From Madres de la Plaza de Mayo to Michelle Kwan

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I took a short tour of the city in the afternoon with Cecilia (a guest from Sweden). Our tour guide was Julieta. We saw the march of the Madres in the Plaza de Mayo at 3:30 which was very impressive. The mothers have been marching every Thursday in this plaza for over 30 years to commemorate their children who were abducted and murdered during the military dictatorship. These mothers are very famous and have even founded a university in Buenos Aires. The 24th of March was recently declared a national holiday commemorating all who died during this terrible time. On the 24th, there will be a huge march and demonstration on the Plaza de Mayo.

Here is the official web site of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo.
http://www.madres.org/

Here is an English language description:
http://www.womensvoicesforchange.org/2007/05/mothers_plaza_d.html


After the Mother’s march, we returned to the house about 5:00 and went dancing at the Chique Milonga. Interestingly, Michelle Kwan, the Olympic Figure Skater from the US was at the Milonga. She is on a public relations tour and was there with 3 people from the State Department. Here is a video of her visiting an ice rink in Buenos Aires.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=L1e3-TUQzW8

We had a nice chat with her. She tried to dance some tangos including one with Luis, and it was fun watching her try to learn. We then went upstairs to the restaurant and had a farewell dinner for Lanti, Dianne, and Suzie who are leaving tomorrow.

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Photos

The Cathedral
The Buenos Aires Cathedral looks more like a courthouse to me.

Cecilia and Julieta
We were waiting for the march to begin in the Plaza. Julieta is on the right.

Madres in the Plaza de Mayo
The Mothers wear white bandanas, which apparently were originally diapers.

Calle Florida
We then walked to the Calle Florida, a pedestrian mall where we saw a tango demonstration.

Galeria Pacifico
This is an indoor shopping area and also houses the Borges Cultural Center.

Plaza San Martin
At the end of the Calle Florida is the Plaza San Martin, with beautiful rubber trees.

View of the British Monument
This was a gift to the Argentine people from the British. Since the Malvinas war, there is less good will in both directions.

Cecilia and Catherine
This was the end of the tour for the day.