"JBM" <2bjsspfm@eissen.ccm.ca.ku> wrote in message
news:20050303060956.R34993-100000@nessie.mcc.ac.uk...
> On Wed, 2 Mar 2005, clint wrote:
>
> > Buenos Aires is a lovely county, but we found it quite dangerous. My
wife
> > was accosted by A BA Indian, I was pickpoked, and my brother-in-law
> > propositioned by a homo!
>
> Ah, yes, you hadn't mentioned the pickpoking before, but now you have,
> suddenly I am flooded with memories of when my pick was incessantly poked
> in a small provincial town in what is otherwise the lovely county of
> Buenos Aires.
>
> My response was to swear never to return, at least not with a pick I
> valued so much that I wouldn't mind it poked.
>
> (And my brother-in-law was also propositioned by a homo, but the following
> morning it seemed that he'd quite enjoyed the experience. I will say
> nothing of my own wife's experience with the county's Indians, save to
> say that the bills for the therapy alone have been crippling.)
>
> Take care
>
> Jon
>
> --
> Jon Beasley-Murray Latin American Studies
> http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/jbmurray/ University of British Columbia
>
I think Jon points out a serious problem experienced by virtually all
tourists visiting the continent of Buenos Aires, and that is the very real
danger of poke picking. It's a subject that deserves far more comprehensive
coverage in the more common travel guides, yet oddly receives virtually
none. To fill that gap, I hope to provide some sort of frame of reference
for understanding this nuisance, which is quite particular to the hamlet in
question, and not experienced elsewhere (save for certain bus-routes in
Milan.)
Poke-picking began as a game played by the children of Croatian immigrants
in the latter part of the 19th century in Buenos Aires, which was then a
rapidly expanding neighborhood, and at the same time a quickly shrinking
fiefdom. It was a common practice that, after eating ñoquis at the end of
the month, the children would run into the streets, each armed with a newly
fashioned poke (the most common materials used in this were leather,
tiki-wood, and californium), attempting to pick each other in a playful
manner.
However, once the Spanish immigrants got involved in the revelry, things
quickly turned sour, and as is often the case when the Spanish get involved
with anything, there were increasing numbers of alcohol-related poke-picking
deaths. Before you knew it, the Indians who had been fishing up in Bolivia
during the Great Desert Campaign and were consequently straggling around the
streets of Buenos Aires, began a creation myth about the original
Poke-Picker, and decreed that many pokes be picked to satisfy his hunger.
To this day, swarthy homo.ual BA Indians roam the streets picking the
pokes of tourists, propositioning their wives and brothers in law.
The best ways to avoid these problems are obvious. You could leave your
poke at home and not bring it on your trip, or at least make sure the hotel
you stay in has a safe that is regulation size for keeping pokes. If you
insist on carrying your poke on your person, make sure not to flash it
around in the street, as it will surely attract attention. Keep your poke
discreet, and you should have no problem with getting it picked. Exercise
common sense, and you should be fine.
Shaun
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