MACHISMO

MACHISMO: a representation of the goods or compensation for what's not there?

This statue may answer the question

CONTEXT: the men here are quite, um, friendly. Either they haven't seen foreign women in several years or it's part of the culture.

[I'm going to go with the later seeing as I've seen plenty of tourists on the street who are just as lost and white as me.]

It's been part of the assimilation process to hear whistles and just-audible-enough commentary here while walking on the street. I'm not trying to paint Argentina as a country built on sexual harassment, not at all. Just that the men have a different form of communicating and expressing salutations. And that in comparison to the U.S., it's forward. Needless to say, it's going to be very interesting working for a feminist organization in such a patriarchal society. 

Let the juxtaposition begin!