The
beautiful and culturally rich city of Buenos Aires is suffering
from the collapse of the Argentine economy. While political
leaders search for solutions to the country's default on its
public debt, some portenos (as residents of the city are known)
hold their breath, hoping things don't get too much worse. Others
beat on pots and pans from their windows or in the streets --
a common form of nonviolent protest called the cacerolazo. Even
though things have calmed down, the city remains tense and there
are occasional protest marches.
The effects
that years of recession have had on the city are painfully obvious
to visitors. In the cosmopolitan and oh-so-European metropolis,
many sidewalks are unkempt and cafes are empty. But it's still
possible to drink in the city's beauty and charm, and do so
with the added benefit of favorable exchange rates.
Buenos Aires
continues to be a wonderful combination of sleek skyscrapers,
ornate friezes and turn-of-the-last-century grandeur -- at once
ultrachic and tumbledown, up-to-date and firmly planted in the
past. Even before the recent financial troubles, there was always
a spirit of malaise in B.A., as it is affectionately known locally,
which may help explain the devotion to that bittersweet expression
of Argentine popular culture, the tango. Performed in the streets,
on stages, in cafes, the sorrowful and romantic nature of the
dance is integral to the city.
Alsurturismo
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