I had gone down to Buenos Aires that magical city which capture my dreams after my visit there and then the subsequent visits. The pandemic put an end to regular visits and i wanted to visit a close friend.
He lived in the barrio of Flores, which was a jewish neighbourhood before, and there is still a strong jewish presence with much of the wholesale textile, schmatta as it is called in yiddish, in their hands. but what makes this commercial area interesting are the numerous immigrants in the near past, the majority being Bolivians and Peruvians, not to mention the Chinese, Koreans, turban wearing Sikhs.. and "senegalese" which has become a generic term for Black Africans from Africa.
They are all peddlers, the Chinese and the Koreans have kiosks and vegetable stalls, the Sikhs seems to be enjoying running small shops and the "senegalese" and the Bolivians and Peruvians spread their wares, which is nothing special but generic, manufactured in china but in thousands, and the cacophony is deafening.
I chatted with a "senegalese" man, i asked him in French, where he was from, Senegal but he did not answer, when i asked, which part of Senegal. I had a flashback, i could be at djem al fina in Marrakesh where lots of sub saharan migrants lay out their wares just like here.. all fake from china. sunglasses, football jerseys etc.
There is also a lesson here
Argentina used to be one of the richest countries in the world, so much so that a phrase was in common use in the past centuries, going to the argentines, to denote becoming wealth on emigration to Argentina.
Corruption and political judgments have made this country, sad to say a "third world" country, at the level of a developing country, certainly lower than Malaysia but on the level of India in development, nowhere close to any European country. This in a country which took pride in the fact that they were not South Americans but Europeans ..
To me Buenos Aires is the new world order, this is what will happen in the major cities of the rich world, where the immigration is already at a record high.. there would be "senegalese", "bolivians" and "peruvians" selling generic sunglasses, and fake football jerseys and clothes for all occasions to bring down the elegance of couture of the rich countries.
A short 45 minutes flight across the River Plata and you are in Montevideo. Everything is orderly, immigration is automatized and very quickly, you could order an Uber car and then leave this pretty but small international airport.
A garrulous Venezuelan who was against all left wing leaders of this continent past and present including Hugo and Fidel, chatted non stop on the way to the centre of town, along the tree lined streets along the sea. the centre of town and the hotel where i am staying has the appearance of the 1950s, innocuous and interesting. A homeless man, more than slightly inebriated greeted atthe door of the cafe and mumbled something.. In general people are nice in this small south American country.
FACAL my type of Café! Bienvenido a Montevideo..
