Memories of Buenos Aires

by Lisi Mauch

“Mi Buenos Aires querido…” or “My dear Buenos Aires” – this beautiful and well known song – is the first thing that appears immediately in my mind when I think about Buenos Aires, the place where I was born. I could have never imagined how difficult it would be for me to leave Argentina, my country. In fact, this last year has been a year of many mixed feelings. On one hand, my husband and I were pursuing a better life to raise a family. In fact, the United States offered a wide range of jobs as well as economic stability and security. On the other hand, after we landed in the U.S., I started to miss not only my family and friends, but also some particular things of Buenos Aires that I had never thought about until I missed them. For instance, my long walks through the city everyday appreciating the European structure of many buildings, the long Corrientes Avenue illuminated in the night for all the most important theaters of the city, and the smell of coffee escaping from the coffee shops in the mornings where people are reading newspapers and having breakfast. I miss walking down the pedestrian street and stopping to watch a couple dancing Tango for the tourists who take pictures. Tango is our national dance and a style of music known worldwide. I also miss the classic Teatro Colon or Colon Theatre, an opera house where many of the most beautiful orchestra and musical performances have been played. However, the most important and even most difficult part of being far away from Argentina is to be away from my people. My close friends and our times together drinking mate. I long to share stories of our lives, dreams, goals, achievements and frustrations. My family, and those Sundays when we were together having lunch and eating “asado,” “grilled meat.” Furthermore, I used to spend some time with my nephews and nieces playing with them and having a good time.
The irony is that, as many people who left their own countries have said, “We generally do not appreciate the things we have until we miss them,” I started to feel now more Argentine than ever.