Argentine Patriotism

This past monday was the 25th of May, a national holiday here in Argentina.  It commemorates the day, nearly 200 years ago (May 25, 1810), when the Argentines rose up against the Spanish in a revolution.  It is not independence day (that’s July 9), but it is nonetheless a day of national pride.

To celebrate, a huge concert was set up here:

 

In front of the Obelisco, the Washington-monument-esque icon dedicated to BA.  The structure sits on Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest street in the world.  A couple blocks of this monster avenue were completely shut down to accomodate the stage and spectators. 

The singers at the concert were all Argentine and it a very mixed bunch- everything from “electronic tango” (which i loved!) to “Argentine cumbia” to “rock nacional”.   The electric tango group went on for the whole 2nd half and they collaborated with rap singers, other singers, and Gustavo Santaolalla, the famous musician behind the soundtrack for Brokeback Mountain (which, here is called “Secrets in Mountain”…doesn’t that sound like a Danielle Steel novel or something, not an Oscar-Winning movie?)

It was really fab and what I liked best is that everyone was out and hapy together- families, young people, foreigners like me, babies, old couples- you name it, they were there. 

(no, I wasn’t onstage, just stole the pic from the internet)

The concert ended with the National Anthem and everyone joined in, seeming to feel the same burst of patriotism that Americans feel when the Pops play on July 4. 

Or so I thought.  Later that week, a professor of mine was talking about the concert and how Patriotic everyone seemed.  Then he quickly said, “I’m not patriotic, no, no,” as if it were something to be ashamed about.  “No, I’m not patriotic,” he said.  “I’m Jewish.”

I guess I was under the mistaken impression you could be both?  I think it may have less to do with Argentina and more to do with my school, home of everything Left. 

Chau!  Sorry for the lack of photos, but my friend with whom I went to the concert hasn’t posted them yet and I’m, well, without camera.  xo!

Flacso trip!

buenos dias!

This past weekend I went to the Mendoza region (again, I know) with my FLACSO program.  We had been scheduled to go to Salta y Jujuy, regions in the north west that look strikingly like Arizona, but also contain cloud rainforests and salt flats.  However, because that region is a Dengue hotspot, we had to cancel our trip!  The people at FLACSO worked hard to plan another trip for us, this time to San Rafael in the Mendoza province (4 hours away from Mendoza city, where I had gone about 6 weeks ago). 

It’s super dry here (hello chapstick every 5 minutes!).  Here we are on a hike.  The sun was really bright during the day making it hot out!  But right when the sun set, the heat went away and it because freezing out!

Jojo would love it here! 

Even though the trip was in some ways so similar to what I had already done in the region, it allowed me to do things in greater detail.  For instance, instead of just passing by bodegas (vineyards) we actually had the chance to tour them and learn how the wines were made.   These trees are always at bodegas to protect the fragile grapes from winds.  The mountains also protect the grapes from harsh weather.  That’s one of the reasons why Mendoza is the perfect spot for cultivating vineyards. 

  These are Cabernet Sauvignon  grapes- i snuck a few and they were really sweet and juicy!

It was really cold inside the wine cellars!  But they have to be meticulous about temp, humidity, and other things- the smallest difference can really spoil the wine.

The bodega featured in these pics is called “Algodon” (Dad, you would have loved it- there was a golf course next to the grapes!")  Like most bodegas here, they export a lot to the States.  If you have the chance to try their Cab Sav or Malbec do!  They were both delish. 

My trip Mendoza unfortunately ended on a sour note- upon returning home to BA, I realized that my camera had been stolen out of my backpack!  I’ve tried with no avail to track it down.  I was really bummed because I had taken so many awesome pics of both Mendoza and BA (and was ready for some killing posts for yall).  I’ve stolen these pics from my friends-facebook makes that so easy! 

Of course one can’t exactly blame herself for having a camera taken from a closed backpack, but I know that I shouldn’t have had the camera in there at all.  If being here has taught me anything it is that you always have to be on, always taking precautionary measures so that you don’t get screw, robbed, or swindled.  If you incorporate being on-point into your daily life, it becomes natural rather than burdensome.  However, I was tired and in a rush, and thus didn’t think through putting my camera in a safe place.  So I’ve paid the price! 

Next time I’m going to write about BA- It seems from my posts that I am never here, but in reality I spend nearly all my time here and I love the city! 

hasta luego, besos para todos.  Enjoy your memorial day- we have monday off here as well :-) You’ll be having cookouts and I’ll be having this…

Familia pt III: Uruguay

The final mini-trip we did while the fam was here (told ya it was a jam-packed week!) was a boat trip over to Colonia, Uruguay.  As the name suggests it is a little colonial town founded by the Portuguese in 1680.  It sits on the Rio de la Plata, just a boat ride away from BA. 

   We went over on the Buquebus, a huge ferry that chuggs along the Rio at 40 knots!  Although the process of getting your ticket is quite cumbersome as you have to go to 4 different employees, the boat itself is gorgeous and modern, complete with a giant duty-free shop where I had the opportunity to drool over dark chocolate and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish- things unheard of in Argy!

Arriving in Colonia, it was just as quaint as I had heard!  It is a very cute little town with sleepy sidewalks, brightly colored houses, cobblestone streets and windy flower vines that crawl along its buildings.  It also provides a great view of the river, which is beautiful if you can get over its gross brown color.

 

 

We popped in and out of galleries, climbed the remains of the once-fortifying wall, and ate a nice leisurely lunch.  It all felt oddly like I was in a different decade!    

Note: The peso Uruguayo-USD ratio is approx 24:1!  It was weird to see lunch offered for $290! 

Colonia is the perfect little day trip to take, a nice quiet breather from the roar of BA.  However, After a few hours of oohing and aahing at the cuteness or every little house and street, I found myself itching to get back to the faster pace of BA. 

 

 

CColonia is also great because you can jot on over in just a few hours and when you return to Argentine soil, your tourist visa (good for 3 months) is renewed!  I know someone who has been here for an entire year using this method…tempting prospect once my student visa runs out, eh? 

Iguazu

Even though my family was in Argentina for just about one week, we really made the most of it.  Although Buenos Aires is a huge attraction within itself, Argentina “la interior” offers so much that I simply had to show my fam a peek of it.  Actually, for 50 years in the beginning of the 19th century Buenos Aires warred with the rest of Argentina- Buenos Aires wanted to unify, while the rest of the country felt they were a separate entity.  In the end, BA won and they unified as one single Argentina.  However, still today one realizes that the rest of Argentina is so much different from BA.  They speak differently, have a slower pace of life, are very rural pretty poor and have many other cultural differences.  1/3 of the population lives in BA, but the rest of the country offers so much beauty. 

While my family was here we went up to the northeast corner of the country to a province called Misiones where the famous Iguazu waterfalls are.  

Here the climate is subtropical, pretty much a rainforest.  The first picture is from the plane and the second is part of the falls.  It was spectacular- a real breath-taking vista of nature!

We stayed at a Hotel in the national park that had fantastic views of the Falls

After piling on some superpowered bus spray (no Dengue for us!) we set out to explore the beautiful park.  We walked all around one of the paths called the Lower Circuit, snapping picture after picture of the awe-inspiring falls and wildlife that we saw.  The hardest part of this post is trying to pick the best pictures because frankly they are all extraordinary (and I have close to 200!).  Here’s just a few: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a boat over to an island that is in the middle of the river to see some more views.  After climbing an eternity of steps we were lucky enough to find these guys waiting for us: 

 

 

 

 

 

AAfter hanging out by the pool and eating a lovely fish dinner (note: river fish is great!  I admittedly was hesitant to try river fish being the snobby New Englander and niece of an ocean fisherman that I am, but it was delish!) we hit the hay.  We woke up the next morning not knowing that the best view was yet to come!

 First we saw these guys, a molting iguana, and a snake (i promptly ran away from him)

 

 

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Look, a toucan spotted by Kakie!

 

 

Then we walked to La Garganta del Diablo- “devil’s throat”.  Here’s the before shot:

Bomb’s away!!

 

 

 

 

 

We had to hurry back to get on our plane back to BA, but we took one last stop before we left the area at Tres Fronteras, or the exact place where Argentina, Brasil and Paraguay meet.  

I am standing in Argentina, in front of me is Brasil and to the left is Paraguay.  As Americans we are forbidden in both Brasil y Paraguay without pricey visas, but don’t blame them- they only impose that on us because we do it to their citizens.

Iguazu was beautiful.  I love traveling here because it reminds me of how diverse a country I’m living in (while we were enjoying 80 degree weather in Iguazu, the southern tip of Argentina is covered in snow!).  There was much more influence of Guarani, the indigenous language of people native to northern Argentina, still spoken widely in Paraguay, in the food and street language in Iguazu than there is in BA. 

I had to smirk when I realized this though, because Portenos in BA always complain about the Paraguayos coming into their country, bringing their Guarani, but, in truth, it is already here in Argentina! 

 

‘tis all for now- chau, Iguazu!

McCarthy’s (and a Lennon) do BA

My family left exactly one week ago today :-( 

My mom, dad, sister, brother and aunt Kathy all made the looong flight down here to Argentina to visit me!  We had a wonderful time- I loved showing them my city!  Plus, it was so nice to be with them again; sometimes I feel like my personality is muted here because of the language barrier.  I can speak and understand Spanish proficiently and have improved a lot, but when you live in a place with a different language you come to understand that language is much more then words and pronunciation.  For instance, when someone tells a joke, there’s often a cultural reference that I don’t understand, or they say it too fast and under their breath so I have to ask for it to be repeated, and we all know that humor is 50% timing, so the joke is automatically loses 1/2 it’s funniness when it has to be repeated or explained.  In the same way, if you’ve ever tried to make a quick sarcastic comment in Spanish, you’ll agree with me in that it simply doesn’t translate well.  We come from different humor systems. 

So, I was naturally THRILLED to have my family here for a week of joking and full force personalities! 

(No, that’s not BA, it’s a sweaty pic of Iguazu, which I will talk about soon!)

After they settled into their rented apt, I brought them to one of my favorite sights in Buenos Aires, the Recoleta Cemetery.  As I said before, it’s like a little town of tombs, both quaint and creepy because sometimes you can actually see the coffins inside the tombs. 

After some poking around their neighborhood and rest, I took them to a parrilla, or traditional Argentine steak house, for some good ole’ Argentine bife.  We went the traditional route and ordered many cuts of meat for the table to share, along with papas fritas, a salad, never-ending bread basket, and VINO up the wazoo :-)  I particularly liked this parrilla because I never before got to try different cuts of meat side by side (at Argentine asados, which is sort of a bbq, they serve the meats in various courses, one after another).  I wish I had some pics, but I forgot my camera! 

Other things we did in BA included:

1) Walking around the center of the city and seeing the United Buddy Bears (Each country that is in the UN had a bear in the plaza)   USA, and me cheating on him with Argentina!

We had fun posing with the different ones before they were all packed away (we got there right as they were deconstructing the exhibit!)

 

2) Saw some of the most important parts of the city including Casa Rosada (the “white house” of Argentina), Teatro Colon, La Puente de la Mujer, and La Boca

And, best of all, I found a statue of Mary that looks uncannily like my sister!  Who is who?

3) And of course we ate! 

  Every last bite…

At many of my favorite restaurants in BA!

 

We ended their visit with some empanadas made by my host mother, Monica,

  a fabulous tango show

 

 

 

And look who decided to learn Tango as well!!

Whoa, another monster of a post!  And that’s not even all we did!  I will soon post our side trips to Iguazu and Colonia, Uruguay, but that is all I have in me for now.  I was so happy to have the fam here, and even though I think some things about the culture here really surprised them (like how “table service” and “quick” are complete opposites), I hope they enjoyed the trip as much as I did!  I miss you all still!