The Day of Two Robberies

Yesterday, June 3rd, there were at least two attempted robberies in the town of Buenos Aires. They were both of me. They were each committed by separate groups of robbers in separate parts of the town. And they were both committed in broad daylight!

Let me preface the story by saying that, upon arriving in Buenos Aires, I was told by many people that crime was a problem in many parts of the city, that criminals tend to pick on tourists, and all of the normal warnings that you hear when you visit a large city. I have only been in Buenos Aires for two weeks, but I have a number of friends and acquaintances who have already been robbed. I know more who have very narrowly avoided robberies. Fortunately, I fall into the LATTER category.

The first incident happened when I was on la Calle Florida, a very popular and crowded civilian street (closed to traffic) in the shopping district in downtown Buenos Aires. A picture I took of La Calle Florida shortly before the incident is pictured here at left. Basically, I was pulled from the main downtown street into a shady storefront area less than a block away, and forced to pay for what I had in my wallet. After giving them the money, I immediately called the Buenos Aires police. Luckily, I knew enough Spanish to convey my problem to them, and they were actually able to enter the place where I had been held and recover all of my money!! Incredible! I thought I would have to go through some sort of complex bureaucratic process to recover anything, but all they needed was my name and address. (This robbery was actually a bit more complicated than this, but I don't want to explain it all here so ask me if you're really interested...)

The second robbery of the day occurred when I was on a tour (with a group of about 7 people and the tour guide) in La Boca (another post on La Boca will be forthcoming). La Boca is known to be one of the most dangerous parts of the city, particularly at night and in the non-touristy parts of the town. Our tour guide took us out of the touristy area because he said he wanted us to have an "authentic" La Boca experience. I guess we did... Two men approached our group, and said something to our guide which I couldn't make out. The next thing I knew, he was handing them cash from his pocket and telling us to leave as quickly as we could. As we were walking away, one of the men tried to grab my backpack from me. I kept walking away quickly, though, and, seeing that he was not able to get the bag easily, he gave up, and I emerged unscathed once again!

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When you hear stories about robberies and theft when travelling, you never figure that it will happen to you. One of my friends told me that he keeps two wallets on him: a fake one with very little money (to give to robbers if they approach him) and a real one (with the majority of his money and important credit cards and information). I thought he was crazy. I have recently had a change of heart...

Still, it is important to keep in mind that these thieves represent only a small part of the porteños here in the city. After these two incidents occurred, needless to say, I was a little down on Buenos Aires. But then, the day improved. I went to the gym, and ended up having a very nice conversation with an exceptionally friendly porteño there. On my way home, I stopped at a kiosko (small, jam-packed stores that sell everything from cigarettes to food to phone cards and which proliferate nearly every city block). The woman working there was also very kind to me and went out of her way to make sure I understood what I was buying. Finally, when I arrived home, the family I am living with was there to greet me with open arms and a steaming hot dinner.

It is sad to think that a few bad apples can sour the bunch, but yesterday I gained some perspective on porteños, on Buenos Aires, and on life in general. It's hard to say that you're ever glad that people tried to rob you, but I must say that I think I am a better person for it.