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buenos aires: barracas revisited, industrial

Buenos Aires, Barracas, industria

Probably its most defining characteristic, factories & warehouses can be found scattered all around Barracas. Everywhere. There’s no escape.

According to James R. Scobie‘s classic work “Buenos Aires: Plaza to Suburb, 1870-1910,” there was a concentrated effort to move industry south after 1890. Occasional fires & the reliance on soft coal from Cardiff & Glasgow for producing electricity & steam prompted city officials to move risky/dirty business as far away from populated areas as possible.

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buenos aires: barracas revisited, divisions

Buenos Aires, Barracas, map

Barracas is big. It’s bulky. And this southern barrio has a reputation for being bad. But it’s one of my favorite areas of Buenos Aires. Hopefully this series of posts will dispel some of the misrepresentations about Barracas & encourage people to explore it. I walked just about every block in Barracas back in 2007 & recently returned to see what’s changed. Quite a bit.

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writing: prep for plaza de mayo

Endless Mile, Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo

I’ll never forget my first impression of Plaza de Mayo —the main square in Buenos Aires & arguably the most important public spot in all of Argentina. Important buildings, including the Casa Rosada (the presidential office) & the Cabildo (the old town hall), are located there… in addition, the plaza witnessed the birth of a revolutionary movement which expanded to all of Latin America. Expectations were high. But on arrival I thought to myself, “This is it??” Living in Spain & frequent travels to México had apparently spoiled me. I envisioned a large public space, a knockout cathedral & lots of colonial architecture. Instead, Plaza de Mayo delivered a few palm trees, horrendous 1970’s-era fountains, random patches of grass & the feeling that I was in a basin. Hmph.

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personal: when i lived in spain

España, Spain, Cádiz

With Spain currently deep in crisis mode & elections for President/Prime Minister coming up tomorrow, I sat back last night & thought about how things were so different when I lived in Cádiz in 1998-99. On a personal level, it was an emotional rollercoaster. I naively thought that my partner & I could salvage our relationship with a change of scenery. Silly me. My Spanish experience came to an end when we broke up, & I had to move back to Seattle. But what an amazing ten months.

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portugal: quero cantar fado

fado, singer, cantante

I’ve already shared two songs by my favorite tango singer, Tita Merello, on this blog. And while I may not listen to much tango, Tita is part of almost every playlist I make. Lately, I’ve been thinking ahead to next year’s trip to Portugal… & listening to a lot of fado. One of my favorite singers is really the queen of the genre. But first a bit about the music itself.

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