I have a trip planned to go to Buenos Aires (for the first time) at the end of
this month. I am still waiting to see what develops, but a declaration by the
government of a 'swine flu emergency' is not encouraging. I have family members
in Mexico City and their emergency a few months ago essentially shut down the
city for several weeks. Residents were captives in their own homes and I can't
imagine what tourists did. There's no point in going to Buenos Aires if the
milongas are closed and public activities are virtually non-existent. Even if
the milongas stay open, this declaration of an emergency is very likely to
diminish the number of people going to the milongas. A friend of mine who
travels regularly to Buenos Aires for tango just came back and he told me that
were 'a lot less people than usual in the milongas, and not many foreigners'.
This was before the emergency was declared.
So, I think there needs to be some truth about what is really happening in the
milongas in Buenos Aires as a result of this declaration of a 'swine flu
emergency'. Given what my friend has said, the reports of 'milongas still open'
posted to this list may not give an accurate picture of the situation.
Another thing to take into account is the ability of the Argentine health care
system to respond to the epidemic. If a tourist gets sick, he or she will be
competing for medical care and medication. Do you really think Argentina has a
sufficient supply of Tamiflu?. Swine flu has killed people all over the globe,
so this is not something to take lightly.
I don't mean to sound an alarm, but there is a potentially undesirable
situation here, at the very least a waste of money because you came to dance
and the milongas are either closed or as poorly attended as at home, or worse
you get sick and put your life at risk because you can't get the health care
you need.
Some honest answers for some honest concerns, please.
Felix
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