Good times/ Bad times Lord I've had my Share

Personal Opinions displayed in Public in BA Miranda France’s Bad Times In Buenos Aires tells the tale of a woman’s life and times in Buenos Aires from an overbearingly grey perspective. Instead of seeing a city full historical and cultural heritage, of beautiful architecture and of vibrant unique citizens, she sees a polluted wasteland full of political dissidence, despair and all around negativity. Instead of viewing all the positive aspects of BA such as the food, the museums, the café and street life, she interweaves political history with her own negative experiences in BA. Though I’m grateful to her for not sugarcoating the city or presenting it as a Europenesque utopia situated in South America, the overall tone of the book was unappealing, a display of the good and bad times of BA through the eyes of a self indulged English woman.

Though I’m glad that she talks about important political proceedings like the impact Eva Peron had on Argentine Society, and the dictatorship that occurred from 1976-1983, the book was less of a travel log and more of one women’s quest to understand all the dirty secrets of Buenos Aires. The book is well written and has some great one liners, but I was looking for a comedic approach to bad experiences in a foreign place. One aspect that was enjoyable to read and kept me from hating the rehash of issues I have talked about in my Argentine Politics course was the description of the random people she encounters in her apartment building and in daily excursions throughout the city. The gay man living with his mom for the second time, the woman who is of European origin and is glad that all native argentine citizens have almost all been eliminated and many others. People define place, and in this book the descriptions of people enable readers to get a great sense of the mish mosh of immigrants, natives, and different cultures that give the city its vibe. Waiting in lines forever to buy groceries, having difficulty paying phone bills, all are part of an experience in a different culture, as well as what life is like in any big city.

Occasional hints of arrogance sometimes got in my way of enjoying the book, and not being able to see the glass as half full put me off multiple times. Some times she seemed to ignore the wonderful nature of people in Buenos Aires as well as the overall cosmopolitan feel, but hey its just one persons perspective. I too have had a share of bad times in BA mostly stemming from problems struggling to speak Spanish, a distaste for school and feeling overwhelmed for awaits me when I get back to school. Besides my own anxieties though the city has barely had a negative effect on me whatsoever. I've met great people both American and Argentine, I've seen beautiful museums, parks and shows. I have eaten also absorbed some of the cultural habits around me, liking drinking mate, taking siestas and clubbing till 7AM. I think that the reader should understand that BA, like other big cities such as New York, has the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Yet getting wound up in the worst will only keep you down, go to a café, have a glass of wine and laugh at waiting in long lines, that’s my advice for Miranda France.