Centro-Buenos Aires

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Downtown Buenos Aires

During our first weekend in Buenos Aires, we made our first visit to downtown Buenos Aires. It was an amazing feeling to see from my own eyes what I have been reading for the past year at school.

Visiting the city on your own is one thing but having a local showing you around, telling you the history of the city and giving you his own perspective on the events that occurred is a totally different experience. This “local tour guide” was the same person we met on the plane, Ruben, who offered to show us the main areas of the city. Because of his leftist political background, Ruben provided me with a very interesting perspective of the financial crisis, today’s political context and the “Dirty War”.

For those who are interested in the history of Argentina, the period from 1976 to 1983 referred to as the “Dirty War” was a time during which the country was governed by a military dictatorship before democracy was restored in 1983 by the Alfonsin’s government. These challenging years are still felt today among the population as thousands have mysteriously disappeared during this political turmoil. For those who are interested in watching an excellent movie on this period of Argentinean history, I strongly recommend “La Historia Oficial” (The Official History).

The Madres de la Plaza de Mayo exemplifies the legacy of this tragic era. These women have fought for the right to reunite with their children abducted during the Dirty War. One interesting fact is that the Mothers have been walking and not sitting or standing still because during the dictatorship period, people were not allowed to gather together; if more than three people were getting together in a public space, you were accused of conspiracy and threw in jail. By walking around the plaza, the courageous mothers and grandmothers were therefore able to protest against the disappearance of their children and grand children. They have been gathering at Plaza de Mayo in front of Casa Rosa every Thursday since this time but have only stopped this ritual few months ago as the Mothers do not perceive the current government as a threat or indifferent to their causes...I guess this is only one version of the events… Their legendary presence is now symbolized into drawings on the ground.

As you can see, downtown Buenos Aires is rich in history; behind every name of the streets, there is a historical reference, and for every church and building, there is a story. For instance, the streets Defensa and Reconquista, which are separated by the Plaza de Mayo, refer to two events at the beginning of the 19th century when Argentina was attacked, defended and “reconquered”. The first cabildo in Argentina is also located in front of Plaza de Mayo; those so-called cabildos were used by Spaniards to symbolize their possession of a new territory.

As for the rest of our visit downtown, we visited the Church where the rests of “Liberador San Martin” have been kept and we had a delicious café at the famous Café Tortoni. I will undoubtedly go back downtown Buenos Aires to continue my exploration.

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Photos

Plaza de Mayo
El simbolo de las Madres

Security Rally
The Plaza de Mayo is often used for rally and protests in Buenos Aires. Last Thursday, we arrived few hours before thousands of people gathered to protest for security issues in the city. For some, it was viewed as a political opportunity as the son of a politician, who gave a speech, got murdered two years ago. For others, it was a protest against the "selective purge" pursued by the police and judges. It was extremely interesting to gain the perspectives of the people present at this rally...

Comments

[Marie-Eve]

c'est cool!
Vous avez l'air de bien vous amusez, je suis contente, j'ai hate aux prochaines nouvelles!!!