El apartamento

There is a brisk business being done these days in BA renting furnished, short-term apartments to visitors. Several agencies (ByT, Baires Apartments, to name but two) have extensive listings online, from the modest to the luxe. I got my humble digs through a woman who has arranged apartments for a number of people from Portland. She represents individuals who have these places as a side gig. The owner of my apartment is a charming young woman who works translating news stories from German and English for the local press.

The apartment I'm in is right off one of the busiest intersections in the city, Callao and Corrientes. It's rather like being just off Times Square. The world's leading tango CD store, Zival's, is a block and a half away. Buses -- "los colectivos" -- careen around the corner and screech to a halt in front. In the photo at right, my building is the one hung with balconies.

Also within the square block is a locutorio (Internet, phone booths) with a laundry in back, a small food market, a bakery, several cafes, a hardware store, a fine coffee roaster, and a major subway stop. So it's convenient, to say the least. Most importantly, a really good "heladeria" is in the next block. Its gelato with figs and hazelnuts is quite the perfect reward after a strenuous day dancing.

The apartment is a studio, with minimal kitchen facilities (why am I not sad?). But I can make coffee and keep wine cold. It has a gorgeous parquet floor, adequate furniture, a super internet connection, and, behind a glass partition, a comfy queen-sized bed. There's an in-wall air conditioner, which helps block the noise and reduce the humidity. Getting in requires many large, heavy keys: for the gate at the street, for the front door, and for the apartment, which is one of 2 on the 5th floor.

Tomorrow, Sunday, is a national election. It is predicted that Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the wife of the standing president, Nestor Kirchner, will be elected, besting 12 opponents. She is a senator and a glamourpuss, in the style of many upperclass Argentine women. This fragile country craves continuity, but I'm too uninformed to have an opinion as to whether her election will benefit Argentina or not. One perspective is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a_ncSlw4J7sQ&refer=latin_america.

Since unrest is predicted, I plan to leave town, for a resort retreat 30 miles upriver called El Tigre. That should also give my body 24 hours off from dancing, which it needs. But, as I write this at 12:30 AM, my new CD of the music of Pedro Laurenz is uploading into iTunes, which makes me long to dance, and I'm tempted to hit a milonga. BA-time, tango-time, it's the shank of the evening.