A great way to get around Buenos Aires is on the subway or as they call it here the Subte. There are five lines A, B, C, D and E. You can get a map of the lines at the airport showing the routes. It’s cheap, thirty two cents per ticket when you buy ten at a time.

They were built at different times, by different regimes, and each has its own personality. Even the tiles in the halls and stairwells on the way down show the differences.

The Linea A is the oldest, and least decorated, although the wooden carts are works of art in their own right.

Linea B is the newest and most comfortable cars; it is also short on decoration.

Linea C is the Linea de los Espanola, with ceramic depictions of landscapes from Spain. In the Retiro station there are three murals by Fernando Allievi: Saturday Story, the outing of a family, First Light, a bedraggeled shoeshine boy, and La Mascara (the Masks), unfortunately, the picture I took of Saturday Story came out blurred. One problem with the Cannon SD750 camera that I use, there is no anti-shake control.

The shoeshine boy

La Mascara (The Masks) Notice the faces in the pictures

Linea D has more nationalistic depictions, the line opened in 1937, there are more depictions of the Spanish civil war and the Military regime then ruling Argentina.

Linea E opened in 1944, the time of the rise of Juan and Eva Peron, even more nationalistic times. Estacion San Jose has depictions of national treasures like Iguazu Falls.

A depiction of life in a small Spanish Village Segovia, with Roman influence (Line C)

John O’Dell is a licensed general contractor, real estate broker, civil engineer and land surveyor.
Judy Pinegar is manager of the Waiver Office for the State Department of Education.