The unfamiliar sounds of the subte

Osvaldo Ortega, 80 and his wife Celia Liano, 80 dance inside the Uruguay subte station.

Among the sounds of screeching train brakes and horns inside the Buenos Aires subte this past Sunday, was melodious jazz, rockin’ blues and plenty of applause. In the yearly Festival de Jazz, September 20, 2009 the Metrovias organized music in different subte stops, free of charge.

Some came with mate, some rode the subte from one concert to the next and others danced to sweet memories surrounded by metal and flourescent lights.

For me it was five hours of riding the subte, mostly the B-line, so I could make it from one concert to the next quickly. The finale, Deborah Dixon at the J. Hernandez stop on the D-line was overfull and I pulled out my camera, pushed politely through the crowd and caught the last song and a half.

Twenty groups participated, playing along the B, D, A, and E lines. The music ranged from jazz vocals, jazz trios, blue-grass to a little swing.

So despite the wonderful spring afternoon, I spent my Sunday underground having one of the best musical experiences in Buenos Aires.

I have a Youtube video made from the new Soundslides conversion below. Yeah. Tell me what you think, feel or see.

(I recommend you hit play and immediately hit pause. Let the red bar load and then hit play again. This will give you better sound flow.)

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