I spent Monday afternoon digging for vinyl. I was hoping for a repeat of Caracas two years ago, where I found an extra suitcase full of classic disco and Fania-era salsa for pennies.

I was not nearly as lucky in BA. There were plenty of record stores, but their black American music was pretty mainstream. I did pick up a few joints. This Geraldine Hunt LP. Giorgio Moroder's E=MC2. The best find by far was a pristine copy of Alice Coltrane's "Journey In Satchidananda", perhaps one of the most beautiful records ever recorded, and one I've been searching for for the last 6 years. That was just laying there on some guy's flea market table for $15. The prices were no where near as nice as Caracas, as even the flea market guy with 12 random records had seemingly been checking Ebay before pricing his vinyl.

There was a decent supply of Jazz records, but I wasn't really checking for them. Other than that, I saw an inordinate amount of Boney M and countless copies of a particularly mediocre Claudja Barry record. Go figure.



I like taking pictures of kids when they just get out of school. One day I will get arrested for this, I'm sure.


Also, people at bus stops. One day I will get beat up for this, I'm sure.














BA at night is an endless series of dimly lit apartment building lobbies. They're all so moody and sparse. Most are occupied by a lone doorman in a suit, idling away the wee small hours of the morning. I would really like go go back there and just do a photo essay on these lonely doormen in their stylish lobbies and their tinted glass fishbowl existence.




Sidewalk to driveway to lobby are often one seamless unbroken surface of nice stonework. It creates an odd indoor space/outdoor space fluidity that you don't really get in American cities.




Steak is a religion in this part of the world. It is cooked slowly over wood coals, in a very particular manner, on a sloping grill called a parilla (sounds like "pareesha" - because they pronounce their Ys and double LLs with an "SH" sound down there. Go figure).

The meat is amazing, albeit a bit chewy and well-done by U.S. standards. Medium-well is standard, so you might want to ask them to make it rare. Wash it down with a local Malbec and it's all good. We ate incredible steak dinners almost every night - four people, with wine, for about $120 or less. Bananas.








Inside of one of BA's happening hot spots, Isabel. I had just discovered the long exposure setting on my new camera.