大巴上的輪子轉呀轉，小鳥迎着朝陽唱呀唱，布宜諾斯艾利斯“好空氣”飄呀飄，順風送來拉普拉塔河西岸的時代氣息與歷史陳跡。當我們來到首都政治文化中心的五月廣場時，酷暑悄然來襲，氣溫居高不下，我納悶輪胎怎麼沒有熱得脹爆了皮？ 

      The wheels on the bus went round and round as the air filled with the sound of a sunny morning chirps of the birds. Buenos Aires blew out "Good Airs" or "Fair Winds" and eclectically blended its contemporary vitality and old world languor on the western bank of the estuary of the Rio de la Plata. When the bus stopped at the political and cultural heart- Plaza de Mayo (May Plaza), it was already blistering hot. I wondered how the paddles still hadn't dried up yet.

      Plaza de Mayo meant to be one of the Argentina's capital city's most sought-after attractions. As a national symbol in 1810, it was the very place that the first lady Eva Peron made her famous Renouncement speech and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" took place in the movies of Evita. Almost every Thursday, a crowd of people gathered here to protest for better life.

      五月廣場作為1810年5月阿根廷國慶標誌，是旅遊布宜諾斯的必經之地。伊娃•庇隆夫人曾在此發表過“不參加副總統競選”的著名演講，電影“艾薇塔”插曲《阿根廷別為我哭泣》也設此地為拍攝背景。每個星期四，為改善生活而努力奮鬥的布宜諾斯人都會抗着橫幅標語定期到這裡向政府示威，發泄不滿。

      Then, a shadow cast over me. I looked up and saw a rather exotic pink building. Before I could spit out my thoughts, my mother told me Casa Rosada used to be the presidential mansion. I clamped my mouth shut to be polite. Just as the heat broke to my sweltering level, I cooled down by entering the Metropolitan Cathedral. Torches were alit on the walls, throwing large shadows upon me. There in the middle sat an altar larger than the wall of my house! It had a light, red, glow that illuminated the altar, showing the details carved into the stones.

      這時，頭頂掠過一片陰影，我順勢往上望去，只見一個粉紅色奇特建築映入眼帘，未等我張口詢問，媽媽站在身旁隨聲道出，原來它就是曾一度被當成總統府的“玫瑰宮”。出於禮貌，我並未妄加評論。氣溫越來越叫人受不了，我趕緊躲入大都會教堂避熱。牆壁外，火炬熊熊燃燒，投影倒掛在我身上；教堂內，巨大的祭壇比我家的牆還要大！大廳上，祭壇被閃閃紅光襯托得莊重奪目，並彰顯出上面精湛的石刻工藝。

      On the way to La Boca, we passed along Avenida 9 de Julio (July 9th Avenue), the widest jacaranda-lined avenue in the world. Its name was honored after National Independence Day on July 9, 1816.  The avenue ran approximately 0.62 miles/1 kilometer up to 7 lanes in each direction. Like Times Square in New York and Piccadilly Circus in London, the Obelisk of Buenos Aires in Plaza de la Repblica (Independence Plaza) became a national historic monument across the avenue. As one of the world's top 5 grandest opera houses, the Colon Theater made an extraordinary spotlight in this area.

    在奔赴博卡區之前，我們路過用來紀念1816年7月9號阿根廷獨立日的“七月九日大街”，紫葳樹排成縱隊，點綴道路兩旁。這是一條迄今為止世界上最寬的都市街道，跨度為0.62英里／1公里，每一方向均由7條車道組成。紐約有時代廣場，倫敦有皮卡迪利圓環，七月九日大街上有獨立廣場，並矗立着國家歷史古蹟──布宜諾斯艾利斯方尖碑，附近還有躋身世界前五名的科隆大劇院。

      Avenida Rivadavia (Rivadavia Avenue) extended roughly 22 miles/35 km from downtown to the suburb and might win another title of the longest thoroughfare on earth.

      里瓦達維亞大街從鬧市區直達郊外鄉下，總計約長22英里／35公里，大概可以為阿根廷摘取另一個桂冠──世界最長街道。

      La Bombonera (the Chocolate Box) was a rowdy stadium of the Argentina's best known Boca Juniors football team in which the former superstar Diego Armando Maradona joined. As mom said, Maradona grew up in such barrio or neighborhood and even well-known in China. La Bombonera held the South American Soccer Championship with 100,000 fans. Since we didn't have much time, we couldn't buy tickets into the stadium.

      巧克力盒球場為阿根廷最知名球隊博卡青年足球俱樂部所在地，當年有迭戈•阿曼多•馬拉多納加盟，氣勢凌人。據媽媽所說，馬拉多納堪稱從博卡貧民窟踢出去的國際超級球星，其聲譽甚至響遍全中國。巧克力盒球場曾舉辦過南美足球錦標賽，最多容納十萬名觀眾。我們因為時間緊，來不及買票進去參觀。

      Before I knew it, we were parked on the side of a wide road to explore the Buenos Aires' oldest barrios. Nothing was as fascinating as La Boca where it was a birthplace to the tango. At La Boca after named for its position at "the mouth" of the Riachuelo River in Spanish, we disembarked for a stroll along its main street Carminito to soak up the flavor of the most authentic Argentina. Carminito had all kinds of colorful outdoor art galleries where artists hawked their work. Street sign looked so unique that we learned its culture and history piece by piece right there. We marveled at the brightly-painted wood-and-corrugated-steel "conventillos" (shared homes) and took a peek inside the glamorous tango cafes.

    不知不覺地，我們行駛進入布宜諾斯全城最老的行政區。說實在的，哪裡都不如探戈發源地博卡熱鬧非凡。在西班牙語中，博卡意指里亞丘埃洛河“河口”，卡米尼托是博卡區一條主要街道，毫無疑問地，它將成為我們體味正宗阿根廷生活氣息的駐足目標。卡米尼托街頭擺滿了各種各樣藝人繪製的藝術作品，這裡甚至連路標都充滿藝術風情，我們饒有興趣地仔細閱讀，不知不覺就能了解到一些當地的風土人情和歷史故事。沿街公寓樓房多以木頭波浪鐵皮材料建造，外表再刷上鮮亮明快色彩迥異的油漆，我們忍不住總想鑽進探戈咖啡館，一邊品嘗咖啡小吃，一邊欣賞異國精粹。

      Born about 1880, the tango began life as the sultry dance and music of Argentine fringe classes. It combined elements from many cultures of Italians, Spanish, and French to bring about a New World music that swept across Argentina. Eventually the tango had become one of the most popular dance forms on the international stage. Not until 2009, the Argentine and Uruguayan tango shared a declaration of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. La Boca had attracted millions of tourists from all over the world. Even though I still wanted to look around a little more, I couldn't help feeling relieved when cool air blew out of the bus that instantly doused the small fire in my body.

      大約1880年左右，探戈開始興起，其發展離不開“蟹行貓步”富有激情的豪放舞姿以及深沉哀愁的阿根廷音樂，再經意大利、西班牙、法國移民吐故納新，新大陸音樂元素融入傳統探戈，使這種雙人舞蹈流行得更加廣泛。如今，探戈已發展成為國際舞台上極富魅力的舞蹈之一。2009年，阿根廷和烏拉圭兩國攜手，成功地將探戈引入《聯合國教科文組織非物質文化遺產名錄》，博卡區因此而吸引了來自世界各地成千上萬的遊客。要不是經不住悶熱煎熬，我真想繼續瀏覽下去。現在，我必須先返回車上避暑降溫，等涼快以後再作其它打算。

      We ended in Galeras Pacfico (Pacific Gallery) for a late lunch. This was a Beaux Arts shopping center reminiscent of Le Bon Marche in Paris. The mall not only housed many high-end stores, such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Christian Lacroix, Christian Dior, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, and La Martina, but also Chinese food cooked by the local yippies in a food court. Ironically, we used to adapt ourselves to American-Chinese food back home in Pennsylvania. However, we had never experienced our cuisine in Argentine flavor before. Every Chinese dish looked great and tasted delicious after 3-week away from home. I appreciated a warm embrace from a bunch of strange holiday shoppers in front of a giant Christmas tree. Apparently, Argentina kept well-informed understanding of Eastern, Western, and Southern mores in a dynamic way.

      遊覽結束後，我們來到太平宮補吃了一頓午飯。實際上，太平宮是一座頗具藝術氣息的綜合購物中心，非常像法國巴黎樂蓬馬歇百貨公司，涵蓋高檔商店與時髦產品，比如：拉夫•勞倫、克里斯汀•拉克魯瓦、克里斯汀•迪奧、鱷魚、湯米•希爾費格、雨果•波士、拉•瑪蒂娜等在此均設立分店。太平宮美食廣場有一家中餐館，上至老闆、廚師，下到店員、跑堂，一個不落全部都是年輕朝氣的當地人。說來新鮮，我們以前常吃美國風味的中餐飲食，但從來沒嘗過阿根廷風味的中餐烹飪。不過離家在外三個星期，對我們來講，無論誰做的中餐看上去都倍感親切，不管什麼樣的中餐吃起來都噴香解饞。同時，我還得感謝阿根廷人熱情好客，自己被一幫素昧平生、節日期間購物掃貨的娘子軍前呼後擁到超大型聖誕樹前合影留念。顯然，阿根廷人之所以見多識廣，就是因為對東方、西方、南方文化兼收並蓄。

      When we immersed in an ocean of splendid architectures and diversified cultures, as mom thought, the illusion rotated into our eyes and the expression transformed more than thousands of words that we could possibly described about the spotlights. It was about the beauty and it was beyond the beauty, which tranquilized humanity in life.

       媽媽認為，當沉浸在雄偉建築之中，享受多元文化之時，我們經常捕捉新的視覺，並不斷汲取新的思想，由此而來的收穫有時難以用語言準確表達。美在其中，魂在其間，發掘人文之美，才會使我們的生活更加完好。

(二O一三年一月五日，小寒)