Category — Argentina

Teatro Cólon is the main opera house of the Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires. Also known as the Columbus Theatre, it is one of the top five opera houses throughout the world and undeniably one of the Argentina tourist attractions. Although it was closed for almost four years from October 2006 until May of 2010 for extreme renovations, it opened by May 24, 2010 for the 2010 theatrical season.

The first Teatro Cólon was built at Plaza de Mayo from 1856 to 1857. It was built at a time when opera was flourishing. Designed by Carlos Enrique Pelligrini, the theater proved to be a successful venue for theatrical performances over the next 30 years. However, the highlight of the theater’s construction was that Argentina wanted to demonstrate their power and independence as a nation as well as encourage the flourishing of their own culture. This building was unfortunately abandoned and replaced by the current theater building.

The new Teatro Cólon has a taste of Italian style that is reminiscent of European theaters. Numerous delays contributed to its long construction process. From 1889, the theater’s construction was completed by 1908 under the design of Belgian architect Julio Dormal. Julio Dormal left French decorations as his architectural mark on the theater.

The second Teatro Cólon officially opened on May 25, 1908 and boasted excellent acoustic quality, a modern stage, intricate interior designs, and gold décor. With the recent 4-year remodeling of the theater, it looks even more magnificent than before.

Teatro Cólon is the ultimate venue for ballet and opera performances as well as concerts in Buenos Aires and the whole of Argentina. Because the theater occupies about 8200 square meters in land area, it is obvious that it has a large seating capacity that can accommodate thousands of spectators. Even without shows any travel blog will tell you that Teatro Cólon still stands as an attraction on its own because of its detailed façade and intricate interior design. A visit to the Columbus Theatre is a must whenever you are touring Buenos Aires.

If you are looking for a culturally stimulating way to spend a nice day outside in Buenos Aires, the cemetery in Recoleta is a wonderful place to start. It features rows and rows of intricately designed mausoleums; no two are alike. The main rows are wide and shaded by beautiful, green trees, and smaller aisles are lined with tombs that seemingly go on forever. There are statues and carvings everywhere you turn. Many are religious, but there are also classical sculptures. Several tombs also feature realistic statues of the people resting inside.

The cemetery is so big, and there are so many aisles that it seems much like a labyrinth. It is very easy to get lost and hard to find any specific tomb you might be looking for such as Eva Perón or Raúl Alfonsín – both very important political figures in Argentina. In order to better navigate the cemetery and also enjoy one of the many guided tours offered, it would be a good idea to learn Spanish in Buenos Aires.  Knowing Spanish would enable you to ask for directions from any of the many cemetery caretakers who clean up around the tombs and hand-cut small grassy patches found around the cemetery.  There is also a band of drummers that marches throughout the cemetery, and you need to know Spanish in order to understand the leader’s calls.

The cemetery contains the graves of many important historical figures in Argentina and the world including poets, politicians and Nobel Prize winners. Even Raúl Alfonsín, the first democratically elected president of Argentina, is buried there. Be prepared to wait to see the tomb of Eva Perón because many tourists will be crowded around trying to snap a photo. Studying at a Spanish school in Buenos Aires would also give you the opportunity to use the local knowledge of your professors in order to learn more about these people before venturing out to their gravesites.

After you have seen the cemetery and taken many pictures of all the interesting architecture, be sure to travel around the rest of Recoleta. There are several places very close that are great to visit including the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Floralis Genérica – a giant steel and aluminum sculpture of a flower in the Plaza de las Naciones Unidas that operates on solar power. Also, pack a lunch because there are numerous parks in which to enjoy a picnic!

All major cities have a diverse range of people, even though there is always a certain norm immediately noticed within any city. After a good amount of time, you will usually begin to notice that there are indeed subtle and complex subcultures that patchwork the city making their invisible divisions. These subtle pockets of subcultures are very pronounced in Buenos Aires, where you really can find a little of everything and of everyone, or as they might say here in Spanish, “Hay de todo.”

There is quite a big indie rock scene which looks as though it has been dragged over from London but twisted back about ten years. You can find plenty of young people that are fanatic about indie music and rock, will be wearing skinny jeans and perhaps a pair of glasses but just with frames. There are a handful of indie clubs that will be full of budding indie stars. These would compliment the impressive amount of international indie bands that make the effort to tour to the bottom of the world to put on concerts in the capital.

The gay community in Buenos Aires is thriving, especially it’s recently reinforced by the gay right bill passed this year.  This pocket of people on its own has its own  particular complex world of divisions and subcultures. There is a strong gay community throughout the city, in particular in Boedo and in and around the city center. There are hundreds of gay bars and clubs that specialize in anything from cross dressing to gay theater.

Another easy observation is that you will notice a handful of synagogues that cater for the surprisingly large Jewish community that have settled in Buenos Aires, a remnant from World War Two. There are a few neighborhoods where there are small pockets of Jewish groups that live together. Equally surprising is a good-sized Chinese population even having their own Chinatown in the center. The majority of the supermarket owners and restaurants are Chinese and are affectionately named “Chinos.”

There is an enormous study abroad student community in Buenos Aires. Some come to study at Spanish Schools in Buenos Aires and others come to study some of the vast degree choices that you have here. University of Buenos Aires is mind-bogglingly large, and with that comes its fair share of intellectuals and diversity. It is because of the great amount of degree choices, high reputation and free tuition due to it being a public education institution, there are an impressive range of people that come from all around the world to study and in particular from all over Latin America.

One of the key parts of successfully living in Buenos Aires is to be able to mix and get along with people that are from completely distinct upbringings to your own. It takes a great amount of respect and open mindedness, but with it comes the understanding and insight into worlds that you may not have known even existed. Despite the huge diversity, they all mix together seamlessly in one way or another, and most importantly, adds charm and appeal to the city. Only if you learn Spanish in Buenos Aires first will you be able to truly appreciate the diversity by talking to the people you meet about their origin.  It keeps things interesting and keeps living in Buenos Aires an always fresh, challenging and exciting experience.