Politics/Econ Blog I have recently returned home from Brazil and would like to briefly summarize some facts that I learned about the world’s FIFTH largest country: 1. Brazil occupies nearly half of South America and is the fifth most populated nation 2. Was a colony of Portugal from 1500 until independence in 1822 3. Has five major climatic types [View Full Entry]

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Getting back to futbol, our group recently witnessed a Boca match; as such, I’d like to briefly discuss the history & accomplishment of this premier organization. Boca Juniors was founded in 1905 by Italian immigrants in the Argentine neighborhood of La Boca (the British name of the club is due to the British railway workers whom introduced futbol to Latin America). The first jersey used was pink; legend has it that in 1906, Boca played another team with the same color & the winner of the match would get to keep the color; evidently Boca lost & they decided to use [View Full Entry]

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Hola hola! Time for some “futbol”! Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to play futbol with locals at the largest mosque in South America (located in Buenos Aires); I initially expected the skill-level to be very high but quickly discovered that, probably due to the overwhelming workload and scarcity of recreational space, many people don’t play soccer as “religiously” as one might assume. Upon our arrival in Argentina, I noticed that there are many “Westernized” elements prevalent here such as the layout of the city, architecture, fashion, and lif [View Full Entry]

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Buenos dias from Buenos Aires :O) Today is officially “el Día de la Revolución de Mayo” (May Revolution Day) which symbolizes the transition of power from the Spanish monarchy to the inhabitants of Buenos Aires. Contrary to America’s Independence Day, there are no parades, fireworks, or symbolic colors to recognize the significance of this day in history; the city is relatively quiet & many shops are closed. It practically appears as if none of the “portenos” are particularly reminiscing or even remotely celebrating this holiday. Nonetheless, to continue m [View Full Entry]

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Hola from Buenos Aires, Yesterday, my classmates & I played soccer for the 1st time. Prior to the commencement of our match, some local Argentines were playing & we noticed a few differences between American soccer & Argentine such as: women are more “feminine” in Argentina & consequently don’t play mixed; the Argentines incorporated fancier footwork and technique whereas traditional American soccer applies more brute force & relies on fitness as opposed to playing “beautiful soccer” (we can also correlate this statement to the # of World Cup championships atta [View Full Entry]

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Buenos dias from Buenos Aires :O) I will use this blog entry to discuss Argentinian history from 1800 - early 1900's & will attempt to incorporate politics & economics. Since there was a pre-reading for the 1st class regarding the history of Argentina, I learned several items from the reading such as (I have opted to include one portion of my notes & will sequentially integrate historical facts throughout my blogs): a) In 1826, the 1st president of Argentina, Bernardino Rivadavia (of African descent & his rivals nicknamed him “Dr Chocolate” - Wikipedia) had a vision for Argent [View Full Entry]

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Greetings from Buenos Aires, This is my 1st blog & I will discuss the history of Identity, Soccer, & Film in South America with a particular emphasis on Argentina. For starters, soccer is an integral part of South American life. Soccer arrived to South America in the mid 19th century & was introduced by the British. This fact is affirmed by the English names (as opposed to Spanish names) of various club teams such as: River Plate & Newell's Old Boys. In addition, as discovered in the UK, it was determined that soccer is a great way to prevent youngsters from [View Full Entry]

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Greetings again from BA, I will use this blog entry to summarize Argentinian history from 1500 - early 1900's & will attempt to incorporate politics & economics. Since there was a pre-reading for the 1st class regarding the history of Argentina, I learned several items from the reading such as (I have opted to include one portion of my notes & will sequentially integrate historical facts throughout my blogs): a) BA was founded twice (1536, & 1580) & May 25, 1810 is Independence Day b) initially two political parties: - Federalists: wanted a loose confederation of autonomous provin [View Full Entry]

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