Okay this one is going to be filled with youtube videos with all sort of Argentina musicians......actually on second thought this is just going to be more than one part too.....way easier....plus I'm busy this week. I promise a post is coming of my internships....I just need a free minute! Enjoy!
I debated for a while about who I should start this post about but ultimately I am going to start with the person who I kind of think is the Argentina version of Frank Sinatra, Carlos Gardel. Carlos Gardel is probably the most famous tango singer from Argentina. The man pretty much sang any and every tango song I think I've heard. His stuff is very old school, very play-it-on-a-vinyl-record but great! One of his most famous tangos is Mi Buenos Aires Querido...Listen below...I even picked the version with the translation...aren't I nice?
Many refer to Carols Gardel as the ''King of Tango'' because he really is the most recognizable tango voice in the entire genre. I guess the title fits.
The next person I am going to talk about is not only a famous musician here in Buenos Aires, but he also has quite an interesting personal life. His name is Gustavo Cerati. He is actual a more rock musician and quite possibly one of Argentina's most famous modern musicians. Originally he was the lead singer for a Latin Rock group known as Soda Stereo and in the 90's actually went out on his own to pursue a solo career. He was quite successful until disaster struck. After a concert in Venezuela in 2010 he suffered a stroke and is now in a coma. I first heard about Cerati on my first night here. People in the bar were discussing just how sad his story was. He was becoming quite famous and many would argue was at the height of his career when he suffered a massive stroke leaving him in a persistent vegetative state. I have listened to a lot of his music and actually enjoy it quite a bit. Of course I tend to enjoy his slower songs, but would you expect any less from me really. Here is an example of one of his songs called Crimen...its the music video so no translation....hope you still like it....
Get ready this could easily be the longest post on my entire blog and could also be the most boring if you're not interested in Argentina, world affairs, or politics at all. Alright....I warned you if you keep reading and hate it then it is officially your own fault.
Let me begin by just talking about one of the most basic things in this country that I think may drive its political nature. Voting here is compulsory. This means EVERYONE who is a citizen MUST vote. It also means that since the election is tomorrow October 23.....no bars, clubs, or other late night entertainment places are open past midnight and even restaurants are not allowed to serve alcohol past then or all day Sunday. Voting here and the people truly being involved in democracy is a distinguishing characteristic of this country. In the United States more people vote for the American Idol than voted in the last election.....think about that for a second. Now imagine that voting was compulsory in the United States (this of course will never happen, but imagine if it did). How would elections be different? Would or country be more conservative, liberal, centrist? Would the same political figures get elected term after term after term? Would other citizens decide to run? What would the issues actually become and how quickly would those issues change from year to year?
Its pretty interesting to think about. Simply by having elections here on a Sunday, when no one is working, and banning the sale of alcohol during the election the Argentine citizens have concluded that the function of their government is something that warrants every citizen's sober input. Fascinating really. In the 2008 Presidential election America saw the highest voter turn out since 1968 with 56.8% of the eligible voting population actually casting a vote. Seriously??? Congratulations America almost a whole 2/3 of the people decided who the President would be. Why? Why do people not feel an obligation in the United States that the people here in Argentina feel to vote and be part of their democracy?
I don't know if I can answer that question, but I am going to go into a bit of a history lesson to try and delve into what I think may be the reason. In the United States, voters have not experienced a truly bad President or corrupt government in many many years. I know I may get a lot of flack for saying that, but the reality is in comparison to some countries there is not blatant corruption and the country is only just not beginning to truly feel the effects of going bankrupt and being in such a large amount of debt. In Argentina, at the end of the first year of President Bush, President de la Rúa was facing major riots here in Argentina. The country was going bankrupt, almost the entire government had some form of corruption, and the middle class was suffering terribly. Sound familiar to anyone? Anyway what happened here in Argentina is people took to the streets rioting, looting, setting things on fire, basically, a more Latin American style Occupy Wall Street Movement began. A total of 26 people died during the entire movement. President de la Rúa was actually airlifted out of La Casa Rosada after resigning from the Presidency on December 20th 2001.
This day and the day before, December 19th were actually so important to the middle class that was protesting it was actually documented in a song by the Gotan Project called Queremos Paz....which you can watch below....Youtube is amazing isn't it!
After the unrest the Senator Duhalde actually took over and became President of Argentina. His successor was Nestor Kirchner who proved to be a true man for the middle class here in Argentina. I only point this out for a few reasons. In America we talk about political families, but in Argentina they exist just as if not more frequently. Case and point while Nestor was President of Argentina in 2005, his wife ran for Senate against former President Duhalde's wife. Kirchner's wife won the seat and is now the most important political figure in Argentina. This is because she is now the President.
Let's delve into this a little more shall we. President Nestor Kirchner was the leader of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. He was succeed by his wife Cristina in the Presidency in 2008. The plan was to have Nestor run again this year and once again lead Argentina, however in October of 2010 he suffered from cardiac complications and passed away. Many questioned whether Cristina would continue leading the country and if she would run in her husband's place. She made the decision to continue her campaign and to run again for presidency in Argentina. The Kirchners are a true political couple. They both have made Argentina a country on the rise. Here is a video of Cristina talking about how Europe should be fixing their economy. Unfortunately I can't embed that video for some reason so just click here.
Beyond helping to turn around Argentina's economy, the South American power couple really did change a lot of social issues here in Argentina. Cristina specifically has become somewhat of a magnet for minority groups and the underprivileged in the country. She has helped with women's access to birth control, she legalized gay marriage throughout the entire country, she has started lots of public health campaigns, and she is continuing to increase her support for immigrants seeking refuge. Honestly, I would love this woman to come and run for political office in the US but that is just ridiculous so I will just keep going.
The way Argentina's primary system works is everyone basically runs against everyone else, so if the race isn't close you know who is going to win. Cristina overwhelmingly won the primary and is definitely going to win tomorrow unless something terrible should happen and the people of Argentina seem to be thrilled. One of the best political campaign ads I have seen so far for Cristina, is one where I think you finally begin to understand her tag line La Fuerza de Cristina. It is a video with her voice talking about the strength of him...the him of course referring to her husband. Even if you don't understand Spanish the video will get to you. The fact that this woman lost the love of her life and her strongest political partner and perseveres is testament to the true strength of Cristina and I think probably the reason for what is going to be a landslide. Here is the video....
Now I could go further into the politics of this country as they really are fascinating. However, I will leave it at this because quite honestly if you understand who the President of Argentina is and where she comes from then I have probably done my job with this post.
After the debacle that was Being a Tourist Part 3....I welcome you to Part 4 on this wonderful journey through Argentina into a neighborhood called Palermo Soho. Many of you may know that I live in Palermo...so yes this is within walking distance of my apartment....give me a break I went to the ghetto for you people last time. Anyways, some of you may be aware that people tend to refer to Buenos Aires as the Paris of South America.
Now I have to be honest...I have never been to Europe so I can neither substantiate that nickname with any facts nor can I refute it with facts. Nevertheless, I will certainly be commenting on it. First of all let me say whoever thought Buenos Aires resembled Paris was probably on something. There really aren't that many similarities from what I know of Paris to Buenos Aires. Honestly, Buenos Aires reminds me a lot of a big American city in its constructs, but it is far from American in terms of types of retail stores and restaurants. I think in this respect is probably where Buenos Aires earned that nickname. All that being said, there is a certain European charm to the city in certain neighborhoods where predominantly European immigrants settled.
So what is Palermo Soho then?? Well honestly its just like Soho in NYC....lots of small very trendy high end clothing stores, some cute restaurants, bakeries, bookstores, art galleries, and tons of mural work all along the walls. There is a young bohemian vibe to the neighborhood. It is actually one of the places in the city where I truly understand the comparisons to Europe.
Blah blah blah....more of my insight that I'm sure none of you really care about, well except maybe my mother but even then I think she is only pretending to care....so here are some pictures so you can get a sense for what I am talking about. Let's start with some of the pictures of the clothing stores, because we all know what a fashion trendy clothes whore I am! (Those of you that know me will love that!)
What should we look at next??? I know my favorite thing in that area...coffee shops and bakeries!! YAY!!! COFFEE and FACTURAS!!!!
This is one of the first pictures here because it doubles as both a Starbucks Coffee shop and a clothing store and a hat vendor. How's that for multi-tasking?
Another one of those combined cafés and clothing stores....which are actually quite popular in Palermo Soho.
Best ice cream in Buenos Aires...according to more than one of the locals!
Okay so this place has, not penny candy because its in pesos and goes by weight, but for the sake of the little kid that inhabits my soul.....PENNY CANDY!! YAY!!! Also When I saw the name of this store I though....ugh Dr. Candy where is Nurse Candy...and then I realized that that was probably a completely different kind of store :)
This is the Pandedería where I bought my first dozen facturas....this is where the addiction started....take a good look....my mouth is watering....just kidding (sort of)
That's right...a gourmet cupcake shop in Buenos Aires....you bet your ass I got one and it was DELICIOUS!!!
Another common sight in Palermo Soho are the people who sell their homemade goods along the side of the road. Here are some pictures of those people!
If you can see the lovely wooden puzzles on this table then I think you know EXACTLY what my grandfather will be receiving for Christmas!
I guess the only part left of Palermo Soho is the very end of Honduras....It is really different. It is basically a whole bunch of bars, restaurants, and boliches all together. A HUGE tourist attraction really, but a great place to go at night for a drink. Reminds me a little bit of Boylston St. in Boston on a Friday or Saturday night only its like that every single night. And we will end with those pictures!
So Tazz is a really cool pool bar....it just takes FOREVER to actually get to play!
That's right this area is open 24 HRS!!! AWESOMENESS!!!
Graffiti is a way of life here in Buenos Aires. Almost every single square inch of this city is covered in graffiti. Some of it is very similar to that you would find in the US. A tag by some kid trying to prove to the rest of the world that they're a badass....which is really weird here in Argentina since everything is tagged anyways. Beyond the silly kid tagging though there is a deep culture in this city around graffiti and what it represents and what it can do. Unlike the US, a large majority of the graffiti here in Buenos Aires is politically driven. But that's not all. Some of the graffiti you find on the walls of different stores and buildings in different neighborhoods is so sophisticated, so complex that it actually looks more like a mural that someone commissioned than graffiti at all.
Here is where I would normally bore you with a nice history lesson on graffiti. Its rise, its importance, and its historical relevance. Lucky for you and me, ABC news has already done it! How nice of them....so for my history buffs I direct your attention briefly to this graffiti link.
Now that you have read that and have a sense of the historical importance of graffiti here in Buenos Aires I'm sure you are dying for my perspective (ps in that imaginary game where no one ever really wins and the points don't matter, 10 points to anyone who actually read the article! YAY for you!).
By far what I find to be the most interesting type of graffiti here in Buenos Aires is the politically driven stuff. I find that on the whole the Argentine people are far more aware of their own political system then people in the US are. I find that people in Argentina tend to have fairly strong feelings, not necessarily about a political party, but about their political beliefs and their willingness to truly support a candidate they feel represents those beliefs....this being said a post is coming about the Argentine political system, have no fear my followers!
Some of the political graffiti is done free hand, but the large majority of it is done through the use of stencils. I went looking this past Sunday for some of the best graffiti within walking distance of my home and I will be inserting those pictures as I see necessary. So without further ado, here are some pictures of the politically driven graffiti in Buenos Aires....
I know this doesn't seem like a political stencil, but to me it was one of the most important ones I saw....it claims that all of the graffiti is nothing more than art, which by definition is supposed to challenge society to think beyond their pretty little boxes....And now I will get off of my soap box this has been a message from the uppity elitist who believes in art education.
Yea....sooo do I really need to point out the political significance of this one or do you pretty much get it?? Oh you get it that's good....that's verygood.
I loved this one I thought it was really artsy with all sorts of typical Argentina political undertone.
Many of you may be thinking that the above pictures are not really examples of political graffiti. You are wrong. In the grand scheme of things they may not seem politically driven, but in my neighborhood these were the pieces of graffiti that were clearly done by those with a greater political purpose. I think that is one of the best things about the graffiti actually. The small stencils and free drawn political messages all let you know what kind of a neighborhood you're in. You not only find out that this is a neighborhood where art is appreciated, but you also find out exactly which soccer team is the favorite and which political candidates are most supported.
A large majority of the most impressive graffiti in Buenos Aires can actually be found in mural form. Some of these murals delve into the world of science fiction and some are more Bible with a twist. But each one functions as a work of art. Whether the piece surrounds the entry way to a shop or restaurant or whether the mural simply covers the wall of an apartment building it is quite impressive to see a full scale piece of artwork while just waling down the street. Here are some examples:
Classic Fairytale.....
Okay now this one was confusing...I'm pretty sure it is supposed to be some sort of eco-friendly monster. It has a coral head, the body of a Hindu God, the legs of a chicken, the long body of a ferret, some weird red stuff shooting out of its nose, but in its hands(which of course is hard to see in my picture) is a small sapling being watered? by the beast itself. I told you some of them were Sci-Fi-esque.
This one is called White Trash...Nough' Said!
I can only imagine that this one was created to entice kids to by candy....but upon further inspection you'll find its to entice kids and potheads alike....see it yet?
This quite simply is an elephant and a bird.
The Virgin Mary....in a new light...
An original take on Jesus....read the writing above his head for further reference.
Just an example to show that they also tag the way we do in the States.
This one was really interesting to me....between the bright colors and the relatively mismatched images I couldn't quite figure out what was going on....tell me what you think?
What else do you need to know about graffiti in Buenos Aires?? Hmmm....I don't know exactly, but here is a video from two Aussie tourist who went on one of the walking tours through graffitimundo....pretty interesting stuff.
Today's Being a Tourist blog post is brought to you with the help of our sponsor....the ghetto! Many of you may be confused.....so was I. Where do I even begin for this one?? Well I guess the beginning. Originally, this post was going to be dedicated to the lovely part of Buenos Aires that you always see the pictures of online. The cute little colorful houses right by the water....how lovely right?
Well here is what they don't tell you about those pictures. All of those cute little colorful houses are actually located in a part of Buenos Aires known as La Boca. When I first arrived here in Buenos Aires I told my contact at Connect-123 that I wanted to see those houses and she told me, "Okay well if you go there be careful....it's really our not-nice-area." I didn't think much of it honestly because I've been to a lot of not-nice-areas in my life between Boston and New Bedford so I was going to go see the pretty houses anyways and get you all some good pictures. I am not a complete moron though, when someone says an area is dangerous I do take proper precautions (sort of).
I decided I would take someone who had already visited the pretty houses. Now to keep this person's privacy safe I will not name them, however she is the only other person who I have posted a picture of here in Argentina....hint hint nudge nudge.....anyway she is a great person, cute, blonde, funny, but what I failed to know about her is she is absolutely TERRIBLE with directions and buses.
Now for a quick recount of my day. It started out well enough, we both met for breakfast, which here in Argentina is always a cup of coffee and some toast (perfect for me!) and then headed out. The first thing we did, at her knowledge was get on the 39 bus. Easy enough. We got on the bus and proceeded to ride it for quite some time. I asked if it seemed like we were going in the right direction and was assured by my friend that yes it was correct it just takes some time. And then the bus stopped at a station/parking space and the driver politely told us that we had to get off as this was the last stop and the bus was staying there. We got off the bus, me assuming we were there, my friend with a slight look of concern. Apparently we were not in the right place. Apparently, we had taken the bus in the wrong direction for so long that we reached the opposite end of where we were supposed to be going. But that's not all folks.....we also didn't know where a bus stop for the same bus going in the other direction was. Perfect right?
At this point I figured, whatever stuff happens so we searched for a bus stop for the bus going in the other direction and after walking for about 20 minutes found one and got on. At this point we were sure we were going in the right direction and knew we had quite the long bus ride ahead of us. The bus continued to drive farther and farther and farther until we reached the area of Buenos Aires known as La Boca.
Now for a brief explanation of La Boca. Literally the name translates to the mouth and many ignorant tourists probably assume it is a cute neighborhood resembling a South American type of Vineyard Gingerbread house neighborhood. This is a GROSS mischaracterization. In reality La Boca is a cross between Lower Roxbury and the part of a tropical island beyond the resort where tourists are frowned upon venturing out into. I would love to say that the two blocks of houses with colors is redeeming however, I never found those houses so.....I guess we should continue with the story of my adventure.
As we were heading into La Boca I turned to my friend and asked if she knew when to get off and if things looked familiar.....she said, "Ummmm sort of, I'm sure I'll know it when I see it." Not even 5 minutes after this conversation the bus driver pulled the bus into a warehouse and informed us that this was the end of the line and this bus was stopping here for the night."GREAT!!! AMAZING!!!" I thought. We got out of the bus in the middle of La Boca and looked around. I had no idea where to go and neither did my friend. She however, remembered walking by the water to find the houses so that's what we decided to do, head for the water. It actually didn't seem that bad. There actually seemed to be a bike path that sort of went along the river's edge. I mean if you ignored the gangs of people who had parked there cars and were drinking shirtless and carrying on it was just fine, almost. Here are two pictures of the path we were on.....funny thing is this actually wasn't a path at all, it was a road that cars drove on so every once in a while we did have to make way for a car that always tended to slow down a little too much as it drove by us.
I do not have a lot of pictures of the neighborhood of La Boca because I thought it would be a bad idea to walk through brandishing my camera as a flag that I was indeed a tourist....I mean besides my blonde friend and our attire. We then approached a bridge....neither of us had remembered crossing a bridge to arrive in the ghetto, however there was a sign that pointed to Buenos Aires in that direction and it seemed as if the other side of the bridge was probably a lot safe than where we were at that point.....so across the bridge we went. Then all of a sudden as we tried to find a bus to take us back home (having finally given up any hope of finding the pretty houses) the neighborhood seemed just as bad as it had before....in fact it may have been worse in some respects....now people were clearly staring at us and several attempted to talk to us and ask us questions. Then I saw what I thought might be a point of salvation....a Carrefour superstore. I had the idea to just duck in there to figure out where we should go because no one would rob us inside a store. When we got in the store we both immediately felt safer and figured out a plan to get home.....either a cab or a bus with a number we recognized. I also looked for an iron. Two reasons: 1. My mother has been bugging me to buy one since coming here and 2. I figured if we had an iron if someone did try to rob us I could just hit them with the iron.....I know not the most reasonable plan I've ever had so I guess it's a good thing that we didn't get robbed and the Carrefour didn't have an iron for sale.
After leaving the store we headed back toward the bridge and were then faced with a choice, go back to where we started or head down into the neighborhoods we though were safer. Naturally we sided with safety and began walking. Suddenly the neighborhoods weren't nearly as sketchy looking. I felt I could take my camera out and take pictures actually. Unfortunately there was only one thing really worthy of a picture, a pretty wooden carved picture. So here that is...
We continued walking for quite some time....probably around an hour or so....until we came upon the saving grace of the day.....
Did you know that made PIZZA-IN-A-CONE!!!????!!!!????? Genius.....pure and simple GENIUS!!! I now have a new become a millionaire plan....open one of these in Boston and get all the drunk college kids to buy some on the way home at night.....smart, I think so! But I digress, this restaurant seemed quite nice. They have them all around Argentina apparently, according to the sign displaying the businesses history. It is delicious....basically what they do is wrap pizza crust into a cone shape, then they fill it with cheese and whatever toppings you might want. I took lots of pictures! No worries if you can't conceptualize it....just keep reading. Even better than the pizza cones was that I got 5 points....what are the points for??? Well they are not imaginary and they do matter....if you get 25 pts. you get a free cone, 45 is two free cones, and 55 is, well you get it. Anyway this, like a bucket of KFC in Lower Roxbury, makes the trip into dangerous territory totally worth it!
I was really REALLY Excited about the 5 points!!! Leave me alone...it was the highlight of my day
Those were the two lovely workers who made my pizza cones!
The pizza cones themselves....mmmmmmmm.....soooooo goood!
This is a close-up of the sign behind the cashier...I took it because....well I mean look at it, especially the middle picture. Do you see how she is eating the pizza cone?? I'm telling you drunk college kids would LOVE these....I'm thinking a Boston franchise is coming soon.
So while eating my pizza cones I completely forgot that we were lost in the middle of a not so great neighborhood. Many people are probably wondering why we didn't at this point just ask for directions....well truth be told I don't know the exact reason. I think part of it was that by asking for directions you immediately label yourself as a tourist and put a target on you as a tourist. Some part of me was hoping that so long as I kept my mouth shut I look enough like an Argentina that everyone would leave us alone...this of course is ridiculous because we were clearly lost and did not belong...but hindsight is 20/20 I guess.
At this point we decide the 17 is the bus that will get us home. So we get on a 17 tell the bus driver where we are heading in order to pay and he tells us that we are on the wrong bus and that we need to take the bus in the other direction. This of course is easier said than done. We now have to get off the bus cross four lanes of traffic and wait yet again at the bus stop for the right bus. Perfect, right? Finally the 17 comes and we get on...this time sure we are going in the right direction and ready to finally get home. We have now been just trying to get home for probably 4-5 hours....we were both exhausted. After about 20 minutes on the bus seats finally were available for us to sit in which was nice. We then sat down and began rehashing the day as we began to notice street names that we both knew. Then just as had happened two other times that day, the bus stopped and the driver informed us that we must get off...at a station neither one of us recognized in a part of the city neither one of us recognized either. at this point we both began laughing uncontrollably.....I mean people thought we were crazy we were laughing so hard for no apparent reason.
As we looked around we noticed we had gotten off at what appeared to be some sort of fair. There was a man doing a puppet show that the hordes of people seemed to find quite amusing. Meanwhile my eyes were peeled for anything resembling a bar. I needed a drink. Now I know that you shouldn't drink when stressed out, and drinking is bad for you, but you know what sometimes all you want/need is a drink. So we found an outdoors bar and we each got a drink. I got some sort of frozen daiquiri that came in a glass so large I can only describe it as a large glass bowl. PERFECT! I sucked it down in probably 10 minutes....which is only relevant because the process of getting a place to sit, placing an order, and actually getting the drink probably took 30 minutes. At this point the sun started going down and my friend and I both decided it was probably time we figure out where we were and how to get home.
At this point I spotted the tops of some mausoleums.....that's right folks, somehow we went from the ghetto of La Boca to Recoleta Cemetery. Sometimes I think my life is just a sick joke. Anyway, I knew exactly how to get home from there so we decided to walk around the fair for a little while. It is funny though that they had a huge craft fair right outside of the cemetery. Honestly the whole time I was expecting it to be part of some act.....like some actor dressed as Jesus was going to come and tip over all the tables screaming about getting out of his father's house as some sort of live-Catholic-Stage-Art, but it never happened. The rest of the story is actually pretty uneventful...sorry....but I did take some pictures so we'll end with them.
This was the puppet show...it seemed like it was a show for kids, but I'm pretty sure the jokes he was telling were definitely adult oriented so I'm not exactly sure.
This was the second time we saw this scene that day. The first time however, people were living beneath those types of tents not selling crappy touristy gift underneath them....but in both places tourist were getting ripped off so maybe they have more in common than I first thought.
Welcome to Part 2 in my Being a Tourist series. Anyone who has traveled to Buenos Aires will likely be able to tell you about the two places you must visit in the city. This is because every Porteño you speak to will say the same two places. First is 9 de Julio followed by the Recoleta Cemetery. It's pretty obvious why 9 de Julio is so important.....there are a ton of monuments, government buildings, the Casa Rosada, and the list just goes on and on. However, many people may be thinking why on Earth is a cemetery really the second place of interest for people in a huge city like Buenos Aires. Honestly I couldn't figure it out myself but then I went. And now I understand.
The next few paragraphs are going to focus on a little bit of history yet again, because I guess secretly I have always wanted to be a history teacher like a large majority of my friends and even one of my cousins. If history bores you or you have no interest in expanding your intellectual prowess beyond what you already think you know feel free to again skip to the pictures below the line of yellow asterisks.
So what is sooooooo important about this freaking cemetery?? Well first off let me say it is not really that big a place...I mean Riverside cemetery in Fairhaven is easily bigger area wise than the entire Recoleta Cemetery, however I would like to bet that there are probably 2-3X the number of people in the Recoleta Cemetery that are in Riverside. This is because Recoleta cemetery is not a grassy place with a bunch of headstones, its a metropolis of mausoleums towering one right next to the other holding between 10-20 dead relatives in each site.
And now the history lesson begins. I think two things are probably the main contributing factors to the creation of a place like Recoleta Cemetery. One is that Buenos Aires (and Argentina as a country) have historically been dominated by Catholicism. And if there is one thing I can tell you about Catholics its that they love being buried together. This of course is completely anecdotal unless you count the giant catacombs in Rome, the mausoleums throughout the Catholic dominated countries, and the fact that I think a large majority of my family will be buried within 50 ft of each at Riverside cemetery. But I digress, the Catholicism within Buenos Aires clearly placed a great emphasis on the need for a proper burial blessed by the Church. The other contributing factor to the creation of a colossal city of catacombs is the amount of money these people had. The names of the families that reside in this cemetery are well known throughout the Latin American world for being in charge of governments, militaries, universities, and so on. Honestly, its as if each family was attempting to prove their rank of importance by how big, grand, or over-the-top (in some instances) they could make their mausoleum.
Now as I said there would be a small history lesson involved. The above paragraph was not it! Sorry....anyways the real history lesson comes in with why I was actually a little excited to visit the cemetery. This is the final burial place of Eva Duarte. For those of you who don't understand that let me re-phrase....Its where EVITA is buried!
Okay so again maybe not exciting to everyone, but to me it was fascinating and here's why. Long and short of why Eva is so important to Argentine history is because she came from nothing, became arguably the most important woman in Argentine history, and fought to create a middle class in the country. Now add on to this the fact that she may or may not have slept to the top, been a bit over the top in her own personal spending when she was in power, and that people in Argentina (specifically the descamisados) LOVED her. And I'm not talking the way we love our President. Uh uh.....I'm talking the way I love Kennedy family or the way middle aged white women like Oprah. Get it yet? But that isn't even the best part of the story.
Eva was married to Juan Perón. They were basically the leaders of their own party which was named after them. Eva was the rallier and Juan was the political figure head. The next part of this story is what I have heard since coming here to Argentina...and it gets good....trust me. So Eva died while Juan was in office, but before she could be buried in a cemetery alongside the Descamisados (literally the shirtless, but basically the poor folk she came from) there was a coup. Juan was kicked out of power and the new ruler shipped Eva's body out of the country. He was petrified that her grave site among the people he wanted to oppress would become a rallying point and he would be screwed....so off to Italy under a fake name her body went. Juan fled, I think to Paraguay and eventually to Spain. Still no one knew, except for the government that Eva resided in Italy, until the early 70's when it was finally revealed that she was hidden away in catacomb in Milan.
At this point the story gets a little weird. Juan Perón, married to his 3rd wife has Eva's body flown to Spain and displays it in his house. Yea...seriously.....I don't know about you, but I'm thinking someone needs to learn to let go and if I was the third wife I would definitely be a little peeved....but to each his own I guess.
Eventually, in 1973, Juan returned to Argentina and became the President once more. He died in office and his third wife actually took over as the first female President in the Western Hemisphere. But the story isn't over. Juan's third wife had Eva's body flown back to Argentina and displayed alongside her husband's for a brief period before she was able to bury them properly. Oddly enough she had Eva buried within Recoleta cemetery among the very people in Argentina that she fought her entire life against and who absolutely hated her. To make sure her body was safe certain measures were taken including some trap doors, fake coffins, and lots of locks. Unfortunately, Isabel (Juan's third wife) didn't have all of those measures in place to protect her husband's body. So shortly after his burial his grave was broken into and his hands were cut off. Now for those of you who are cultured and sophisticated, I am sure you have seen the movie Evita with Madonna playing Eva and understand the significance. For those of you who don't get it keep reading my blog eventually I will post something entitled my Evita moment....then you'll get it. **********************************************************************
Okay now even if you hate history....that's some jacked up crap right??? Great story if you ask me....anyway.....here are the pictures....commentary per usual:
This is the wall around the cemetery. You can actually see the tops of some of the monuments from the street outside and from the mall... So if while you're shopping you want to check on the dead you need only peak out the window.
Clearly this is not a cemetery. However, this is what is right next to the wall on the right here. I thought I would try to recreate the dichotomy for you....I think I failed But you get the point.
Part of the entrance....like I said for my history readers...a very Catholic country.
The Entrance...there is a guy at the front who asks for a donation and like a dumb tourist I thought it was for the whole cemetery.....turns out he's not from the cemetery at all. And the pamphlet he gives you is not a map. Even though he draws on it and tells you where certain graves are....it is only educational material on AIDs, which I found interesting, but it didn't help me find anything....at all..
This is actually inside of the cemetery. What looks like building on either side are not nice shops....unless you're looking to buy a dead person, but I'm pretty sure that's frowned upon.
The next few are just to show you how ornate the actually mausoleums and monuments are....they rival anything here in the US that I have ever seen. Its really quite incredible.
This one had 20 people above ground.....yea a lot of people
This one sort of reminded me of the entrance to church...
Okay now this one was just amazing! Notice in the lower left corner the statue of the mother breast feeding one of her children while holding the other one. This angel, which because of the landscaping, appears to be standing on a tree. and bust of the head of the family that rests at the very top. Now add all of this to the fact that the natural rock that appears in the lower right corner of the picture is simply part of the rock that this entire scene was carved out of and you get why this one was just incredible.
This one is to again just show you how it really resembles a small shopping area in the city, but it is in fact just a small, cozy city street of mausoleums.
Now time for the reason I was excited to go....EVA PERÓN......................
Just so everyone knows.....eventually this is how you find Evita's grave.....apparently there is always somewhat of a crowd.
All of those flowers....are fresh and real....crazy....
I'm going to end this post with some pictures of some of the angels that I took. I realize I have made quite a few jokes in this post and you know I don't really want to go to hell for being completely inappropriate so....hopefully the angels act as some sort of penance...
Okay....I couldn't help it....this is the only grave keeper I saw for the whole place though.....so in a way he's sort of like an angel right??? Whatever....I guess I should probably buy some sunscreen.
