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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Argentina is billing its Olympic torch run Friday as an easygoing street fiesta, set to a tango beat.At the same time, worried officials are sending in thousands of police after chaos in other cities and warnings by anti-China groups of a Buenos Aires "surprise."The Olympic flame arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina,Thursday afternoon under heavy security from San Francisco, California. Police escorted the torch delegation from Ezeiza International Airport. Authorities are deploying 1,300 federal police, 1,500 naval police and some 3,000 traffic police and volunteers-enough to ensure security "without going to the extreme that nobody will be able to see the torch," said government sports official Francisco Irarrazabal.But already, activists were preparing protests. Jorge Carcavallo unfurled a giant banner near the city's iconic Obelisk, on the torch route, reading "Free Tibet." He said demonstrators were coordinating with the leaders of the San Francisco protests for "surprise actions"during what he called "a hot day." "A lot of people are going to join the protests," Carcavallo said.He said there were no plans to snatch the torch or try to snuff out the flame, "but there will be very entertaining surprises all along the route."Falun Gong member Axel Borgia said the spiritual movement banned by China would protest as well, but he didn't want to give details."The Olympic Games and crimes against humanity cannot coexist in China,"he said.City officials put on a brave face, predicting that Buenos Aires would manage to avoid the confrontations that marred ceremonies in Paris, France, London, England, and San Francisco."What has happened in other cities doesn't have to happen in Buenos Aires," said official Marcos Pena. "We believe this is going to be a great sports fiesta, a family fiesta."But some betrayed their fears."We are waiting for the torch with anxiety," Irarrazabal said. "May it come here ... but may it also leave."Mayor Mauricio Macri said the ceremony would open with a tango troupe, followed by a nearly three-hour relay along 8½ miles of streets. Of the 80 runners, soccer's Diego Maradona has been invited to be the first, and tennis' Gabriela Sabatini has confirmed she'll be the last.The route begins at a River Plate canal district where yachts bob at anchor, winding past the pink presidential palace to thread down one of the world's widest avenues-Boulevard 9 de Julio-through leafy parks and into an equestrian club.The route offers ample opportunity for street protests, and Argentines are masters of the art.Noisy demonstrations in which people banged pots and pans occurred daily during a 2002 economic meltdown and have continued ever since.But the torch relay has prompted surprisingly little buzz here, especially given that it's the first time an Olympic torch has come to Argentina. Stories on previous stops have been buried deep inside most newspapers, and newscasts have made little mention of the troubles elsewhere along the route. Ana Letzner, 66, sold cigarettes from her shop in a Buenos Aires suburb and said she couldn't understand the fuss."I don't get it," she scoffed. "Thousands of police just to run after the torch."As in the days of Noah....
