MALBA is a must

Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) is on all the lists of places one must go when in Buenos Aires. So is tango. And we didn't do that. But I love art museums and this is modern art, a favorite.

Not speaking Spanish was a bit of a challenge, but not much. There were many interactive aspects and live performances, which made it fun. The best part was seeing the work of Argentinian artists in the various genres. I'm always glad when a museum is not too big because it's so much to take in!

And although the permanent collection was amazing, the top floor with contemporary work really begs questions. Why must modern artists focus nearly exclusively on misery and macabre?

For example, there was this wonderful exhibit of photographs displaying exaggerated acts of everyday aggression. Why not exaggerated acts of everyday hilarity? That would be AWESOME. But no.

And then there was this (real) man and attached to his clothes were strings to all sorts of macbre stuff placed around the room and everytime he moved they squeaked. Why the torture? Why not a camera attached to a computer and everytime someone looks at the camera and smiles something lights up around the room and a flower blooms. Okay, that does sound lame. But you get the idea, right?