I was wondering if I was going to write this post entirely in German language just because I am accustomed to speaking in German when talking about Die Toten Hosen but as you can see I’m gonna’ keep this mostly in English. It really is hard for me to describe to my non German speaking friends just how much this band and their music means to me. Die Toten Hosen are in the middle of saying farewell to touring and over the past 34 years they have toured Argentina and a large majority of the 17 Hosen shows I have seen have been in Argentina, since I do indeed live in the United States.
I have been to Argentina 4 times since 2012 mainly to see Die Toten Hosen (I’ve seen them four times in Germany and will be there next year for their final stadium show in Düsseldorf) . It is difficult for me to explain to any of my non German or non Argentinian friends how much the Die Toten Hosen mean to me. Never in a million years did I think that learning German at the University of Georgia would bring me so close to the punk rock music scenes of Germany and Argentina. I have even become a fan of bands like Attaque 77 and Los Violardores and 2 Minutos. And not to mention the countless wonderful people I have met and the friendships I have developed just through these musical bonds.
I recently spent 10 days in Argentina attending four Toten Hosen concerts along with seeing Zona 84 at their No Borders Fest and seeing Feine Sahne Fischfilet. We also did a road trip in the middle of this traveling to places like Tandil and Rosario (birthplace of Maradona and Messi) which involved long car rides of 7 hours and 4 hours. Needless, to say this was an exhausting trip but an AWESOME experience. Not only were Die Toten Hosen on tour through Argentina, but we were as well as die hard fans.
It was also wonderful to get see towns like Tandil and Rosario, both of which I had never visited before.
Images of Rosario, Argentina
At my age I am at the point of looking back at my life and pointing out certain areas where I would have done things differently, but one of the best things to ever happen to me was learning the German language when I was a college student and living in Heidelberg during that time. I had no idea this would open up my mind and give me the confidence to study medicine and later on travel to Argentina all by myself in 2012 only to come back with a bunch of wonderful friends and memories. All because of Die Toten Hosen as well.
Everyone who knows me knows that I am an avid Nine Inch Nails fan and that I have seen this band 26 times in concert and that NIN remains dear to my heart since I was a teenager. I do have to say that my favorite experience as a fan involves Die Toten Hosen, a band I have seen 17 times, and just the fact that I have talked to the band members on the streets and in the airport in Argentina and even hung out with them in clubs and bars afterwards in Argentina. Not to mention getting a chance to go on stage with them in 2013 and doing a stage dive with Campino.
And plus it was really refreshing for me to get out the United States for a bit and speak only a little English for the 10 days I was away (I was speaking in German with German friends pretty much the entire time and otherwise speaking in Spanish when I needed to.) I even had to help my German friends with getting money from Western Union and with getting taxis and also ordering food at restaurants. It made me feel so useful, and I am more than determined to finish becoming fully fluent in Spanish after this trip.
Being in Argentina for all these shows (and for all the other shows over the past 14 years) is quite the unique experience. I still am amazed that this band Die Toten Hosen captured the hearts of their Argentinian fans, most of whom do not speak German fluently but yet can sing all of their songs perfectly. Die Toten Hosen is the one international act that has played the most concerts in Argentina as most acts (even major ones) couldn’t tour Argentina at times due to economic turmoil and high costs. Inflation is terrible in Argentina right now and the people there have a hard life, but Die Toten Hosen came back over and over and over again, losing money in the process, just to show their fans there how much they care and to give them the ultimate punk rock experience.
And trust me, these past shows in Argentina were filled with beer being spilled everywhere, moshing which would make death metal fans blush, cigarette smoke filled music halls and bars, and the screaming and camaraderie of all of us. And I was the only U.S. American there. Just crazy. True rock n roll. True punk rock.
My trip ended in Buenos Aires and I did take advantage of this time to see a few sites, most of which I had seen before during previous visits.
Eva Peron’s Tomb at Recoleta Cemetary
La Boca in Buenos Aires
Some final pics on my days in Buenos Aires.
I can’t wait to come back to Argentina again even if the Die Toten Hosen are not going to play any more shows there. Not to mention there is still one more time for me to see Die Toten Hosen in Germany next summer.