Hasta la Victoria!

One of the reasons I’m so in love with this city is the fusion of politics and political awareness with daily life. Whether you live here or are just visiting, you cannot avoid taking notice and taking part in political discourse or even a protest or two, as strikes and rallies are pretty much a daily occurrence.

One of the most obvious indicators of political activity, aside from the protests, is the graffiti. Every time I walk around, I’m constantly tempted to pull out my camera and document the incredibly cleverness and tongue-in-cheek commentary of street artists in this city. A lot of the graffiti is similar to that of the states but a lot are murals depicting symbols of urban life and even more are political statements, either for or against the current government, global leaders, aspects of society or pieces of Argentine and world history.

Representation of wars... the entire thing is incredibly moving.

"I don't want your catcalls. I want your respect."

"More than 30.000 reasons for popular justice" - A reference to the
30,000 people killed and disappeared during the Argentine Dirty War
of the 70s and 80s

"They have it all... we have the night."

"They come for the water"

"The plants do not sin."

"Non-violence is force"

"Deposit your vote here. Your vote is an alibi - abstain and fight."

"NO to the militarization of Latin America"

"With political prisoners, there is no democracy"

"My life has value, my body no price."

Note the signs above the graffiti. They're political posters for the
worker's party that talk about the faults of capitalism in
causing the economic crisis and hunger in Argentina.

Today is a good day for this post because today is election day in Argentina. Because voting is mandatory in Argentina, the city is absolutely shut down today. Last night, everyone had to quit selling alcohol at 2 a.m. - super early for a town that parties until 8 in the morning. Certain businesses have to shut down for the day, like theaters and bars, and no one can sell alcohol. They don’t want any drunken or distracted voters!

Today’s elections are for provincial positions and congressional spots. Argentina’s congress is set up based on proportional representation, which means that aside from provincial offices, you simply vote for a party rather than individual congressional candidates. Then the party gets a number of congressional spots based on the percentage of the votes they receive and the senators are picked based on party rankings.

Earlier this week, Charlotte and I went to watch a campaign rally for the incumbent party, lead by Nestor Kirchner, ex-president of Argentina and husband of current President, Cristina Kirchner. It was awesome - soooo much energy and excitement. There were tons of homemade flags and banners, they sang songs about the Kirchners, Eva Peron and rights for the working people… It was absolutely amazing.

War veterans

SOOOO many people!

I sometimes wonder if the demonstrations, signs, graffiti and the like have lost a bit of their effectiveness because of the desensitization that comes along with such prevalence. Even so, as a fresh viewer, I still find them extremely exciting. I love that the people here are so motivated to enact change and truly believe in the power of collective action.

Maybe I’ll start daily protests when I get back home. I’ll have to come up with some more causes though… and probably find more people.

Did Someone Hit Fastforward?

I have a whole lot of catching up to do, it looks like! I’ve been combining a lot of activity with a little bit of illness lately... which has made for a tired little traveler. But here we go:


Last weekend, my friend Charlotte and I headed up to Tigre for a day. It’s a town on the outskirts of Buenos Aires the city, in Buenos Aires the province. It was incredibly beautiful and oddly interesting. We found ourselves constantly wondering whether we were still really in Argentina.

The town is built on a delta and therefore has tons of canals going through it, kind of like Venice. The architecture was mildly schizophrenic, a strange mix of Brazil, Portugal, France, and Bavaria. They have a lot of water tourism during the summer but since we went during the winter, town was pretty empty. But it was very beautiful, the people were very nice, and it was a fun, relaxing day.

A boat taxi!

Friday, we went to the zoooooo! Buenos Aires has a great zoo, one of the best in South America. The architecture was amazing, with really beautiful building, gazebos, bridges and sculptures scattered throughout. I’ve been to a few zoos in my day and every time I go, I forget about how sad they make me. Until I see the big, furry mammals… you know, the ones you feel like you could hug and cuddle with.

WARNING: THE NEXT TWO PICTURES MIGHT INDUCE HEARTBREAKING

They must have been cleaning the polar bears pool that day, but they neglected

to tell the poor bear. He came out and was incredibly confused as to where
all the water had gone. Quite possibly one of the saddest moments in my life.

One of the cool things about the BA Zoo is that they have tons of animals and birds that just wonder around on the trails. You can buy food to feed them so they're really tame. There are peacocks, ducks, these crazy half rabbit-half deer looking specimens from Patagonia, as well as some crazy beaver creatures.

The aviary! Sooo loud.

Yesterday, we went to one of the Buenos Aires landmarks, the Cemetery in Recoleta. Yes, I know it’s kind of strange for a cemetery to be a landmark but when you see it, you’ll understand. It’s absolutely amazing. It’s like a virtual city of beautiful, opulent mausoleums that goes on forever.

The most famous Argentineans are buried there: Evita Peron, D.F. Sarmiento, Nobel Prize winners, various presidents, and tons of military caudillos. I felt a bit strange wondering around a cemetery with my camera but I’m sure it would have been a lot more eery if there hadn’t been so many other tourists walking around too.

This was the biggest one we found. I had to get on the ground to even
try to get a good picture... It's for a man who won a Nobel Prize in
chemistry for Diabetes Research. Super shwanky.

There were cats all over the place! Creeeeepy.

Another cat...

I simply cannot believe I have less than a week left... It makes me want to cry. Sooo many things to do this week that I still haven't gotten around to: museums, monuments, shopping, landmarks... and finals. AND getting over the swine flu... ahh!

Wish me luck...

La Vida Bonita

Classes have been slowing down a bit this week, allowing a little more time for random city exploration! Here are a few results:

My new favorite park, just ten or so blocks from my house.

Bird's eye view of the city

Part of the smallest history museum ever. A little proof that the Argentine
government is not too proud of their recent history...

I’m realizing that if I didn’t have family and friends waiting for me back home, I might not leave… I’m absolutely loving it here. My host family is so great- we’re a pretty perfect match. They’re quirky and crazy and we love to laugh together. My abuela tells great stories about her family and friends and about her childhood. My abuelo cooks delicious italian and argentine food. My host sister (their granddaughter) helps me out all the time and is amazingly sweet and fun. They have big crazy dogs that are luckily so funny that I overlook them eating my shoes… I love having political conversations and learning about history and culture from these amazing people with so many different perspectives to add to the story. I don’t think I even need to go to class - my home is a classroom!

Yesterday I remembered that we used to have a turtle and I realized that I hadn’t seen it since the first day I moved in. So I asked about it… apparently turtles hibernate! Who knew!? It’s been hanging out in the closet, underneath some boxes and shopping bags. Haha. I guess I’ll have to wait to play with it until I come back to visit.



Monday's trip to Colonia was a success in every sense of the word! I absolutely loved the small town feel, the historic architecture, the super nice people and the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful scenery! If Montevideo is anything like it, I’m in for an awesome experience next spring. I haven’t left the Southern Cone yet and I already can’t wait to come back!

Sunrise over the Río de la Plata

Tug boat!

Colonia. Bonita, no?

The wall of an old fort. Colonia was Portugese first and the Spain took it over.

I love the idea that random people make it into other peoples' photo albums
and family pictures. This couple has no idea that they're on my blog!

I wish all cars had trees in them. There's your solution to climate change!


Uruguay has the beachy side of the Río de la Plata. Mark a point for Montevideo!




They lied. I had to pay for toilet paper.

Hoping for some more excitement this weekend. Not quite sure what the city's got in store!