congressing in the rain.

the good airs of the argentine capital weren't in top form this afternoon, though i'd already arranged to meet a friend at the library of congress around 1pm. we mistakingly made for the 'legislators only' door and had to be redirected down the street to the visitors' entrance, an unassuming and ill-publicized vestibule to the country's most famed halls of power. the english-language guides started an hour earlier than those in castellano, so we decided on the former, despite the fact that my companion was an argie and the guided tour had no other takers. that being said, we still had two hours to kill and i wasn't in the mood for a long conversation or prancing about the neighborhood in the rain. i'd mentioned to my friend there were a couple of newspapers in the archives i'd yet to consult the previous week (what i'd thought was a more than subtle hint that we'd convene at a later hour) - and she not only insisted that i go, but that she tag along as well. i'm certainly not that avant-garde, but bringing a female companion to the archives didn't strike me as the most amusing, progressive or intelligent of afternoon outings. quite the charmer, he must be, the boy who can nonchalantly pull this off. alas, tis but the price one gets to pay for sending mixed signals.

i went to the back desk to retrieve the nearly three foot, 15-pound bound copy of La Prensa from september 1980 - whereto she followed me the entire way. after filling out the paperwork to retrieve the informational tome, the gentleman turned to ask her what document she was looking for. "oh don't worry, i'm with him," she assured the confused onlooker. only mildly embarrassed, i dragged the manual back to the workbench to get started - scholarly assistant not far behind. "i can assure you, my friend, you're going to be bored out of your wits," as i try and insinuate the initial seeds of doubt in the endeavor. "how could you possibly say that? i'm sure it will be a blast!" she reassures me. i begin to take pictures of various articles but am having trouble getting the lens to focus on the fine print. "here, i'll show you how to use the camera!" she offers. "oh, cheers, but i think i'll manage - i've been stuck in this joint for weeks now and am starting to get the hang of it." nothing juicy from september 21st - so i flip past the classifieds to find the next day's front page. "hey, i was in the middle of an article!" ah, yes, how silly of me. "why are you taking a picture of the general?!" oh, just a curiosity, i proffer. "i was thinking of getting his mustache tattered on my abdomen. "oh, i see... why don't you get the whole face?"

an eternity and two hours later, we left the archives and made for Congresso. after a quick coffee con medialunas on the way over, we arrived five minutes late, by which time our english-language tour guide was no where to be found. when she did arrive, it occurred to me that we should've said something to our gracious host, tiger-skin jacket, hot pants and heel-clad charmer though she was - and saved her the effort from speaking the saxon-tongue. despite the occasional mistake, she seemed to be enjoying herself: "dis wood is from idalee, dat marble from france," over and over again, ad nauseam. though our visit was cut rather short by a series of unexpected renovations, we began our tour in the 'pink room,' where evita would entertain a strictly female retinue. a freshly mint coat of deep salmon contrasted the walls with the ovular arrangement of tawny-stained old pink armchairs. upon noticing the individual bronze standalone ashtrays strategically set between each table, i asked if parliamentarians were still able to light up in the chamber. "in the chamber, well, not exactly - that is where they wrote the anti-smoking law two years ago," she chuckled, pointing to the adjacent room. "but in here, why, yes, they still sometimes exercise this habit."