The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

WoWasis book review: Juan Perón and the Enigmas of Argentina

The ascendance, decline, and re-emergence of Juan Perón into the political life of Argentina remains one of the more compelling stories of twentieth century South American politics, and Robert D. Crassweller’s Perón and the Enigmas of Argentina (1987, ISBN 0-393-30543-0) tells it in remarkable detail. Part of the power of this book is that Crassweller […]

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WoWasis art review: street murals in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is notable for its wall graffiti and subway art, but unless you’re in the San Telmo neighborhood or taking the subte, you may miss the best examples. Not so the street murals, which grace much of the city, in particular the Microcentro area in the heart of the city. These murals are lovingly […]

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WoWasis art review: Ceramic murals in Buenos Aires’ subte subway stations

Buenos Aires is notable for its street murals and wall graffiti art, but some of the finest ceramic art can be found in her subway, or subte (for subterráneo) stations. Begun in 1913, the system comprises 6 lines and 83 stations, and rides cost five pesos (62 cents USD). While nearly all stations have art, […]

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WoWasis book review: ‘Evita First Lady: A Biography of Eva Perón’

Two iconographic Latina women have remained conversation topics in North America, decades after their deaths. Evita Perón is the one without the mustache. When you visit the Museo Evita, on Buenos Aires’ Calle Latinfur, you get several informative movie clips, an exhibition of her clothing and jewelry, a death mask, and as a finale, a […]

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WoWasis art review: Buenos Aires graffiti wall art

Buenos Aires is notable for its street murals and subway art, and this artistic consciousness has spread to her graffiti-covered walls, especially in the streets of the San Telmo neighborhood, south of Avenida de Mayo. This ad hoc art is not always welcomed, but every blank wall is fodder for artists and amateurs alike. What’s […]

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WoWasis toilet product review: the Bidematic, an Argentine toilet hose contraption that just doesn’t work

The Thais, Japanese, and Koreans all have magnificent ways to keep clean after using the toilet. As reported here earlier at WoWasis, Thais typically use toilet hoses, while Japanese and Koreans use electric toilet seats that are essentially high tech bidets. Here at WoWasis, we love them, because we consider toilet paper to be Barbaric, […]

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The buxom ghost ‘La Fantasma Pechona,’ Argentina’s vengeful femme-fatale

Argentina’s most famous ghost (fantasma) isn’t talked about much in public, but she’s feared everywhere in that South American nation. She is the ghost most likely to cause a marriage to fail. The act of merely mentioning her name is said to be fraught with the prospect of connubial disaster. She’s also the reason Argentine […]

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