I Found the Black People!

During my first weekend in Buenos Aires, my roommates and I decided to venture out to La Casa Rosada, or the Pink House which is the equivalent to the White House in the US. After walking around a bit, and quickly discovering there was little else to do without a reserved tour, we looked around to do some more exploring and low and behold there was a huge outdoor artisan market (also know as la feria de san telmo) right across the street. The sun was shining, music was playing, and the street was abuzz with activity as we walked through the feria that seemed to go on for miles. 

After stopping to watch the tango dancers at an outdoor restaurant and purchase a quick snack of choripan, a mouthwatering combination of spicy sausage and soft baked bread, I continued through the feria solo, Having lost track of my roommates somewhere along the way, stopping every 30 seconds to look and seriously contemplate buying something that had caught my eye.

Then, all of a sudden I began to hear soul music. And it wasn't just any soul music, it was live soul music. I could feel the beat of the drums and vibrations from the guitar. As I drew closer to the source of the heavenly melodies, I realized that it was coming from none other than Movimiento Afrocultural!! I had no idea that it was located right in the middle of feria de san telmo or that they have an outdoor jam session every Sunday afternoon (if you're a little lost please refer to my earlier post). After enjoying the music for a little while, I decided to socialize with some fellow Black people and ended up striking up a conversation with a kind older man from Uruguay who then introduced me to the director of the organization. 

Now let me remind you that I had only been in Argentina for a few days so I wasn't quite used to the Argentine accent or fast paced Spanish and didn't quite understand everything that they were saying but just being able to interact with Black people for the first time since leaving my home in Georgia had me ecstatic. I was even more so surprised by the song selection. Instead of the Afro-Latino vibe that I expected, they were playing old school hits from the states. I was even pulled on stage to sing a few Stevie Wonder songs that I embarrassingly didn't know all the words to.  

After practically running offstage and back to my seat, I enjoyed a little more of the music and blackness ending my day affirmed and fulfilled. I definitely intend to return to Movimiento Afrocultural for other events as well as to hopefully make some Afro-Argentine friends while I'm here. 

Until next time,

Ciao!