Category: Argentina

Other than all the learning I’ve been doing, I’ve been able to explore Buenos Aires a bit more.

And in case you actually want to see what was going on:

There was a guy who played a big drum with amazing stick work:

And he also spun these long ropes with beads on the end so they sounded like tap dancing when they hit the ground (this was super cool, though, because I was sitting about 5 feet away, my enjoyment was slightly affected my my fear that he was going to accidentally let one go and one would hit me directly in the eye socket):

 

Today when the course ended I took the bus to a famous neighbourhood called La Boca. Though it’s a bit of a tourist trap it was cool to see the painted buildings, some local artists, and one of the beloved futbol stadiums.

Now I’m sitting in the sunshine waiting to board the ferry to Colonia de Sacremento, Uruguay.

Yesterday on my way home from my course I went to the Plaza de Mayo, which is the main government square in Argentina.

These benches look like they’re covered in fancy upholstery, but they’re actually decorative concrete.

This afternoon I had the awesome opportunity to do a ‘street art tour’ in a couple of areas in the north of the city. I didn’t realize how much history and political information I would learn from graffiti but I guess when you think about it, it makes sense. People use art to express themselves, so what better way to check the pulse of the people than looking at the street art?

This was one of the most interesting to me:

The ‘ghost-like’ paintings at the top are a well known symbol in Argentina, representing the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. We learned that in the late 70s and early 80s, many Argentinians who were vocal against the dictatorship government disappeared. It is believed that they were tortured and killed, though their bodies have not been found.  About 500 of them were young pregnant women. The mothers of many of the missing banded together and protested by silently walking around the Plaza de Mayo wearing cloths on their heads as shown in the painting. They still do this weekly to highlight human rights.

It is believed that the kidnapped pregnant women gave birth, then were killed and their babies adopted to ‘politically agreeable’ families. The Mothers organization has set up DNA testing and have found something like 240 of these missing children.

Pretty moving, especially to think that I am the age of one of these missing children.

The tour also covered numerous sites and a couple of street art galleries.

Even Argentinians know that this US election is crazy…

Otherwise I’ve been filling my brain with great info at my course, and filling my belly with great food! My strategy has been to walk along until I see a restaurant that is filled with Argentinians. This strategy has not disappointed thus far.

‘Break a leg’ to the cast of Rock of Ages, which is starting tonight in the Hat. I know Rob’s going to kill his role as a gay seeming German!!

In United Airlines’ defence, I knew they were crappy and I still booked with them. My trip from Medicine Hat to Buenos Aires took a total of 42 hours, 4.5 of which I was able to spend in a horizontal position.  I thought I was in luck because I was upgraded (I thought it was Business, but it was Economy Plus), which I guess was a more comfortable place to spend 3 hours sitting on the Tarmac prior to being herded off the plane, standing in line for 2 hours, sent to a hotel at 4am to get up at 9am to get back to the airport for the noon flight.  As you can imagine, I was pretty tired when I arrived at my guesthouse in the middle of the night on Sunday.

Next I headed to the Recoleta cemetery which is filled with elaborate above ground graves, including one housing the remains of Evita.

After sampling some Argentinian wine and snacks at my conference welcome party, I headed back home for an early night to bed. The lit up waterfront reminds me of Vancouver and my ‘theatre district’ neighbourhood is full of nightlife and energy (the opposite of me tonight!!).

Now time for an epic sleep. This brain’s gotta rest so it can take 4 days of learning!