Saturday 15th September, the Buenos Aires Underground Market came back for a second event at the IMPA worker-run factory in Almagro. Based on the successful model started in San Francisco, food vendors came together to share their creative culinary talents with more than 1,300 hungry visitors. The afternoon was packed with yummy goodness from a variety of independent producers. Cómo/Como shares a selection of images from the afternoon.

 

Though time machines have yet to be invented, a trip back to the swinging 60s isn’t as far away as you think. Argentina’s enormous Beatles following finally materialized in museum form when Rodolfo Vázquez, owner of The Cavern Club in Buenos Aires and huge Beatles fanatic, decided to create a Mecca of his own for other lovers of Beatles way of life.

Buenos Aires’ very own Beatles Museum opened on 3rd January 2011 by Vázquez and is one of the only Beatles museums outside of Liverpool. The petite Beatles gallery is located Paseo La Plaza — a short and picturesque walkway off the street, full of cafés, trees and small shops. As the doors of the museum open, your trip back in time begins — Beatles music wafts around the cordial room filled with glass cases protecting Vázquez’s prized collectables. Merchandize and albums from the sunrise and sunset of the Beatles can be found wall-to-wall in the cozy museum space.

Vázquez’s love for the ideology and musical stylings of the Beatles was planted early on in his life. “When I was ten I was given a Beatles record by a friend of mine from school,” he recalled. “ I listened to the song “In My Life”…I have been a fanatic ever since.” And for the last 43 years, he has been a collector and treasurer of various Beatles memorabilia from around the world.

Assembling his collection since the age of ten, Vázquez has acquired numerous rare and distinct treasures that many Beatles fans have never seen. Collecting so many pieces has landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records since 2001, though he proudly displays only a fraction of his collection at a time.

There are 2,000 of the items currently in the museum, though he admits his collection in its entirety totals to about 8,500 Beatles objects, and over 3,500 of these collectables are vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, EPs, singles and magazines. For this reason, and space permitting, he plans on having his musical novelties on a rotation so each visit to the museum can be a fresh experience.

Current items on display in the museum range from original letters written by close relatives of the John Lennon and George Harrison, to oddities like limited edition Beatles Monopoly games and colorfully decorated Beatles dolls and glass figurines. An entire cabinet alone is dedicated to John Lennon and Yoko Ono, including a wedding book of memorabilia — magazine covers, a replica of their marriage certificate in Gibraltar, replicas of Lennon’s legendary glasses and more.

With such an extensive collection, Vázquez admits that it is hard to pick a singularly prized piece above the rest. “There are really too many things, but this is something I really love,” he said, motioning to a small box containing dozens of colorful envelopes behind the display glass. “This is a box of gum packets from around 1964. Each of the gum packets is decorated by a different Beatles album cover.”

Visitors meandering through the music filled room witness small fragments of Beatles history and glimpses into the craze that is alive and well today in Buenos Aires — replicas of concert costumes, concert tickets, programs and even Beatles commemorative plates.

A world record setting collection, assembled over decades by Vázquez is not just a trip back in time for his guests, but for himself as well. “I have been putting this collection together since I was a little. Some were gifts, some where bought — at the time there weren’t many things in Buenos Aires, originally, but people would go on vacation and come back with what they could,” he explained. “And after they came back from visiting London, Liverpool, or the United States, they would begin to bring things and people began to trade their items.” Vázquez himself has visited the United Kingdom six times and represents Argentina’s love for the Beatles.

Though the Beatles have a widespread and dedicated fan base, the River Plate versus Boca Juniors futbol rivalry is not the only rivalry that Argentina hosts.

“Many say Argentina is very “Rolling Stones”, but that is not true,” emphasized Vázquez. “Argentina is very Beatles.” As testament to that, the Beatles museum has seen over 3,000 visitors since opening in January. “That many visitors in just one month is incredible,” he said. “Especially since these months many of the people of Buenos Aires are on vacation elsewhere.”

What had started as a small project and exhibition for Vázquez quickly turned into a permanent destination for locals and tourists, which Vázquez hopes brings as much joy to others as it does to him. The exhibit, though ever changing, is open all weeklong, after all, true Beatles passion never rests.