Buenos Aires: October 2-3, 2010
“A Bit of History”
Two weekends ago my program took us to Buenos Aires for a two-day adventure, full of guided tours and sight seeing. We managed to see multiple “barrios” (neighborhoods) that each carried their own distinctive characteristics.
La Boca
La Boca is the immigrant part of town and that is very evident through the artwork in the area. Many of the statues contained symbols of anchors and finishing a voyage. A unique trait in this part of town is Caminito Street. All of the buildings in this area are painted with multiple, very vibrant colors. If you know anything about me, you should know that this is something I would fall in love with because I love color! (I even plan on having the majority of the rooms in my future house painted beautiful colors J) The history behind these houses being so many different colors is that when people first began to settle there, they didn’t have paint. So whenever ships would come to their port, they would ask them if they had any leftover paint. Because the paint was leftovers, there was never enough for an entire house, thus, the house were painted with multiple different colors. They have kept up this tradition and I’m sure glad that they did!
Palermo
One of the main attractions that we visited in Palermo was M.A.L.B.A. (Museo de Arte Latinoamericana de Buenos Aires- Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires) The first thing that you see when arriving at the museum is a huge structure with lights. We later learned that this piece of art actually measures the amount of activity in the area by reading the sound in front of the building. When the museum first opened the art piece in front would change every so often, but once this piece was put there, it was so popular that is has remained there since 2006.
Recoleta
Recoleta was full of tons of fairs! But, our main attraction there was the Recoleta Cemetery. Before entering the Cemetery we were told that it was created to be a city for the dead. Of course, I knew nothing about it before hand so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it was literally a city for the dead. At first, the tombs looked something like this:
But eventually people decided to increase their size in order to show power and form it into a real city feel. There is even a main plaza and street names so that you can find your way around. Now each tomb is very similar to a little house. They go down deep into the ground and stand high above the ground. Lots of them store many family members and each one has their own story to tell. (Which I can’t wait to share with people when I get home.) Each one is distinct and creative; one of my favorites was this one:
Some of them are really worn down and others are super well kept. Of course, only important people are allowed to be buried here, so many presidents and other important figures in society can be found here.
San Telmo
This is one of the most antique parts of town and the majority of the streets still remain made out of cobblestone. Because we were there on the weekend we were able to witness the HUGE street fair that they have here. There are not only venders, but also people trying to teach tango or even simply showing off their tango moves in the middle of the street.
Puerto Madero
We were only here for a little bit of the time in the evening, but it was enough for me to see some of the beauty that can be found here. We went to a tango show right along the riverside and it was incredible! Plus, I loved getting all dressed up with everyone :)
La Plaza De Mayo
This plaza has SO much history. Not only does the plaza itself have significance, but the surrounding buildings do as well. There is the Casa Rosada, the cathedral, and others. The Casa Rosada (Pink House) is similar to the White House in the US in the fact that is a main government building. The main difference is that the president doesn’t actually live there. The cathedral is gorgeous and huge! It even holds the body of San Martin, who is a major figure in the history of Argentina.
In the center of the plaza itself, there is a statue known as the May Pyramid, which has the date May 28, 1810 carved in the side of it to symbolize the day of the May Revolution, which led to their independence later in 1816. The plaza is also the place where “Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo” have met in order to march around with signs and pictures of their children that disappeared in 1976. The children are referred to as “Los Desaparecidos” and were taken by the Argentine Army during the Dirty War. To this day, mothers still walk around the plaza every Thursday wearing a white scared, which has become the national symbol of the mothers.
In general, the weekend was very tiresome, being dragged around from barrio to barrio, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and as you can see I learned a lot about the country that I am living in. There was so much beautiful architecture and I loved learning the history first hand. (Which is something I am determined to do in the states at some point in my life once I return!) I am very excited that I get to come back and live in Buenos Aires for a week after my program ends. It will be fun to see what else I get to discover.
Side note: Today is officially the half way mark of my trip… kind of bitter sweet if you ask me, but I’m determined to make the most of what I have left. :)
Estoy en las manos de Dios. :)
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