Buenos Aires and the Importance of Inhaling

There is something prophetic about cab drivers that transcends cultural boundaries. Tomás Bernardo Rodriguez told me when he drove me 'home' this morning -- barely before sunrise -- that the winds of Buenos Aires were like music, sweeping through your soul -- clearing out the dust and bringing something refreshing and fragrant. He told me that he doesn't wish people 'suerte,' or luck, because luck comes and goes; instead, he wishes for people to go in love, because love is always in your heart.

I met this guy in the airport in Mexico City the other night -- a Chilean who just moved to Mexico City from Miami, on his way to London. He asked me how I got my muscles, then promptly took out his Blackberry and emailed his Chilean friends in Buenos Aires, bought my dinner, and went to catch his flight. Next thing I know, I have a whole crew of Chilean friends in Buenos Aires -- a 25 year-old named Mula who looks like a character from Russian literature and works as an art director for Satchi and Satchi, another who is a sky diver who has jumped more than 2000 times. Then there was the Chilean Charlie Chaplin, who was just returning to South America with his girlfriend after having traveled in Asia for three months. Argentines aren't known for being big drinkers, but the Chileans are another story. . . hence, my early-morning cab ride home while they continued to rage. The Chileans had taken me to an 'asado' (a barbeque) earlier in the day -- where we ate at least five different kinds of meat, passed the maté and a few other bits of greenery, so I had reached my socializing capacity by around 5am.

The night before, I discovered a club of traditional Argentine music and saw an amazing band from Tucuman (in the North of Argentina) -- which later evolved into a full-on hootenanny. . . people passing guitars around the room, drumming on chairs, etc. They were all pretty amused by the tall skinny white girl Mexican/Italian Spanish, so I got a personal serenade. Most of the songs are about loss and love and longing. If sadness is a breeze that sweeps through us, it's best put to music.