After 3 days of being miserably ill, I finally started to feel like a human being yesterday, though certainly not 100%. I took advantage of the day to do some research on the punk scene here in Buenos Aires and made good progress.
My first night in town I had asked my waiter where I could hear some good punk music and so last night I rolled over to THE punk and music bar in Buenos Aires, Salon Pueyrredon. The band last night wasn’t punk but they put on a good show none the less. The crowd was a mix of Rockabilly and Punk enthusiast and it was pretty small, probably 75 or so people. Everyone seemed pumped because NOFX is coming into town next week and Social Distortion is coming in April.
The bartenders, Kituh and Seba, were two pretty hardcore psychobilly cats all tatted up and they could not have been more helpful. They gave the name of a bar that is the Rockabilly hangout here, Bitarra, which is at Cordoba and Serrano and suggested I speak to the owner Pedro about the scene here. They also agreed to be interviewed and they gave me the names of some good rockabilly bands here.
I also met Anita, who spoke really good English. Anita is a total Rockabilly Queen and was dressed to the nines with a few nice tattoos. She knew her stuff and agreed to be interviewed and to help find some other fans in the scene as well.
I left a few stickers around and one of the guys I had emailed earlier in the day put 2 and 2 together and realized the lone Gringo in the bar was the same guy who had emailed him. He took me over and introduced me to Batra who works at Salon Pueyrrdon and fronts a local punk band El Sepulgra Punk and I’m going to interview him Tuesday.
All in all, my first full day able to work was a big success. Going to Salon Pueyrredon was the right move. Everyone was so cool and helpful. Latin punks are truly the best man. Now I’m just worried if I will have a few days to get to Mar Del Plata for some rest and relaxation before I head to Uruguay.
I’ll have to think about that later, I’m just glad to be feeling somewhat decent again wherever I am. For now I’m off to interview an older punk band called Drop Dead.