In search of Gilda? What??? You thought I'd be tracking down Evita? It seems some people can't get enough of Evita when they get to Buenos Aires ( in Argentina ) or 'B.A.' Though there is much Eva Peron-related allure in B.A. ( 'the southern hemisphere's Big Apple.' ) : You have your Evita associations with Casa Rosada, the new Eva Peron Museum and, of course, her burial plot at Recoleta Cemetery. But B.A. to me is just as synonymous with Gilda—and that means Rita Hayworth. Sultry, with her mane of flame, Buenos Aires embodies this and more.
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Images: Tango in the "Subte", Recoleta Cemetery, Montevideo tolerance memorial
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After dark, B.A. becomes a film noir set, where you can literally collide into a pair of tango dancers on the subte ( subway ) or on flamboyant Calle Florida.
B.A. continues to beguile. Here we have a bit of an anomaly: a European city in South America. Prices are still extremely palatable to North American tastes and pocketbooks, but something different is happening now. Residents of Buenos Aires, or porteños as they are called are now, embrace their own identities, and look a bit less outward.
Our Aqua Terra Travel crew first visited three years ago for the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. We were smitten and, like MacArthur, we made good on our return.
Much of my LBG orientation was through Daniel Porce of DP Producciones ( www.dpproducciones.com .ar ) . DP offers a wonderful array of local and regional travel services, including escort services. Howard Johnson Da Vinci Hotel, in the convenient Microcentro, was my venue. And while I was treated to a favorable 'industry rate,' I believe Da Vinci offers outstanding value, with surprisingly spacious rooms reminiscent of a comfortable vintage San Francisco or a small European hotel. In fact, if I half-closed my eyes, I thought I was at the heavily featured Hotel Centenario in Gilda itself. The Crowne Plaza Panamericana and The Claridges, also in the Microcenter, are recommended. Gay maps should be available, listing recommended restaurants, discos, bars, pubs, spas, cinema and fashion. However, B.A. is festooned with an enormous variety of hotels running from the simple to the sumptuous.
A useful source is GayBa, an extremely useful, beautifully illustrated Spanish/English guide with excellent orientation information plus comprehensive listings of gay-friendly restaurants, dance clubs, shopping opportunities and, of course, access to gay-oriented tango. ( Tango was initially considered so 'scandalous' that it was deemed safer to be performed by same-sex couples. Hmmm.... ) The guide ( www.gay-ba.com ) is available in numerous local bookstores in 'B.A.'
Some of the popular places include Engines, where the young like to meet the old, and vice versa. Lest we forget Titanic, with drag shows beginning at midnight. Tom's Back Room should say it all.
Steak still predominates over the food chain. But B.A. has a wonderful selection of Italian, and is getting more into Asian, Spanish and other cuisines. The Berry Family from Lyon, one of France's great gastronomic centers, opened their namesake in Tucuman. Truly sublime.
While lacking some of the vintage colonial heritage of, say, Ecuador and Peru, Buenos Aires does not lack for its own B.A. heritage. A Sunday outing at neighborhood San Telmo Plaza Doriega antique fair brings both the visitors and the porteños. And, oh, the cafes. Cafe Tortoni is for very serious coffee sipping, and it also presents tango shows.
On a warm or sunny day, head to the park, be it the zoo, Botanical gardens, or the Recoleta neighborhood. Portenos ( a local term for denizens of Buenos Aires ) love to go out, and see and be seen. The shopping especially for leather goods at great prices; check out Calle Florida and Avenida Santa Fe.
My March 2006 visit to South America also brought me to neighboring Uruguay. A three-hour hydrofoil ride across the Rio Plata is the capital city, Montevideo. Montevideo reminds me of Minneapolis or Milwaukee—meaning, it is a most pleasant place. However, the sites may not be must-sees.
There are delightful discoveries. Old Town ( Ciudad Vieja ) is reminiscent of Old Havana with faded, down-at-the heels, but fascinating architecture ranging from Colonial to Art Deco. Fishermen on the nearby pier give a delightful sense of the past. Like our extensive Lake Michigan shoreline, Montevideo provides La Rambla with its promenades and beaches. And in early March, it was definitely beach weather.
One of my best surprises was the Uruguayan artist Jose Gurvich, who has his own museum just off Plaza Independencia. While some of his work is reminiscent of Chagall and Klee, he is a most original individual.
While Montevideo may not have nearly the active gay and lesbian endeavors as nearby Buenos Aires, it is a city of tolerance. A special place to visit near Plaza Independencia, located downtown, is the Holocaust memorial to gays persecuted and killed during the second world war. Set atop a concrete column, the memorial is inscribed: 'Honoring Diversity is Honoring Life.' 'From our little country we are telling the world that sexual diversity is something very positive,' according to Fernando Fontan, a gay activist. Besides the Homo Monument in Amsterdam, this is one of the very few such memorials, and it is the first one in Latin America. Also, there is a seaside Holocaust memorial to the Jews murdered during World War II on La Rambla.
Montevideo's prime gay bar is Cain. Like Buenos Aires, meat is a staple also with low prices. And Italian is also quite prevalent. There is a gay friendly clothing optional beach 'Chihuahua' about two hours east in famed resort Punta del Este. And even Gilda comes to Montevideo ( to find herself? ) ; and she winds up singing and dancing to the song Amado Mio in a local nightclub.
Fabulous Colonia de Sacramento, which resembles the quaint towns of California's Monterey Peninsula, is only a one-hour hydrofoil ride from B.A. or a three-hour bus ride from Montevideo, making for a very peaceful escape. You are sent back four centuries, with views down side streets that frame perfect sunsets. The romantically named Street of Sighs takes you to engaging mini museums like the Casa Narcello, a plaza filled with flowering trees and delightful cafes. Truly a lovely escape from Buenos Aires' electric pace.
Ahhhh, to Buenos Aires, the entire Argentine and to Uruguay, we raise a glass of yerba mate tea with a toast of 'saludo.'
Richard S. Klein advertises himself as a 'travel imaginator' at Aqua Terra Travel. See www.aquaterratravel.com or call 312-787-2400 or 800-376-3784.
