Through San Telmo

The city is hot hot hot. Sizzling temperatures. I could get a headache and a tan by just walking under the sun for 10 minutes. Now I understand why Argentine women have such glorious sun-kissed skin that isn't gotten from the tanning salon. As much as I wanted to sit down on a bench at Lezama Park for a lunch of sandwiches, it was too glaring, even in my super-black sunnies. So I retreated to a random cafe in the area which served absolutely satisfying Southern Italian style pasta.

Have I already mentioned that I like architecture and buildings in a city? I was so distracted during a meeting because the room overlooked rooftops in the city. I couldn't help comparing between the olden rooftops versus the ugly squares and cement of the 90s' construction pre-fab boom, and the sleek contemporary glass and steel.

I had the pleasure of meandering through the city's oldest and most traditional neighborhood of San Telmo. Apparently those cobblestones were laid in the 1800s and have lasted till today. The churches are imposingly serene and charming. Even though this is a tourist zone, the area is unassuming and still nice to hang out in. The crowds come in during the weekends when the markets spring up. I don't feel it's been commercialized or contrived. Buskers come in and out no matter how. The shops and cafes remain, and cater to the locals during the week. The area carries on doing whatever it does regardless of the humans.

The whole point of this exercise ended at ummm.....small-ish....The Museum of Modern Art, or Malba, as it is known. Of course there's a distinct difference between the artists and the art in Latin American, Southeast Asia, and the Asia Pacific. There's a marked vibrant contrast in the selection of colors used, and the strokes that line the paintings. These lines blur when it comes to film and photography; only the subjects indicate any sort of focus on the region. Sadly, I still struggle to understand modern art, especially when it comes to hyperrealism.