The most beautiful bookstore in the world . . .

I would say that nearly any bookstore is wonderful, but my vote for the most beautiful bookstore goes to a bookstore in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Originally built as a theater in 1919, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid offers book lovers a truly unique experience, complete with romantic murals and architecture.

Facing the door at El Ateneo

Available at the coffee shop at El Ateneo
(Note: coffee in Buenos is superlative!)

Facing the stage at El Ateneo

Imagine sitting in one of those box seats, snuggled up with a book -- Spanish or English, it really doesn't matter any more.

Eden Mabee's post on what to blog about when you have the blahs led me to Bookshelf Porn, a site highlighting pictures of amazing libraries and bookstores  -- which reminded me of one afternoon when we took time away from traveling through Argentina to visit this bookstore.

Thank you, Eden.

Tango . . .

Midnight. A darkened café bar. A man crouched over a piano plays an offbeat tune. Bass and accordion add a thumping unforgettable beat. A violin slices through the music with an aching riff. It’s 1920. The height of tango in Buenos Aires. The people of Argentina have swarmed to the city, but without jobs, the young men formed gangs, and the young women became prostitutes. They met in bars like these to dance out their passion.



And so the music begins, a pulsing, hypnotic beat, replayed again and again. Tango. The men swirl and pose, pesos tucked in pockets, natty hats pulled low, their frustrations barely concealed. The women, elegant, yet barely dressed, entice, yet seem unapproachable. They fall in love, they gamble, they dance, and they fight. The tango reflects it all.

So we sit in the basement theater of Tortoni Café, famous since 1858. Now a small troup of young people perform for us -- the tango and a dance from the country, two young men twirl bolos in complicated patterns, their feet matching a rhythm only desperate men would create, for the bolo is a weapon that can maim and kill. I have admired these small balls attached to each other by cords in the windows of San Telmo antique shops. I later learned this dance is called the malambo, is danced only by males, and what I'm calling "bolos" are actually boleadores.

We walk through the café upstairs where Borges once sipped coffee at one of the small marble tables, perhaps beside one of the large columns. Now paintings, drawings, and sculptures everywhere celebrate the past, yet the waiters pass us with small cups of coffee on silver trays. We stand on the sidewalk outside this famous café, the night of Buenos Aires around us, the music of the tango reverberating still in our hearts, and we are reluctant to go home.

Sunday in San Telmo . . .

It's Sunday afternoon and all of Buenos Aires can be found in these few blocks, strolling down cobblestoned streets, past street performers and musicians, open plazas crowded now with tents making a grand flea market with antique laces, clocks, china-head dolls, silverware with crests, porcelain Blue Willow plates, embroidered napkins, weather-worn license plates proclaim Argentina!

We stepped around hawkers crowding the sidewalk with bird whistles and finger puppets. One threw fake tomatoes on the ground which magically resumed their shapes. Clowns danced; one sat by a building, long legs stretched out one story high. Fantastic drawings decorate store fronts; above, iron grillwork festoons the fronts of Baroque buildings.

We saw classical guitarists, orchestra tango, funky street tango, mime tango (they dance when you put pesos in the traditional black hat), and three little kids on accordian. People gather and drift along, appreciating the slow pace of the day. San Telmo. San Telmo. Everyone is smiling.

About Buenos Bears . . .

Yesterday was a walking tour to see the bears. These unique, hand-painted, fully life-sized bears, a project to benefit UNICEF, represent the cultures of some 140 countries. The bears are visiting Buenos Aires for only March and April. San Martin Plaza was crowded with people who simply came to see the bears, vibrant and sun-splashed.



Buenos Aires Bears

What a link to this week's Sunday Scribblings' prompt that asked us to write about what is important. What is more important than peace?