I guess you first put the herb in here, right? I must confess that it has been one of the best ice creams I have ever tasted in the world, no exaggeration. How wonderful! Today we're going to explore what life is like in Argentina, starting from its capital, Buenos Aires. Hello, how are you, friends? Welcome to a new video. For those who don't know me, my name is Gabriel Herrera. Friends, I'm incredibly happy today because of what's about to happen. As you read in the title, today we're going to explore what life is like in Argentina, starting from its capital in Buenos Aires. For this, I've come to Centenario Park. Observe the surroundings, which we will soon explore in detail. In addition to learning about the daily life of Argentinians, in this case, the people from Buenos Aires, and how life unfolds in this great country of America, today something epic happens. I will introduce you, and discover along with you, the work team with whom I've been growing, learning, and making it possible for this YouTube channel to be what it is today. They are a team that started by taking hits, so to speak, and this is the first time we are going to meet in person, since contact has been only by phone and WhatsApp, but we have never seen each other in person, because they have been living here in Argentina for a few years. We met through a recommendation, and since then, for three years, we have been working together. Today, they will be in charge of touring the capital with me, to see what life is like here in Argentina. So let's meet them and start the tour. This moment is epic because we are going to meet each other. Hey! How are you, Javier? Hello! How are you, Gabriel? Hey! How are you, guys? This is really the first meeting with the guys. How are you? Good, very nervous. Very nervous because, it's the first time we see each other and also, the camera too. Guys, how long have we known each other? Since November 2020. And only now, in September 2023, are we meeting in person. This work relationship is very good because, despite not knowing each other in person and having already three years working together, everything has worked through WhatsApp. They have been in charge for three years of editing each video, every publication you see on my social networks. This is the team in charge. We know every gesture of Gabriel and now it's like, oh, yes, we have seen him millions of times. We know him more than he does us. It's true, it's true. Really, they have been a fundamental part of this project. That we are here today, is thanks to these guys because they put a huge heart into editing the videos, all the amount of work that there always is on the channel, and they more than anyone know it. Really, without them, this would not be possible. We work as a team. If you knew that all these weeks we talked: "When we record the video with Gabriel, we're going to add this" We already have some ideas. This video is going to be very interesting. They will also be in charge of giving us a tour around different parts of Buenos Aires that we have not yet known. And we're going to start here, in Centenario Park, and from here we'll visit other places. This is about to start, but there's still a welcome, which you should have seen by now, but I still have to do it. Guys, for people to get more familiar with you, how long have you been living here in Argentina? And specifically in Buenos Aires. Well, I arrived in 2020, but we moved here to the capital as such in December 2021. I have been here for five years. At first, I arrived in Quilmes, which is also in Buenos Aires, but about 40 minutes from the capital. Linda, tell me something, how are Argentinians about having children? Do they seek them from an early age or tend to avoid it? Yes, they tend to avoid it a lot. I was recently reading a statistic that indicates that people prefer having pets over children. It seems that in the city there are more dogs than children under 10 years old. I have met several Argentinians who prefer not to have children, because they think the world is a bit damaged and it's not worth it. But there are others who are a bit more traditional and prefer to have their children. That explains why we've seen so many dogs. And Angie, who loves dogs, you know, me too, we've noticed it. There are too many dogs on the street, everyone has one. I have seen, at least, too many dog walkers. I had never seen a dog walker, at least in Venezuela. It's true, I saw them a moment ago, it's true. There are many, at least in this park. Around 8 in the morning, there are walkers everywhere. I saw you with at least 4 or 5 dogs. In the afternoons, like the owner walks them again, Further ahead there's like a space where they leave them just for the dogs. How cool! Yes, they are like the children of Argentinians. It's cheaper, I guess. This place called Healthy Station, Wellness Point, caught my attention, and the guys tell me here that you can come to get your blood pressure taken, get a check-up and they don't charge anything at all, they do it totally for free. So they also have classes. Look, they have a schedule here from Monday to Friday. So, for example, today which is Friday, they have rhythms from 9 to 10, then they have regenerative from 10 to 11 and walking from 11 to 12. They have yoga from 4 to 5. So they have different activities. Notice that, for example, cognitive, walking, mobility, coordination. This space is very good, and also in this place is excellent because, everyone who comes to the park is because, well, they want to be active, right? And to be active you have to be healthy. Hey! Look, here on the outskirts of the park, we are by one of the sides. Notice how they put the drinking fountains here. It's a long pipe, not like those common fountains you see around. It's quite cute and useful because you don't have to bend down so much. Really, you can almost drink standing up. I don't know how good an idea it is to drink water from these kinds of places, but I imagine they are potable water, right? Tastes like it's clean, tastes a bit like chlorine, so it must be clean. Well, the thing with dogs is serious. Look, they have a park here enclosed for you to come and leave the dogs. Look there, the big dogs. It's very good because it's enclosed, they're safe, they have water here, look. How about that? It's really cool and for the caretakers even better, because they come with all the dogs, leave them here and very well. So they have enclosed areas. Look, they have this here and the other is separated from this one. See? And this one even has a tunnel there. There's the park, it's incredible really. Friends, here you can also find stalls where they sell refreshments and such, but they also sell "panchos." "Panchos" are what I know as hot dogs, or as in other places they are known as hot dogs. Look, and mate is so important here in Argentina, that they have this special for it. And here, friends, you can refill the thermos, the bottle, with which you store the hot water for the mate and it's completely free. Look at this, free hot water service. So this is the service button. It indicates whether it's heating or available. You place your bottle here, press the button, and it fills your thermos so you can use it for your mate. How wonderful! This is when you realize these kinds of things about culture, daily customs we know in other countries change, and you won't see this anywhere else in the world, only here in Argentina. This machine you will only see here. These kinds of things fascinate me because, knowing these kinds of places, and understanding that the mate culture here is so important, is impressive. But before buying the herb and continuing to talk about this subject, it's necessary to understand whose mate it is. I know I'm getting into a delicate topic with this, but we need to talk honestly. Are you one of those wondering how I manage to stay always connected to the different countries I visit? No matter the place, whether it's a very remote location, or if, like now, we are in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I need to perhaps order a taxi or upload a story to Instagram, and I need the best connection, I do it through Holafly's eSIMs. Moreover, you don't need the physical SIM we always use, but they simply send it to you by email. You scan the QR code and follow the steps to install it on your phone. It's super easy and simple. I recommend Holafly's eSIMs, because they are present in more than 170 countries, and listen well, 70 of them with unlimited data. Meaning, you don't have to worry about running out of internet during your trip. Moreover, another additional advantage of Holafly's eSIMs, is that they keep your same WhatsApp number. How do you get it? It's super easy. You just have to go to the description of this video, click on the link, because, moreover, with that you will get a 5% discount on the purchase of your eSIM. Having the peace of mind of arriving in a new country, and being connected from the moment you land, is priceless, only advantages are offered by Holafly's services. So you know, use my promotional code GABRIELHERRERA that you find in the link in the description of this video. Let's continue with our tour. There's the kid with his Boca shirt practicing soccer for a while, because this also forms part of the Argentine culture. Playing soccer, watching soccer, and for the people from Buenos Aires, Boca and River are their two passions. Of course, obviously, this is a delicate topic, because it's a Real Madrid-Barcelona on unimaginable levels. It's a rivalry from which here very big conflicts can form over sports, but very big. When I say big, big that even the police get involved and everything. There's a protocol when entering the stadium, depending on the team that's going to play. The visiting team has to leave the stadium first, then the local team leaves. I mean, it's all a protocol. Here you can't go around wearing team shirts so freely, or at least in some places, because they have already told me that, for example, in the gym there's a sign that says here you can't enter with football team shirts. Now, in which area are we? You tell me we are in the Caballito area, these are the surroundings of Centenario Park. And is this area where the common people live? Is it an expensive area? Is it a cheap area? Well, if you compare it with areas like Palermo or Belgrano, let's say it's a bit cheaper. But you tell me that because of the constructions they are doing, for example, this building they are building now. -Does that affect the electrical system?
-Yes. But, are the constructions new? We think it's like a collapse, because, justly, we have already spent two summers here, and as people have the air conditioning on all the time, there's a collapse and you can be left without electricity, an entire day. It affects us a lot because we have an electric stove. So we have to go to a cousin's house who lives in Palermo. So, just we are going to pass a street that they always close in summer for that reason. Of course! Wow! Seriously? I didn't know that these kinds of situations could happen here in Argentina and that they could also lose electricity. It's rare, but it happens. It can happen in some areas like this one here. Look, and how much could the rent for an apartment in this area cost? On average. I think it would be around, let's talk about a two-room apartment, $300, $400 dollars. What happens is that we are also in the election period, and many landlords are opting to have the rent in dollars. So it's not $300, $400 anymore, they can charge you $700, $800. It's much more expensive here. Of course! And that price is here in the capital because in the outskirts it's cheaper. Yes, much cheaper. We used to live in Quilmes before, and I don't remember how much we paid at that time, but we didn't reach $300 and it was a much bigger house. It was almost a four-room house. And that's in the outskirts. The outskirts are like saying the southern zone. Look, see, that's the Grido ice cream shop. That one is not for fancy people, that's already a more common ice cream shop, where more of the people from Buenos Aires, the Argentinian who wants to eat a good ice cream and also a bit cheaper, comes. But well, look, to know how a country works and how its people live, you have to know precisely that, their expenses. Now, how much do people here earn? Well, in Argentina currently people are earning about 140,000 pesos. That yes, we would be talking about the average salary. Now, the dollar exchange rate for today is quoted at one dollar for 780 pesos. This means that just in the time I arrived here, it has gone up 20 pesos from one day to the next, because when I arrived they were quoting it at 760 per dollar. Now, those 140,000 pesos you earn if, for example, imagine you work in a bar. If we take another example, like a taxi application like Uber, there you can make much more money. And we were also talking here with an Uber driver, and he told me he can make up to 800,000 pesos. Now, you might say, is 800,000 pesos a lot of money? Well, taking into account that I also asked the Uber driver, how much he could keep as profit, after paying all his expenses and he told me that he, having a partner, I mean, two people depend on that salary, that income, they keep approximately 500,000 pesos. After paying all his expenses. Does everyone here make conversions to the blue dollar? It depends. I mean, the common citizen yes. I imagine that businesspeople do make the conversions because they have government benefits, and it's the official dollar, soy dollar, tourist dollar, there are several types of dollar. There are several types of dollar, as far as I understand. That's a quite complicated topic here in Argentina, the dollar issue. It's that, look, here the official dollar operates, and the blue dollar, but there's also another type of dollar. I saw an ad that said Dubai dollar. -Qatar dollar, yes.
-Qatar dollar, I saw an advertisement for that too. And that became famous because many Argentinians, as they are such fans, started going to Qatar, during the World Cup. The government released a specific dollar rate for them, because they saw that there was a flight of dollars, so in an attempt to stop it, they imposed taxes. There's also a dollar rate, I think it's called the Coldplay dollar, which was for the concerts. Coldplay dollar. I mean, they released a specific dollar rate for a concert. What happened is that they did ten concerts, filled ten concerts here. And that rate was quoted very differently from the rest. All of them are different. They have more or less taxes. Wow, that's crazy. Anyway, to help everyone understand all the types of dollars you can find here in Argentina, we're going to leave you a chart here so you can understand it more easily, and see all the types you can encounter. Look, by the way, I was interviewing several people to also get their comments on, how much they approximately pay for rent, and I saw some examples like, for instance, outside the capital, and understand that Buenos Aires as the capital is divided, in the circle is the capital, in the central circle, the center would be the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, or CABA. And after that is the rest of Buenos Aires. Within the city capital, you can find rents of $800, $700, already dollarized that you have to pay in dollars that they won't even accept Argentine pesos. Now, outside of that, you can find, for example, a four-bedroom house with a large garage, for 140,000 Argentine pesos because you're outside the capital. That's how varied the rental situation can be depending on where you live in this city. Look, let's go look for the mate. Then we're going to do, obviously, a supermarket video. This is a very small market but today we're on a very specific quest: the mate. Where's the mate? This way? Ah, look, it's very close to the entrance, and there are many types of mate. Romance, Cruz de Malta, Taragüí, Rosamonte. What you saw in the park was from them. Taragüí? Ah, it's the Taragüí advertising. Ah, Taragüí. And which is the most common one? Or the one everyone takes? You have Mañanita, CBSE, Taragüí, and Cruz de Malta. Still, the one I thought to buy isn't here. Which one did you think to buy? Playadito. Hello Angie, Can I? Thank you, brother, see you. They changed the packaging. Look, for example, this Playadito, costs 1206 pesos, and it brings half a kilo. Now, are we going to take it? Shall we take this one? Ok. Ah, look, and the dulce de leche. But we're not going to spoil because there's a supermarket video. It was 1206, I gave her 1300, I didn't have small bills because if you watched the first impressions video, you'll know that when I changed money they didn't give me very small bills, because they told me I wouldn't use them for anything and they were almost worthless and not worth it. And like that's becoming a reality today because when I went to pay with the 1300 for the 1206, the girl gave me back the bill and said: "You owe me 6, let it be. Thanks." And I was like: Really?, She said yes. It's crazy because how does she then square the till? She's going to be missing six pesos. It's such a small amount of money that there will be people who, when buying, are given what's missing. And they'll save and I don't know. It's something crazy. That doesn't happen anywhere else in the world, that you're missing 6 in a supermarket like that, because when it's a family grocery store, well, yes. And there's the owner, the owner does what he wants. But when it's a business like that it's more difficult. In the meantime, we've arrived where the magic happens. That's right, because we've arrived at Linda and Javier's house, and here's the studio. This is where Gabriel Herrera's videos are edited, my friends. Currently. The laboratory. here, I need a picture. Just before we left we were uploading the video of "This is LIFE in EL SALVADOR". Because right now, as I'm recording these videos, the El Salvador videos we were making are being published on the channel. It's impressive to be here, it's impactful to be here because, I hadn't been here, and this is where all the magic of the videos really happens, here, where the guys surely curse at me. Just kidding. But if here they must have incredible moments editing Gabriel Herrera's videos, because I think I send them a lot of material. Sometimes, a bit. This would be a two-room apartment because it has, this part here which is a living-dining room and then it has a room and a bathroom. How much do you guys pay for this apartment, guys, now we pay 98,000 pesos, 98,000 divided by 780 are $125 dollars. Our rent started at $300 and each year we make an adjustment, which this year would be 125%. 125% adjustment? Then, we would end up paying about 200,000 pesos more or less at the end of this year. Like about $300, $320 dollars. It's going to adjust to $300 dollars, a little more or a little less, and well, with the passing of time... I was just going to ask you that, if the price remains the same over time, because over the year that gets devalued. It lasts a month. And well, people opt to make deals with the owners. Guys, but I think everyone behind this screen watching the video, will know that the guys are Venezuelans by the accent, they are not Argentine. But, what does a Venezuelan do with a mate in his house? Actually, my sister gave me that one, she likes it. My brother moved to the United States and asked me to send it to him and gave me one. I also drink it, but not that often. I was going to ask you, have you gotten into the mate culture? No, not me. You still haven't? Don't drink much mate? Here in Argentina, I learned to drink more coffee, coffee everywhere. But mate, no. Ok, but you have entered a bit into the culture. When you're at university, you drink a lot more because, well, you share with Argentines, and each class was every hour. We drank like three thermoses of mate. I had to go to the bathroom because they never went. We had, like, three hours of classes, and they didn't go, I went like 6 times. Look, is this one made of pumpkin or wood? Pumpkin. It's already cured. Still, I don't know if it's well cured, let them tell us in the comments. And what does it look like inside? Yes, it's greenish, brown, dark. And that, do you wash it? Or washing it is a sin. It's never washed. It has to dry on its own. People use napkins, leave it out in the air. I mean, no washing it with a sponge full of grease from other things with soap and all, nothing like that. Now, my basic question here, and surely many who are watching have also thought it, a person who has, imagine, you, 40 years old, who has been drinking mate since they were young. Can their mate be the same one from when they were young? It depends on the quality of the mate. I mean, if they bought a very good mate, it could last... Yes, of course. And it would never have been washed? Possibly not. Wow. Look, tag me, I mean, comment there, if you, as Argentinians watching me, have had your mate since when, and if you have never washed it since then. Comment there to see how much. Comment. The mate consists of this, friends. In this container, I mean, it's like a cup, exactly, it's like a cup, that is divided into its bombilla, which is this part here, It can be made of different materials, just like the mate, It can be pumpkin, wood, stainless steel, whatever you want. But the most commonly used here, the original, is the pumpkin one. This is what the hot water thermoses look like, they're like a coffee thermos. And normally, does the one who brings the thermos bring the mate, or does everyone bring their thermos, their mate, and the yerba? We're getting into complicated territory, because it depends on the person who is drinking it, they may have more or less things. I mean, it can be, here they say that they are very attached to tradition. Let's say if you say "thank you," they won't give you another mate, but there are other people who don't care as much and just drink mate and that's it. They just care about drinking mate. Anyway, I confess that this will not be the first time I'm going to drink mate. This will be the first time I'm going to drink mate prepared by me, because yesterday, on my first day in Argentina, I tried it, saved the clip, and you're going to see it next before I drink and taste how mine turned out. Then I'll tell you if I liked the one prepared by the girls you're going to see next, or mine, and they were telling me some quite, important facts because they were three Argentine girls preparing their mate. Let's go there. Well, look guys, here I met three girls, that I couldn't help, passing by here, to see them holding the famous mate in their hands. How are you, girls? Introduce yourselves, let's see, first, how are you? What's your name? I'm Lucía. I'm Kala. And I love mate. I'm Jasmin. Pleasure, girls. Look, it caught my attention, that I've seen many people out there on the street, even in backpacks, with the mate outside like this, at hand. I mean, ready to grab quickly. This is very important for you. How important is it? Mate is a very authentic national drink for us. I mean, every Argentine likes mate and drinks mate. There are no people who don't like it. And if there are, it's very rare. I mean, the rare thing is not liking it. The rare thing is not to. I think it's like a cellphone. I mean, where you carry the cellphone, you carry the mate. You go with both. It's also very social for us. Of course, I was going to say, it's something very social. You can be in your house alone drinking mate, but generally, it's shared, with your family, your brother, with your friends. Generally, it's something very social. Ah, ok. At this moment you, are doing this because you're going to share that mate among the three of you. Of course. We all drink the mate. Well, I brought the mate and Lu today brought the thermos. I brought the thermos to divide the loads. Don't be afraid of bacteria. And if someone else comes by to chat with us, you share a mate. -And it's fine.
-No, no problem. Is there a special technique to drink mate? There are codes for drinking mate. I didn't know before. What are these codes about? And how is it that you don't say "thank you" and they give it to you and you have to say "thank you"? Because when you're suddenly drinking a lot of mate and don't want to drink anymore, you say "thank you" to the one brewing it and that means that's it, this is the last one, there's no more. The person serving, like, then, the person serving is called the cebador. So, I start, only one serves. So I drink, it's a round. So, if, I don't know, Lu doesn't want anymore, she says "thank you". Then, I stop serving her. To brew is to pour more hot water. Of course, it's hot water, not cold. It's not boiling, at 85, 90 degrees. It can be cold, I like it more cold. It's called tereré when it's cold. It's with juice. And well, you put juice in the yerba. Of course, orange juice, the powder, whatever, yes. And, what are those used to drink it called? This is a bombilla. And what material is it made of? This is made of alpaca or silver. Yes, generally, it's alpaca. No, the authentic mate is pumpkin. Then, this wooden one is good, but the always used one is pumpkin. And the yerba mate you use? Is there a particular one? Is there a favorite? The one I like the most is La Merced, a brand called La Merced. Eh, but if not, Playadito. I tell you that's the one everyone uses. Andresito is used by my dad. Do you want to try? Well, if you invite us, I'll try. A tasting will be my first... It's that I arrived last night. -Really?
-I swear, I arrived last night. Can I film you? Of course. This is going to be my first mate. How nice. Something that yes, obviously, I researched is that I can't stir. It wouldn't be like something fatal, ok. Ok. Simply bring my mouth close and sip. You can't move the bombilla either. A big sip, small sip. As you want. This moment is epic. It's my first mate. It's tasty. It's like tea. It's like tea but it leaves you with a slightly stronger flavor at the end than tea. But no, the authentic mate is pumpkin with normal herb. I mean, I drank an authentic mate. The mate is good. You girls made good mate. And it can be different the model, the preparation can turn out different between person and person. Yes, also the type of herb they use. And among the three, who is the expert in making mate? You always. There's always someone designated to make the mate. Ok. Well, girls, really, thank you very much for sharing. Where can I see the video? On YouTube. To be honest, I liked it. It has a pleasant flavor, like tea. It's not something so different from tea, but it does leave you with that sensation after sipping a pleasant taste in your mouth. And I imagine that with each sip, you get a quite pleasant sensation. And on an afternoon like this, in this place where I'm drinking it, which is in Puerto Madero, look at the climate, the place, incredible. And truthfully, for spending leisure time, as they said, which is about socializing, about being in a group of friends, someone goes, serves it, and passes it around. It's incredible. Truthfully, I really liked the experience, and I think it was quite close, real. From three girls who, after university, go out and share their mate, to socialize for a while, and that is, basically, that's the mate culture here in Argentina. Well, this is the yerba mate, this is the mate, this is the bombilla, and here is the hot water with its thermos. We've already put it in the thermos. Now, I don't know how to prepare mate, I don't, I don't know what to do, what comes first? The water or the mate? That's a good question. What comes first? The water or the mate? I think the mate comes first, the yerba mate, sorry, because the mate, obviously, comes first, but I imagine that you first put the herb here, right? And it should be full and compact. How is it done? I think to the brim. If anything, hit the panic button and I'll help. This is what I would do, because this is interesting. What I would do, if left alone, I'd put this here. I imagine that to fit the bombilla, you had to leave a space or have done it first. Hey, it doesn't fit, huh? I think the bombilla was supposed to go first, right? What do you say? Yes, like that. Ah, like this? And do I do it like this? Cover the tip with your finger, the tip of the bombilla. Here we can observe two Venezuelans trying to make mate. Well, you saw everything the girls there told us, All the techniques we can't say, as Javier also commented, when they pass it to us, to say thank you, unless we don't want anymore, because saying thank you means I'm done, no more. Now, how do I pour the water? From what I saw with the girls, this is kept inclined like this, then you have to pour the water here on the edge. The closest to the bombilla for the first mate. Then later, as you keep doing it, you pour over the yerba. Ok, then, as close to the bombilla we're going to pour the water. And how much water do I pour? Eh, not to overflow, like up to a third, to leave it unmoistened. There? Ok. And now do I have to wait? The cebador drinks the first mate, that's for sure. -Which is the worst one, I guess, because it's not well brewed.
-The most bitter. Ok. That means that the cebador, in this case, me, that's what you call the one who prepares the mate. Also, some people spit it out, that is, the first mate. How common is it to spit it out? I've seen people doing it. I don't. Ok, let's see. It's strong. It's bitter, bitter. There's also sweetener, just in case, there are people who drink it. Look, unlike the one I tried from the girls, which had been prepared for a while and they had poured and mixed, the girls' was super soft on the first contact, and then leaves a slight bitterness at the end, but at the end, and like in the mouth, and it was tasty. This one, being so pure, is quite bitter. And now what? Do I pour more water? Until it runs dry. Ah, you have to drink it until it dries out. Also, if you want, I'll do it, don't worry. If it sounded like that, he drank it all. Bitter. Do I pour more water now? Yes, now yes. Look, but this is fun. This is super fun for socializing. It seems I poured too much water. Like in the park we went to, people sit, with their dog... And this setting is beautiful, it's very nice. Ah, now it has to be passed, right? Yes, of course. Thank you very much. Ok, let's pass the mate. There, an expert. It turned out well. Please, have you been doing this all your life? How did I do? Look, Angie is not going to try this mate in this video, but she will try it, but in her video. I would try it without a problem. The detail is that I've never tried mate in my life. I've been offered it many times and always said no, because I'm saving myself for a special moment, and the special moment arrived today. And well, I'll try it in my video. So, about things you didn't know about Argentina, among them, a detail about mate. And well, what better place than this with the guys. So you'll have the description of Angie's video channel, so you can go see how she liked the mate for the first time. Look, while Javier finishes drinking his mate, who escaped there from the shot, we're going to see how to recharge this card, which is the card used for public transportation here. It's valid for the subway, for the buses, and what's impressive is that the guys are telling me that you can recharge it, through an app on the phone. Look how it works. Let's see, he has the card here, he has the app. The app is called SUBE. And that's a governmental app. We click here to see balance. It tells you, support the SUBE and shows you how. Checking balance. Wow, this is fantastic! And how does it work? It has a sensor, like a magnet. There it is. Look, I have $40 left. Also, here it gives you the option to copy the number. And you can load it directly in Mercado Pago. But that's super convenient because you don't have to go to the ticket booths with the card to reload it. You do it from your home, before leaving, if you ran out of balance, and that's it, you're set. This technology is really good. Those of you watching from the transportation sector in Venezuela, gentlemen, this is a great idea to implement in the country, because we don't have it, and sometimes we don't have the time to go to the ticket booths, long lines form at the metro to use it, for example, in Caracas. This is a great idea. You can reload your transportation card from home. It's brilliant. Notice, once we've obtained the balance of the card, and we copy the card number that appears here. Notice, it gives you the option to copy. We go to the Mercado Pago app now, which is the Mercado Libre app. And then here we can add the card that we copied earlier. We go to the SUBE app, we copy the card here in Mercado Pago, and we click to copy and recharge the amount we want. In this case, the minimum amount is $300. We click here, we click to pay. And that's it, I've made the charge. And we have to click on credit with SUBE loads, and it sends you directly to the SUBE app, you support again. So, balance credited. It charged the amount and there are no pending charges. Loaded $600 plus the $40. Ah, that's cool. But look, we're going to take route 55. Now we're walking towards the stop. Let's see then what it's like to take a, what do they call it here? A bus, a bus. In Venezuela, we call it a bus. We're going to take a bus. In other countries, well, the bus and such, but here it's colectivo. How common is it for locals to use the buses? Do they use the bus a lot? Or more the subway? Or does it depend on the area where they live? Well, if you have a subway station nearby, obviously it's much more convenient, because the truth is that the subway passes every 5, 6, 7 minutes, depending on the route. But we use the bus quite a bit because, well, we're in a very central area of the capital, and from here many buses pass wherever you want to go. So, for us, the bus is more convenient. As for the prices of the bus, it depends on the route. For example, this route we're taking, the 55, the cheapest price is $52, and the most expensive is $68, and it varies depending on the distance, obviously. We paid $59, but every 2 kilometers the price goes up more. So, just to give you an idea of how much the bus costs here. And considering it costs between 6 and 8 cents of a dollar, it's not that expensive at international prices, even cheaper than the subway, because the subway is about 10 cents of a dollar. By the way, I must highlight the fact that the bus has air conditioning and is impeccable. Very good. Well, this is the entrance to the subway, as they affectionately call it here, and notice that even the sign indicates it. And down there you go to the different lines. Notice how the line ABCDEH is. Just in this part where we're passing, we're going around the Botanical Garden. Here there are many parks in the city of Buenos Aires. There are many parks to enjoy. People have a good time there. But look, I was halfway through telling you about how they speak here, the lexicon, the syntax they use, the pronunciation, and especially, about Rioplatense, as this way of speaking here is known, especially in the region of Uruguay and here in Buenos Aires, and generally, in Argentina. Look, friends, this part where we are, where the bus left us, is Palermo, the Palermo area. These are areas we haven't walked because, look, it's going to be impossible to show you the entire capital, let alone the whole country, in this series of videos, but we'll do our best. Look, it's like this. Regarding pronunciation, Argentinians don't differentiate between, the s, z, and c, because they pronounce them exactly the same. Now, with the double L, something very particular happens. They pronounce it as. "Shh" For example, "how do you call yourself", "Llamas" They don't produce "llamas" as we normally might pronounce it, but it's "how do you call yourself". "Llamas." It's like "sh" for them in terms of pronunciation for the double "l", and from there that characteristic, unparalleled Argentine accent, which is recognized anywhere in the world. As soon as they speak, you know it's Argentine. Now, in terms of syntax, they use the pronoun "vos" instead of "tú". However, the conjugation of the second person plural of the verb is used, and the diphthong is lost. For example, instead of saying "tú sabes", it's said "vos sabes". "Vos sabes" instead of "tú sabes." "Vos sabes" Now, there are certain words that I find very funny, and that can be my favorites in the slang of Argentina. For example, the word "boludo." Though it sounds funny, it's not very nice, also depending on the context in which you use it. Because a "boluda" person can be a perhaps foolish person, but you can also say "boludo" to someone affectionately. It all depends on the relationship you have with that person, the trust, and the context in which you are using the word. Javier, I'm talking about the way they speak here, and they told me an anecdote that you know how to do very well. Give us a clear example. But wait, what do you want? I don't know, tell me more. There it's good, a bit. Let's see, give us in Argentine slang what you do. "I've been a video editor for about 5 years." He got it. There you could tell me, "this boludo is really messing with me" What does that mean? Like he's joking with me. "Quilombo," what is "quilombo?" It can be a problem, like if you start yelling at me now, you're making "quilombo" Ok and when the rival teams Boca-River start fighting, it's "quilombo" And what's that word that Argentines use, all the time that they repeat over and over for anything? "Che, or "viste", "che" could be, "viste", "viste" "ponele" Yes, but "ponele" doesn't stick with us Venezuelans that much either. "Ponele" Ok. There are too many words that I could give you a glossary. We have "pibe" to refer to a kid, a young person, "afanar" which is to steal, "groso" which is something important, big. You can say, "ah, he is groso," "you are groso," "that is groso" is something big, "grasa" which denotes something tacky, "guita" is funny because it's something we all use on the planet. Without it, this planet would practically stop spinning, and it's money. "Guita" is money. We're just passing by the Ecopark, which has little animals, there's a giraffe over there, we see an ostrich. The giraffe looks healthy, how nice. Now, they also have another way of calling money and it's "mango" "I have no mango" or "I have two mangos" They calculate it by mango. Although they tell me that mango here is very expensive. Where does it come out? Welcome to Argentina. Example, those over there were "pibes," right? Some "pibes" For example, work is called "laburo" "I'm going to the laburo" I'm going to work They change everything, but it's cool, sounds good. Look how spectacular these places are. Look at the flag of Argentina over there, look at the park, super well-kept. Look at this monument here, this gazebo here is beautiful. The Ecopark next to it, there was another park. Buenos Aires is full of green sites, and that's what often makes cities interesting, when they manage to integrate the concrete jungle with the real jungle, with gardens. The city adapts to nature and not the other way around, and that makes a city look beautiful. Friends, and we have arrived at one of the places we wanted to see, which is the February 3rd park. We're going to enter right through the area of El Rosedal Walk. This place is known as such because, sometimes, at certain times of the year it has many roses, but now, as we're starting spring, they don't have them at this moment, but I think they don't even need them, because I'm already realizing that it's a spectacular park. The way they cut the grass millimetrically, look at that path there. The level of detail that this park has in terms of care, I've seen few places in the world. I think that not even in Europe have I seen so much detail in green areas. Look at how they mark the area here, where the grass is perfectly cut, in relation to the paths that are used for walking. Look at that, what a spectacle of a place. What did you think, that I wasn't going to talk about the topic of mate. Of course, I'm going to. I know I'm getting into a sticky situation, but we're going to do it. Here we're going to talk about things as they are, And taking advantage of the fact that my only witnesses to this, are going to be these geese around me, I tell you friends that, I'm sorry for the Argentine friends here, but mate is Uruguayan. Mate is Uruguayan. No, just kidding, stop, it's a joke, I swear it's a joke. I swear. It's Paraguayan. No, just kidding, neither, it's another joke. Third time's the charm. The truth is that the tradition of consuming mate, of consuming yerba mate, comes from the Guaraníes. That's right, they are the first inhabitants of all these regions of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. And yes, the Guaraníes, who inhabited this area, already consumed yerba mate, even before they invented the straw. That's right, they consumed it in a container, and used their teeth to filter the water they poured with the yerba mate, and that's how they consumed it. Among other curiosities that I can mention about the world of yerba mate, is that 80% of the exports are destined for Syria and Lebanon. We were just in Lebanon doing an incredible series, and each episode is already on the YouTube channel. Now, we have talked about mate being something cultural, something social, but it is true that, besides this, it has many other benefits. It turns out that yerba mate contains mateine, just as coffee contains caffeine. Mate, or yerba mate in this case, contains mateine. Now, to make it clearer, for those people who consume coffee, it has a similar effect to coffee, but it leads to greater concentration. Basically, it affects the central nervous system and makes you a bit more focused. Now, speaking about the culture of the barbecue here, obviously, this fact was to be expected, and it's that Argentina is the third largest producer of beef in the world. Now, this is also due to the fact that, they have 54 million head of cattle throughout the country, even exceeding the population as such. I mean, there are more Argentine cattle heads than Argentine people living here. And this country has 46 million inhabitants, and Angie is not one of them. Telling you some other facts about this country, I must tell you that Pope Francis is Argentine. And as an interesting fact about him, he worked as security here in Buenos Aires, Did you know? Among other curious facts about the inhabitants of this country, I must mention that Argentina is the country with the highest number of psychologists per capita in the world. In 2012, a study pointed out that there are 202 psychologists for every 100,000 inhabitants. Speaking of Pope Francis and about religion, and this topic. I have to tell you that fans of the former football player Diego Armando Maradona, created a religion around his figure. Yes, there is a religion of the figure of Diego Armando Maradona. Did you know that? When it comes to divine figures in Argentina, Maradona is placed at the same level as the Virgin Mary and the Pope, better known for his "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona's incredible football skills inspired such admiration, that in his name, and here comes the most interesting part, the Church of Maradona, as it is known, no longer uses the traditional notation of the year after Christ or before Christ. No, now they use "AD" after Diego. And although it may seem like a parody, it is not. The Guardian estimates that there are about 120,000 members of the Church of Maradona. Javier, have you gotten used to a kiss? I call it the spicy kiss. Why? Because they have beards. Argentinians have quite a bit of beard, so the spicy kiss. Here it is customary for, regardless, men and women, to greet each other with a kiss, a kiss on the cheek. I knew because in Portugal I have a neighbor who is Argentinian and watches my videos. When he saw me for the first time, he greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and I didn't understand. It must be that he likes me a lot, but then I understood that it is their custom to greet each other with a kiss. Yes, it's very common. So a quite particular curiosity of the Argentinian. I read something that said: "Italians who speak Spanish, think they're British living in Paris" and that's how some describe Argentinians. And if you think about it, it makes all the sense. As I've already explained, 80% of Argentinians, or more of the population, has European ancestry. By the way, friends, this park, the 3rd of February, is also popularly known as Palermo Woods, because it is located in the neighborhood with the same name, and it covers an area of 40 hectares. The Argentine capital is the city with the most football stadiums in the world. Among them, the most famous are the Monumental and the Bombonera, home of River Plate and Boca Juniors respectively. You can visit them all at once, through the Buenos Aires, River Plate Museum, and Boca Juniors tour, although I would like to be present at a Boca Juniors game, but they tell me that this is practically impossible, since the tickets are sold to the members, members who exceed the stadium's capacity. So there are practically never any tickets available. I don't know if this information given to me is entirely true. If there are other ways to be able to witness a Boca football game, you guys comment there. Let's see if they informed me correctly or not. Well, and that bus has left us in the Recoleta neighborhood. It's a somewhat exclusive neighborhood, yes, somewhat. Housing here is a bit more expensive, and the buildings are older. And how much can a rental here cost? From what I've been researching, approximately and in some properties like $500-$600 dollars. In dollars as such. For example, in your area, in dollars. How much can they pay, for example, in services? Electricity, water, internet service, telephone, which is the basics. It depends, precisely in our building as it is so new, electricity is included in the expenses, the expenses are, so to say, the condominium. Which are some services like... The cleaning, the security guard. Exactly. Where we are now, we are paying about 30,000 in expenses. 30,000 Argentine pesos , and that includes electricity, water, the building's condominium as such... And some extra costs, cleaning as well. And as for internet service, phones, cellphones and all that, is it all one package? Television, or is that separate. No, that's separate. We pay $2,800. We have a plan of about 6 gigs of internet. So, $2,800 pesos for each plan. Yes. For internet we pay $7,000 And in the internet, it includes the Flow service, which would be the television, let's say. Those two things. And what is the internet speed, for example? 500 megabits. Oh, quite fast. Oh, that's very good. Not bad at all. It's very good. We need it to be good for work. Of course. In Europe, that service of 500 megabits costs much more. Sure, they include it in a complete package with the television, the phones and everything, but it's always a bit more expensive than here. Here you can also have the cellphone as if linked to everything and they make you offers, but it wasn't worth it for us because it's very expensive. I mean, and we've already called to cancel the plan. Here it also applies. Yes, of course. Among the attractions of this neighborhood, friends, we can find the bridge we are crossing now, this busy avenue here but, above all, the fact that here is the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, that is that huge building you have there, which looks like a court of justice because of those big columns. Many look like that around the world. And, besides that, we have next to it the famous Flower, which we have right there in the background. And towards there we are heading. Well, unfortunately, you cannot pass to the Flower now. There's like a kind of festival, and they are setting up everything that will be here, but friends, that is the famous Flower. It's very beautiful, honestly. It's a shame we won't be able to see it up close, but this is as far as we go. Guys, how efficient is the subway? It's very efficient. Really, a lot of them pass. Are there delays? Rare. It's very rare, really, that it happens. It happens more on the trains towards for example the south zone, yes, it does happen that it gets quite delayed. But here the subways really work well. They work quite well. Welcome back to the obelisk. And I say again for those who saw the video of first impressions. Place of celebrations, meetings, of the most important things that occur in the country, and where a significant concentration of people is needed, it happens here. And, yes, when they won the World Cup, here was where most people gathered to celebrate. And we've arrived at the well-known Guerrin Pizzeria, it's this one here. And the guys tell me that, luckily, it's not full today, because normally it has a line of people waiting to get in, maybe it's because of the time. Right now it's almost 7 in the evening, 7 p.m. Let's go inside. Oh, look, I'm already seeing the desserts over here. The place, besides selling pizzas, sells the famous empanadas. Look at them there, already packaged. Here they are filling them, making them, and over here they are eating them. Look, the ovens are there. Here you have two ways to eat the pizza: one here at the bar, you order, two slices and such, and they give it to you and that's it, on these quick plates, you pay here, eat it here, or if you want to sit down you can do that too. On this side, you sit. The place is huge, and that's what we're going to do. I want you to see these pizzas because look how big they are. Wow, look at that. I ordered a Neapolitan and one with mozzarella and tomato, but look at that pizza. This is something I had not seen elsewhere, honestly. Look. Look at that. Cheese is not lacking, gentlemen. Well, I repeat, before you jump on me, I am going to eat barbecue, milanese, choripán, all of that we are going to eat, but in a special video about that topic, about the food and about a Sunday eating barbecue. But for now, I am going to eat something also very common here, which is a pizza. It has a lot of cheese. Look at that, super cool. It's fantastic. How is it? Good. Well, you thought there was a lot of pizza, well look, only three slices left, and only because we are saving space for dessert. Otherwise, bye bye. And, on the other hand, as a tourist here, regarding payment, it's better for me to pay in Argentine pesos. Why? Because of the exchange rate. I've already been talking to you about the blue dollar and the official dollar. Obviously, the blue dollar, as they give you double for every dollar you exchange, it's better to pay in cash at these places, today, when I'm recording this video, we don't know about later, but today, it's better to pay in cash, after having exchanged your dollars to blue dollars. So your credit card, when you travel to Argentina, At least, currently, keep it stored in your wallet. You come with cash, exchange your money to blue dollar, and it will be much cheaper. In many places, if you pay in cash, they normally give a 10 or 20% discount. There are many places where, for example, at this place, if you pay with cash, or it could also be debit, depends, but especially with cash, they give you a 10% or 20%, depending on the place, discount. Here is the money. We are going to pay in cash. Obviously. The bill came to $18,500. Here is $18,500. The two pizzas were four or five drinks. Now we are going to go for a delicious ice cream at a famous place that was supposedly, named the best ice cream shop, I think in the world or in Latin America, by National Geographic. Now, speaking about nightlife, by the way, they tell me that Argentinians enjoy the night. How much? What they do is a pre-party, they call it that, at a friend's house. They all gather there and start drinking from 10 at night, and when it's around 2 in the morning, when they are well activated, that's when they go to the nightclubs. It's at that moment that the parties start and they go to enjoy the night outside on the street, but before that, they've been having a pre-party for hours. They get ready. I don't know if that's entirely true or not. You will be the ones to comment there if it's true that they have a pre-party or not. Well, we've arrived at the ice cream shop, it's that one, Cadore Gelato Artigianale, in the top 10 of the best ice cream shops in the world by National Geographic. Let's try it to see how it is. I ordered a Swiss chocolate and one of dulce de leche, at the recommendation of the guy, what he recommends. Thank you very much. This ice cream cost me $1,800. To the cone, they say cucurucho. Cucurucho. I ordered dulce de leche and Swiss chocolate, which is milk chocolate with chocolate chips and natural dulce de leche. Everything that has dulce de leche is fantastic. Brutal. It's delicious. The other I already tried, was... I must confess that it has been one of the best ice creams I've ever had in the world, no exaggeration. Really, they are fantastic. And all the ones the guys ordered, which were different flavors, we tried them all and they are delicious. So you won't regret it. Even the cone is good. And meanwhile, to shield ourselves from the breeze, because we are all shivering from the cold because of the ice cream, we entered Paseo La Plaza, which is kind of a mini shopping center, but it's more like a promenade, has businesses on both sides. It's outdoors because if we go upstairs, it's outdoors, but at the same time, you're like enclosed in a place. Something I haven't mentioned is how people here protect themselves from inflation, because there really is inflation, the dollar keeps increasing more, the blue dollar increases more, and people have to save in dollars to protect their income, at least those who manage to save, which are not the majority of Argentinians. So, what they do is that anyone who earns in dollars to protect it, use exchanges, which are these apps with which they can transact in cryptocurrencies. They buy cryptocurrencies, whether it's Bitcoin, USDT, whatever, and then, through that same app, they can sell them. When they need Argentine pesos, they sell what they need, they withdraw the Argentine pesos from the ATM and that's it. It's a way to protect themselves from inflation, because as I say, it's always fluctuating. Notice that from one day to the next it varied by 20 pesos, and tomorrow will be 20 more. So it's a way to protect against inflation. I'm finding out right this moment because I just went to exchange money again, that there is a new high denomination bill, in this case, it's 2,000 pesos. It's this little bill here, which features on the front Ramón Carrillo and Cecilia Grierson. This bill is 2,000 pesos, this little bill, which would be the highest denomination, equivalent to about 2 and a half dollars, almost 3 dollars because the exchange today is, the blue dollar, at 780. This pizzeria has a line of people over there. We got ours at Guerrín, which still has a line of people over there. All the places we've passed to eat have a line of people, I mean, now the people are getting active, and it's still 10 at night. We've been on the street since early in the morning. This video has taken all day, but there are so many things to tell you and so many things to say, and for sure we're going to miss and we missed a lot more, but in the next episodes we're going to be doing about Argentina, we're going to explain each one of the things, we're going to be focusing on various topics, and showing you many more places that this country has to show you. Guys, the night is long, but we must say goodbye. Thank you for the tour. You are leaving now, and so am I. I've ordered my Uber, which is arriving. Thank you very much. See you in the coming days. It was a pleasure. I hope you, like me, enjoyed spending time here with my team. I loved that you gave me the tour in this video, and well, we'll see each other soon, and you'll see this content soon. Let's see how it turns out. -Bye, guys.
-Bye, greetings. Friends, welcome to our room, our second room here with the people from Dazzler, who have 5 locations here in Buenos Aires, by the way, all very comfortable. If you want to see the first mini-apartment we had, check out the first impressions video, that one is Dazzler Polo, this is Dazzler Palermo, and it's super comfortable. Well, how nice it is to arrive at your hotel, rest after a long day. It's almost 11 at night, and we were still out on the street, recording things for you so that you leave with the best idea of what life is like here in Argentina, and for sure there are many things we didn't show you, as I already mentioned, many examples to give you, stories to tell, situations, things that happen in the daily life of an Argentine and perhaps we don't know, but little by little we've been discovering things and, throughout the series, we will discover many more. So, don't miss the following episodes because they are worth it. We'll continue to learn more about life here in Argentina. I won't leave without inviting you to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Activate the notification bell so you always know when I upload a new video. Remember that you can also follow me on my Instagram account. There I am posting, at the moment I am in the places, before these videos appear on YouTube. You can follow me there as gabrielherrera_ The best thing about all this, friends, is that it's completely free. That's right. And before I go, I'd like to know in the comments what impressed you the most, what caught your attention, what perhaps you didn't know about Argentine culture, and for all those Argentines who watch me, whether in Argentina or outside it, what you liked the most that I showed in my video, and if there are certain things that always make one nervous when making this type of videos, nervous about stating things as they are, or at least very close to reality. That was the attempt, and with all my heart, I make these types of videos for you to enjoy them, learn together, and also travel around the world. So, friends, from here, from my Dazzler Palermo hotel, I say goodbye. See you in a next video. Bye-bye. Much love.
