Some Cultural Observations

It's amazing that I've only been here four days, but I feel like I've been here for a couple of weeks. Instead of running out and doing the common tourist crap, we've been out walking around, checking out different restaurants, bars, and getting to know our neighborhood.

Our place is on the edge of Palermo Soho and Villa(veeja) Crespo. The double L here has a j sound.



We have been hanging out mostly in Palermo Viejo (Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood). It's a very hip and social neighborhood with wonderful restaurants and lots of shops. Clothes here are relatively inexpensive when compared to medium to high end stores, but imports are about the same if not more (they wanted over $200 for an airport express). Here are some casual observations I've made:

Fashion:

There is definitely a different bent on fashion in BA. Firstly, haircuts seem to be somewhat Williamsburgish (keep in mind I've been hanging out in the hip part of town). I have seen lots of mohawks, mullets, mohawks with mullets, and other strange hair inventions. It seems like a lot of women wear different layers of thin clothes, or have one interesting feature like a big belt or a shirt that shows one shoulder. .



Otherwise, it's about the same. There isn't anything significantly different, and they aren't trying to coopt American style or try to mimic our fashion. Basically, nothing really stands out as so obviously different

The funny thing is people down here can easily be mistaken for Americans. They all have a very light complexion with a European facial structure. It isn't until they start to whip off Spanish that you can always be certian they aren't foreigners.

Customs:

It is common for two young ladies to walk down the street holding hands or with arms interlocked. And as far as I can tell, either there are more outward lesbians here than I realize or women are more comfortable showing affection with one another.

They do the one cheek kiss. Some places do the two cheeks, and even the three cheeck, and I made the mistake of going for the two ckeek with my friend Paqule and was corrected. I have no problem kissing cheeks, but I prefer the awkward hug. Must be my oafish American sensibilities :)

Music:

Ok, and I am not exaggerating when I say this, but I have heard Men at Work's Down Under maybe 5 times since I've been here. The cherry on top was when the video came on the tv. It's as if after 1988, no more music was allowed to come into Argentina. They love their 80s down here. It's a little funny. You can be in a decent restaurant with white table cloths, and a remixed version of Dead Alive's Spin Me Right Round will come on.

On a side note, yesterday Ezra and I were walking around and there were a whole bunch of girls lined up outside a cd store. He asked me who I thought they were there to see, and jokingly I said the one name I thought would be the funniest and probably not true, Ricky Martin. Turns out, it was Ricky Martin. Ridiculous.

Architecture:

In Palermo Viejo, there are some amazing buildings. There seems to be a strong mixture of a more old, rustic style and new modern looking buildings. The pictures I have below here aren't the perfect example of this, but give you some idea of what things look like. In Palermo Viejo there are a lot of amazing homes with their own garages, courtyards, terraces and atriums. There is also a fair share of graffiti here and there.














The restaurants are also very cool. They are usually open with a lot of natural light. They all have this kind of rustic style that have European quality, or are very modern and could rival some of New York's newest diggs.


People:

Overall the people are very friendly and are happy to see you try to speak their language. Many people have warned me about theft and being careful, of which I have listened to, but overall I don't fele unsafe walking around. There are definitely neighborhoods I wouldn't go to at night or walk around by myself in certain situations, but otherwise things are all good. Mainly, the people are friendly and willing to talk to you if you engage them.











By the way, commercialism still rules



On a side not, I found a film shoot down here. There is apparently a lot of tv/film/commercial production down here. Pakermo Hollywood supposedly has a few cool tv studios that I'll probably go check out or at least walk around the outside of :)
I have definiteley seena lot of ENG shoots (small crews), but this looked like a normal sized deal.

Argentina's version of craft service. As you can see, they are leagues beyond New Yerk, if only because everything looks fresh and edible



Here's a sight we're all used to seeing. I wonder if Local 52 has some sway down here






So that's all I have to say about that. Tomorrow I hope to get out early and take some more pictures, maybe hit up a park or three. Ezra and I are taking Spanish lessons. I hope to be a master of the Argentinian menu by the time I leave.