Librería "El Ateneo"

A marvel out of time.

Today, being another "lunes feriado" - that is to say a day off from work - I slept in late, took my toast and tea in my pajamas and couldn't think of anything better to do than to go to one of Buenos Aires most famous bookstores.

El Ateneo, a chain in Buenos Aires, has several locations, but the only one that really matters is, near the intersection of c/ Santa Fe and c/ Callao, in a renovated theater constructed in the early 20th century.  So what if the books are all in Spanish and only a select few of discounted tombs have price tags (exorbitant by Argentine standards) it doesn't really make a lick of difference.

The store was easy enough to get to.  I picked up "colectivo" 146 outside of the apartment and proceeded to be jostled, squashed and rubbed up against by any number of strangers while clutching my purse to my stomach like a good "porteño".  I jumped off the sardine can a few stops early to enjoy the sites on my to el Ateneo.  In truth, Buenos Aires is a fairly dirty city with poorly maintained side walks, little regard for pedestrian right of way, very little grass and an abundance of dust, "caca" and cigarette smoke.  Doesn't it sound romantic?

Don't worry... El Ateneo, and a few other gorgeous places, make up for all of that:

Once I had stopped drooling and cooing in admiration I dug up an armful of books from assorted sections and gaily seated myself in a beautiful first floor box seat to read them over the course of the next two or three hours.  There is a lovely cafe and bar on the stage, but most locals just collect in the too-few leather armchairs and read to their heart's content.  Although books in Spanish aren't difficult to come by with sites like Amazon, it is something else entirely to muddle through shelves and shelves of books, reading little snippets and admiring covers.  In the end, buying a good book is like buying a good wine (or beer).  One has to consider the feel of it, the smell of it, the weight of it, the taste and decide whether it is just rubbish to make time pass by a little more quickly or something that you will hurry home to get your hands on.

While I was tempted by a number of delicacies, including an all inclusive guide to amazing grocery markets, specialty food stores and cafes in Buenos Aires, I was enchanted immediately by this:

"Diccionario fraseológico del habla argentina" by Pedro Luis Barcia.  "Argentine speak", as we gringos could call it, is not only distinctive - it's bewitching.  I have always been a proponent of the very correct, up-right Castillian accent I first learned.  I love it's lisping and rasping and - in some cases - the prolific amount of spit that is necessary to correctly create some of the sounds.  But listen to a porteño speak, even if you don't understand a bit of it, and you will be transported, transfixed and transformed.

See all those little phrases that are italicized?  We all know what they mean, more or less, and what they signify.  Many of them are colloquialisms.  In Richmond, for example, we say: I'm going to the river; which, signifies that we are going to some body of water to relax.  We know, inherently, what it signifies too.  This phraseology is, essentially, just that.  At work I have been reading transcripts of translated lectures and presentations.  I listen to the tape of the speaker in English while simultaneously reading the transcript (also in English) and, all the while, look for and correct errors or misinterpreted words.  As a native English speaker, this is where I shine.  Many phrases like "hitting the nail on the head" are often highlighted since a) they can't be translated literally and b) they have a cultural or regional significance.  As an interpreter it isn't enough to just know what words to use, you have to transport the cultural significance as well in a way that the listener understands why the speaker has used that particular phrase and how it affects or defines the topic.  I am a little... how shall I say... nervous to start the Spanish transcripts although Martin (my boss) assures me that it is going to happen.

[End linguistic rant]

I was so utterly enamored of this phraseolgoy book that I went to the register without even questioning what it might cost: ARS $218.  It didn't matter.  Even if you don't know any Spanish, here is a small sampling of some of the phrases from the book; which, I will be studying and using daily from hence forth.

Useful vocabulary from this post / El vocabulario util de la bitácora:

• " la caca" - n.  shit, crap, excrement
• "el colectivo" - n.  the city bus; runs within the district of the capital
• "el porteño" - n.  resident of Buenos Aires
• "lunes" - n. Monday; the first day of the week
• "librería" - n. bookstore

(and more importantly)

• a caballo 
• ex.  voy a cocinar un bife a caballo
• definition: I am going to cook a steak with a pair of fried eggs
• bien polenta 
• ex.  la tarta de zapallitos es bien polenta.
• definition: This zuchinni tart is optimal; the very best.
• dar por la nuca
• me dio por la nuca 
• definition: He charged me a ridiculous price!

Just a sampling to wet your palette.  

I heard a professor once say "nada significa nada" / "nothing signifies nothing" and I have to say... I believe him.  

Con un abrazo,

Sarah