Visiting Argentina is an experience and more – let us tell you about our latest trip, just this past month.
As a preamble, it should be noted that we’d been there before – some 20-odd years ago – and that we have also been around a few other places, often taking the proverbial (and literal) road less travelled. Only to clarify that we’re not ones to be easily caught “starry eyed” or otherwise baffled. We also hope you won’t mind the following “geographic digression” as, we feel, it goes to the character of people here, and especially our heroes… you’ll see…
Arriving in Argentina can be a little disconcerting – you troll through an airport that feels too vast even if it is all labelled “Aeropuertos Argentina 2000” a time reference that, like most of the other infrastructure in it (some of them almost Orwellian in nature – see the “Declaration of Objects / Application 121” office on the left), time itself seems to have forgotten… – or is it a new form of bug we never suspected? The “why 2K?” maybe… In any case, you get a sense of foreboding, of better days long gone by and difficult times being had.
But don’t let it unsettle you – things are about to get way more curious. As soon as you hit the road, in fact, it gets downright strange. First, the distances – and the emptiness. This country is so big, and so sparsely populated, that it feels more like a land (we even called it “the land of the Gods” somewhere else), a continent onto itself, almost. And if your GPS sends you through the country roads, let it! They are in quite good shape and offer some interesting scenery of never-ending emptiness interrupted only by desolate ruins, scattered along the landscape as testimonials to bad bets, men’s folly or both.
the road
the road
landscape to baffle
abandoned & forgotten
landscape to baffle
no lost highway here
And then the nature – trees so tall that their nails seem to clutch at the sky to pull themselves further up. Skies here? They can be either giant oceans of blue with barely any foam at all or coal mines of grey that opened only to drench you into endless reserves of rain with drops so fat they could drown you if you weren’t careful.
And then you discover its people – a treasure of kindness and patience. You do not speak their language and haven’t made any effort to pretend you tried and still, they welcome you and spend all the time it takes to make sure you got as close as possible to the solution you were looking for. Almost everyone under 50 is sporting some ink marking that speak of other, mostly dreamt-of, far-away destinations where life is imagined to be easier and less harsh. Everyone has a dream, lost and found again, a hero to look up to.
And heroes the country has produced quite a few, personalities from the world of sports to literary to music and cinema, and you must wonder where they could have possibly mustered so many, given how deserted the place now seems, as you make your way south-west towards Balcarce – wondering what that town will be like. It is, of course, the birthplace of the greatest racer of all times: Juan-Manuel Fangio.
The roads into town get narrower and one gets a definite impression that there have been better days and while the city is quite spread out, it is anchored around a square (decorated by statues scattered around, Cervantes here, a disrespected general there, El Maestro here) that seems to harbor the only buildings of some height. Still, beautiful trees line the streets and provide some welcome shade from the dry summer heat.
downtown Balcarce
downtown Balcarce
downtown Balcarce
very welcoming, El Maestro himself
downtown Balcarce
downtown Balcarce
downtown Balcarce
downtown Balcarce
And then there’s the museum, an imposing building that occupies to half a city block and that you’re just too happy to after parking across from it, because things are that simple. The museum might be a little dated and somewhat dark, but it goes to confirm its Ali Baba’s cave status as it is filled to the hilt with all sorts of treasures. You want to see the earliest cars with which El Maestro raced – they are there! The ones from the F1 championships – there too! Some of the best endurance rides – here as well. And then, memorabilia of all sorts, from the humblest medal to trophies that defy comprehension by their size and heft.
Best of all? The incredible connection that existed between the legend and your brand is confirmed at almost every turn, here a shirt, there a garment bag, a trophy and everywhere, photos, of course – it is truly a pleasure to walk these hallowed grounds, especially as people around you are waiting for your question, to share with you some funny anecdote you had never heard, smiling and friendly faces all so eager to share their passion that you soon forget the language barrier as you realize you spoke the same tongue all along…
the place to be
a word of explanation
the earliest days
traveling safely
a rendition of one of the ’48 grueling TCs
Back already we tried that beast
little early number…
not so little after all…
The 15s Gord from the ’50 Le Mans edition
The 15s Gord from the ’50 Le Mans edition
D24 from the Panamericana
D50 replica, but still
perfection – hold that thought
perfection – hold that thought
300S
250F – who’s number 1
450S
some of the friendly faces of the Foundation
some of the friendly faces of the Foundation
memorabilia of all scale
memorabilia of all scale
memorabilia of all scale
Amazing endorsement to give you a Buzz!
Some of the many Suixtil mementos
Some of the many Suixtil mementos
Some of the many Suixtil mementos
Some of the many Suixtil mementos
Some of the many Suixtil mementos
Some of the many Suixtil mementos
With Froilan
other cars & details
other cars & details
Not far from the town, maybe 15 km if that – nothing for people who value their time behind the wheel – is the Estancia (domain) where El Chueco would gather his family when he was in town: El Casco (how appropriate!). This too should be on your list of things to discover – first of all, the domain is quite magnificent and its decoration very tasteful, laden with never seen photos and artifacts along with great paintings as well. Also, it’s suffused with an atmosphere of time suspended and you can almost hear the conversations across the ages, the children laughters and the endless asados celebrating life around some sacrificial fatted calf – what else…
the entrance to the domain
magnificent grounds
magnificent grounds
magnificent grounds
magnificent grounds
magnificent grounds
if you feel like measuring up
great decoration
great decoration
great decoration
great decoration
where did he go
If you’re lucky, or you know someone, you might even get to try one of El Maestro’s car, several of which are actually still sporting the Suixtil name – what an honor. It is a very strange experience: you know you have neither the talent nor the familiarity with the beasts in question -come to think of it, if you were visiting van Gogh’s atelier, would you be expected to cut off your own ear? If you do try, though,, one thing is for sure, you’ll come away humbled – the Chevrolet Coupe, for example, is almost impossible to control at 40 km/h – the back of it constantly trying to overtake the front while the steering resists you with all its might and the gear-changes produce blood-curdling screams as the metal complains bitterly of your inexperience. And then you try and picture your hero, smiling through it while flying 4 times as fast on unsurfaced trails with mountain gorges lining the sides and the daylight dying – you shiver at your own inadequacy and can’t help but wonder if and how that could even be real…
will you just look at her
getting acquainted
Mauricio demonstrates
and here we go…
And another Suixtil thing about Balcarce – no, wait, we’ll spare that one for another story, maybe next month but first, you’ll have to tell us if you want to hear it – at life speed!
A road trip to Argentina – with a purpose (of course)… – Part I
Visiting Argentina is an experience and more – let us tell you about our latest trip, just this past month.
As a preamble, it should be noted that we’d been there before – some 20-odd years ago – and that we have also been around a few other places, often taking the proverbial (and literal) road less travelled. Only to clarify that we’re not ones to be easily caught “starry eyed” or otherwise baffled. We also hope you won’t mind the following “geographic digression” as, we feel, it goes to the character of people here, and especially our heroes… you’ll see…
Arriving in Argentina can be a little disconcerting – you troll through an airport that feels too vast even if it is all labelled “Aeropuertos Argentina 2000” a time reference that, like most of the other infrastructure in it (some of them almost Orwellian in nature – see the “Declaration of Objects / Application 121” office on the left), time itself seems to have forgotten… – or is it a new form of bug we never suspected? The “why 2K?” maybe… In any case, you get a sense of foreboding, of better days long gone by and difficult times being had.
But don’t let it unsettle you – things are about to get way more curious. As soon as you hit the road, in fact, it gets downright strange. First, the distances – and the emptiness. This country is so big, and so sparsely populated, that it feels more like a land (we even called it “the land of the Gods” somewhere else), a continent onto itself, almost. And if your GPS sends you through the country roads, let it! They are in quite good shape and offer some interesting scenery of never-ending emptiness interrupted only by desolate ruins, scattered along the landscape as testimonials to bad bets, men’s folly or both.
And then the nature – trees so tall that their nails seem to clutch at the sky to pull themselves further up. Skies here? They can be either giant oceans of blue with barely any foam at all or coal mines of grey that opened only to drench you into endless reserves of rain with drops so fat they could drown you if you weren’t careful.
And then you discover its people – a treasure of kindness and patience. You do not speak their language and haven’t made any effort to pretend you tried and still, they welcome you and spend all the time it takes to make sure you got as close as possible to the solution you were looking for. Almost everyone under 50 is sporting some ink marking that speak of other, mostly dreamt-of, far-away destinations where life is imagined to be easier and less harsh. Everyone has a dream, lost and found again, a hero to look up to.
And heroes the country has produced quite a few, personalities from the world of sports to literary to music and cinema, and you must wonder where they could have possibly mustered so many, given how deserted the place now seems, as you make your way south-west towards Balcarce – wondering what that town will be like. It is, of course, the birthplace of the greatest racer of all times: Juan-Manuel Fangio.
The roads into town get narrower and one gets a definite impression that there have been better days and while the city is quite spread out, it is anchored around a square (decorated by statues scattered around, Cervantes here, a disrespected general there, El Maestro here) that seems to harbor the only buildings of some height. Still, beautiful trees line the streets and provide some welcome shade from the dry summer heat.
And then there’s the museum, an imposing building that occupies to half a city block and that you’re just too happy to after parking across from it, because things are that simple. The museum might be a little dated and somewhat dark, but it goes to confirm its Ali Baba’s cave status as it is filled to the hilt with all sorts of treasures. You want to see the earliest cars with which El Maestro raced – they are there! The ones from the F1 championships – there too! Some of the best endurance rides – here as well. And then, memorabilia of all sorts, from the humblest medal to trophies that defy comprehension by their size and heft.
Best of all? The incredible connection that existed between the legend and your brand is confirmed at almost every turn, here a shirt, there a garment bag, a trophy and everywhere, photos, of course – it is truly a pleasure to walk these hallowed grounds, especially as people around you are waiting for your question, to share with you some funny anecdote you had never heard, smiling and friendly faces all so eager to share their passion that you soon forget the language barrier as you realize you spoke the same tongue all along…
Not far from the town, maybe 15 km if that – nothing for people who value their time behind the wheel – is the Estancia (domain) where El Chueco would gather his family when he was in town: El Casco (how appropriate!). This too should be on your list of things to discover – first of all, the domain is quite magnificent and its decoration very tasteful, laden with never seen photos and artifacts along with great paintings as well. Also, it’s suffused with an atmosphere of time suspended and you can almost hear the conversations across the ages, the children laughters and the endless asados celebrating life around some sacrificial fatted calf – what else…
If you’re lucky, or you know someone, you might even get to try one of El Maestro’s car, several of which are actually still sporting the Suixtil name – what an honor. It is a very strange experience: you know you have neither the talent nor the familiarity with the beasts in question -come to think of it, if you were visiting van Gogh’s atelier, would you be expected to cut off your own ear? If you do try, though,, one thing is for sure, you’ll come away humbled – the Chevrolet Coupe, for example, is almost impossible to control at 40 km/h – the back of it constantly trying to overtake the front while the steering resists you with all its might and the gear-changes produce blood-curdling screams as the metal complains bitterly of your inexperience. And then you try and picture your hero, smiling through it while flying 4 times as fast on unsurfaced trails with mountain gorges lining the sides and the daylight dying – you shiver at your own inadequacy and can’t help but wonder if and how that could even be real…
And another Suixtil thing about Balcarce – no, wait, we’ll spare that one for another story, maybe next month but first, you’ll have to tell us if you want to hear it – at life speed!