Tourist or not?

Every guidebook and list of recommended sights for Buenos Aires includes the Cafe Tortoni on Avenida de Mayo 825 in the heart of the city. Sometimes I steer clear of such places because I don't want to just do "the tourist thing" when I'm abroad. I get carried away imagining that I'm not a tourist because I grew up in Argentina and lived in South American countries for many years, This surely entitles me to a different category than what the label "tourist" connotes. Of course, this is all in my own mind because when I open my mouth in fluent Spanish, but not yet having perfected the Argentine accent, most natives are not sure who I am or where I come from.

With ten days left in Buenos Aires we headed to Cafe Tortoni, for an 11:30 a.m. cafe con leche y sandwich de miga (ham and cheese on white crustless bread). Everywhere you look, from the sign over the front door to the specially engraved plates and cups you are reminded that this the cafe dates back to 1858. By the looks of the inside it hasn't changed much in the 20th nor the 21st centuries. There is no one surfing the Internet and no WiFi signs on the door. Instead, well worn, leather upholstered chairs with arms and small round marble-top tables are placed among sturdy columns that hold up a high ceiling decorated in vitraux (stained glass). The interior is wall papered and wood paneled covered from eye level to ceiling with photos, caricatures, paintings, cartoons of famous Argentines who have come here over centuries. In the center is a bar made of dark wood. An old fashioned elaborately carved metal cash register sits at one end along with a bright Tiffany lamp. The faded and slightly uneven tile floors look like they haven't been replaced since the nineteenth century. Waiters in short black jackets, bow ties, and long striped aprons bring you the menu of mostly drinks and snacks. The cafe is open from breakfast to 2 a.m.

At midday we watched the tourists start to arrive. Disappointing and yet not surprising that in such an historical place there should be more tourists than Argentines. The tourists are those that carry cameras, are overweight, dressed in shorts and running shoes - the outfit that screams comfort over style. When I'm going about in this city I can easily pick out the Argentines from everyone else as they are never overweight and stylishly attired - women with sparkly sandals or latest fashion flats, linen slacks and cool summer print top or perhaps a short skirt with an expensive t-shirt and all the right accessories including scarf and a leather bag thrown casually over a shoulder.

The Tortoni is a museum preserving photos, books and writings of famous politicians, writers, thinkers, educators who have spent time here. In the back of the main part of the Cafe are several other salons. One is where they have Tango Shows starting at 8:30 p.m. in the evening and where you must book a table. Another room we wandered into is literally stuffed with memorabilia in no particular order, but all saved from decades past. I came across a photo, letter and press coverage of Hilary Clinton's unannouced visit to Tortoni in 1997 when she wrote "what a treat to visit a place so full of history and enjoy the ambience and the delicious meal. Thank you..." Carlos Gardel, the most famous of all Tango singers is immortalized with a bust that sits apart from the many others. There are photos, letters and publications of dramatists Luigi Pirandello and Federico Garcia Lorca, pianist Arthur Rubinstein, writer Jorge Luis Borges. All names I know.

Knowing who all the other personalities are is an impossible task and reminds me that I am a foreigner. Of course, I learned much about Argentina's historical heroes in my school textbooks years ago. Fifty five years later I cannot identify many of the people memorialized at the Tortoni. I guess that places me back to being the tourist that I didn't really want to be...