Friday, 15 May 2009

• Greetings from South America Pt. 4...

  Greetings from Buenos Aires!

  Wednesday morning, my Uncle and I went with our guide to see the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls. The perspective of the Argentine side of the falls was just as impressive as the Brazilian side, except we got to look down on the falls.

  After the visit, we flew on to Buenos Aires. My Aunt and Uncle lived here in the early 1970's when my Uncle worked for Firestone. After we got settled in our hotel, my Uncle and I went to a restaurant that he used to go to on when he lived here back in the day. I got an opportunity to try the Parrilla, which is long story short, is the Argentine version of BBQ. In the case of the Parrilla, and let me say that there is no such thing as overkill, just keep eating... It was good, but it was a lot!

  Yesterday, my Uncle and I took a city tour, where visited, amongst other things, The Plaza de Mayo and the Recoleta Cemetary. After the tour, we went back to the Plaza de Mayo to watch the Madres do their weekly march. The Madres are better known as the Mothers of the Disappeared.

  The 1970's were a turbulent period in Argentina's history and the country was ruled by a Military Junta. During this period, the Military grabbed more than 30,000 people who were suspected of ties to leftist organizations. What is known is that these people were interrogated, tortured and never heard from again. The mothers of these individuals (many of whom were college students) started a silent protest and marched around the Plaza demanding accountability from the Military Junta for their children's whereabouts. What was remarkable about the protests at the time was that the Juntas were unable to do anything to suppress the protests by the Madres because of the important status that mothers have in Argentine society.

  Later that evening, my Uncle and I went and saw a Tango show. We didn't go to one of the major "Vegas Production" Tango shows, but rather to a small tango club. The show featured dancing, plus singers singing Tango ballads. I had a good time.

  This morning, my Uncle and I made a trek out of Buenos Aires to the outer suburb of Hurlingham, where my Aunt and Uncle lived in the 1970's. We found the house where they lived and took some pictures of the house. This afternoon, my Uncle left for the United States and I walked around downtown Buenos Aires and saw the Teatro Colon as well as Congresso.

  Tomorrow, I leave for the final leg of my trip, Bariloche.

   

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