Unfortunate Bar Mishaps that End in Violence

by Rease Kirchner

Men in Argentina are pushy. Machismo, which is basically the belief that men are the power holders, still reigns supreme in this country. It’s pretty hard to walk to the bus stop without being catcalled a couple of times. However, it’s not like the US. These men are not (always) being disgusting pigs, they’re just being Argentines. In fact, most of the time you’re supposed to take the random exclamations as compliments.

That being said, I’ve never been too great at taking compliments. Especially ones yelled at me from the driver seat of a taxi. I am a feisty girl with anger problems, a combination that tends to get me in trouble. I tend to snap at perfectly harmless men. However, sometimes these men are far from harmless and my anger gets the best of me. Two particular events come to mind, these being the worst but certainly not the only bar mishaps I have had here in Argentina. Keep in mind, these are not typical occurrences, these men went far past toeing the cultural line.

Bar mishap #1:

I went to a boliche (dance club) with a few friends. My friend Rachel, with her pale skin and curly red hair, might as well have been wearing a sign that said ‘GRINGA!” (foreigner). It didn’t take long for a particular guy to find her and latch onto her. He was completely fascinated by her hair and simply couldn’t take a hint. He brought her drinks, which she refused and continuously tried to dance on top of her. At first a few other girls and I were able to use our patented “safety dance” to keep him away, but eventually, yellow shirt guy, as we had named him, had had enough.

Yellow Shirt Guy caught us off guard when we had relaxed our safety dancing duties. He immediately swooped in and pulled Rachel’s hair tie out, insisting she let her hair down. He then wrapped a scarf around her and pulled her into his body. In one swift motion I freed her of the scarf, punched him in the chest and yelled “andáte a la mierda!” (go to hell!) as he stumbled into a pack of people. After causing a scene, we decided to leave, immediately.

Bar Mishap #2

I had planned on having a fairly chill night out with a couple of friends, just some drinks at a nearby bar. My friends got drunk pretty quickly, but I was still sober and very aware of the creepsters closing in on our table. A particularly creepy guy with a scruffy beard and the glazed eyes of a man who has had one too many took quite the interest in my friend Ellen. Luckily, she had enough alcohol in her to politely refuse his continuous advances. He had almost given up until he decided, in a last ditch effort, to simply grab her face and lick it.

He licked her face. Slow and slobbery, he ran his tongue from jawbone to temple, forcing her head into his face so he could get a nice long taste.

I wasn’t as quick this time due to the pure shock of what had just happened. I mean, that guy had just full-on licked my friends face. However, once I accepted the facts, I grabbed his shoulders and shoved him off her, screaming “no la toques! No la toques!” (Don’t touch her!) and added a forceful “ANDATE A LA MIERDA!” (I was a new to Argentina, it was the only insult I knew at the time). Later his friend asked me if we’d like to meet them at a boliche called “El Diablo” (The Devil). He’s lucky I was too tired to fight him.

Rease Kirchner a staff writer/Travel Adviser for Travelated. She is a US citizen currently living the ex-pat life in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is bilingual and an experienced traveler. She loves gaining and sharing knowledge of local cultures, customs and adventure. Her blog Mi Vida en Buenos Aires documents her life as a foreigner.