Argentina is obsessed with soccer but visitors sometimes don’t realize that the sport the country truly dominates is polo. The ‘sport of kings’ is played professionally only in 18 countries. Argentina is universally recognized as polo’s mecca, with several thousand active players. Polo was an on-again off-again Olympic sport from 1900-1936. Argentina’s national team won […]
El Museo de Bellas Artes: Fine Arts in Buenos Aires
The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA) is the home to Argentina’s largest national fine art collection. Situated along the greenery of Libertador Avenue in the ritzy neighborhood of Recoleta, the National Fine Arts Museum 1870’s façade alludes to the primarily 19th century European pieces found inside. Bella Artes is one of Argentina’s oldest museums […]
Iguazú Falls: The Fury of Nature
When faced with nature’s brute strength and grandeur at Iguazú Falls, it’s easy to understand why mystical stories of love and rage serve to explain this phenomenon of nature. Local legend maintains that this is the spot where a beautiful woman was sacrificed every year in order to tame a vicious snake that inhabited the […]
Gauchito Gil: Argentina’s Cowboy Saint
Folk Saint. War hero. Outlaw deserter. Dubious myth. Antonio Mamerto Gil Núñez, better known as “Gauchito Gil” is the colorful figure who represents many things to many different people in his native Argentina. Imagine Robin Hood meets patriotic soldier meets protective Saint and you will have some idea of the many sentiments this mercurial character elicits in Argentine popular culture
The Allure of the Buenos Aires’ Cafe
In order to get a feel for the soul of Buenos Aires, it’s necessary to sample a variety of Buenos Aires eateries for a taste of Porteño life. The café cum-bar-restaurants you see on just about every city block are communal affairs meant for long hours of lingering and conversation. In the mornings sleepy-looking suits […]
