With my first stop in the books, I headed to Buenos Aires next. One of the first to-dos was exchanging money. 90% of the places we visited in Chile only accepted cash and that's been consistent in Argentina as well. As an aside, I could write a separate post on the delicate and painful game of exchanging/spending/saving cash to avoid unfavorable rates. I'm constantly accounting for how much cash I have in my pocket, and my most common question in Spanish is "¿Aceptas tarjeta de crédito? (translation- do you accept credit card?)". The hostel pointed us to an intersection near city center to exchange. We arrived at the street expecting kiosks with the classic blue boards of exchange rates, but as we walked, we heard guys on the side of street yelling, "Cambio! (translation- exchange!)". Needless to say, gruff men with hands in pockets doesn't instill great confidence. I tentatively approached one gentleman and he led me inside a small sports apparel store in a nearby strip mall which I assumed was his main gig.
"How much?" he asked.
I took out a $100 bill. Then he went to the counter, grabbed his calculator, punched in a number, and showed it to me.
17.3!
Wait what?
I tried to hide the surprise on my face. I had just checked the exchange rate on my phone, and it was currently 1 dollar to 17.2 Argentine pesos. Why would he offer more than the exchange rate? Luckily, negotiating instinct #1 kicked in and I countered with 17.5. After some back and forth, negotiating instinct #2 kicked in and I walked out the door, knowing that there were a dozen other men to exchange from. As I closed the door, I heard him yell, "17.5!". Eventually, we got our pesos further down the street at 17.5 pesos per dollar. Only later did we find out that there's widespread counterfeit bills in circulation. We retroactively checked our money and were relieved when we didn't seem to find any fakes. That was the first reason why the number 17.3 threw me off.
Look for: 1) a watermark on the left side when held up to light, and 2) real foil on the line left of center.
The second requires a brief intro to the Argentine economy. This article is a good summary, but the short version is that high inflation is as much a part of life in Argentina as eating beef, which is to say it's pretty much everything. This hit home on a walking tour. The guide told us of his childhood in the late 80's when he would go to the supermarket with his mom. Prices were increasing so fast that cashiers would yell out new prices instead of trying to update the written prices. By the time you reached checkout, your groceries could've doubled in price. That's a terrifying thought! In May 2012, the government restricted the ability for people to purchase dollars. Why? It goes back to inflation. Folks were hoarding dollars because no one in their right mind wanted to save money in pesos when inflation averaged 30% year over year. Thus, a black market developed to buy and sell dollars. Because people valued dollars more than pesos, the exchange rate in this market, slyly called the 'blue market', has been more favorable than exchanging or withdrawing cash at a bank (i.e. the official rate). In December 2016, the current Argentinian President Mauricio Macri was elected and removed the currency controls, which has brought the official and unofficial rates closer. But the blue market still remains more advantageous for those who hold dollars.
Source: Argentinean Central Bank and Thomson Reuters.
Staying on today's theme, I wanted to talk about a different kind of exchange, the exchange of peoples. Starting from the Argentine Constitution of 1853, the idea of attracting immigrants and foreign capital has been fundamental to Argentina's growth. A famous quote from one of the main influencers of the Constitution, Juan Alberti, proclaims that, "To govern is to populate". It was foresight that immigration would be vital to populating the country, which has a low population in relation to geographical size (#214 of 246 in population density). Some of this stance was driven by darker motives, as intra-country wars killed off most of the indigenous population. Nevertheless, the gates were opened and millions flowed through in the mid-to-late 19th century. The majority were Europeans. Of those, most were Italian, so their influence is highly visible in daily life. One of the most noticeable is food: pizza, pasta, milanesa (breaded meat), mozarella, cappuccinos, and gelato are found everywhere. Another is the Argentine accent, which has a melodic smoothness reminiscent of Italian. Yet another is the ubiquitous use of "Ciao", a distinctly Italian word with no roots in Spanish. Beyond the Italian influence, the porteños (translation- port people), a slang term referring to the residents of Buenos Aires, definitely exude an overall European vibe. There's no shortage of cafes, colonial architecture, stylish fashion, and long lunch hours. Also, since we're informally keeping track, the Argentines are significantly taller than Chileans so +2 to being the Europeans of South America.