- I flew from Maine to Argentina to see Taylor Swift play live.
- I wasn't a big fan of her music, but my friends are and I wanted to be their guide in my hometown.
My friends were lamenting how expensive tickets to see Taylor Swift were in the US when I threw out a wild idea: "What if we go to Argentina to see her?"
I'm from Buenos Aires, but have been living in the US for the past 13 years. While I wasn't a Swiftie in the past, I thought it'd be a fun experience to take two of my friends to my home country, without our kids and husbands, to do something fun. It also made sense money-wise — tickets for the closest concert to us in the US were over $3,000, but the cost of flying plus concert tickets in Buenos Aires was just under $1,800.
We looked into it, and the next thing we knew, we were on our way. The only problem was I didn't know any of Swift's songs. I was clueless about her eras and the backstories of her lyrics. But anyone who knows me knows I'm always down for an adventure.
Seeing her perform live turned me into a Swiftie.
We were in Buenos Aires for 4 days
Everyone we told about our trip — both in the US and Argentina — thought we were out of our minds flying 12 hours for a four-day trip. But we quickly realized we were not the only ones doing it.
Our flight from New York City was packed with families and young women wearing Taylor Swift merchandise. Flight attendants exchanged friendship bracelets with passengers, and once we landed, the captain welcomed all the Swifties to Buenos Aires.
We were there when she changed the lyrics of 'Karma'
The vibes at the stadium were like nothing I've experienced before. As expected, there were lots of teens glammed up and ready to see their muse. But there were also many families with little kids, and I saw several people FaceTiming others at home so they could be part of the concert.
My heart melted seeing every single Swiftie dad covered in glitter that had rubbed off from carrying their kid.
We had pit tickets, which cost just $75 when bought directly from Ticketmaster. I've gone to thousands of concerts, and this was the most chill pit experience I've ever had. People were there to have fun with each other. There was no pushing, fighting, or getting squashed.
Instead, I saw girls recording each other as they sang their favorite songs — some while in tears. People made room to let families with little kids move easily, and everyone was offering to take photos to immortalize the moment.
It was surreal to see Swift mere feet away from us. She made a point to go to every corner of the stage, so we got to see her up close throughout the night.
She's so charismatic and kind to her fans — she stopped playing several times, took her earpieces out, and stood there with a look of amazement as people chanted "ole ole ole Taylor, Taylor!"
Swift acknowledged that it took her awhile to visit Argentina (her first concert was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic) and said she was honored that her three nights were sold out.
We also happened to be there when Travis Kelce saw Swift perform live for the first time since their relationship went public. The entire stadium squealed and cheered when Swift changed the lyrics to "Karma" to reference Kelce.
My friends and I are all in our late 30s to early 40s, married for years, and we smiled remembering those early days in our relationships when we would go out of our way to show our boyfriends that we really cared about them. While some skeptics may say the Swift-Kelce relationship is all PR, it was refreshing to see a man celebrating his partner without wanting to take the spotlight away.
I guess I'm a Swiftie now
Despite only knowing the lyrics to one and a half of Swift's songs, I had a blast at the concert. The energy and joy were contagious, and I even bought a hoodie from the merch stand to remember how the night felt.
I was skeptical about Taylor Swift, mostly because her fandom seemed like too much to me. But even I was excited about getting dressed in sequins and standing for hours without going to the bathroom to have an experience. Because that's what her concert felt like — an experience.
While I can't afford to go to another Eras Tour show, I'm sure Swift's music will start showing up in my playlists more often. It took one concert to turn me into a Swiftie.