2013-01-05

【Aiden in English】

        The wheels on the bus went round and round as the air filled with the sound of the sunny morning chirps of birds. Buenos Aires blew out "Good Airs" or "Fair Winds." They eclectically blended their contemporary vitality and old-world languor on the western bank of the Rio de la Plata estuary. It was already blisteringly hot when the bus stopped at the city's political and cultural heart, Plaza de Mayo (May Plaza). I wondered how the paddles still hadn't dried up yet.

        Plaza de Mayo was meant to be one of Argentina's capital cities' most sought-after attractions. As a national symbol, it was where First Lady Eva Peron made her famous "Renunciation" speech, and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was filmed in the movie Evita. A crowd gathered here almost every Thursday to protest for a better life. 

        Then, a shadow cast over me. I looked up and saw a rather exotic pink building. Before I could articulate my thoughts, my mother told me that Casa Rosada used to be the presidential residence. I clamped my mouth shut to be polite. I cooled down as the heat broke to my sweltering level by entering the Metropolitan Cathedral. Torches were a little on the walls, throwing large shadows upon me. There in the middle sat an altar larger than the wall of my house! It had a light, red glow that illuminated the altar, showing the details carved into the stones.

        On the way to La Boca, we passed along Avenida 9 de Julio (July 9 Avenue), the world's broadest and most famous jacaranda-lined avenue. Its name was honored on National Independence Day, July 9, 1816. The avenue ran approximately 0.62 miles/1 kilometer with 7 lanes in each direction. Like Times Square in New York and Piccadilly Circus in London, the Obelisk of Buenos Aires, situated in Plaza de la República (Independence Plaza), has become a national historic monument, located across the avenue. As one of the world's top 5 grandest opera houses, the Colon Theater puts an extraordinary spotlight on this area.

        Avenida Rivadavia (Rivadavia Avenue) extends roughly 22 miles/35 km from downtown to the suburbs and might win another title of the longest thoroughfare on earth.

        La Bombonera (the Chocolate Box) was a rowdy stadium of Argentina's best-known football team, Boca Juniors, which Diego Armando Maradona, a former superstar, joined. As Mom said, Maradona grew up in such a barrio or neighborhood and is even well-known in China. La Bombonera hosted the South American Soccer Championship, drawing 100,000 fans. Since we had little time, we couldn't buy tickets at the stadium.

        Before I knew it, we were parked on a wide road to explore Buenos Aires' oldest barrios. Nothing was as fascinating as La Boca, where the tango was born. At La Boca, named for its position at "the mouth" of the Riachuelo River in Spanish, we disembarked for a stroll along its main street, Caminito, to soak up the flavor of the most authentic Argentina. Caminito had numerous colorful outdoor art galleries where artists displayed and sold their work. The street sign looked so unique that we learned its culture and history piece by piece right there. We marveled at the brightly painted wood-and-corrugated-steel "conventions" (shared homes) and took a peek inside the glamorous tango cafes.

        Born around 1880, the tango originated as a sultry dance and music form in Argentina's working-class communities. It combined elements from various Italian, Spanish, and French cultures to create New World music that swept across Argentina. Eventually, the tango became one of the most popular dance forms on the international stage. It was not until 2009 that the Argentine and Uruguayan tango were jointly inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. La Boca has attracted millions of tourists from all over the world. Even though I still wanted to look around a little more, I couldn't help but feel relieved when cool air blew out of the bus, which instantly doused the small fire in my body.

        We ended up in Galeras Pacifico (Pacific Gallery) for a late lunch. This was a Beaux-Arts shopping center reminiscent of Le Bon Marché in Paris. The mall housed many high-end stores, such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Christian Lacroix, Christian Dior, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, and La Martina, as well as a food court serving Chinese cuisine. Ironically, we used to adapt ourselves to American Chinese food back home in Pennsylvania. However, we had never experienced our cuisine in Argentine flavor before. Every Chinese dish looked great and tasted delicious after being away from home for three weeks. I appreciated a warm embrace from strangers in front of a giant Christmas tree. Argentina maintained a nuanced understanding of Eastern, Western, and Southern mores dynamically.

        When we were immersed in an ocean of splendid architecture and diversified cultures, as Mom thought, the illusion rotated into our eyes, and the expression transformed more than thousands of words that we could describe the spotlights. It was about beauty, and it was beyond the beauty which tranquilized humanity in life.

【紅霞譯】

        大巴上的輪子轉呀轉，小鳥迎着朝陽唱呀唱，布宜諾斯艾利斯“順風”好空氣飄呀飄，順風送來普拉塔“銀”河西岸的時代氣息與歷史陳跡。當我們來到首都政治文化中心的五月廣場時，酷暑悄然來襲，氣溫居高不下，我納悶輪胎怎麼沒有熱得脹爆破皮？

        五月廣場作為1810年5月阿根廷國慶標誌，是旅遊首都的必經之地。伊娃·庇隆“生命·磐石”夫人曾在此發表過“不參加副總統競選”的著名演講，電影“艾薇塔”插曲《阿根廷別為我哭泣》也設此地為拍攝背景；每個星期四，為改善生活而努力奮鬥的布宜諾斯人都會抗着橫幅標語定期到這裡向政府示威，發泄不滿。

        這時，頭頂掠過一片陰影，我順勢往上望去，只見一個粉紅色奇特建築映入眼帘，未等我張口詢問，媽媽站在身旁隨聲道出，原來它就是曾一度被當成總統府的“玫瑰宮”，出於禮貌，我並未妄加評論。氣溫越來越叫人受不了，我趕緊躲入大都會教堂避熱。牆壁外，火炬熊熊燃燒，投影倒掛在我身上；教堂內，巨大的祭壇比我家的牆還要大！大廳上，祭壇被閃閃紅光襯托得莊重奪目，並彰顯出上面精湛的石刻工藝。

        在奔赴博卡“河口”區之前，我們路過用來紀念1816年7月9號阿根廷獨立日的“七月九日大街”，紫葳樹排成縱隊，點綴道路兩旁，這是一條迄今為止世界上最寬的都市街道，跨度為0.62英里／1公里，每一方向均由7條車道組成。紐約有時代廣場，倫敦有皮卡迪利圓環，七月九日大街上有獨立廣場，並矗立着國家歷史古蹟──首都方尖碑，附近還有躋身世界前五名的科隆“鴿子”大劇院。

        里瓦達維亞“河岸”大街從鬧市區直達郊外鄉下，總計約長22英里／35公里，大概可以為阿根廷摘取另一個桂冠──世界最長街道。

        巧克力盒球場為阿根廷最知名球隊博卡青年足球俱樂部所在地，當年有迭戈·阿曼多·馬拉多納加盟，氣勢凌人。據媽媽所說，馬拉多納堪稱從博卡貧民窟踢出去的國際超級球星，其聲譽甚至響遍全中國。巧克力盒球場曾舉辦過南美足球錦標賽，最多容納十萬名觀眾，我們因為時間緊來不及買票進去參觀。

        不知不覺地，我們行駛進入首都最老的行政區，說實在的，哪裡都不如探戈發源地博卡熱鬧非凡。在西班牙語中，博卡里亞丘埃洛“小河”河口，卡米尼托“小步道”是博卡區的主要街道，毫無疑問地，它將成為我們體味正宗阿根廷生活氣息的駐足目標。卡米尼托街頭擺滿了各種各樣藝人繪製的藝術作品，這裡甚至連路標都充滿藝術風情，我們饒有興趣地仔細閱讀，神不知鬼不覺就能了解到一些當地的風土人情和歷史故事。沿街公寓樓房多以木頭波浪鐵皮材料建造，外表再刷上鮮亮明快色彩迥異的油漆，我們忍不住總想鑽進探戈咖啡館，一邊品嘗咖啡小吃，一邊欣賞異國精粹。

        大約1880年左右，探戈開始興起，其發展離不開“蟹行貓步”富有激情的豪放舞姿以及深沉哀愁的阿根廷音樂，再經意大利、西班牙、法國移民吐故納新，新大陸音樂元素融入傳統探戈，使這種雙人舞蹈流行得更加廣泛，如今探戈已發展成為國際舞台上極富魅力的舞蹈之一。2009年，阿根廷和烏拉圭兩國攜手，成功地將探戈引入《聯合國教科文組織非物質文化遺產名錄》，博卡區因此而吸引了來自世界各地成千上萬的遊客，要不是經不住悶熱煎熬，我真想繼續瀏覽下去，現在我必須先返回車上避暑降溫，等涼快以後再作其它打算。

        遊覽結束後，我們來到太平宮補吃了午飯，太平宮實際上是一座頗具藝術氣息的綜合購物中心，非常像法國巴黎蓬馬歇“好市場”百貨公司，涵蓋高檔商店與時髦產品，比如：拉夫·勞倫、克里斯汀·拉克魯瓦、克里斯汀·迪奧、鱷魚、湯米·希爾費格、雨果·波士、拉·瑪蒂娜等在此均設立分店。太平宮美食廣場有家中餐館，上至老闆、廚師，下到店員、跑堂，一個不落全部都是年輕朝氣的當地人，說來新鮮，我們以前常吃美國風味的中餐飲食，但從來沒嘗過阿根廷式的中餐烹飪，不過離家在外三個星期，對我們來講無論誰做的中餐看上去都倍感親切，不管什麼樣的中餐吃起來都噴香解饞。同時，我還得感謝阿根廷人熱情好客，自己被一幫素昧平生、節日期間購物掃貨的娘子軍前呼後擁到超大型聖誕樹前合影留念。顯然，阿根廷人之所以見多識廣，就是因為對東方、西方、南方文化兼收並蓄。

        媽媽認為，當沉浸在雄偉建築之中享受多元文化之時，我們經常捕捉新的視覺，並不斷汲取新的思想，由此而來的收穫有時難以用語言準確表達，美在其中，魂在其間，發掘人文之美，才會使我們的生活更加完好。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2013: Buenos Aires, Paris of S American(阿根廷布宜諾斯艾利斯·南美巴黎)

Aerial View of Downtown (鳥瞰市中心)

July 9^th Ave (七月九日大道)

Centro Naval, an Argentine Sports & Social Club 

(海軍中心·阿根廷運動與社交俱樂部 01-05-2013)

Historic Area Housing Plaza de Mayo & the Cabildo

(歷史街區·五月廣場和市政廳)

Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral (都市大教堂)

The Dome of Metropolitan Cathedral (都市大教堂·穹頂)

Altar of Metropolitan Cathedral (都市大教堂·祭壇）

Flaming @ Metropolitan Cathedral (都市大教堂·火焰)

Casa Rosada, the President of the Argentine Republic's Official Workplace

(玫瑰宮“粉紅之家”·阿根廷共和國總統的官方辦公地點 01-05-2013)

Pirámide de Mayo the Oldest National Monument in the City of Buenos Aires 

(五月金字塔·布宜諾斯艾利斯市最古老的國家紀念碑 01-05-2013)

Plaza de Mayo Commemorating the May Revolution of 1810

(五月廣場·紀念1810年的五月革命 01-05-2013)

Demonstration @ Plaza de Mayo (五月廣場·示威)

Monument to José de San Martín @ Plaza San Martin, Worldwide, at least 54 Equestrian Statues of José de San Martín, including at least 40 Replicas, Almost All of Them Being Copies of this Statue in Buenos Aires

(聖馬丁“戰神聖徒”廣場《何塞“神助”·聖馬丁》紀念碑——全世界至少有54座何塞·聖馬丁騎馬雕像，其中包括至少40座復製品，幾乎所有復製品都是布宜諾斯艾利斯這座雕像的復製品 01-05-2013)

Sculpture of Doubt @ Plaza San Martín

(聖馬丁廣場·雕像《懷疑》01-05-2013)

Circulo Militar or Paz Palace in the Early 20^th-Century French Beaux-Arts 

(軍界宮即帕茲“和平”宮·20世紀初法國學院藝術派 01-05-2013)

Meet Warmful Argentines @ Pacific Gallery

(太平洋拱廊·巧遇熱情的阿根廷人 01-05-2013)

Havanna Bldg at Caminito, La Boca 

(博卡區卡米尼托·哈瓦那“避風港”大廈 01-05-2013)

Caminito Regalos (卡米尼托禮物店 01-05-2013)

Benito Quinquela Martín, an Argentine Painter 

（《貝尼托·昆奎拉·馬丁“恩惠·神賜·戰神”》塑像——阿根廷著名畫家 01-05-2013)

La Boca Square, a Working-Class Area 

(博卡廣場·工人階級聚居區 01-05-2013)

Boca Junior Acrylic Art (博卡少年丙烯壁畫 01-05-2013)

Little Italy @ La Boca (博卡區·小意大利 01-05-2013)

Boca Junior (博卡青年競技俱樂部 01-05-2013)

Monument to El Caminito (《卡米尼托》紀念碑)

Restaurant @ NH (Navarra Hoteles) Crillón 

(納瓦拉“山邊的平原”酒店克里雍“小”分店·餐廳 01-05-2013)

Breakfast @ NH Crillón (克里雍酒店·早餐 01-05-2013)

Olivos Yatch Club (奧利沃斯“橄欖樹”遊艇俱樂部)

Río de la Plata, the Widest in the World, w/ a Maximum Width of 220 Kilometres/140 Miles

(普拉塔河·世上最寬的河流，最大寬度達220公里/140英里)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

Argentina(出遊阿根廷)

South America(漂流南美洲)

小學四年級(4th Grade)