Stepping Out

One more week logged in Buenos Aires and I am learning the city more and more. My normal bedtime hour has been pushed to between 2-4 am without too many yawns or complaints. I just need to adjust my waking hour, which is normally between 7-8am. I won't last too long on 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night.

As I'm sure you've heard, nightlife in Buenos Aires isn't for the faint of heart. For example, last Saturday night I decided to go out like the Argentines. I took a disco nap around 10pm, woke up, showered and arrived at the party around 1:30-2am. There was absolutely no one there yet. It had a strange, lame prom feeling. Just you and the strobe lights, the pulsing music and no one to dance with, haha. I called it a night and went home, promising I'd do it better next time.

With an apartment and a few weeks of nesting down pat, I've become more interested in finding my nightlife stride. I already know I'm not going to be a boliche or discoteca queen. Boliches are those mega clubs with various floors of themed music, overly-staged gorilla runway shows and queues of young people with glowsticks and sunglasses in hand. Quite popular and the most obvious nightlife option here, but not what I'm looking for. Similar to my tastes in NYC, I'd like to find some convertibles. Places that serve late dinners and turn into lounges or live performance venues, serving up fresh beats, tasty drinks and a more mature crowd.

A friend from Brooklyn, who arrived on Friday and will be here for a few months, and I discovered one of those spots last night. It's called Gran Bar Danzon. Part of a holy trinity of modern, sleek watering holes and restaurants, the kind BA turns out so effortlessly these days. We arrived early, still wearing our day clothes, for a taste. We found it on the second floor of a building on an unlikely, rather commercial street. Candelabras guided our way up a broad flight of limestone stairs, the open bar and dining area greeted us with even more candles and low leather couches flanking linen covered tables, some set for dinner, some for cocktail sipping. I was surprised to see both sushi and Argentine standards on the menu. Usually not a good sign, but the charcuterie plate the women next to us had looked amazing. We didn't eat, just a few fresh fruit cocktails and a lot of people watching. Overall, a really nice night.

Next up, I'd like to check out the tango salon scene. Apparently, tango has been reenergized with a surge of young, Argentine patrons since the economic crash of 2001. Some say this is the result of young Argentines turning inward and reaching back to connect with their roots, others say it was a way to make money from tourists. Regardless, it's result is a crazy mix of tango with more modern forms of music. Some of the hottest bands and DJs of today have become famous from this fusion. I want to get to know this dance and its music, both in its original form and its modern interpretation. A local friend here has a finger on this scene, so look out for pictures of me on the tango dancefloor very soon! And look out for pictures in general, my camera arrived on Friday!

Have a beautiful Sunday.