Mi Buenos Aires Querido
Poverty and Elegance in the South
The signs are everywhere. Even upscale neighborhood’s are
covered with graffiti. And there are no constructions going on.. And lots and
lots of Out of Business/For Rent Signs.
Street urchins with dirty nails menacingly looking at our
handbags
Amidst this despondency, there wafts in incense
smoke-lavender, sandalwood. I counted three “Hindu” stores in just one street..
selling inspirational books, incense paraphernalia and of course the ubiquitous
Yoga books. Rows of shops with SALE signs without anyone in any hurry buying
anything. Elegant restaurants sit idly with polished glass and starched
tablecloths. People are busy buying their lunches at Hamburger stands and Fast
Food is selling like hot cakes.
I stood behind a woman at Carrefours Express (why so many
stores selling prepackaged products!) and looked at her take home commodities:
All prefabricated foods
High in carbohydrate, sugar and salts
Processed meat!
This in the land of excellent cuisine!
In a city that prides itself in her looks, young men with
Tango Look and young women with their seductive styles are slowly gaining
weight.
Then why am I here, attracting looks from the passers by?
What is normal for them is refreshing to me.
I am looking for the hairdresser who used to cut my hair in
the shop with palm trees on front along Jorge Luis Borges street.. The palms
symbolic of her Cuban origins (Matanzas)
Buenos Aires gave me memories and an appreciation of the
writer, Jorge Luis Borges
And the sadness of the Tango..
JLB is gone, only the sadness remains..
