THE METROPOLIS OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
“What is the Camp?” I asked of a Buenos Airean one day.
“Everything outside of Buenos Aires,” was his reply.
“Is Rosario a part of the Camp?” I questioned, for Rosario is the second
municipality in the Argentine Republic, and is a city approaching two
hundred thousand inhabitants.
“Yes, but we would not say so in Rosario.”
This little conversation reveals the pride of all _Porteños_, as they
call themselves, in their city, for the term Camp is used as country is
with us. Buenos Aires contains the wealth and culture of the republic,
and is the centre of the political as well as national life. One-fifth of
the entire population dwell there, for the head has outgrown the body.
“Paris is France,” says the Parisian, but the importance of that capital
to France is outclassed by the significance of Buenos Aires to Argentina.
Buenos Aires is a wonderful city, and its inhabitants are a remarkable
people. Italians and Spanish abound there in great numbers; thousands of
French, British and Germans have found a haven on the low bank of the
Rio de la Plata, and it would be difficult to find a race in Asia or
Africa that has not its representatives in that cosmopolitan metropolis.
On the street almost any tongue may be heard, and nearly every European
language is represented by its own newspaper. It is not a tropical city,
such as Rio de Janeiro, nor an indolent one, but a city of business and
enterprise with a great deal of the Latin love of pleasure in evidence.
Women have become open competitors of men in the offices and stores, and
the old conservatism of Spain has been compelled to yield to a broader
cosmopolitanism.
“There is nothing in any other city that cannot be found here,” is
the boast of the _Porteño_. In a general sense the claim is true. The
skyscraper, the elevated railway and the “tube” are missing, but there
are few conveniences or luxuries that cannot be purchased, if one only
has the price. The price is usually high, for Buenos Aires is a very
expensive city in which to live. Nearly all articles pass through the
custom house and have a certain percentage added to the original cost in
the foreign markets.
There are almost a million and a quarter of these busy people who
make their homes in Buenos Aires. In the New World it is exceeded
in population by only three cities of the United States. It is as
cosmopolitan as New York, and is the hub and centre of the whole
republic. On the vast pampas grow the grain and meat which sustain
the energies of the factory workers of Europe, who, in turn, send to
Argentina the product of their looms and machine shops. It is upon the
fertility of these broad leagues, which produce such great quantities
of cereals, meat, wool and hides, that the people live. There is little
manufacturing in the city and the absence of smoke-stacks is the most
striking aspect, when viewed from a height by an American.
[Illustration: “GIANT CRANES ARE SWINGING”]
It is only necessary to go down to the immense docks of Buenos Aires to
get a vivid idea of the vast commerce of this city. It is a scene that
cannot be duplicated even in New York with its far greater traffic. All
you can see along those docks is the lofty bow of an ocean greyhound
heaving up now and then above the dock-shed, as the tide ebbs and flows,
and each one looks very much like the other. Here in Buenos Aires they
stretch along the edges of the basins, funnel behind funnel, bridge
behind bridge, as far as one can see, until the vision is lost in a
veritable sea of masts. A splendid freighter just in from Europe and
loaded with champagne, automobiles and other luxuries may lie next to a
river boat just in from Paraguay and loaded with oranges and bananas.
Giant cranes are swinging, heaped-up trucks are constantly on the move
and men are carrying loads backward and forward. Here are vessels from
all the carrying nations of the world, flying the flags of Germany,
Italy, France, Great Britain, Spain and Austria, but the flag of the
United States is not visible. Out of the thousands of vessels which
entered this port last year, there were only four small ships that sailed
under the stars and stripes of Uncle Sam. Out in the river dozens of
boats may be seen anchored, for the freighters are oftentimes obliged to
wait three or four weeks before they can enter one of the basins and
discharge their cargo. Outside the vast warehouses, which are always
packed clear to the roofs, are scores of trucks and drays busily loading
or unloading, and conveying freight to and from the railroad freight
depots and the commission houses. And just beyond the line of drays is
the dock railroad, where the switch engines are busily engaged in shoving
cars backward and forward.
These immense docks, built only a few years ago, are already too small,
so rapidly has Buenos Aires grown. Although almost four hundred years
old, this city is as new as Chicago. For generations it remained only a
miserable collection of mud huts, with lots three miles deep that could
be purchased for an old, broken-down horse, or a second-hand suit of
clothes. When our Declaration of Independence was given to the world only
three thousand people lived on these mud flats now built up with great
structures. Then it began to grow slowly, until a half-century ago it
had reached a population of seventy-five thousand. Its greatest growth,
however, has been in the last twenty years. A quarter of a century ago
there was only a flat mudbar along the waterfront of Buenos Aires. Ships
were compelled to anchor several miles out in the river. Boxes, bales and
passengers were conveyed ashore in lighters and row-boats. High-wheeled
carts were then pushed out into the water so that passengers could land
without getting wet. Plans for a system of docks were then prepared by
an English engineer, which were completed at a cost of forty millions
of dollars. Five great basins were constructed which extended along
the river front for three miles. At that time, however, the tonnage of
this port was less than a million. Now it has reached ten millions, and
additional basins are absolutely necessary. A magnificent and commodious
custom house is now being built at a cost of a million and a half of
dollars to provide room for the large working force necessary to care for
this immense export and import trade.
It is as a town of pleasure, however, that the native Argentinian loves
to think of his capital. “Paris,” says he, “why, Paris and Buenos Aires
should not be mentioned in the same breath.” In his opinion Buenos Aires
has Paris beat to a “frazzle,” although that particular word has not yet
entered his vocabulary. This is the feature of the city that almost any
inhabitant will dwell upon whenever you meet him. In his opinion the
theatres cannot be equalled. He will tell you of the Casino, where the
best vaudeville acts of all Europe are played; and of La Escala, where
the singers follow each other in melancholy procession, each one dressed
in the same strapless bodice and stiff, bespangled skirt. One may sing
in French, another in Italian and still another in Spanish, but each one
wriggles her powdered shoulders and presses her hands to her heart in the
same pathetic way. The men smoke and stare, seldom applauding, and the
Argentine ladies—they give La Escala a wide berth.
[Illustration: “THEY FILE AROUND AND AROUND BETWEEN THE PALMS”]
Then there is the Jockey Club, with an entrance fee and annual dues
higher than any club in New York. Only native Argentinians can belong
to it, although the diplomats and a few other favoured foreigners
are given an honorary membership. There is an English Club which is
rather an exclusive organization, and a German Club which occupies a
fine new building. The Club de Residentes Estranjeros, or, as it is
generally called, the Strangers’ Club, is the one that appeals most to
the visitor, however, for a stranger will be given the courtesies of
the club for one month upon a simple introduction by a member. There
are at least fifty similar social organizations in Buenos Aires, for
the _Porteños_ are a hospitable and sociable people and love to mingle
together socially. The races are held on Sunday afternoons from twelve
o’clock to three. Outside the race track may be seen a long line of
carriages and automobiles drawn up along the curb. The instant the races
are over this line melts away and every vehicle wends its way toward
beautiful Palermo Park, where, joined by hundreds of other similar
vehicles, they file around and around between the palms and indulge
themselves in the passion of staring at everyone else. At five o’clock
on a Sunday afternoon, or on feast days, of which there are more than
thirty in the course of a year, the crowds are at their greatest. The
parade of vehicles is oftentimes three deep and would stretch out many
miles if placed one behind the other in a straight line. There are no
dark mantillas and no closed carriages to conceal the female occupants,
and it is a sight for the men. It is a procession of human upholstery
with expensive trappings, huge Parisian hats, expensive gowns and an
abundance of cosmetics. Side by side with rich turnouts plated with
silver and gold, magnificent horses and footmen as well as coachmen in
rich livery, may be seen men just in from the Camp dressed in their less
sophisticated clothes and riding in hired victorias, and the music-hall
singers with their overdressed air and ravishing smiles, which they
bestow with a generous freedom.
Calle Florida is the fashionable shopping street. In the late hours of
the afternoon the street is crowded with the shoppers and idlers, and
all traffic is excluded from the thoroughfare during those hours. Mamma
and her daughters, Juanita and Carmencita, are out to look at the pretty
things, the latter in their freshly starched skirts and bright-coloured
ribbons. Others, who have no shopping to do, invent some excuse for being
on Florida at that hour, and the young dandies stand on the corners,
twirling moustaches that turn up at an angle of forty-five degrees and
smoking the inevitable cigarette. When the witching hours of night have
come the crowds again appear. Calles Florida, Cangallo, Esmeralda, Cuyo,
Maipu and many others are brilliantly illuminated, for the theatres
and cafés are in that section, as well as the best restaurants, and
rathskellers, and these people certainly love to eat. There are many good
restaurants, of which the Sportsman is probably the most popular. Here
you may partake of almost any European dish—to say nothing of native
ones. In addition to music a free moving picture show is provided. To
obtain a seat at certain hours it is necessary to make arrangements
beforehand, for diners linger long at the table. The meal usually begins
with a dish of cold meats. Then comes a salad or the soup, together with
the appetizers. Fish and three or four kinds of meat then follow, ending
with a pastry or _dulce_ (sweet) of some kind. It is surprising to see
what a meal a thin Spaniard will put himself on the outside of, together
with a choice assortment of liquors, and seem no worse for the effort.
During my visit the “Merry Widow” was being played in three different
languages, French, Italian and Spanish, in as many different theatres.
The Teatro Colon is the largest opera house in South America and the
very best of opera is given there, a government subsidy being granted.
There are few of the world’s great artists who have not appeared here at
some time in their career. In no country in the world can better Italian
opera be heard. It will seat thousands of people, and it is always a
fashionably dressed audience. A thousand dollars for a season box is
readily paid by the nabob of Buenos Aires. Low-necked gowns for the women
and evening dress for the men predominate, and jewels by the peck may be
seen sparkling all over the audience. Nowhere can wealth and beauty be
seen in greater abundance.
There are almost as many Italians as those of Spanish birth in Buenos
Aires. If all the Italians in the city were gathered together into
one quarter they would make up a town as large as Genoa. Likewise the
“Spaniards from Spain,” who now live in Buenos Aires, would populate
a city larger than old Toledo. The British colony is probably next in
numbers, with the German a close rival and France following in the
rear. Americans do not cut much of a figure in numbers, for the North
American Society, recently organized, had great difficulty in locating
three hundred who claimed allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. And yet
this small but enthusiastic body agreed to furnish a statue of George
Washington, the father of liberty not only in our own land but in
all the Americas, to be erected in that city. The city government has
generously granted a site in one of the finest locations in the city.
It will be a pleasure to future visitors from the United States to see
the familiar likeness of our honoured hero gazing down at them with his
benevolent manner in this Latin city.
Buenos Aires is very much unlike our American cities. In the first place
there are no skyscrapers that lift their lofty roofs upward. The highest
building does not exceed six or seven stories in height. Then there are
miles upon miles of streets with buildings of one story predominating.
It is laid out in rectangular blocks, averaging about four hundred feet
on each side. The streets are narrow, and even in the residence sections
they are generally built clear up to the street line. These narrow
streets are a relic of the old days when this city was small and dormant.
Narrow thoroughfares then meant shaded walks, but shade at that time was
a more valuable asset than it is now in a hustling city. The principal
business streets, such as Florida, Cuyo, Cangallo, Bartolomé Mitre, San
Martin, 25th of May, etc., are only thirty-three feet wide, and you will
wonder how the traffic is managed. It is done in this wise. Street cars
and vehicles are only allowed to move one way. On the adjoining street
they will move in the opposite direction. It is surprising how this plan
helps to solve a serious problem of congestion. Cabs and automobiles dash
along with seeming disregard of human life, and yet few accidents result.
A uniformed policeman is stationed at each street intersection where
traffic is congested, and assists in the protection of foot passengers
and drivers. This police force made up of men with Indian blood in their
veins impresses the visitor as most efficient. There is now a law in
effect that no street shall be opened up in the future that is less than
sixty feet in width.
[Illustration: “THE BROAD AND IMPOSING AVENIDA DE MAYO”]
[Illustration: THE AVENIDA ALVEAR]
There is one exception to the narrow streets, and that is the broad and
imposing Avenida de Mayo, near the centre of the city. This street,
with its wide pavements and rows of trees, lined on either side by
hotels, fine stores and office buildings, reminds one of the famous
avenues of Paris. The open-air cafés, which line the broad sidewalks of
this avenue, only emphasize this resemblance and testify to the fact
that the old-world spirit is still alive in Buenos Aires. At one end
of the street is the Plaza de Mayo, at the far side of which is the
government building in which are the administration offices; and at the
other terminus, a mile away, is the Palace of Congress, which has just
been completed after thirteen years of building, and at a cost of eight
million dollars. With its great dome it gives a prospect very much like
that of the Capitol at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. The
cross streets all begin and end at Calle Rivadavia, just one block from
this avenue, for they have a different name on the two ends. One of the
streets in the city is called Estados Unidos, which is the Spanish for
United States. The Avenida Alvear, which leads out to Palermo, is another
striking street. The mansions which line it are interspersed with gardens
and plazas, and this broad avenue gains in beauty by this wealth of
verdure and flowers.
The people of this southern metropolis may put off until “to-morrow”
many things, after the manner of the Spanish people, but they do not
idle to-day. Everywhere it is work, work, work, and the people earn
their bread by the actual sweat of the brow. That is, all except the
wealthy _estancieros_, or plantation owners, who became wealthy by the
marvellous rise in the value of their lands. Many men bought a square
league of pampa land fifteen or twenty years ago for a few thousand
dollars, and it is now worth fifty dollars an acre. This enables them
to live in Buenos Aires in idleness and comparative luxury. Greater
opportunities, another climate and the virgin soil have instilled a
new life into bodies and brains. It is a mingling of the spirit of the
old world and the new which shapes the daily life of this city. The
term “effete,” so often applied to Latin nations, and the “proverbial
laziness” of Spaniard and Italian, so often referred to by writers,
does not apply here. From the shipping sections where boats, barges and
tugs throng in endless procession, from the flats on the river where
hundreds of acres have been reclaimed in recent years, to the business
section and the wide tree-planted avenues where the electric cars rush
out into the residence section, the traveller will observe nothing but
movement and effort, unceasing work and activity. In fact, were it not
for the difference in architecture, a warmer shade in the complexion of
the people, the sonorous consonants of the Castilian tongue, and the
fact that the passer-by who jostles you never fails to lift his hat and
apologize, the traveller might imagine himself in some unfamiliar part
of New York or Philadelphia. There are the same workmen laying asphalt
streets, the same gangs of builders and labourers tearing down buildings
and laying foundations for great business structures, or demolishing rows
of houses to make way for new avenues or squares. Everywhere the city is
expanding. It already covers an area four times as large as Manhattan
Island, three times larger than Berlin and more than twice that of Paris.
The Spanish people love the beautiful, and that same trait is observed in
Argentina. There are many beautiful plazas in Buenos Aires, as well as
several free public parks and gardens. In all there are seventy-two of
these artistic recreation spaces where the “good airs” of the city can be
enjoyed by the population. The finest park is magnificent Palmermo with
its rich vegetation, which is a half-hour’s ride from the centre of the
city. This park is a breathing-place and recreation-ground of which any
city might be proud. Although it is below the tropics, yet some species
of the palm thrive here, and the vegetation is more luxuriant and much
different from that of the latitude of New York or Chicago. The principal
sporting and play grounds are all near this park. Through it runs a
broad boulevard which leads out to Belgrano, the fashionable suburb of
the capital. In this suburb, as well as in the city proper, there are
many magnificent private homes, which are veritable palaces. In the
older part of the city the courtyard, or _patio_, so typical of Spanish
architecture, may be seen. The glimpse of the foliage and blossom that it
reveals is decidedly refreshing. In the later buildings, sad to say, the
_patio_ has disappeared, for the increased value of space seems to forbid
this luxury. The network of bars at the windows has likewise vanished.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE PALATIAL HOMES OF BUENOS AIRES]
The city offers a prize each year for the handsomest structure that is
erected, the awarding of which is in the hands of a regularly organized
commission. In addition to the reward, which goes to the architect, the
owner is exempted from taxes for a certain period, and is reimbursed
out of the city’s funds for whatever sums he has expended in creating
a street front of artistic character. Buenos Aires owes very little of
its beauty to nature. Lest some inharmonious advertising should mar
the scene the municipality has taken control of all out-of-door display
advertising. No poster can be placed on wall or fence unless it passes
muster with the official in charge of this work. The height of a building
must have a fixed relation to the width of the street, in order to
preserve the light and air. Less than two decades ago the space occupied
by the docks was a marshy strip of ground. Now a broad park called the
Paseo Cristobal Colon (Columbus) has been laid out and planted with trees
and shrubbery. Built upon a site with no natural beauty, so much more
credit is due the landscape artists who have transformed this dreary spot.
The markets of Buenos Aires are interesting places to visit. The best
hour to visit them is very early in the morning, for everything is astir
at that time and all the supplies may be seen in their abundance. As
early as four o’clock all is bustle and life. The throng is so great that
it is oftentimes with difficulty that one can thread his way through the
busy crowd of buyers, sellers and porters. The markets are not especially
beautiful but they have a wholesome cleanliness. The most striking
feature is the overflowing quantities of everything. Eggs are there by
the thousands of dozens, vegetables by the van-load, meat by the ton and
fruit by the car-load. The contents of a whole orchard may be seen at
a glance. One could fill his house with the fine peaches and pears and
scarcely see any diminution in the supply. These two fruits, together
with the Mendoza grape, are the finest kinds. It used to be that one
could buy a week’s supply of vegetables for a small sum, and meat for
almost a song, but prices, except for meats, are now almost as high as in
our own city markets. A noisy, bustling, motley crowd of people of all
sizes and colours fill the aisles. Buxom cooks, pretty Italian girls and
vendors with their enormous baskets jostle against each other. To watch
the bantering is a source of endless amusement.
[Illustration: “COWS ARE BROUGHT TO THE DOOR”]
“You are a thief, as every one knows,” says the market woman. “Oh,
Señora, only an angel like you could say such things,” replies the
merchant. And thus they go on passing similar compliments without either
one losing his or her temper until a bargain is finally struck. The
vendors, however, do not unduly urge, and apparently do not seem to care
whether you buy or not. There seems to be no standard of value. In the
late afternoon meat may be purchased very cheap, as the law requires all
meat to be sold the same day on which it is killed. The butchers go out
to the municipal slaughtering houses very early in the morning and kill
as many animals as they think they can sell that day.
Those who do not find it convenient to come to the market are supplied
by the vendors, who carry fruits and vegetables from door to door. Their
supplies are carried in baskets which are suspended on poles swung across
the shoulders. The air is filled with the cries of these picturesque
peripatetic merchants, of the scissors-grinders and the dealer in
notions, most of whom are Italians. In the morning and evening cows are
brought to the door and milk drawn direct from nature’s reservoirs in any
quantity desired. The tinkle of a bell is the herald of the milkman’s
approach, and the doors open as the good housewife or maid appears with
pitcher in hand. Donkey’s milk is also delivered in the same way, and its
use is often preferred for the feeding of infants.
The capital of Argentina is more like an American city than any other
city of South America. The architecture is entirely dissimilar, but
the movement on the streets, the arrangement of the stores, and the
general bearing of the people bears a marked resemblance. They like to
be called the Yankees of South America, for that term signifies energy,
resourcefulness and progressiveness. They are deserving of the term too.
They are less strenuous than Americans, for they love holidays and enter
heartily into the holiday spirit whenever the occasion permits. In that
way they seem to get a great deal of pleasure out of life, perhaps more
than many of our intensely absorbed, overworked business men.
[Illustration: THE RICOLETA CEMETERY]
It is not a city one need hesitate to visit. All the creature comforts
may be had. There are good physicians, good hospitals, good schools and
the other advantages of populated centres in either the United States or
Europe. There are no less than sixteen hospitals in the city, most of
which are maintained either by the municipal or federal government. The
British Hospital is an admirable institution, and is the one generally
patronized by the Americans, for it has a staff of very able physicians.
There are also numerous asylums for various unfortunates, foundlings’
homes, orphanages, etc., of a very high character. Electric street cars,
which carried one hundred and twenty-five million passengers last year,
run in every direction, and splendid trains convey passengers to almost
every part of the republic. Carriages of all kinds and taxicabs remind
one of New York and London. Hotels and restaurants abound on every hand.
A visit to this southern metropolis opens one’s eyes to the fact that
South America is forging ahead at a much more rapid pace than we have
ever dreamed.
One of the finest cemeteries of the world is the Ricoleta Cemetery, the
fashionable burying place of Buenos Aires. As one enters its appearance
is that of a marble and granite city, with small palaces on either side,
and narrow streets which are paved the same as the streets of a city.
These small palaces are vaults within which the mortal remains of the
departed are buried. They are of all sizes and conditions, from small to
massive, and from the grand to the unpretentious. Some are the palaces
of the rich and others the humble tenements of the poor. A few of these
vaults contain hundreds of bodies. All have but one room that can be
seen as you enter, and this room is rather furnished as a chapel of the
dead, and is not, as a rule, very large. The entrance to the tomb is by a
door almost at the level of the street. Sometimes a marble slab in this
room may contain the sarcophagus of some distinguished member of the
family, but in general this small room is only the entrance to the vault
underneath, which contains the bodies. One will generally find this small
room filled with flowers, real or artificial, and bouquets are oftentimes
placed there at intervals of only a few days. The outside doors of this
mausoleum are often of plate glass, furnished with locks, and many of
them have lace curtains and gratings of iron curiously wrought. In the
vault underneath the coffins are placed on shelves, one above another
in niches which have been provided and then cemented in. Although this
cemetery is not large it contains, so it is said, about two hundred and
fifty thousand inhabitants.
One of the oddest customs in Buenos Aires is that relating to funerals
and the burial of the dead. In this city funerals are great functions
and the average burial is a very expensive affair. The undertakers
advertise their business much as merchants advertise their dry goods.
Each one will state how much more he will furnish for his money than his
competitor, and praise the caskets which he will furnish and style in
which he will conduct the funeral. These are provided in first, second
and third class. A first-class funeral is a very imposing occasion. The
hearses provided are the most ornate I have ever seen. They are always
black, drawn by black horses, and the woodwork is made of carved ebony
in very intricate design. Coachmen and footmen, both in the same sombre
black livery, are provided, and many coaches follow the hearse, also
provided with a coachman in mourning dress. Then again the newspapers
will be filled with advertisements of families giving an invitation to
their friends to be present at the funeral, also announcing the masses
which are given from year to year on the anniversary of the funeral,
and inviting their friends to be present at this solemn service. At the
church servants will be posted at the door to receive the cards of those
who go in, or those who send their regrets, the same as they would at
any other social occasion. By scanning the papers the Argentinians keep
track of the masses said for their friends. The Argentinians are very
respectful toward funerals, and every one will reverently bare his head
as a cortege passes by.
The expense of conducting the business of this great city runs into
big figures. For the year 1909 the total sum was about thirty million
dollars, but the resources were in excess of this amount. In addition
to some property tax there are many special imposts, such as tax on
advertising permits, building permits, slaughterhouses, markets,
cemeteries, street cars, carriages, etc. The national lottery pays a
certain proportion of its receipts into the municipal coffers, and the
race courses also contribute. The liquor license is small, and as a
result the number of such establishments where intoxicants are sold
is very large, although saloons or bars after the American or English
fashion are found only in the business districts. _Lecherias_, or milk
shops, are very numerous, and thousands of gallons of milk are sold over
the counters by the glass. Frozen milk takes the place of ice cream at
these establishments, which are very neat and cleanly. The police force
numbers nearly five thousand, or about one to every two hundred and forty
persons. The fire department has numerous stations and is well organized.
There are both a national and a municipal department of hygiene, which
have control over all municipal sanitation. The efficient work of these
organizations has brought down the death rate to where it will compare
very favourably with the other large cities of the world.
The water supply and sewer system of the capital are likewise under the
direction of the national government. Few cities of the world have a
better service. The water is taken from the La Plata River far enough up
to avoid any chance of pollution. It is obtained from wells which are
driven beneath the bottom of the river, and the water is pumped through
tunnels to a central station. Here it is filtered and then distributed
to all sections of the city. The central reservoir, called the Aguas
Corrientes, is in the heart of the city. With its imposing brick and
terra cotta facing on every side, it looks like a magnificent palace,
and so I thought it at first sight. Inside, however, it consists only
of immense tanks from which the water gravitates over the city. This
shell constructed for the water tanks cost the municipality almost a
million dollars, and it is all done for the sole purpose of adding to the
artistic beauty of the capital.