Travel Story: The Cavern Buenos Aires | Beatles | Argentina

in Pinmapple2 years ago

Heeeyho Readers! Are you missing those huge-ass travel posts? Long no more!


It's been a hard day's night / And I've been workin' like a dog / It's been a hard day's night / I should be sleepin' like a log! We've all been working like dogs, haven't we? I'm glad to see many dormant accounts come back to life. Hive is thriving, itchy-itchy legs want to wander again, and here comes an old forgotten story.

Are you a Beatles maniac?

First and foremost, keep in mind: The photos were retrieved from my Facebook before I deleted that demoniac social media in 2016. I'm also talking about 2012 and my cellphone at the time was a potato or whatever the point-and-shoot camera carried in that trip, soooooo... the photos are not perfect.

In this post, we'll take an eighteen-hour bus trip from Brazil to Argentina and back in two days, just to visit a Beatles museum and buy a guitar. Lesssss go!

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The Cavern Buenos Aires


I've always been the type of guy who explored scrapyards in search of old car parts. I got my classic car — a 1975 Ford — in 2008. Since then I saw value in storing spare parts. I had trims, dashboards, and at the apex of that insanity, bought two V8 engines and a C4 automatic transmission. At around the same time my girlfriend booted me, which turned out to be a great deal because it sparked a passion for playing guitar. I unburied the old acoustic guitar from the attic and began practicing.

Fast forward to 2012. I'm still single, better at playing guitar, living in the capital, studying engineering, and thinking about buying my first electric guitar. I'd made a great deal flipping that automatic transmission, but the money wasn't enough for a good electric in Brazil. After searching the web, I found out exactly what I wanted, for half the price offered in Brazil: an Epiphone Casino John Lennon Edition. The money was enough for a two-way bus ticket, the guitar, one night at a cheap-ass hostel, and some pasta. Fuck it, I said. If Brazillian customs charged me tax on the way back, I'd be screwed. But I cared not and bought the bus tickets for Saturday to return on Monday.

The ultimate tactic for brokepackers is overnight trips.

On Saturday afternoon I jumped on a two-floor Flecha Bus headed to Buenos Aires; 18 hours sitting, roaming the plains of Rio Grande do Sul. Surprise, surprise. They offered dinner and breakfast.

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It is what it is


Still dazed and confused after the long bus trip, I went roaming the streets of Buenos Aires to find a hostel I'd seen online. Bang! Of course, like any other adventure of mine, things wouldn't play out according to plan. The hostel was closed for whatever reason. Luckily the guy at the desk directed me to another one and I was fine. Back then I hated photographing. Big mistake, since I've got so many stories to tell, but no pictures to show.

Sunday was pretty much lazing around Buenos Aires. I was near the Beatles museum on Corrientes Ave. just a couple blocks away from the famous Obelisco on 9 de Julio Ave., which is the main, massive, multi-lane avenue cutting Buenos Aires. Just off to Rivadavia street, I came across the Plaza de Mayo and the famous Casa Rosada, where the parasites the government stealls our money happens.

Click images to enlarge

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Famous Obelisco

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Good luck crossing an endless-lane avenue

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Casa Rosada

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God knows where

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A well-parked death trap pick-up


The Casa Rosada is the office of the President of Argentina. The palatial mansion is known officially as Casa de Gobierno ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the President lives at the Quinta de Olivos, the official residence of the President of Argentina, which is located in Olivos, Greater Buenos Aires. The characteristic color of the Casa Rosada is baby pink and is considered one of the most emblematic buildings in Buenos Aires. The building also houses a museum, which contains objects relating to former presidents of Argentina. It has been declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina.

* * *

On Corrientes Avenue, almost on the corner of Calle Rodriguez Peña, is Paseo de la Plaza, a complex of theaters and restaurants, including The Cavern Buenos Aires and the museum. There are about 8500 collector's items belonging to Rodolfo Vázquez in the museum space. Rodolfo is a famous Beatles collector and owner of the biggest Beatles-related collection in the world.

The museum has birth certificates, autographs, letters, concert tickets, a brick from The Cavern Club of Liverpool, dozens of dolls, records, and toys. There are also clothes worn by the Beatles, a typical bedroom mockup of a 60s teenager, and a bunch of trinkets. Everything is well-organized and chronologically placed.

The Cavern Club (the original) is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a center of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the early 1960s. The club became closely associated with Merseybeat and regularly played host to the Beatles in their early years.

I spent an hour or more just going through all the memorabilia while listening to The Beatles. I still hadn't gotten the guitar at the store and felt anxious about it. I paid close attention to a replica of the original Chelsea boots used by the band during the early phase. I could never find one in Brazil and only bought a pair one year later on a trip to London.

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The so-called Beatles boots

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Marriage certificate of John and Yoko


The whole place was cramped with trinkets, but one could not ignore the vinyl collection. It included a white version of the White Album and these two weird red and blue prints of The Beatles. I remember seeing a white version of the White Album in a flea market in London and it was worth a fortune!

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I don't remember the price to visit the museum at the time , but it wasn't exorbitant, otherwise, I wouldn't visit. Alongside the museum, at The Cavern, they host stand-up shows and nights with The Beatles cover. I went there years later with my mom and must say: holy fuck! The band was awesome and period correct. Same clothes, instruments, etc etc.

More photos

Click to enlarge!

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My bus back to Brazil was scheduled for that afternoon, so I rushed to the guitar store to pick up the guitar. I'd arranged everything upfront, so they had it waiting for me. Thank God Buenos Aires was (and still is, I guess) relatively safe because I was wandering with a generous amount of money in my jacket. I cannot express the sensation of openning the case and seeing the instrument inside. "Let's plug it so you can play", said the seller. I just couldn't get my fingers to move.

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Epiphone Casino Inspired by John Lennon


Alright, so I'm sitting in this Argentinian store, holding a guitar I'd been dreaming of, and I think: "How the fuck am I gonna go through the customs with this?" According to the law, Brazilians have to pay 50% import tax on products over 300 USD. I didn't have the money to pay for that robbery, nor was I willing to do so. Not gonna lie. I clenched my butt when we got to the border. The bus driver handled all the paperwork; no one came inside to check luggage. Ufff. Not this time!

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Here's me playing it


To paraphrase Bob Dylan: "To live outside the law, you must be honest". Sometimes, we just have to disobey to carry on with life. The guitar is almost 10 years old now and I've collected two other models during these years. I'm no longer playing in bands (nor practicing as much as I wanted to), but instruments last forever and always gain value.

Hopefully, I'll be able to build a cabin in the woods soon, where I plan to have my guitars and amplifier to play as loud as I want without dealing with neighbors.

I hope you have enjoyed this trip. Don't forget to listen to music and have fun.

Peace.


Did you know that I have a book out? Check this!

Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/6500272773?

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Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrprofessor_

~Love ya all,


Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.


I'm Arthur. I blog about Adventure Stories, Brazil, Travel, Camping, & Life Experiences.

Follow me to stay tuned for more craziness and tips.

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You know, I live in Buenos Aires and it wasn't till now that I found out that there's a Beatles museum in here... lol

Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.

Loved this!! Following you now :-)

Hah! I don't blame you though, Buenos Aires is quite big. The museum is 5 blocks away from the Obelisco. How's everything in Buenos Aires? Is it still safe as it used to be? I remember roaming the streets with zero fucks to give about robberies \o\

Following back. I see you're into sports as well, that's awesome

Oh noo!!! Buenos Aires hasn't been safe for a long long time now :(
Specially after lockdown and everything, with the huge raise in poverty, it has become really dangerous. Hope that changes sometime!

Damn! I hope toooooooo, it's absurd what happened to Argentina over these past 4 years (I was there in 2017, summer). Brazil is holding tight for now; not sure until when. If everything blows up I move to Patagonia \o\

Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1397.

Your post has been manually curated by the @pinmapple team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!

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Awesome, @ybanezkim26! Thanks a bunch. I'm gonna check on the other fellas posts to give them some love.

You're welcome!

Such a great post, I love the Beatles, my dad has all their (I think even old records) cd's and we used to listen to them each time we went to our annual holiday (Croatian islands) which took over 7 hours many times. So there was a lot of music from the 60s and 70s. I'm an old soul and always loved that music so would be awesome to see this museum.
Thanks for sharing. Ohh and I love your explanation of Facebook as demonic social media, lol couldn't agree more. I wish I deleted it years ago, life would have been so much better, things changed for the better this year when I stopped using it. Great content and photos, cheers

Those are great memories! Family trips while listening to quality music is always awesome.

things changed for the better this year when I stopped using it

isn't it a relief? It's weird in the beginning when we keep on going to FB's page, though we don't have a profile anymore (I was like that, on automatic, for a week or so). Back in 2016, when I deleted, Facebook was still a thing, so I noticed friends stopped inviting me for events... I asked them why, and the answer was always "It was on facebook, haven't you seen?" Have you gone through that? People take a while to realize we don't participate anymore and that they have to call \o\

Yea I know, how sad. It is such an addiction and most still rely on simply facebook. I know what you mean, first I thought I was missing out on even looking for jobs etc..but I now know that I can find other ways to find what I need to find. Family or close friends will just let me know if there is anything important happening, and if I miss a few things, that's ok too. And how quickly happy birthday wishes reduce hey? It is really sad, but you just see how facebook really divides people instead of the opposite.

Arrrrgh the birthday wishes! That was the most annoying aspect \o\ people who have never interacted in real life wishin happy bday, as if that was genuine.

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