Cab Ride on the Nueve de Julio, Buenos Aires

Singing on the streets

Dispatch from Buenos Aires, Argentina
Text and Photos by Jason McKenney

The four of us jumped into the rickety green cab with the balding tires, packing in hip-to-hip like Greeks in a wooden horse, me and my wife, her cousin and his girlfriend. The inside smelled faintly of cigar smoke and stale cologne. Our driver, a pudgy man with sagging eyes who I believe was named Carlos, sped off with a jolt, merging into the stream of traffic like a fat salmon searching for home. We had left the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt Hotel in the Paris-esque neighborhood of Recoleta, our souls brimming with excitement and our bellies warm with espresso, jovially buzzing along the 9 de Julio Avenue, a road that demands to be seen and savored by all who tread upon her.

While being informed by Carlos, slim cigarillo perched gently in the corner of his mouth, that 9 de Julio is the widest avenue in the world (7 lanes each way!) I realized that his gas tank was empty. The needle was at the bottom and the orange warning light was on. Strange enough, that wasn’t the first time I had noticed such a warning in consoles of these Buenos Aires cabs. “Gas is full. Needle is broke,” was the explanation we were given. “All is fine!”

Tango dancing in the square

The 9 de Julio is named after the day of Argentina’s independence in 1816. It runs past a number of beautiful historical sites in one of the more eclectic and scenic areas of Buenos Aires. “On the right you’ll see the French Embassy, an architectural masterpiece,” said Carlos (Travel Tip: Best to travel to Argentina if you know Spanish or if you travel with someone who can translate for you). “There is the Teatro Colón, considered one of the top opera houses in the world by those who know. Very beautiful.”

Both the Teatro and the Embassy building are splendid examples of the châteaux style of French architecture also showing tendencies from the Italian Renaissance. Sturdy block foundations, slate roof tiles, bronze and iron work, and beveled lead crystal window panes dominate the exterior. Stout, firm, immovable. The interior of these buildings are decorated luxuriantly with marble staircases, hand-crafted boiseries, chandeliers with lead crystal prisms, glass lamp shades, and ornate gilded mirrors. But we have no time to stop now. On we go, darting from lane to lane, passing busses, avoiding bicyclists, my eyes as wide as the Lincoln Tunnel in an attempt to take in everything as we progress.

“The Obelisk. Built in 1936 in honor of the 400 hundredth anniversary of the initial founding of the city. As great as anything you’ll see in Europe.” The structure is actually a near replica the Washington Monument, just 2-and-a-half times smaller. Carlos was correct, the architecture was quite stunning and appeared the equal of anything that Marseille or Florence could offer, but what increasingly began to capture our attention was the bubbling crowds of loud protesters gathering along the grassy medians and around nearly every intersection.

Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi

Latin America has always held mixed emotions for me. It’s a place steeped in history, beauty, and color, but it’s also a place of great aggravation for many of its citizens who sometimes live in downright squalor thanks to the rampant hubris and vanity of their fearless leaders. With a tradition of “reform” and “justice” punctuated by charismatic archetypes like Ché, Castro, Allende, and Chávez, South America is replete with power-hungry leaders who have convinced much of the lower classes that they are fighting for them when they are actually using them for political leverage. Public protests become more common in places where the national leadership spends so much time micro-managing options available in the daily lives of the people, whether it be opening a small business or being able to purchase toilet paper. I would have been very disappointed to fly all the way to Argentina and not see at least one loud protest.

“What are they protesting?” asked my wife’s cousin, Ande. We were all mesmerized by the loud chanting, colorful banners, playing of drums and horns, the banging of pots and pans. This is what the locals refer to as a cacerolazo, or a good ol’ fashioned pot-banging protest. Thankfully, the crowds were peaceful and orderly and kept out of the way of traffic. Carlos, both a pundit and a cynic, informed us why these people were putting on such a good face for the numerous news vans that were hovering around them.

A curious art bus

“These protesters have all been paid for by the President [of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, recently replaced by Mauricio Macri], and they’ve been bused in for a show of support for her before the cameras.” According to Carlos, much of the Argentine public stands against the President due to her poor economic record and growing distrust with the populace. “The tax payers are funding this circus against our will,” said Carlos. “Our money goes to pay for these protesters to create a façade for the rest of the world to see, and they will think all of Argentina stands in support of the President.”

Carlos went on to claim the politicians are engaging in an ongoing campaign to get rid of the middle class in Argentina, particularly in Buenos Aires. The upper class will be soaked for taxes while the lower class will be soaked for votes. The middle class serves little purpose for politicians whose primary goal is to gain and retain power. A suspicious view, yes, but the passionate arguments made by the locals can sound persuasive.

Japanese Garden of BA

In 2008, Kirchner created conflicts with the agricultural sector of Argentina due to her administration’s new taxation system. Protests erupted throughout the countryside. In 2009, it was discovered that her personal assets had increased seven times over in just the six years since her inauguration. Allegations of impropriety swelled and bellowed. In 2012, hundreds of thousands of citizens met in various cities around the nation to protest poor economic policies that had led to an astounding 25% inflation rate that year alone. When I arrived in Buenos Aires in 2014, the market for $US was so great that one could exchange greenbacks on the street for anywhere from 30-50% more Argentine pesos than the official exchange rate. These bonus pesos were referred to affectionately as “blue dollars.”

Taking a seat at the

Museum of Modern Art

If there was ever a way to “experience” Buenos Aires in just twenty minutes, a cab ride along the 9 de Julio is probably the closest a visitor can get. Between the buildings, the landmarks, and the people, a tourist can dip their feet into the dark and swirling waters of a nation filled with conflict, strife, passion, and culture. A place that revels in its European roots while pushing to assert itself as a leader in Latin America. But the ride is short-lived and my stomach is now rumbling. Turning off 9 de Julio, we continued on our way to the neighborhood of San Telmo to have lunch at a world class steak joint called La Brigada. I hear they love their bovine so much that even their menus are made of furry cowhide.