The View From Here . . .

By Bob Morgan, Jr.

This is written in an internet cafe in Buenos Aires. Young Robert, who turned 14 last week, and I are on the last day of our annual spring break foreign vacation trip. As Robert would be the first to remark, this is a relatively low budget trip. In my view, which I think the lad more or less accepts, you learn more about a country taking local buses and trains, for example, than you do in the Hilton. We also make every effort to communicate in the local language, which I think adds to the experience In previous years, we have traveled to England, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, and Morocco.

While not as exotic as last year´s trip to Morocco, we found many interesting things to do in the Buenos Aires area. There are numerous museums and historic sights, including a museum dedicated to Eva Peron, the controversial wife of dictator Juan Peron. We strolled through numerous interesting neighborhoods. And of course, we took advantage of the many parillas, or beef grills, in town. One famous one, Cabaña Las Lilas, actually has its own beef ranch out of town. We took two out of town excursions, to San Antonio de Areco, the center of the gaucho country and to Tigre, where we took a tour boat on the rivers flowing into the Rio de la Plata. Argentines love horses and we visted the Palemo racetrack, which is opposite the huge polo grounds. We also attended Easter Mass in the cathedral, a beautiful ceremony presided over by the local cardinal.

Probably the highlight of the trip was the trip to watch the Boca Juniors soccer game. Boca Juniors is one of Argenina´s most beloved teams and the famed Diego Maradona played for the team during a stretch in the 1990´s.

The guidebooks, while recommending the trip, were full of warnings about pickpockets, drunks and soccer hooligans and strongly recommended against sitting in the lower priced sections. We did follow the advice about the seating section (for $33 each we ended up in the third row). On the whole, however, the experience seemed less dangerous than the average pro sports game in the United States. (It may have helped that alcohol was apparently not sold. in the stadium.) The fans were into every play and the home team fans were frequently breaking out in song. The Boca contingent, despite the absence of its star player, rather thoroughly dominated the contest, winning 2-1, only allowing a last minute goal by their opponents, Colon.

Argentina seems to be just on the cusp between the First World and the Third World. Certainly the country has faced many challenges, including military dictatorships, severe human rights violations during some regimes (the infamous ¨desapericido¨(disappeared one) situation was perhaps the most glaring example) and a humiliating defeat in the pointless war over the Falkland Islands in 1982. At the beginning of this decade, the country had to weather a severe currency and financial crisis.

On the other hand, there are many reasons to hope for a brighter, more prosperous future. Buenos Aires has many beautiful neighborhoods, and is strongly reminiscent of Paris, Rome or Madrid. Unlike many other Third World cities, there is nowhere near the level of disorder, and there are not armies of beggars and persistent street vendors. The city is not ringed by shantytown slums housing the newly arrived poor. With the ascent of a newer, more democratic Argentine government, the country may be able to take its place among the developed nations of the world.