Your Beauty

Dear Argentina,

You are such a wonderful mix of contrasts already, and so very beautiful, which makes us lovers so estupidio, especially when we fall a little bit or just simply hopelessly in love with you, almost at first glance. Drinking wine, succulent and gleaming with Andean sunshine, I watch you tango under the limbs of a massive Gomero tree, in Plaza Dorrego. Here, an astonishingly attractive woman, sensually steps out the tracery of her heart, a romantic one like mine Argentina, up the narrow Calle Defensa. It was in this street in 1806, today full of tourists and antique shops, that your volunteer militia fought Los Ingles back to the sea. Engendered with such a courage, you then banished your mother Spain forever, taking her lovers as yours and welcoming so many more from all the corners of the earth. They fell in love with you Argentina and so have I.

My eyes brush across you, from a barrio street corner and see a cornice that once grandly crowned a small masterpiece of your golden years. Now a little faded, you tease me with glimpses of such sensual form and generosity, that even with all the scars of a life well lived you radiate great beauty. Then, unexpectedly, walking down a cobbled street feeling the lost sweat of your Porteno labourer, I see you standing dressed for a gala in gleaming tiara and finest silks. Here I meet you as Puerto Madryn, where you transform us with renewed youth that bursts from the ground with the energy and modernity of a 21st century cityscape. Your graceful curves, mixing with those of Amalia’s great art collection, encompass condominiums, cafes and restored warehouses with superb gothic windows. All this in your newest barrio, which stretches away along the water in a glistening array of the super modern. Where a once great harbour bustled with your commerce, the Universidad Catolica de Argentina now bursts with your glamourous grand-children, who lie kissing, on thick shaded wooden benches, washed by the breezes of your warm breath. Puente de la Mujer (Bridge of the Woman) dances across the water with its graceful counterpoint to the grandiose designs of the new towers that adorn your quaysides. And behind, toward the sea, is a great park dedicated to nature (Reserva Ecologica) where I walked in a wild garden of peace and giant pampa grass, with you and two lovers from Columbia.

I am here to discover you Argentina, to feel you beneath the rough and tumble of your beloved Buenos Aires, the vastness of your deep Pampa, the subtle beauty of your Sierra and the strident peaks of your magic Andes.

Hasta Luego,

Alex