The Latest T-Boy Film, Travel & Music poll is devoted to a positive cultural experience when visiting a new destination. Below you’ll find orignial content not found anywhere else on the globe by Richard Carroll, Audrey Hart, Ringo Boitano, Deb Roskamp and even two by yours truly. I hope you enjoy the entries as much as I enjoyed its compilation. – Ed

Richard Carroll: T-Boy Writer

Tango Culture: Buenos Aires

Traveling the world like so many others, I never believed that a city and it’s music would have the greatest culture impact. A musical magic that quickly captured me. Buenos Aires seems to float on a tango C chord, the wave lengths drifting through the city leaving a rhythm touching the heart. A dramatic, sensuous, feel-good rhythm, where some of the most gorgeous women in the world are moving their feet to a music that is the essence of Buenos Aires. The city, near the bottom of South America, is where tango was born in the America’s, and it’s alive and thriving. Walking through the neighborhoods one is greeted by tango, and often couples dancing tango in a sensuous and precise sway that is mesmerizing, where legs and feet are as precise as a jeweled Swiss clock. The city has tango boutiques, tango hotels for visitors in love with the art, tango night clubs, tango schools, and best of all a large downtown dance hall where the portenos go to dance after a long days work. You see street workers, fashionable ladies with a briefcase, and other portenos, all filing into the dance hall. The men on one side of the room, the ladies on the other, They dance tango with various partners for an hour or so and head for home, each going their separate way. Not a place to meet your lifetime lover. It’s just a place for the portenos to dance tango. Tango in Buenos Aires is the culture of the city and the magic is for both visitors and portenos alike.

Audrey Hart: T-Boy Food Writer

Chimichanga Culture: Tucson, AZ

No city is more associated with the Chimichanga than Tucson. The city’s tourism office published an ad in the nationally circulated Food & Wine magazine, inviting Americans to visit Tucson, “home of the chimichanga.”

Chimichanga, or “chimi,” has achieved cult-like status in Tucson where residents take their chimis very seriously and prefer large, overstuffed versions. Every restaurant and eatery have its own version of this favorite dish. But many consider El Charro Café’s the best and most authentic. – Source: Food Timeline.
Family legend says that owner Monica Flin in 1928 accidentally dropped a stuffed beef burrito in a pot of boiling oil. She immediately shouted some profane expletives, but noticed younger family members in the kitchen, and abruptly changed the swear word to “chimichanga,” the Spanish equivalent of “thingamagig.” Tucson was awarded the nation’s first UNESCO City of Gastronomy Designation, and Gourmet Magazine named El Charro Café, “One of America’s 21 Most Legendary Restaurants.”

See El Charro Café’s Chimichanga Recipe here.

Ringo Boitano: T-Boy Writer

The Culture of Family: Tahiti and Her Islands

Our jeep commenced deep into the mountainous valley of Tahiti’s Papenoo; a true Garden of Eden with fertile displays of ginger, vanilla, taro, noni and breadfruit. The medicinal and cosmetic benefits of the pants and flowers are well utilized by the Tahitians, renowned for their health, physical beauty and spiritual serenity.

My guide was an Euro-Tahitian anthropologist, who has lived in Tahiti Nui his entire adult life. He explained the intricacies of Tahitian culture, where the past meets the present, and that the Gallic texture of today is often only evident on the surface. The French police keep the islands safe but will never enter a home when there’s a family dispute or even violence. Often times when a local commits an egregious crime, justice is handled the tribal way, where the offender might ‘accidentally’ fall from the top of a mountain or ‘mysteriously’ drown while fishing.

When a Tahitian woman reaches the age to give childbirth, she is encouraged to take as many lovers as she chooses. When an infant is born, the child is given to a group of older women, often aunts (slang, motu mamas) to be raised by the community in wide open mountain valleys. From my guide’s studies, he believes that Tahiti and Polynesia illustrate the most tolerant and sophisticated child rearing practices in the world; a world where the youth find meaning through relationships with the family, community, spatial terrain, ancestral spirits and God.

Ed Boitano: T-Boy Writer

The Culture of the Currach: Aran Islands

Due to their isolated location at the very edge of Ireland, the Aran Islands are naturally detached from the rest of the world and have maintained unique customs and ways of life for centuries. With a population of around 900 people, Inishmore (Inis Mór) is the largest of the Aran Islands, approximately eight miles-long by two and a half-miles wide. If you have just a day, this is the island you must see. Its principal village is Kilronan where you’ll find tour guides, horse drawn carriages and bicycle rentals waiting as soon as you get off your ferry. The Aran Islands’ relatively flat landscape makes an ideal setting for walkers of all levels, while the 30-minute bike ride from the pier to Dún Aonghasa is one of the most popular cycling routes in all of Ireland.

Before you depart on your tours, stop by Ionad Arann Heritage Centre, a three-minute walk from the village of Kilronan, an excellent visitor’s center, which provides a good introduction and guided tour taking you back more than two thousand years in the life and times of the Aran Islands.

The center demonstrates the art of currach making– a traditional island boat made by stretching a fabric over a sparse skeleton of thin wooden/wicker laths, then covered in tar. The currach has been used on the islands for centuries and is designed to battle the rough seas that face the open Atlantic Ocean. Documentary film director Robert Flaherty was fascinated to find that the Aran fishermen would not learn to swim, since they knew they could never survive any sea that swamped a currach, and would drown without a struggle. His filming of the dramatic shark-hunt – whose liver the islanders would boil to make lantern oil for trade – was a centerpiece of his staged documentary masterpiece, the 1934 film, Man of Aran.

Deb Roskamp: T-Boy Photographer

Fado Culture: Lisbon, Portugual

The fadista sang mournful tunes with lyrics of resignation, fate and melancholy; best defined by the Portuguese word saudade, (longing), symbolizing a feeling of irreparable loss and lifelong damage. Fado (‘destiny, fate’) is a melancholic genre whose birthplace is Lisbon’s port districts of Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto in the 1820s. Initially, its musical style was performed in cafes, taverns and ‘half-door’ houses (bordellos) to sailors, bohemians, and courtesans who were mainly from the urban working-class.
Today, throughout the world, Fado is regarded as the Portuguese musical symbol of culture and tradition. The music is performed without any form of electric amplification by either a female or a male vocalist, and accompanying music, generally by guitars (10- or 12-string guitars), one or two violas (6-string guitars), and occasionally a viola baixo (a small 8-string bass viola). Most of the repertoire follows a double meter (four beats to a measure), with lyrics arranged in quatrains or in any of several other common Portuguese poetic forms.

I listened to the musicians while dining in a restaurant. The music took me back to imagining women singing these ballads to their sailors, as they set out to explore the world, disappearing beyond the horizon.

Raoul Pascual: T-Boy Webmaster and Illustrator

The Clean Culture of Japan

This country stands above all others in terms of selflessness. Something about the Japanese and upholding family honor. It was back in the 80s when I went to Tokyo, Nagoya and Kyoto for a business trip. For the most part, the streets were super clean (no trash anywhere… (not even a single cigarette butt), the people were hard working and disciplined. They said you could leave your luggage in the middle of the street and no one would steal it. They reminded me of worker ants with individual integrity functioning for the greater good of the hive.

Ed Boitano: T-Boy Writer

Irish Session Music: Doolin, Ireland

“What brings you to Ireland?” asked my friendly cab driver. “All the above and more, and with a very keen interest in Irish music,” laughed thee. The cabbie smiled, “You know, I sing too. Give me a couple pints of Guinness and I’ll sing all night fer yah.” My mood was already euphoric; now kicked up a step higher, well aware that a trip to the Republic of Ireland is a cultural immersion of living history, heartfelt poetry, ethereal landscapes and locals with hospitality in their very DNA. And, yes, I soon found my traditional Irish Session (‘seisiún’) bands, playing jigs (faster rhythms) and reels (stepdance music in ‘reel’ time), and an occasional ballad about the Great Famine and emigration.

Doolin (Dúlainn) is an Atlantic coastal village in County Clare, considered the home of traditional Irish session music. And the local attractions are not bad either, with the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and a port that leads to Aran Islands just around the corner. But what could top a Doolin pub meal washed down with a pint of the black stuff at one of the village’s rollicking establishments? Well, grab your next pint and bask in the intoxicating music of an Irish session band on the floor.

The size of the groups may vary, and members are sometimes new to one another, yet seemingly never missing a beat on the Bodhrán Drum. Traditional instruments generally included fiddle (the life blood of a session); harp; flute and whistle; Uilleann Pipes; guitar, mandolin and banjo; accordion and concertina, and the Bodhrán Drum. You’ll notice the Irish have the gift of the dance where evidence suggests that the sun worshipping Celts and the Druids practiced a circular formation pagan dance which has a commonality to the modern Irish set dancing of today. And, if you’re feeling particularly festive, you can join in on a dance; in my case, a rather clumsy and improvised one.

At a conversational break, a musician informed me that the Irish dancer once carried a heavy stone in both hands, preventing them from holding hands with the opposite sex. Then adding, “I’d probably need a shackle (Handcuff, carrying alcoholic beverages in both hands at the same time).” What could I say, besides Sláinte! (Pronounced: ‘slaan-sha’) and ordered another Guinness.

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As my taxi cruised down 9 de Julio Boulevard, the driver informed me that it was the widest boulevard in the world, named in honor for Argentina’s Independence Day. He added that due to Argentina’s fluctuating economy “BA” was really dirt cheap ten-years ago, but do not be concerned for today it is simply dirt cheap, and your Yankee dollar will go far. I’d ditch your gaucho costume if I were you, he laughed. It’s always seemed to me that the best information comes from a taxi driver who has seen it all and gives it to you straight unlike many PR firms who have a tendency to sugarcoat certain attractions. But sugarcoating was not required for I was already dazzled by this city proper of approximately 2,891,082 people, with a lifestyle and architecture that is more European than any other city in South America.

The cafes were filled by stylish-looking people speaking a unique dialect of Spanish with an Italian accent, with many words and phrases in Italian. Over 62.5% of the populace is of Italian heritage, and I could not help but notice porteños (locals, people of the port) gesticulating with their hands like Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in the Godfather film.  Mate (pronounced “mah-tay”), the national beverage of Argentina, is a tea made from yerba mate, courtesy of the Tupi People, who introduced it to the gauchos (skilled horsemen) of the pampas, the vast plains extending westward across central Argentina from the Atlantic coast to the Andean foothills.  Served communally in a gourd (squash rind), and sucked through a bombilla (metal straw) which acts as a filter, the bitter flavored tea seemed to be consumed everywhere I looked: shops, offices, saloons, picnics, even a bus driver on his route. Sampling this local tradition is an easy way to get a literal taste of Argentinean culture.

Beef from the pampas is also a defining cultural tradition. You’ll find the delicious steaks served at countless restaurants, but vegetarian empanadas are also widely available for those who shy away from meat. My first lunch was at a simple San Telmo restaurant where I consumed a steak with fries, an empanada and a local beer. The cost was a staggering $5. Didn’t my cab driver say something about my Yankee dollar going far.  Not to be missed is a tango show, a scandalous dance born in the brothels of Buenos Aires’ immigrant quarters. It gained respectability and popularity when Argentine students traveled to Paris and introduced it to the French, who proclaimed it a dance of great artistic value.

A walking tour of the vibrant La Boca (Italian for “the mouth”) barrio (neighborhood) was on my list.  Established by Italian immigrants from Genoa in the late 17 century, it’s a bit of a helter-skelter barrio, complete with colorful houses and a pedestrian street where tango artists perform and tango-related memorabilia are sold. It is also an unofficial national shrine dedicated to internationally famed football player, Diego Maradona, where his football career kicked off while he was playing for the Boca Juniors football club. It’s still a fairly poor neighborhood so keep an eye on your valuables.

My brief trip would end with a stop at La Recoleta Cemetery to pay homage to María Eva Duarte de Perón (1919 – 1952) at her simple black tomb. Born into a poor rural family, “Evita“ moved to Buenos Aires and secured a living as a B-movie actress. Her fate dramatically changed when she married Col. Juan Perón, later president of Argentina. Despite his dictatorial and fascist leanings, Evita dedicated her life to helping the poor, caring for orphans and the homeless. She was also a strong proponent for women’s rights. Even today, I noticed her passionate admirers placing flowers and notes at her tomb. Apparently on the anniversary of her death crowds grow to the thousands.

Well, my time was over. I did my best to explore Buenos Aires from a tourist’s perspective: wide boulevards, Italian heritage, mate, beef from the pampas, the gauchos, the tango, Evita; but I know I barely scratched the surface. I decided to contact Turismo Buenos Aires to get a wider perspective for our readers. And this is what I was told:

“Buenos Aires is a large metropolitan city with a lot for everyone. BA is home to over 100 parks, so it is very common to see groups of people at the park drinking mate picnic-style. For those that are night owls, locals really like to spend time at the many speakeasy bars around the city as well as bodegones – a typical neighborhood restaurant featuring local cuisine and popular selection of national wines. Also, for those that like to dance, milongas are very popular as well. These traditional social tango dance events are really popular with locals, and about 20-30 milongas take place in the city every night spread across different neighborhoods.”

There are actually a few things that most people don’t know about BA. Here are 10 really interesting ones:

• Buenos Aires has an official tea time – much like the UK.
• Tango (declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO) originated in brothels surrounding the city and the moves are meant to dramatize the relationship between a prostitute and her pimp. The tango is a fusion of cultural influences from Africa, Argentina’s native gaucho and colonial traditions.  Every August, the city hosts the Tango Buenos Aires International Festival and World Cup, with milongas, shows, classes, exhibitions and the most important international tango dance championship
• BA has the most bookstores per person of any city in the world according to a 2015 World Cities Cultural Forum report
• La Recoleta Cemetery is considered the most important cemetery in Latin America for its historical and architectural significance
• Avenida 9 de Julio is the widest avenue in the world
• Jardin Japones de Buenos Aires is the largest Japanese garden outside Japan
• The Buenos Aires Underground is the oldest system in LATAM
• The first ever animated feature film was made in Buenos Aires
• In 2002, Buenos Aires because the first Latin American city to allow gay marriage.
• BA has highest percentage of pets per capital.

For further information about Buenos Aires, visit Buenos Aires Ciudad

The post Buenos Aires: The Paris of South America appeared first on Traveling Archive.

1. Question: What are some of the “things” or activities that people in Buenos Aires do for fun?

Answer:

This is a tricky question because Buenos Aires is a large metropolitan city with a lot for everyone. BA is home to over 100 parks, so it is very common to see groups of people at the park drinking Mate picnic style. For those that are night owls, locals really like to spend time at the many speakeasy bars around the city as well as bodegones – a typical neighborhood restaurant featuring local cuisine and popular selection of national wines. Also, for those that like to dance, milongas are very popular as well. These traditional social tango dance events are really popular with locals, and about 20-30 milongas take place in the city ever night spread across different neighborhoods.

2. Question: What’s one thing the public probably does NOT know about Buenos Aires?

Answer:

There’s actually a few things that most people don’t know about BA. Here 10 really interesting ones:

1. Buenos Aires has an official tea time – much like the UK
2. Tango (declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO) originated in brothels surrounding the city and the moves are meant to dramatize the relationship between a prostitute and her pimp.
3. BA has the most bookstores per person of any city in the world according to a 2015 World Cities Cultural Forum report
4. La Recoleta Cemetery is considered the most important in Latin America for its historical and architectural significance
5. Avenida 9 de Julio is the widest avenue in the world
6. Jardin Japones de Buenos Aires is the largest Japanese garden outside Japan
7. The Buenos Aires Underground is the oldest system in LATAM
8. The first ever animated feature film was made in Buenos Aires
9. In 2002, Buenos Aires because the first Latin American city to allow gay marriage
10. City has highest percentage of pets per capita

3. Share some aspect of what Buenos Aires has contributed to the world.

Answer:

Declared intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2009), tango was born on the shores of the Río de la Plata in the 19th century through a fusion of cultural influences from Africa, Argentina’s native gaucho and colonial traditions, and the contribution of European immigrants, mainly from Spain, Italy and the Middle East.  Every August, the city hosts the Tango Buenos Aires International Festival and World Cup, with milongas, shows, classes, exhibitions and the most important international tango dance championship.

The post 3 Things We Didn’t Know About Buenos Aires appeared first on Traveling Archive.