What has happened to the balconies of this house? Seems loose bricks and rotting concrete had finished them off. Just the bare steel beams remained. The house owner, obviously, is keeping all options open. He neither decided to tear down the steel beams nor to rebuild the balconies. Instead he installed wrought iron railings.
Sundays in San Telmo are for repeating the same ritual over and over again. It's Feria de San Telmo - a colorful bazaar with a lot of crafts and entertaining artists like the guy in the picture. He used a black man-sized sheet as a canvas to paint on it wildly with his fingers while a ghetto blaster was screaming Jailhouse Rock. Gradually, he turned his blank canvas into something that I could recognize as the portrait of the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
What are these people waiting for? All these ladies and gentlemen are standing patiently in line at the bus station waiting to get on the bus home. As a rule, be prepared for a crush of people around rush hour. Then it is most likely you will see insanely long lines for a colectivo, especially in the city center. In general you don't need to expect such huge queues but some routes seem to be more frequented than others. Riding the bus in Buenos Aires, however, is interesting and a great possibility to mingle with locals.
I have no idea how old this advertisement really is but it exemplifies the weird world of Nike. Calling the neighborhood of La Boca a beautiful quarter borders on cynical manipulation. When street crime is prevalent, environmental pollution is evident, and poverty is overwhelming, can this area still be called a Barrio Bonito? Well, this is something I personally cannot fathom. However old this advertising mural may be, the situation in La Boca existed long before. How far can marketing freaks live from reality?
It is almost impossible to say how many graves there are in the graveyard of Chacarita, but they are definitely many. At least this cemetery is enormous enough to be called a city, a city of deads. Well, maybe I should have asked these local cemetery gardeners. They are in charge of tending the graves and general gardening. They might know. These guys clean the graves from leaves and dead flowers. When I took the picture they were on their way to the next section to cut the grass and clean the paths of the largest cemetery in Buenos Aires. It seems these gentlemen really enjoyed the little ride and the environment in which they perform their job.
Street art is all around in Buenos Aires. The scene is very vibrant and has some very gifted artists. Although not everyone is happy with graffiti in public places, the majority here seems to be easy-going when it comes to urban street art. Even the police have a laissez-faire position towards graffiti as long as it is not offensive, rude or contains any kind of slurs. Some even say you can paint the wall of a police station without getting into real trouble. Probably that's why private property is usually respected in Buenos Aires. Moreover, the creative output is mostly on a high level of quality and expression. The cheerful wall painting in the picture is to be found in San Telmo and was done by an artist called LOUIS aka GROLOU.
The Plaza Constitución is the central travel hub for trains, buses and cabs in the south of Buenos Aires. This makes it one of the busiest areas if suburban traffic is concerned. Everywhere you see Argentineans catching one of the various commuter buses to get into the city's center or to their homes in the suburbs. The pink building is the train and underground station Constitución. It was built in the late 19th century to cope with the increasing suburban traffic due to rising immigration. From here you can travel further south by train to destinations like Mar del Plata and Bahia Blanca, for instance. At day the area is insanely crowded, loud, and at least to some extent chaotic. At night this place is best avoided.
March 01, 2010
Dear friends and followers! My apologies for my long abscence. The blog is currently suspended due to a high work load. I'll be back, promise!
December 01, 2009
Buenos Aires Perception is on holiday. Till January, I will only post when I feel inspired and have a stable internet connection. (; Thanks for the visit, hope you will stop by again soon and check out the new photos. Stay tuned!
August 24, 2009
Buenos Aires Perception turns 6 months old. This seems a good occasion to say thank you to all visitors for stopping by and leaving comments.
June 08, 2009
Buenos Aires Perception is featured on Monday's Photo Essay at:
