In order to get into the groove of this Buenos Aires blog I am listening to “modern” tango music.  But, as I listen to it, I have to admit that I had seen enough Tango by day two of the trip to last me a while. 

Too much Tango aside, Buenos Aires felt like a vortex of all the fabulous parts of great European cities with a Latin America base note and a modern “New World” twist.

While strolling through the older parts of the city, Rome seemed to creep in through cracks in the concrete with similar style apartment buildings, cobblestone streets and partially decaying elements of old architecture.

Paris could be felt in the Porteno attitude (human and canine), style and confidence, as well as in the wide downtown streets and manicured public parks. Poodles --as the dog of choice-- drove the comparison home.

Barcelona claimed its place via the colorful food markets, language, religiosity that was present but not overwhelming, small outdoor squares and bizarrely late dining hours.

Hints of New Orleans appeared in the grand and glorious aboveground cemeteries with spacious mausoleums that could rival most New York City studio apartments.

All of these aspects seemed to coalesce in the country’s superb wine and city’s amazing, breathtaking antique markets that spilled out onto the streets with resplendent chandeliers, glassware, velvety leatherwork and indigenous crafts.

Trying to take in everything at once, I came across what I needed for my jewelry line in abundance at the San Telmo Antique Emporium that is open daily (but really open on the weekends).

I am hoping to work different aspects of Buenos Aires into the pieces I make from what I found in the cozy, object-packed stalls that trailed through the enormous covered building that held a fruit and vegetable market at its epicenter.  You could buy prosciutto and a great leather jacket within feet of each other. What can be better than that?

I stumbled (not really stumbled, I hunted down) antique hand-made keys with interesting details -- like one notch too many on the stem -- that will hold one simple diamond to reflect the ubiquitous vintage glassware, mirrors, windows and colored bottles that mesmerized me.

Further down the isle out of the corner of my eye I saw some lace stuffed into a dresser. I abruptly stopped, hoping I would find something to make into jewelry. I never expected to find what I did.

The vendor opened box upon box filled with delicate, intricate, feminine hand-made lace pieces from the early 20th century. It was almost too much of a good thing (and too much money to spend; this is where the Argentine peso failed me). I think I found the best pieces to translate into gold, but I think of those boxes still. I wanted it all and the Argentines are averse to bartering. They seem to think they are doing you a favor by selling something to you. Somehow you leave feeling the same way…

I am trying to do something reflective of South America with these lace pieces. After going through some museums (really after being in a lot of taxis, but museums sound so much more sophisticated) I have decided to make something that is a cross between lace and the traditional Catholic scapula. 

The scapula typically consists of two small (usually rectangular) pieces of cloth, wood or laminated paper, a few inches in size, which may bear religious images or text. They are worn with one image in the front and one in the back for protection. Not sure how to make this yet, but I am looking forward to working it out.

I figure that if the Argentines have survived colonial rule under Spain, revolution, several coup d’etat, the death of Eva Peron, crazy inflation, the mass exportation of Che Guevara’s image to Hollywood and surprisingly bad customer service, I can make something pretty from my trip to a disarming place with warm weather in the dead of a New England winter.