Ava Chagall Sign Fail

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This picture is a good example of an inappropriately placed sign. Here, the combination of content and context creates a completely different connotation to the original meaning. Ava Chagall is a luxury boutique in trendy Palermo Soho. The odd combination of their signpost with the waste bin evokes a veiled reference to the quality of their clothings. Don't get me wrong, neither do I know the boutique nor the quality of their clothings but I do know that this sign is ineptly placed. To me, it says, "Dispose your newly bought Ava Chagall acquisitions right here!"

There's another sign fail post on Buenos Aires Perception:
Buenos Aires Subterráneo Sign Fail

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Tourists in La Boca

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The Caminito area is a banal tourist enclave in the heart of La Boca. These three tiny little streets are separated from the surroundings by tourist police which makes it kind of strange to be there. Nonetheless, it is hugely popular with foreigners and crowded every single day. All the hustle and bustle reminds me of San Telmo's Feria on Defensa street on Sundays. You will find many touristy tchotchke shops, restaurants, and local artisans selling arts and crafts, not to mention the many tango shows.

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R is for Rusty Ride

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Buenos Aires' streets are full of old and decrepit cars. The other day I came across this green-blue-ish jalopy car parked in the streets of Palermo. It looked as if it would just fall apart and made me wonder what it was held together with. I saw at least no tape or string. Another point that caught my eye was the car's perfect adaption to its environment--its color almost matched the color of the facade of the houses! If you like these jalopies as I do there is another one for you here. Well, if Argentina had a "cash-for-clunkers" program, this one would certainly qualify.

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Tails of Fire and Sparks in the Night

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From the beginning, the cama suite was well worth the money and the coach couldn't be more comfy. For hours, I switched between reading and looking out of the bus window. For miles there was nothing but plain fields and emptiness. Then the last bit of brightness was gone. Now that the darkness has covered the land, the look out the window reveals only some fragile lines of light of the sparsely passing traffic. Soon dinner will be served and then it is time to decline the seat to its full extend. Tomorrow a new day awaits in a different climate zone.

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Q is for Quilmes

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The extinct native Indian tribe "Quilmes" (Kilmes) has given its name to a city in the Province of Buenos Aires, a village, and a beer brand in Argentina. Nowadays, when people speak of Quilmes they mostly mean the brew. It is the leading brand when it comes to beer in Argentina. Furthermore, Quilmes is sort of a national Argentine symbol and was one of the country's biggest assets. During the last economic crisis in 2001/2002 the brewery got into turmoil and, thus, had to be turned over to foreign investor-owned corporations. Since then the Brazilian company AmBev has gradually acquired the majority of shares.

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Fun Sport at Plaza Serrano

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What do Argentinos do when they are bored? Any idea? No? Frankly, me neither. What these three guys were doing at the Plaza Serrano in Palermo Soho, however, caught my attention. I was observing the trio for awhile while sitting in the sun, but I was not able to figure out what these funny activities were all about. Then my mind came up with an explanation so simple and yet so profound! The girl asked the kneeling guy to hold up the leg of her boyfriend so she could check his shoes for dog poo. Luckily the newly bought Nikes were still clean and tidy. Boy, what a relief!
Well, I'm kidding. I still have no idea what they were doing! I guess it was some fancy relaxation method -- Reiki, Shiatsu, T'ai-chi, Tae Bo ... whatever, you name it!

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Man Selling Candy on the Street

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You can come across a lot of hard working people trying to eke out an existence by selling you anything and a lot more on the streets in Buenos Aires. The gentleman in this picture is selling candy amidst the exhaust fumes and the rumble and roar of the traffic on Avenida Nueve de Julio. So, if you get your sweet tooth while you're stuck in traffic you can buy some bombones for one peso each (about 25 cents of a US dollar). It's very hard to believe that these street vendors can make a living out of it.

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Crumbling Stairs in La Boca

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These concrete stairs are certainly crumbling for years. One wrong step and you could end up at the doctor's or in the hospital. Sadly, it is no unusual sight in Buenos Aires to see sidewalks in such a poor condition. Indeed, the city has recently invested some effort in patching and repairing those break-a-leg pavements but obviously not in La Boca. It seems some neighborhoods warrant higher priority than others for fixes. You better watch your step and look where you're going!

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Big Brother is Watching You

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Have you recently been to London? If so, you must have noticed the vast and rapidly increasing number of surveillance measures. No doubt, the UK is sleepwalking into a surveillance society right away. What a scary prospect! But WTF is this mysterious, Orwellian looking thing in many streets throughout Buenos Aires then? Is Argentina doing likewise? To me, this object does look like a CCTV camera unit, but as it turns out it's just an odd looking street light. In Buenos Aires street lights are frequently hung in the center of the street. Big brother is lighting you!

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Typical Traffic Scene in Buenos Aires

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There's so much boisterous life in the streets of Buenos Aires -- motorized life, to be frank, that is mostly stuck in traffic. Well, the vehicle traffic here is loud, and colorful, and can be very interesting to watch if you're not in a hurry. You will see people reading the newspaper, shaving, singing, applying makeup, fiddling with the radio or even picking their noses. The guy leaning out of the car window was noticeably flirting with a woman on the sidewalk.

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Empty Billboard - No Logo Buenos Aires?

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After the Brazilian city of São Paulo has created precedents in 2006 with banning all outdoor advertising, including shop fronts, the debate spilled over to Argentina. The city of Buenos Aires has considered a similar measure to reduce visual pollution and thereby making the public landscape more enjoyable. Since then BsAs is keeping an eye on outdoor advertisements especially those infracting the city's new advertising codex. In 2008 it was decided to remove 40,000 illegal signs and billboards which is roughly 60% of the total amount of advertising signs and posters. So, is this empty billboard structure at the top of the building a sign of things to come?
Would you support an outdoor advertising ban in your city?

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Pouring Rain

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Rain is not only a simple matter of pouring water splatting and drooling down over heads and rooftops. Rain is precious, making Buenos Aires so calm and peaceful. The sound it creates mutes the noises of the ever so hectic city at least for a brief moment. I enjoy this transient silence. Abruptly, nobody is out there anymore except for cars. The streets get cleaned, pedestrians look for shelter and vehicles compose this distinctive watery melody. As soon as the rain stops, the city recovers to the former bustle.

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Being a Street Vendor in Buenos Aires

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I guess street vending is rather a stopgap solution than a plum job. You don't need particular skills or education, what you do need is a convincing smile and vendibles. This sounds pretty easy but I bet there are many obstacles and a lot of hard work involved in selling goods on the streets. It's utterly amazing to see how many street vendors populate the city of Buenos Aires. There is probably nothing you can buy for money that you won't find at their stands. The whole city seems to be one big bazaar. This guy is specialized in selling winter clothing items such as caps, gloves, scarves etc. He definitely needs to change his assortment now cause the time for this stuff is up. Hooray!

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Buenos Aires, City of Sidewalk Potholes

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Isn't the main purpose of sidewalks to provide pedestrians with a certain kind of safety by keeping them off the roads and out of danger? But how safe is it to stroll over cracked tiles during your afternoon walk? Obviously, there are lots of opportunities in Buenos Aires to break your legs, ankles or worse. Many of the cracked sidewalks and broken curbs were patched recently but I guess you will need several more stimulus packages to fix all of them. Be the potholes on the sidewalks ever so bad, the streets seem to be in a better condition. At least in the city center the main streets are fine. You lucky car drivers!

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Time Travelling to Buenos Aires’ Past

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I was time travelling last night. Of course, I didn't forget my fancy gadget from the present, my photographicator electronicus, so I could take some pictures. And I did. On my way back to the future, however, all color pixels were set to zero. I can't understand how this could happen. Probably I was travelling too fast. But I was not completely out of luck: I could save the black and white pixels. In hindsight, I think this adds atmosphere and a nice kind of 'artsy' appeal to the image.
To tell the truth, the picture was part of an exhibition about the Amigos del Arte that I saw at the MALBA. It shows the Florida road roughly around the 1920s. In that time the society of art lovers resided at this exclusive address.
If you had a chance to time travel, where would you go and why?

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Trouble Under the Hood

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This cargo van was left unattended like that, perfectly parked along the curb with the hood open. I have no idea why the driver left his car like this. Maybe he had some overheating issues and wanted to aid cooling. Maybe he left his truck alone to get some gas or he just went away to get some help with car troubleshooting. Maybe it's a bit of everything, maybe not. Anyway, it's quite common to see old and wrecked cars running in the street of Buenos Aires.

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Rusty House with a Skirted Balcony in La Boca

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This house with the rusty facade is to be found in close proximity to the Estadio Alberto J. Armando. The famous football stadium in the La Boca neighborhood is much better known as "La Bombonera", home of the Boca Juniors. Buenos Aires — well, actually, the entire nation of Argentina — is acknowledged to be extremely football-enthusiastic. The Porteños like to name streets after their beloved football personalities. This street was named after Antonio L. Zolezzi who was a former president of the soccer club Atlético River Plate in 1912 and for the period from 1925 to 1927. Be it as it may, I love the house not only for its rusty charm, but because of the fancy skirt around the balcony.

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Wheelbarrow BBQ at a Construction Site

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If you are a focused, attentive reader you will remember my post about the vast number of construction sites and revitalization works throughout Buenos Aires. This site caught my attention because of the wheelbarrow on fire. Well, the fire wasn't build because it was so cold that day. It was made to have a street version of an asado. The asado is the South American version of the barbecue. It is quite common that construction workers use their wheelbarrow as a parrilla, put charcoal in it, set the stuff on fire, prepare the meat and place the steaks on the preheated grill-wire. What an ingenious misuse of a wheelbarrow!

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Revitalizing Buenos Aires

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The city administration of Buenos Aires pushes a wave of street constructions and renovations since last spring. Everywhere in the city, construction sites are shooting up like mushrooms. These guys are working on the revitalization of Defensa Street in San Telmo. They replace old pipes and repair the sewer system in general. Well, then. Haciendo Buenos Aires!

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The Low Fall From a High End

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The abrupt cut of this street marks the ending of the Autopista between Buenos Aires and La Plata, also known as La Ruta Nacional 1. The remaining lanes lead to the Autopista 25 de Mayo that will get you to the Ezeiza International Airport. The sudden end of the lanes looks pretty unfinished just as if a future extension is planned. In fact, I have no clue whether this is an extension point or the final state of the construction work. Let's hope nobody will ever fall off this urban cliff.

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