Search for the Afros - Part 1

So today I set off to explore San Telmo. My day started with me trying to find the bus that would take me there for 1 hour!! After no success I hopped on the subte. For some reason, as I was nearing my stop I became extremely light headed. I don't know if it was because I needed more water, more food, to sit down, or to cool off but the feeling was quite weird. I thought I was going to faint on the subte and I didn't want that. My stop came just in time. I wobbled my way off the train and sat down on the floor to gather myself. After a few minutes I felt fine (so don't worry guys) and I continued on my journey.

I walked down Avenida Independencia and saw some art work on the walls that signified that I had entered San Telmo.

What really brought me to this area was my search for Afro-Argentinians. I have seen a few dark skinned people and I wanted to learn more about them. I learned that the African community in Argentina has been almost non-existent. This article explains why, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_Argentine. Nevertheless, I found out that in San Telmo was an Afro-Argentinian community so I set out to visit it.

This is La Casa Minima, built by freedmen after the abolishment of slavery in Argentina in 1812. It is found at Pasaje San Lorenzo 380 and is known as the narrowest house in all of Buenos Aires. The following picture is my attempt to take a picture of myself in front of the house.

This is the "Viejo Almacén" ("Old Warehouse"). It has become world-famous for representing the most traditional tango in Buenos Aires. It has been a well known tango spot since 1933 and still maintains is popularity and history.

This is a picture of El Solar de French," one of numerous colonial residences converted into lofts or galleries.

Here is the Plaza Dorrego, the center of San Telmo. It is surrounded by many cafes, restaurants, bars and venders. It is quite nice, though there is no place to sit and just people watch since all the seating is taken up by the expensive restaurants. I was hungry by time I got here but, needless to say, I did not stop here to eat this time. I did see a place that has music every night called Todo Mundol that I would like to visit.

This is a picture of me trying on tango pants and tried to secretly take a picture in the dressing room. My camera was so loud that I rushed to put it away and this is why the picture is blurry. The pants were real nice on me tho. I will be buying some, along with some tango shoes ;).

This is the only possible evidence of Black people that I saw. I guess my search continues.

Sidenote: This is how much gas is out here. Seems more expensive than in the States.

Now to put this in perspective, there are about 4 pesos to a US dollar right now.