Bollywood dancing in midtown.

I answered an ad on craigslist to be a Bollywood dancer in a comedy sketch called "Congrats on Slumdog". Check it out below!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWy4Fklp7Cw

Filetado

According to wikipedia.com, "Fileteado is a type of artistic drawing, with stylised lines and flowered, climbing plants typically used in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is used to adorn all kind of beloved objects, signs, taxis, lorries and even the old Colectivos, Buenos Aires' buses.

Filetes (the lines in Fileteado style) are usually full of colored ornaments and symmetries completed with poetic phrases, sayings and aphorisms, both humorous or roguish, emotional or philosophical. They have been part of the culture of the Porteños (inhabitants of Buenos Aires) since the beginnings of the 20th century."

Above are some examples I came across!

Linea A del subte (subway)

Linea A of Buenso Aires subte is amazing --- it is exactly like it was when it first opened in 1913. Wooden seats, old-fashioned tulip-shaped lights hang from the ceiling, and you have to open the double doors yourself to enter and exit (make sure the train is in the stationm before doing so!)


The trains are the oldest in the southern hemisphere and the Spanish-speaking world.

And it stops near cafe Tortoni AND cafe les Violettas!!!

More Uruguay photos!

On the way to Uruguay!

Colonia del Sacramento is a tiny town on the of Uruguay and one can get there from Buenos Aires via Buquebus, a ferry that can take with 3 hours or 1 hour, depending on which boat you reserve.

It's kind of like riding the Staten Island ferry, except you need your passport and, on the slow boat, you can take salsa/merengue lessons, dance with awhole lot of people and end with a conga line around the ferry. Which I did.

Colonia del Sacramento is tiny but pretty, and features some of the most charming architecture (including Uruguay's oldest church). Check out the photos above!

El Jardin de Gatos (The Garden of Cats - Buenos Aires)

I am in beautiful Buenos Aires, Argentina!

My favorite place here is El Jardin Botanica Carlos Thays, a botanical garden equally full of cats, like Rome.

The cats are plentiful and peaceful, as the garden takes care of them.

It is also full of flowers, fountains and statues. It is in fact summer here, as the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere!

La Cementaria Recoleta

According to www.wikipedia.com, La Cementaria Recoleta is "a famous cemetery located in the exclusive Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The layout of the cemetery was designed by the French engineer Próspero Catelin, and was remodeled in 1881, while Torcuato de Alvear was mayor of the city, by the Italian architect Juan Antonio Buschiazzo.

The Cemetery includes graves of some of the most influential and important persons of Argentina, including several presidents, scientists, and wealthy characters. Internationally, Eva Perón is the best known person buried in this cemetery.

The entrance to the cemetery is through neo-classical gates with tall Greek columns. The cemetery contains many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums.

While many of the mausoleums are in fine shape and well-maintained, others have fallen into disrepair. Several can be found with broken glass, littered with rubbish, and on occasion you might find a mausoleum being used as a janitorial supply closet, with cleaning and maintenance products stored on top of coffins.

Each mausoleum bears the family name etched into the facade; brass or bronze plaques are added to the front for particular family members. La Recoleta is one of those cemeteries where the tradition of engraving a death date but no birth date has been maintained.

One interesting and unique aspect of La Recoleta is a colony of feral cats that resides within the gates. Although they can be spotted anytime, they tend to gather in groups of dozens near closing-time, when some locals feed them.

The cemetery was featured in the educational film Destinos as the final resting spot of a wife of the main character."

Cafe Tortoni

Cafe Tortoni is gorgeous and renown in Buenos Aires as well as throughout the world.

Founded in 1858, Café Tortoni is Argentina's oldest coffee shop. Most of the country's cultural and political elite have dined here, among them Carlos Gardel, "the father of tango", and the Spanish poet federico Garcia Lorca.

The cafe is located at 825 Avenida de Mayo, 2 blocks from Plaza Mayor in the center of downtown.

I had great luck, because I walked right in and was immediately seated at a nice table, and a cute waiter named Anibal called me "mi amor" y "mi vida" as he brought me my cafe con leche and mantillas con crema (strawberries with cream.)

Cafe culture!

I love cafe con leche in Buenos Aires! When you order it at various cafes (like the gorgous cafe Tortoniand even more bautiful Cafe Les Violettas), they bring you the cafe con leche with a little pastry, like a brownie or some amaretto cookies, and a shot glass of water. All for US$1.50!

Don't Cry for Me, Argentina!

Today was a very "Eva Peron" day for me.

First, right before a massive rainstorm broke, I visited La Recoleta, a cemetery much like Paris' Pere LaChaise, which includes Eva Person's grave. She is buried with her original family, the Duartes. Juan Peron is in another cemetery completely.

I then visited El Museo Eva Peron, which documents her life from childhood on.

The museum includes Evita's actual outfits, displayed on mannequins, next to photos of the event where she wore them. There is also a film clipof her delivering the famous Worker's Rights declaration of 1948.

Here is what the museum wrote on the wall of the final room to sum it all up:

Passion (Pasion)

Courage (Couraje)

Work (Trabajo)

Dignity (Dignidad)

Grandeza

Solidarity (Solidaridad)

Interestingly enough, one of her sisters had published a book called "My sister, Evita" decades ago. Madonna, who portrayed Evita in the 1997 movie "Evita", has a brother who published a book recently called "My sister, Madonna."

Irony

Does Bloomingdale's not see the irony of hosting a store window dedicated to Black History Month, with 3 windows celebrating barbie, the whitest dumb-blonde doll there is, right next to it?

Especially since Barbie isn't even REAL.