Legends

So in continuation of the Tango Festival I went to a modern ballet ... it was completely free. It was very beautiful. I tried to go to another concert series but got there just in time for one song and the hour long break in between everything; I didn't have the patience or the time to wait for the next act. I still plan on trying a few tango classes at a studio or two. To keep the classy theme of activities for weekend, I attended an orchestra concert in a cute little church whose inside looked like a cathedral but only held about 100 people if even.

The orchestra concert did a Beethoven piece with three different movements ... there were small pauses between each movement but according to etiquette you don't clap between the movements ... good thing I have a slow reaction time with my applause, a few others weren't so lucky.

I also tried some more museums this week: Museo de Arte Popular 'Jose Hernandez' and Museo del Arte Decorativo. 'Jose Hernandez' was nothing too special, an interesting mix of modern art and traditional Argentine art and Argentine customs such as weaving. The Museo del Arte Decorativo was one of my favorites; very elegant pieces of art given as gifts from all over the world to a rich family that inhabited the mansion before the government bought it. The mansion is beautifully built and there are stories about each room explaining its purpose and how the rich family would host parties.

In Argentine tradition, gnocchi (the pasta) should be eaten the 29th of every month. You place a blank note or money under your plate while you eat to bring prosperity and good luck. It's called 'gnocchi del 29' and it came from a story about Saint Pantaleon who blessed some farmers with abundant crops after they offered him what little they had to feed him in his travels; the tradition also stems from the fact that the 29 is normally the day before payday. I gave it a shot this month ... we will see if this tradition works.

Also another legend/tradition happened this week called 'Tormenta de Santa Rosa'. Every year on the 30 of August there is a storm in Buenos Aires. It is preceded by several days of 'summer' (it was 80 degrees almost all of last week) and then on Sunday, a huge cold front came with crazy wind and some rain and now its in the 50's and stormy again today. The Legend is about 'Santa Rosa de Lima' who is the 'Patron of the Americas'...back in the 1600's a huge storm sent by Rosa prevented pirates from invading the port. The storm happens nearly every year in Buenos Aires. I love it ... the magical, mystical and enchanting stories are my favorite.

My favorite graffiti of the week:

Love.