As an aside, I highly recommend attending a show. Machista is very real here like the rest of Latinoamérica but Argentinas are an undeterred force of nature. BA’s femme fatales are a triple threat virtually unequaled anywhere else: many dress like Italians from Milan, all radiate the Latina sass, and exude the beauty and elegance of Parisian Mesdames.

Milei’s Moment and Argentina’s Future

Given Argentina’s strut it only makes sense that someone with Milei’s quirks would become president at such a volatile point in its history. As local author Ernesto Tanembaum explained in his book Milei: Una Historia Del Presente, Milei is a force of personality unprecedented in the country’s history. He is an interesting character to be sure, a Porteño from Palermo, a dogmatic libertarian with an explosive temperament in all he says and does. The standard feedback on Milei is that he is odd, extremely overwrought, and completely necessary. Argentinos may like or dislike him, but most agree change is needed, and at a minimum he offers a radical break from Peronismo and Socialismo (more on this in Part 2).

Milei is odd, extremely overwrought, and completely necessary.

The Milei experiment is needed but its outcome is far less certain than most Libertarian enthusiasts would hope. Ultimately, Argentina and its capital city are just, well, different. Like an Italian opera, the culture is unpredictable, gifted, boisterous, and completely chaotic all at the same time. That does not mean positive change is impossible, it does mean that contending with its idiosyncrasies will require an equally nuanced and dynamic political-economic program. As tumultuous as the situation is, Argentinos are not worried. Their focus is on the daily bread, on reading a good book, going absolutely loco at the local fútbol match, and enjoying the next Feriado (“festival”) at one of their glorious parks. For them and Latinos in general life is drama, without it they would be bored.

So, what does the immediate future portend under Milei’s musings? What comes of BA’s magic? Well, that was one of the reasons I trekked down there. Before addressing those questions in the next installment, let’s just say Buenos Aires is must see reality TV, a city to experience unapologetically, with all the cultural flex of the Porteños themselves. Try to shirk the standard Yanquis stereotype that we are frio (cold), serio (brooding), and aburrido (dull). One thing is for sure, if you bring the braggadocious bravura in riposte, they will respect you all the more for it.

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