Update #5 - Old and New

Today I had two key things on my to do list. The first was to visit the neighborhood called Recoleta, which is one of Buenos Aires' most wealthy and upscale districts. The most famous hotel in the country is located there (Hotel Alvear), as well as the very famous Recoleta cemetary, where Evita Peron and many other famous Argentinians are buried. Walking around all the tombs was quite something. Every inch of that place is made of marble and the wealth is quite extraordinary. It was a little creepy at times walking down all these little lanes with tombs stacked side by side. Thank goodness nothing jumped out at me!

The second priority was two visit the new booming part of Buenos Aires down at the waterfront, called Puerto Madero. This old port has been refurbished as an excellent pedestrian area with some of the city's fanciest (and overpriced) tourist trap restaurants. When you see a Hooters and a TGI Fridays here, there's no doubt that this area is a tourist haven. However, it is still a beautiful area to take a stroll because it's down on the water and there are some great vistas and things to see down there. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Really old trees in Recoleta.

Things got a little spiritual in Recoleta.

Rows and rows of elaborate tombs.

Evita Peron's resting place stocked with fresh flowers daily.

Stray cats guarding the tombs.

Look what I found in Recoleta. Ralph Lauren! Probably my favourite store in the world because they are so hard to find. Especially like the size of this one!

The old warehouses, turned into housing and restaurants along Puerto Madero. Even the cranes have a fresh coat of paint.

Definitely NOT a warm summer's day down here.

The most famous bridge in Buenos Aires. Translates to Bridge of the Woman. Very cool design.

Update #4 - Heart of the City

Well I've been taking it pretty easy the past couple days. Trying to see all the famous places that Buenos Aires is known for. The nice thing is that I do it all by foot, so although you end up walking over 20km a day, you still get to absorb everything that the city has to offer. I'm now staying in the central part of the city that is just buzzing with activity. The population is so transient though. Cars are always going somewhere and people always have places to be. It really reminds me of Paris or Madrid maybe. Just these huge sections of concrete apartment towers, small shops and rough sidewalks. You really have to watch your footing! I've got a couple more spots to check out, but here are some snapshots from the past couple of days.

The famous obelisk in the center of Buenos Aires.

Avenue Nuevo de Julio. Largest avenue in the world btw, with 6 lanes going in each direction.

The bustling San Telmo market on Sunday.

Street vendor selling churros and sweet pastries.

San Telmo Market.

The Casa Roja.

Plaza de Mayo.

The obelisk in the distance. See what I mean about Paris!

Pretty impressive door near Florida Street.

Update #3 - Argentinian Horse Sale

The official livestock show in Palermo finished on Friday. I was somewhat relieved after 4 hard and very cold days photographing outside. Today I was invited by Carlos Ojea to join him in attending an Argentinian horse sale outside of Buenos Aires. I had to jump at the opportunity to get outside of the big city metropolis.

The horse sale was hosted by Cabaňas La Valentina y San Arsenio, about a 1 hour drive outside of Buenos Aires. This sale was exclusively for the criollo breed of horse, which is native to Latin America and very popular in Argentina and Brazil. This breed also showed at the Exposicion Rural and there should be a few pictures on ShowChampions.com. At the sale, the Brazilians were out in full force, throwing around pesos and reals like you wouldn't believe. For 40 lots, I think the average was somewhere around $10,000 USD. It was a little confusing at times, but not because I couldn't understand the numbers. It was only after the sale when Carlos told me that the bids were for a monthly payment x 12 payments. That's why it sounded cheap - I thought everyone was getting a great deal!

It was a cold and windy day at the estancia, and being winter, the farm was not in top condition. Add the fact that there is a major drought occuring and you don't have the ideal lush conditions that Latin American farms are known for. Either way, I think I got some good shots. Nothing crazy, but it was nice to be the only photographer there compared to the 100 or so shooting over your shoulder at the show.

The crowds outside the sale barn.

Brazilian gauchos making last minute preparations

The sale barn. The light was completely green in here because of the overhead materials; hence the color correction attempt. Believe me, you do not want to see the original. Oh yeah, I should mention that the seating you see is all made of hay bails and everyone is smoking! How unsafe is that!? I thought the barn was going to burn down for sure.

Lote numero uno.

Gaucho with a traditional Argentinian poncho.

Sale attendee taking a sip of Mate, a herbal tea beverage that is very common in Argentina.

Gauchos getting ready to help bring in the horses.

Delicious empanadas. Pretty much an unlimited supply.

With a sale, comes a bar-b-que or asado as they say.

Update #2 - Day in the life...

Here are some photos that describe a typical day in the life of an Argentinian press photographer. But first, I've been so lucky to have had to wear this nice vest for the past 4 days. Ha, I look like some inmate from a country jail.

As you'll see, shooting at this event was not easy. Especially today with all four arenas going at once. Angus, Hereford, Dairy and Horses were all being judged at the same time. The stands were packed and press were everywhere. Things got real heated when it was time to select a Grand Champion. All of the press photographers and videographers would flock to the scene. You literally had to squeeze your way in and try and avoid all the other lenses/bodies in your way. It was intense! I would try and get my camera anywhere it would fit. I think I even I took a shot through someone's legs at one point. Of course everything is complete chaos. Half of the press don't even know what an animal is supposed to look like so they're just taking snap shots, while the other half are anticipating the animal to walk into the right pose. All I know is you better fire off your shots because you don't have any time to waste. The wife of the American judge for the Herefords came up to me and said she counted over 100 press bodies in the show ring at one time. Talk about media frenzy. Anyways, here are a few of my shots from the day. Enjoy.

Some sort of Albino Argentinian horse.

A couple of big bull shows today. Here's one from the Angus show.

Full house as usual. Everyone's bundled up because it was cold today!

Sneaked over to the dairy show to get a few shots.

The Hereford lineup.

Just a handful of my compadres that I was hanging out with the past few days.

As you can tell, there are orange vests as far as you can see. Orange = press.

My Argentinian contact, Carlos, jumps in the air after wining the Grand Champion Angus Bull.

Carlos looks relieved and excited as the judge makes the official selection. It was a long day showing animals.

Here is the winning exhibitor for the Hereford bulls. He also looks pretty pumped.

He's soon swarmed by press for interviews.

Probably the best shot that I could make out of the huge media scrum.

Carlos and his family with the Grand Champion Angus Bull after a long day of showing.

Sometimes the best shots are when you least expect them. I was heading home when I stepped out of the doors of the main convention center and I saw this sky. I thought I might as well snap a picture up in the stands to show the beautiful evening as well as the historic arena where all the action took place.