Buenos Aires - A love affair for almost 20 years…

Buenos Aires - A love affair for almost 20 years…

When some of us think of Argentina, we might think of Argentine steaks, soccer players, and the tango, but for others, that country on the other side of the world might mean so much more.

When I first visited Buenos Aires some 20 years ago, I was not prepared for the trip to be the beginning of an intense and honest love affair, which was defined by a passion for its culture and a passion for life.

Politicians like Donald Trump are doing their best to convince their supporters that people from South America are bringing crimes and violence to the USA. But there were moments and warm summer nights in Argentina when I tended to agree with my friends that the money is in North America and the happiness is in South America.

Where does happiness come from? I lived in New York for 15 years and met many people who thought that happiness came from their jobs, their income and the pretty things they could buy, until they found themselves caught up in shallow and fake lives.

And then there are people in Hannover who travel to Denmark 4 times a year or others, who book cruises or resorts in Spain, where they are surrounded by German tourists and keep complaining and missing things from home. Fortunately, I was never one of those people.

When I traveled to South America, I was always keen to learn the language and the culture of the places I visited. There were many nights when I took taxis to nightclubs and was open to making new friends there. I met some of the most amazing people in Buenos Aires and understood that the people from Buenos Aires had to go through major crisis without losing their faith and happiness. 

Unfortunately, there were many crises ranging from the colonialism and the country being dominated by the Spanish Empire after Business Aires was founded in 1536 to the dirty war from 1974 to 1983 when under the military dictatorship and between 22,000 and 30,000 were killed or disappeared. The junta did not know mercy and went after students, militants, trade unionists, writers, journalists, artists and any citizens suspected of being left-wing activists.

During those years, up to 500 children were born in some of the 340 secrete concentration camps and were stolen, before 102 of them were believed to have been located and united with their families. The collapse of the junta and the restoration of democracy in Argentina were followed by numerous economic collapses and crises. During the Argentina Great Depression between 1998 and 2002, over 50 percent of Argentines lived below the official poverty line, 25 percent did not have access to basic needs, and seven out of ten children were considered to be poor. The fact that Argentina was able to come out of the crisis and bounce back says a lot about the country and its people.

One of my dearest friends, Gonzalo Diaz Nachar, a former professional soccer player and proud father of two beautiful girls, is one of those people. After his career as a soccer player, he worked at popular fashion label Tascani before opening his own clothing store. Ten years later, he started a second business.

Gonzalo has this passion for life, which the Argentinians are well known for. He and his wife Karina work in the stores seven days a week, but they love what they do, and their employees are considered family. He credits his team for his success and is grateful that his career as a soccer player was followed by his career as an entrepreneur in fashion.

My Argentinean friend Andres took his time to talk about his life in Buenos Aires when Building Bridges had its last life session. And so we learned that we shouldn't even trust the stories of Eva “Evita” Peron, who died at the age of 31 and is still admired and unforgotten even 73 years after she died. Many people in Argentina will remember her and her politician husband Juan Peron for making Argentina more industrialized, giving more rights to workers, children, women, and the elderly, and making public universities tuition free.

But then, president Juan Peron's government was also well-known for employing authoritarian tactics; numerous dissidents were fired, exiled, or arrested, and much of the press was closely controlled. To make matters worse, several fascist war criminals and nazis were given sanctuary in Argentina. However, when we hear the song Don't cry for me Argentina, we remember Eva Peron as a woman who was out there to make a difference, which explained her popularity among the Argentine working class and poor people.

My love for Buenos Aires is explained by its people, who became close friends of mine, such as Gonzalo or Andres, over the years. And when we look at the most famous Argentina, I understand why those friendships are so special to me. Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are considered as the greatest soccer players of their times and Messi is well known for his work with UNICEF campaigns to prevent HIV, education, and social inclusion of disabled children. He also founded the Leo Messi Foundation, which supports access to health care, education, and sport for children. Messi is not interested in building a strong brand or getting hired for underwear campaigns like David Beckham. Instead, he is focused on soccer and helping others.

Pope Francis and Queen Maxima from the Netherlands are two other Argentines well-known for going the extra mile. Pope Francis is known for being less formal than his predecessors and being supportive of the LGBTQ community, taking action on climate change, criticizing right-wing populism, and helping refugees in Europe and Central America.

And then there is, of course, Argentine by birth Máxima Zorreguieta, who worked successfully in finance before she met and married Willem-Alexander, the eldest son and heir apparent of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.  Since becoming part of the Dutch Royal family, Máxima has been working to integrate immigrants, LGBTQ rights, and financial inclusion. Máximas popularity increased after she became queen. As of 2024, she is the most popular Dutch royal.

At the end of this article, I would like to express my hope that many of you will have the opportunity to visit Buenos Aires at least once in your life and get an idea of why its charm, culture, and history make it such a special place in this world. I would also like to thank my friends from Buenos Aires for opening their hearts and letting my children and me become part of their lives. This includes Gonzalo becoming one of my sons godparents and our children becoming friends. My family will keep visiting Buenos Aires, which will continue this special love affair in our life.