Buenos Aires in theFlesh
Buenos Aires isArgentina’s capital city. Itis a dynamic, modern and cosmopolitancitywherethebestpart of thecountry’seconomicactivitytakes place. Buenos Aires Harbour has beenthe centre of commercebetweenthe “SpanishAmericas” and therest of Europesincethebeginning of RiverPlate Virreinato – thiswasthenamegiventothepoliticalorganization of thestatebeforetheconformation of thedemocraticmodernstate of Argentina. Suchwastheimportance of saidharbourthatthefirstsettlers of thecitywerecalled – and are stillcalled – Porteños, or “Harbour-ites”.
Thisbookis a “journey” throughthehistory of Buenos Aires City fromtheviewpoint of fashion and photography. Thevarioussceneries and cultural spots of thecitywill be exploredviathe
“language” of fashion.
Thisbooksprovidesthereaderwithbothanurban and a suburbianview of the City, whichusedto be part of the “rural area” of thecity. Thephotographsdepictthe cultural capital of thecity – its
eclecticcharacter, itscustoms, itslife round theharbour and in theslums, itsarchitecture and itsglamorous and, at thesame time, mysteriouslydarknightlife.
We can alsofindoutaboutitsrich natural resources in thenearbyarea, its country houses, its “pulperías” ortaverns, its folklore, customs, traditions, myths and legends. Thesurrounding
territorybecameknown as “La Pampa Húmeda” - or “FertileLand” and usedto be (and stillis) themostimportantproductive and economicresourcebasedoncattle-raising and agriculture. Takingbothits natural and economicresourcesintoaccount, we can reconstructtheway in whichBuens Aires forgeditsidentityfromthepasttothepresentmoment.
Thisisnot a Historybook. Byresortingtothe “language” of fashion, itseekstoprovideuswith a faithfulpicture of the “social representation” of Buenos Aires as perceivedbythose
whousedto (and still) dwellthiscity: in otherwords, itintendsto capture Buenos Aires’ idiosincraticnatureincludingitsemblematic and picturesquecharacters. In a sophisticated
fashion, itsaimistorecreatebothpast and present, whichshapednational culture, focusingon “porteños” and takingintoconsiderationthekey role of the “estancias” (orestablishments
foragricultural and cattle-raisingproduction) in thedevelopment of the country.