I Turned 21 (And Did Lots of Other Things This Week)
- Grace M. Hermes
- Dec 12, 2019
- 6 min read
The morning after friendsgiving, about half of our group took a trip to Iguazu Falls. Since I am not able to get a yellow fever vaccine, I stayed behind in Buenos Aires and left the waterfalls in favor of the concrete jungle. While I may have been anxious at the thought of three whole days with many of my friends gone and no tangible plans, the reality was wonderfully relaxing. It was a great exercise in spontaneity and letting go a little more than I usually do.
My favorite part of the weekend was Saturday night, when Aml, Meiyi, and I went out on the town...and straight to church for Noche de Templos! Noche de Templos is an annual festival when every religious building in Buenos Aires opens its doors to the public for an evening of events and performances. I started at El Templo de Libertad, a synagogue in our neighborhood. I was able to catch the ending of a Q&A session with their rabbi, and I was heartened to see both Jews and non-Jews asking open questions about the religion. It was a great opportunity for Jewish people to ask questions about their faith and for others to be able to express their curiosity. Then as I walked home, I stopped into St. Nicholas' Basilica where I was struck still by the beautiful choral music floating down from the balcony. I had walked in halfway through a choir concert. I ended up staying till the end, and returning an hour later with Aml and Meiyi for their second concert that evening. As I stood in the church during the first concert, I was overcome with emotion. I hadn't really realized the extent to which I have missed singing. This was one of the only times that I have even heard a choir in the last three months, and it has been so strange not to be in rehearsals. The choir was accompanied by a quintet of strings and brass and performed well known pieces such as Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." As we walked back to our hotel after the concert ended, Aml remarked that after an event like this one, "There is no way it is possible for there to only be one truth. There's just no way."
1. Templo de Libertad. 2. St. Nicholas Basilica. 3. Me, Aml, and Meiyi outside the church.
On Sunday I joined Aml, Meiyi, and Patric for another trip to the San Telmo markets. This time I explored the antique section a little more thoroughly, and spent some time wandering on my own. I happened upon an art studio in one of the courtyards of San Telmo where I fell in love with some watercolor paintings. There was no one there when I first poked my head inside, but the artist shortly returned from the corner store and started chatting with me. He called out the door to one of his students, a young woman about my age who spoke English, and the three of us ended up taking in a glass of wine while we talked! He has been painting for 32 years, and works with individual students like Izzy, the woman I met. I ended up buying two of his paintings, and I can't wait to get them framed when I get back home.
1. An antique mirror at the market. 2. One of the courtyards filled with antique shops. 3. Aml at brunch that morning!
Monday took me to Teatro Colón, the opera house. Brennan and Ryan joined me for an official tour, and although we were by far the youngest in the group (so many middle aged and retired couples) we had a great time. The opera house opened in 1908, but it took 3 different architects to complete the project, leading to a rumor that it was cursed! We visited the Hall of Busts, lined with busts of notable composers, the Golden Hall, and the Grand Auditorium. The performance space was absolutely beautiful. We learned that around the ceiling dome there is a hidden space for musicians behind the golden ring. Musicians are placed up there to make "the sounds of heaven," or a singer will be the voice of god to echo over the audience from above. Although I wasn't able to see a show at the theater, I was glad to catch a glimpse of one of the largest opera houses in the world. Claire, however, made it back later this week to see part of a show and even caught her favorite aria at the end!
1. The auditorium. 2. The skylights in the lobby. 3. The Hall of Busts. 4. The painted dome and golden ring. 4. The Golden Hall
On Tuesday, Cecelia took us on an awesome graffiti tour of the city. We focused on the Palermo neighborhood and got to see the work of several different street artists that are prominent in the area. We learned that street artists take pride and ownership in their territory, and could see the ways in which artists cover up each others work in order to grapple for limited space. The street art is often political, humorous, and witty in an attempt to get everyday people to think critically about various issues. In the slideshow below you can see some of my favorite works of street art:
In class this week we have been learning about dictatorship and human rights in Argentina. In The 1970's, Argentina was governed by a military dictatorship and an estimated 30,000 people were systematically arrested, tortured, and "disappeared." We visited Ex ESMA, the naval academy that was a hub for the capture and torture of "los desaparecidos." They were primarily young people (students and political dissidents) and there is still not an official number or knowledge of everyone who disappeared during those years. We also visited Parque de la Memoria, the memorial park on the banks Rio de la Plata where many of their bodies washed up after being dropped from "death flights" run by the military.
The most powerful experience, for me, was meeting Maria: an activist involved with Los Maderes de Plaza de Mayo. Los Madres are the mothers of the disappeared who protest in Plaza de Mayo in front of the president's office ever single Thursday, wearing white kerchiefs and demanding information about their children. Maria is the daughter of one of the original mothers, and her brother Daniel is one of the disappeared. We happened to be in Plaza de Mayo on the day of the annual "Marcha de la Resistencia," when numerous human rights groups assemble to demonstrate. It was so powerful to hear her story first hand while being surrounded by so many people who are still fighting for human rights today, beyond the issue of los desaparecidos. I am grateful that we took the time to learn about this part of Argentine history. I believe that it is important to learn about all the aspects of a given country, rather than just the beautiful parts. Now I also have the ability to go home and share what I have learned, and can do my part in keeping the memory of los desaparecidos alive.
December 4th was a pretty exciting day because...I turned 21! Buenos Aires is a pretty fantastic place to spend a birthday, and we celebrated with a cake at lunch time and then an evening of tango and tacos. At tango class I danced with the folks from our program, but also with an Australian guy named Oscar, who was waaaay too good to be in the beginner group with us! He told me that he was in Buenos Aires specifically to learn tango, since he does ballroom dancing and salsa back home. Since he has so much dance experience, he really knew how to lead and was able to teach me a lot of new moves that we hadn't covered in class. We ended the evening at our regular taco place, but this time with a pitcher of frozen margaritas, now that I can legally drink in any country!
On Friday we had the opportunity to attend a soccer game, and my what a cultural experience it was! We went to the game for Independencia, aka the Red Devils, one of the four premier league teams in Buenos Aires. Walking into the stadium like being pushed along by a river of fans clad all in red, but Ryan got stopped by a reporter and got interviewed! We had a good laugh because they said that he could speak in English, and then at the last minute asked for him to speak in Spanish! He did his best. The game itself was awesome. We sat right next to the fan section, and I don't think anyone in that section sat down for the entire game. It was constant jumping, singing, and cheering. The only thing missing from the stadium was any glimpse of supporters of the opposing team. The stadium makes it pretty much impossible for any opposing fans to get tickets in an effort to reduce fan-fan violence after games. Yes, people are that dedicated to their soccer teams. Independencia didn't win, but it was still a great game and I think the fans even rivaled the Timber's Army in terms of their passion for their team.
This post means that we only have one more week in Buenos Aires before going back to snowy Minnesota! I am in denial? Yes. Am I so excited to see my family? Also yes.
As always, thanks for reading!
-GMH
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