Among the thousands of songs dedicated to cities around the world, some, by decision of the crowds we call “popular taste”, become symbols of the places they are singing and, thusly, in part of their culture.
Due to its decoration and architecture –the high columns, old photos, paintings and sculptures– as well as the waiters and the traditional city’s clients, this place became the most famous café of Buenos Aires and one of the city’s symbols. In 2008, The Tortoni celebrates its 150 years.
Buenos Aires means a lot of things: tango, mate, the blue-sky and the sidewalks of a neighbourhood. And many of those things are found along the two kilometres that links the Casa Rosada with the Congreso de la Nación. In front of each one of those emblematic buildings there is a historical square: the Plaza de Mayo on one side, the Plaza de los Dos Congresos on the other side. In the middle, there is an avenue.
Prepare your eyewash: from April the 8th to the 20th, the city will be taken by the tenth Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Buenos Aires (Bafici: International Festival of Independent Films of Buenos Aires). This festival is one of the great prides of the porteños because since its first edition, this event has presented rare movies, found forgotten jewel films, confirmed talented young film makers and made people be acquainted with the author’s works from all over the world.
Buenos Aires has got a metaphysical bridge. And the best thing about it is that such bridge does not tell truths to those people who cross it but those people who appreciate far from or below it. Because in this city without river in the middle, bridges pass over the railways instead of water.
If there was a prize for the days with a great number of travelling, undoubtedly that date would be Holy Week. It is very simple: different from the summer holidays, this week is not related to the seasons or climate and takes place at the same time in the northern and southern hemisphere. Maybe, for that reason, in Uruguay such days are known simply as the Tourism Week.
The International Women’s Day –celebrated since the beginnings of the XX century– was born as a political date, a statement on the equality of sexes and a defence of women’s rights. With time, in many places the original meaning was lost and March the 8th became more of a romantic occasion.
“Would you buy me an ice-cream?” The transition from childhood to adult life of a Buenos Aires’ inhabitant is related to the ice-creams. In summer or winter, every child asks the same question to his parents. The teenager, otherwise, understands that the ice-cream parlour is also a meeting point, and in his first attempts of seduction, he asks “Would you like an ice cream?”
February is the most awaited month for the city’s tennis fans: yesterday the first round of the Buenos Aires ATP was played. This cup is one of the four tournaments in the professional circuit in Latin America (together with Viña del Mar, Costa de Sauipe and Acapulco).
Undoubtedly, the typical dish of the Argentine gastronomy is the asado, which shares the podium with empanadas and the northern locro. But ask whoever you want: indisputably, the most typical food of Buenos Aires is pizza, an Italian legacy that took roots in the porteños’ hearts and palates. And, in the whole city, there is not a more famous restaurant than the best and most traditional pizzerias.
 |
 |
Buscando en el archivo del blog travelling Buenos Aires.
