Rosario

Wow, Rosario... what can I say? Beautiful city with beaaaautiful girls. The weather was really nice here as well... but the thing that stuck out at me was how nice the people were here... Argentineans have the reputation for being "chanta," (sleazy, arrogant, etc), but with the exception of one chanta motherf%$ker (get to that in a bit), everyone was great... the only people that weren't very nice were "Porteños," (people from Buenos Aires) in for the weekend.

There's a really strange race in Argentina... you look at the people and say, "well, they don't look Latino... and they don't look European... what are they?" It's an immigrant country as well, but whereas in America, people stuck within in their comfortable "black, white" marriages, neighborhoods, etc, people here were gettin in on big time. That's not to say there's no racism here or noticeable class differences with respect to color... there's plenty.... it's just there was a whole lot more mixin goin on if you get my drift.

People in Argentina start their day early in the morning with a "cafe con leche" (half coffee, half milk) and a couple "media lunas" (croissants)... they take a nap between 2 and 4, and then eat dinner at like 11, and then go to a cafe and drink coffee... then they go to a "boliche" (discotech), where they pay a big cover charge, and dance until 8 in the morning. Oh, and they are drinking "mate" all freaking day... some weird herbal drink, served below boiling, in a unique wooden cup with a metal straw... it basically looks and tastes like grass.

So, here's the story with the guy my first night in Rosario... I got in real late at night, and had made a reservation by telephone... I took a cab to the place, and when I got there, everyone was so cool and laid back... the owner comes up and gives me the whole spiel... where you from, what are you doin, yada yada... and then he asks me and another guest, a Colombian guy, if we'd like to have some empanadas... we say alright, and go on the patio with everyone, chattin in up, eating empanadas, the whole deal, and I say gracias for the empanadas, and that I'm going to bed... about 15 minutes later, the guy (the owner) actually comes in and says "Uh, I'm gonna need 5 pesos each from you guys for the empanadas." (insert draw drop here...) Couldn't believe it... I basically told the guy to fuck off... I wasn't going to pay 5 pesos (almost 2 bucks) for 2 dry empanadas, when I was supposedly being treated... anyway... there was noise in the hostel all night until 4 in the morning, and then when I woke up at nine, there was no breakfast left... breakfast was supposedly included. Anyway, just needed to vent. That's what you call a typical chanta Argentinean.

Another thing... if you think politics is totally corrupt and fixed in the US (it is), you should come to Argentina, where they invented the shit... check out the videos below where I explain a bit more...

I'll soon be headed to the world's biggest waterfall, Iguazu. Will soon post pictures... ciao!


"Read... look after you belongings, is full of thieves!"

Maria Eugenia, standing next to her charactature... awesome girl that worked in the hostel at Rosario... not the first one, the other one, with nice people.

The "villa"... indigenous peoples of Argentina who've basically set up shop in the main Plaza in Rosario, with tents and all... they're demanding higher wages... but for doing what I'm not sure... It appears the government pays them for doing nothing... the people around Rosario have mixed feelings about the whole thing... they are basically living here, cooking, peeing, crapping, eating... all in the middle of Plaza San Martyn, until they get what they want.

People eating lunch on the river in Rosario

Esteban Morgado Cuartet... play tango and milonga... amaaaaaazing!

Parque de la Independencia, Rosario

Look how hippie this tree is...

Seriously, it's a really hippie tree

Church in Rosario... inside is beautiful, but the pics didn't come out so well

Monument plaza in Rosario

view from the Flag Monument... it's unfortunate, but the city is fuuull of condos

Another view from the flag monument

these people look like ants

another view from the monument

looking up at the flag monument

Monumento de la Bandera, Rosario

The flame of Argentina's heart

poor guy puttin out the flames on the trash cans that protesters burned... check out video below where I explain Argentina's policy on dealing with protesters

nice central plaza

chruch in Rosario

Rosario

So, my bus from Cordoba took forever because of this.. what is "this?" you ask... the farmer's strike. Here's the deal... Argentina's current president is the wife of the last president... sound familiar... ahem! just clearing my throat... thank god we've at least stopped the presidential bloodline... i was thinking Chelsea 2018 and Jenna Bush 2022. but i digress... The Argentinean government just raised the taxes on farm products like crazy.... so what do the farmers and truck drivers do? They light tires on fire and leave them in the middle of the road (see above video that I took from the bus) and make sure no one with any farm products can pass. Word was in one night they dumped 10,000 liters of fresh milk. So there is a scare in the country that soon there will be no food. I went to the butcher shop the other day and there was no meat! In Argentina! ... anyway, that was just one day, I've actually been eating beef like every day... a big juicy steak for one dollar!

These are some more people in Rosario protesting and demonstrating their arsonist tendencies... it appears that people protesting in a big group can basically do whatever the hell they want, because police aren't allowed to touch them.. not even when they go pyro... it appears the police here are just pretty faces.

street musician in Rosario

opening guitar trio at the concert

Esteban Morgado Cuartet concert.... this guy was amazing... at one point, his band left stage, and he invited the audience to request any song they wanted, provided they sing along... I don't think there's a song the man doesn't know... he mixed some tango with the Beatles' "Here comes the sun"... and he plays so beautifully. It was truly something when everyone in the theatre was singing along.

would like to post more videos of this band, but this internet connection just isnt cuttin it