Extroverted Family Transforms me into a City Tour Guide Around Buenos Aires

This week, my dad traveled from Malaysia to Argentina so he could be present at my cousin’s wedding. During the flight, he met an Australian tourist that was going to spend just one night in Buenos Aires, on his way to La Paz, Bolivia. During his short stay in Argentina’s capital, he wanted to tour around Buenos Aires, and my dad suggested I would be an excellent tour guide.

After the long, 23 hour trip, when dad arrived home he hugged me and told me: “Lau, get changed, I got you a job for tonight. I need you to organize a tango tour for an Australian friend I met on the plane.”

Although a little surprised by the unexpected comment, I was excited: “It is a great opportunity to tour around my city and teach someone else about its history.” On top of that, I was going to get paid for doing something I enjoyed. It was a round deal for me!

That night I took him to a tango show at El Querandí, a restaurant where service and food are excellent for a lower price than its competitors. Even though the show is not as spectacular and flashy as in other restaurants I attended, the dancers show how the dance has evolved over time, which is very important from a historical point of view.

My guest enjoyed the show and my stories so much that he decided to hire me to give him a morning city tour. So the next day I took him to Plaza Francia, Cementerio de Recoleta, Florales Genérica, Puerto Madero and Caminito. All of Buenos Aires' most typical places; an intense and great way to get a fast glimpse of this beautiful Argentinean city.

Healthy Art at Plaza Francia, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Entertainment and Art in the Open

Acrobats, magicians, drummers and jugglers transform Plaza Francia of Buenos Aires into a circus in the open every weekend. This way, they add a new entertaining dimension to the well known Artisans’ Fair that started in 1970 at the Plaza.

For years, families with children, tourists and groups of friends have visited this plaza after lunch to curiously zigzag through the different stands of the fair.

After buying a couple of wooden and seed necklaces and incense sticks, discovering wooden planes with unusual mechanisms that turn its propellers when they lay against something, or trying on silver bracelets adorned with Argentina’s national rock (rodocrosita), many choose to stay at the park to enjoy the various shows as they drink mate.

Shows are as varied as people’s tastes:

On top of the hill, very close to Cementerio de Recoleta, you can usually find a guitarist that signs the song you ask for, fo a couple of coins.

A little bit further down, a group of young comics improvise to hip-hop music, while other artists entertain the younger ones with puppet shows, while acrobats leave their audience without words with their mortal jumps.

You can breathe art and happiness in every corner of the plaza, converting the place into a pleasant place where you can retreat to enjoy the warm Spring sun.