Aqui em Casa: Frank Hardee, de Londres

aqui em casa frank hardee

Frank Hardee é a cara desse mundo globalizado. Nasceu na Inglaterra mas vive na Malásia e visitou Buenos Aires a caminho do Rio de Janeiro, para acompanhar as Olimpíadas.

 

 

Os hóspedes aqui de casa sempre chegam com cartas na manga.

Pois eis que Frank Hardee, que ficou uns dias aqui em casa, é filho de Malcolm Hardee, considerado o pai dos comediantes britânicos da década de 80, falecido aos 55 anos.  Mas distinto do pai, Frank é super na dele, mais discreto, mas sem perder a ironia peculiar de seu povo. Ele vive na Malásia, onde é professor de economia. Frank escolheu dois lugares para destacar em sua visita: o estádio do Boca e a Maldita Milonga. Abaixo, o texto que deixou para a gente (em inglês).

Descubra no Aqui em Casa  quem mais já se hospedou no nosso quartinho de  San Jose!

aqui em casa frank hardee

…e filho. Se parecem?

aqui em casa malcoml hardee

Pai …

 

Step back in time for a real Buenos Aires experience!

As someone fascinated by history especially social, political and sporting history the following two expriences could hardly be missed.

Museu Boca Juniors

The first, I did on my first full day here in BA and that was the Boca Juniors Stadium tour.
 
Intrigued by the story of my grandfather (still alive), who used to play football for the UK Merchant Navy team, in the late 1940s – he told me that occasionally  when the ship docked in Buneos Aires they would play other ship teams in a large stadium near to the port. He couldn’t remember whether it was the Boca stadium but I thought I would investigate to see whether this was the most likely scenario.

museu boca juniors

Foto Museu do Boca

The old stadium hasn’t changed dramatically since the redevelopment in the 1940s and in an era when stadia are becoming integrated commercial hubs (just look at the London Olympic stadium now the home of West Ham United FC) it was quite refreshing to see a very old style ground. I took lots of pictures for my grandfather and although he cannot be certain, he thinks this is likely to be where he played all those years ago.Tours of the stadium last around 75 minutes and are conducted in both Spanish and English and include a walk around a very interesting museum exhibition. Cost is 180 pesos.

Maldita Milonga

carla brandoni fotografia maldita milonga

Foto: Carla Brandoni

The second experience was at the recommendation of my host and the owner of this blog, Gisele. Gisele along with her partner Eduardo have been hosting me for the past 5 days via AirBnB and have made me completely welcome. They suggested that on Wednesday night we head to their local Milonga in San Telmo where Gisele is a local instructor. For those, like me, who had no idea what I was letting myself in for, a Milonga is a meeting place where locals go to learn and dance tango!

We arrived at 9pm at an old theatre that looked like it had seen better days but after paying the 140 pesos it was like stepping back in time to the 1950s heydays of tango. About 100 people crammed into a small hall with a stage but the place was alive from the outset. From 9-10:30 Gisele along with 3 other instructors gave us a basic tango lesson switching up partners every once in a while. I was lucky to dance with two Yale graduates who were about on par with my novice level. Once the lesson was over a live band came on and people could practise their skills on the dance floor. At the end of the evening the professionals showed us how it was done with a breathtaking display of skill.

A tourist arriving in Buenos Aires cannot miss the hundreds of tour agencies flogging expensive tango shows with dinner at roughly 100USD a pop. My advice is that if you want a real authentic tango experience head to a local Milonga instead (Gisele tells me there are about 150 all over the city during the week).

Maldita Milonga runs on a Wednesday evening on Peru street 571 in San Telmo from 9pm until 2am. Cost is 140 pesos for entry, and wine, beer and empanadas can be bought at a bar inside.

Frank Hardee is an Oxford University graduate, a university guidance counsellor and Economics teacher at an International School in Malaysia, he was visiting Buenos Aires on a tour through South America on his way at to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

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