Sunday in San Telmo

Since we arrived, we’ve been meaning to visit the outdoor markets of San Telmo on a Sunday afternoon, as this has consistently been recommended to us as one of the coolest things to in Buenos Aires... Something has always prevented us from going, mainly crappy weather... but last Sunday, the sun was shining bright and we gathered up our sense of adventure and headed to BA’s oldest neighborhood... it certainly didn’t disappoint! We called our friend Claudio from yoga class and asked him to meet us for lunch and a walk around the markets... Claudio is a producer for one of the local radio stations (called “The Millennium,” which plays new age acoustical and power ballads), but also a working actor, doing some film and TV work in the past (he played a reporter on a famous “TeleNovela,” making him the second soap opera actor we’ve met in BA.). San Telmo was the birthplace of what is now the city of Buenos Aires; this area contains the city’s oldest buildings and original cobblestone streets... San Telmo has recently had a renaissance of sorts, being reborn as a shopping and nightlife district after a long period of neglect during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tourists and locals alike absolutely pack the streets every Sunday, sifting though an immeasurable amount of various treasures offered up at the indoor and outdoor markets... The 50-or-so gorgeous antique shop fronts make up the largest antiques district in all of South America, now filled with the chandeliers and valuable heirlooms regretfully sold by prestigious families during the recent financial crash. How heartbreaking it is to see these fantastic relics of a stately past being dismissively pawed by the fat fingers of camera wielding tourists from Germany. We pondered this tragedy over a fabulous lunch in converted house dating to the 18th century, now a family-style restaurant with amazing handmade pastas and gigantic desserts... We managed to put away a full three courses and a bottle of Malbec before returning to browse the market stalls, the vendors sharing the narrow lanes with street performers doing the tango, stand up comedy, puppet shows, and mime. The crowds can become a bit claustrophobic and we soon retired to a cute coffee shop for further libation and the rare pleasure of flipping through English and American fashion magazines! (a year old, but who’s counting...) The highlight of the day came just as sunset was approaching, when we became caught up in the center of a massive drumming parade, marching down the main boulevard... A huge crowd of dancers and drummers seemingly in a trance-like state, pounding out distinctly Brazilian samba and African beats from a variety of percussion instruments... Loud, frenetic, and very exciting! We returned home, weary from the sun, having bought nothing but homemade toy of cardboard and string resembling a little hen, that when coaxed properly, does a startlingly realistic impression of a chicken squawking... We intended to give it to Paul’s nephew Luke, but on second thought, decided to keep it for ourselves! More soon. Xxx Jason