September 1, 2007
Bernal: my hometown
When people ask you which is your favourite place in the planet, what do you say?
Actually, I have never been asked this question but it is a very common one among interviews to famous people.
I someone asks me this I would have to say several places. One of my favourite places in the planet is Bernal, my hometown, the city where I have always lived in.
Bernal is a small town which belongs to the city of Quilmes (yep, Quilmes, the same Quilmes as the famous beer). 18 km away from Buenos Aires city, Bernal has evolved through the years. Before being a city, this part of the province was full of weekend houses since many people used to come to this place for the weekend or the summer due to the closeness to the river, Río de la Plata (in English language the River Plate).
The main street is 9 de Julio, where you will find stores of all kind from ice-cream shops to cafés, from real state business to boutiques. There are also several jewelry shops and 2 car parks.
In the surroundings there are schools and institutes, as well as colleges.
You know which is my favourite part? That everyone knows you -at least that is what happens to me- I love to say hello to people, just to wave at them and that is what happens in Bernal.
You wave at the people sitting at the cafés,
you say hello to the policeman,
you hug the guy who delivers coffee in Bonafide,
you wave at the guy in the men’s clothing shop,
or at the ice-cream shop’s owner
you say ‘how you’ doing?’ to the remis drivers,
you wave at your kindergarden teacher,
you meet -and feel an undescriptable feeling of protection- your first teacher at primary school
you see at the teacher you hated most walking in across the street…
You see everyone that in a different but memorable way has taken part of your life and of course has a small place inside your heart.
I think this is what Bernal means to me, and when I want to feel like home I just go and walk along 9 de Julio for all these things to happen…
