Saturday, January 26: Speed & Vodka; Wolves and Sheep

First, about the speed. It's not what you think. "Speed" is widely advertised here, and available at any bar. But it is a local, jacked-up form of the Red Bull energy drink, which is mixed with vodka. How strong is it? Well, it is almost 7am local time, and I am up right now, blogging, after drinking only 2 of these, many hours ago! It was a fun night, but I really hope I get sleepy soon. What's *in* that stuff ??!!

So yes, I got a chance to taste a bit of the local nightlife. Tonight was the birthday of one of my fellow travelers at the hostel. And so the cool staffers at Palermo House organized a big group of us to go to the local disco to celebrate. Mind you, we probably got to the disco at 3am, after a very Argentine day: a siesta (SO provincial, say the folks from Buenos Aires. But I like my siesta anyway!) Then a traditional parrilla (BBQ) http://www.orkut.com/Album.aspx?uid=416270798118341741&aid=1201382760 , starting around 10pm, and a classic Argentine soccer match (Boca vs. River, for those in the know, with Boca winning 2-nil.) Then cocktails at the hostel. All good fun, and with plenty of good conversation, until well past 2am. Which is about the right time to think about starting to go to a disco.

The disco scene here was full of insights into Argentine life. I went with large group, including a bunch of shy local 20-year olds, who clung to the walls like freshmen at the high school dance. The older Argentine men were nothing like that. Nothing. Even Italian men are not as aggressive with women. I had the pleasure of accompanying a pair of women: Iara, a local; and Renae, a Kiwi fellow traveler.

Renae taught the gaggle of shy boys in our group some classic dance moves: the "lawn mower" and "the sprinkler" were quite popular. But basically, it appears that most Porteno men don't really dance if they can at all avoid it. They are just too shy. I'll have to check out a tango club there, where I suspect the guys will make a better showing.

Both Renae and Iara have boyfriends who are not dancers, and thus stayed home. What fun to see how the Argentine men reacted to the apparently unescorted ladies. Both women were able to shoo them all away, but the lines they later repeated to me were audacious. "OK, so you have a boyfriend, no problem, he is not here. And you are very beautiful...." And "Where is your boyfriend?" To which Renae would answer in perfect Spanish "mi novio esta en el hostel." Inevitably these native Spanish speakers would suddenly lose all ability to understand their mother tongue, and say "No entiendo" (I don't understand.) But they would carry on.

Like world-class salesmen, they doggedly attempted to overcome every objection. Even their physical approach was hyper-aggressive and predatory. Really, if I was talking to one of the women, and dropped my napkin, by the time I stood up not one but TWO local men were chatting them up. They also position themselves in such a way to prevent the easy escape of their prey.

Here's an example, from the linguistic side: the local slang for "chatting up" (British English) or "picking up" women in Buenos Aires is "conquistar," or "to conquer." Explains a lot about the way Argentine men act....

The sad result of all of this is that most of the Argentine women I have met are vigilant to the point of paranoia. As a male, if you need directions in the street, don't bother asking women: around half of them won't even acknowledge your presence. They really are treated by their wolf-like men as lambs, and they develop an almost instinctive, deep protective barrier against all men. I've never seen anything like it in any other country I've visited. The end result is sad both for the men and for the women, since no one is happy. Maybe in a few generations the men here will chill out and become more respectful. But it will be a long cultural struggle.