Tango in Telmo

This city has such a thriving cultural scene it astounds me.

I spent most of the day yesterday wandering through the San telmo market which put our sunday markets to shame. It was over a mile of artisan stalls that culminated at Plaza Dorego which was a slew of antique stalls. Old Seltzer Bottles, chain purses, I really felt that if you knew what you were looking for you could get some good finds. And interspersed through it all was Tango. Tango Music, Tango Dance. Entire orchestras would set up. A group of 10 with 4 violins, 4 accordians, an upright base and a piano! was not uncommon. They were street performers for sure but you got the feeling that they were there mostly because they loved playing for the crowds.

At the end of the line (near my hostel at Parque Lezama) I stopped for a coffee in the bar there and it really struck me how much of a cafe scene there is here, how much of an artist here and suddenly the title "the paris of south america" made sense to me. I´ve never been to Paris, but I imagine it has some real similarities to here but BA definitely has its own flair. Funky style by local designers, tango electronica (i bought a cd called "tanghetto--Buenos Aires Remixed"), really cool art and original music. The arts scene is so alive here its palpable.