Today's Manifesto

I had a conversation with my friend Conner Hinderks yesterday. He has recently come back to the US from a lengthy stay in Japan and is totally psyched about the world. Projecting my own experience on to him, I think that he must be totally blown away my Japan and its culture and looking forward to digging into the culture of another country. He asked me what I knew about teaching English and the like somewhere in South America.

Hold your horses, Conner. Pará.

I, too, was excited for inter-cultural experience here on scale that I knew in Japan. Te lo doy corto, I haven't got it.

I came to Buenos Aires looking for an experience like I had in Japan. Something that would blow my mind for six months. I wanted items as ordinary as vending machines to confound my expectations.

I raise a logical question. If one expects his expectations to be violated, and they're not, does that mean his expectations have been in some way violated?

More than amusing, that sums up my experience in cultural exchange right now. Let me unpack it for you.

I assumed the process of getting to know a culture would have to be like my experience in Japan, where I spent seven weeks in homestay/travel. I expected vast and obvious differences in culture, I anticipated difficulty in coming to terms with them. And I would be satisfied because the process would be exciting, different and occasionally challenging.

What has happened in Argentina has not been that. The culture has not blown my mind. Cultural differences are slight and more like annoyances than grand learning experiences. Being the most European city in South America is really more a negative factor than a positive. If I'd wanted to go to Paris, I'd have gone to Paris.

But here's a thought I've been having. The culture of Argentina must be different than that of the United States. It is simply impossible otherwise.

Given that, any perception that I have that the cultures are the same must actually have to do with my blindness to the subtlety of the culture that I'm in; I am projecting my culture over that of Argentina.

I am working under this theory lately, and tell myself that it is more difficult to grasp a culture that seems similar than one that is obviously foreign. I like to think I am learning the significance of minor variations in culture. I also think that I've learned that some unique aspects of the culture are more or less hidden and that I must pry the pearl of new experience from the mundane clam that is the Buenos Aires.

Of the former category, I am becoming interested in the dire necessity of greeting everyone that you know when you enter a room, the profoundity of classism here.

The latter category is a bit easier because its a little more concrete. I've set out to find the things in Buenos Aires that even the porteños are unsure about. I am of course interested in tango, which is only a niche phenomenon in modern BsAs, discounting the so-called Tango Nuevo, which could be better described as techno with Bandoneón. Interested parties are directed Tanghetto, or founder of the concept, Gotan Project, which does a better job of sounding like Techno.

However, I am also interested in folklore, which is Spanish word that is pronounced "fohk-LOH-reh" and refers exclusively to a style of music with origins that I hope to learn more about. It appears that in this stage of my investigation that this is the repository for all the old musical traditions of Argentina, and judging by the quality of the little I´ve seen, what the real musicians like to play. I don't know much more than the fact that I like it. All parties are invited to look into Mercedes Sosa, a semi-retired singer who I saw perform on a broadcast of a MERCOSUR conference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCq49H8JffE

However, these things are somewhat irrelevant to Argentine culture. Upon hearing my desire to learn about this things, Argentines would probably nod their heads and mark my quest as appropriate for a foreigner trying to learn about Argentine culture and they would probably think to themselves that they too ought to take a tango lesson one of these days. C'mon, they would think, it's my culture, right?

Needless to say, its not exactly part of their culture if it's a museum piece for them, too. They above situation would probably be alot like if a foreigner approached you as said that he wanted to learn about Ragtime, because its a great American music. And it is, but, when was the last time you even thought about Ragtime?

This sensation is what has motivated me to investigate cumbia villera, a style of music native to Argentina that Argentines react to with anything from rancor to rolled eyes. My investigation is in its early stages, relying mostly on hearsay and outraged secondary sources. It is criticized for being disgustingly sexual, and promotional of drugs and delinquency. It is associated with the city's poor. Against the advice of literally everyone I've met, I will be going to club that plays this kind of music. Interested parties are advised to investigate the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggyMLgU87r4
When my anthropology teacher directed me towards this band, one of his colleagues looked him as if he were crazy and a shocked and embarrassed to have his country associated with such a thing.

Incidentally, Argentines are like this about their culture. They were ashamed of tango, they are apologetic for their variety of Spanish and think of their language as more or less a corruption, and now embarrassed of cumbia villera. It might be advisable for Cumbia Villera, as it does seem quite basic.

I accomplished a goal today. I got out into the Provincia of Buenos Aires, which is the sprawling mega suburb which surrounds the city. This is where things finally felt a little different, but I am falling asleep now, so for another time.