The last two days have been pretty busy for me...it has been exam day(s). Yesterday, I took my written exam which was pretty easy...I finished before everyone else, but I have a thing about turning in my exam before everyone else, so I waited for other people to finish. After that, Sam, Emi, and me went to Plaza de Mayo, which is probably my second favorite place in Argentina. There is so much history there...millions of people gather there for political protests and demonstrations...it's a really cool place. Plus, the presidential meeting palace is pink...casa rosada literally translates into "the pink house." That's my kind of place! Thursdays are especially good days to visit the Plaza de Mayo because the Madres and Abuelas of the Plaza walk in an attempt to get the government to release information about the desparicados, or the disappeared ones. This is a complex and sensitive subject for Argentinians...
After Evita died, there was a lot of unrest in Argentina...the unrest started when Evita was considering running for vice-president, which in part caused her to turn down the nomination. Her sickness also played a part in her declining to run for VP. There was a military coup in the works and Evita's husband and president of Argentina, Juan Peron knew it...he tried to fend it off for as long as he could, however, the military regime won. These people were in power for a while, but eventually people rallied for the return of Juan Peron. During this regime, Peron lived in Spain and remarried a woman named Isabella. He was elected president for a third time after a few years, and he returned to Argentina as president with Isabella being elected vice president. Peron smoked for many years and shortly after taking presidential office fell to lung disease, leaving Isabella in charge. She was obviously incapable of running a country and soon succumbed to another military coup...this time one that brought tragedy to Argentina and its people. This regime was very anti-Peronist and it was considered a crime to even own a picture of Evita or Juan Peron. People lived their lives in fear because this military regime was not afraid to assert its power over the people. It is estimated that some 30,000 people were murdered and tortured during this time for "crimes against the government." Many were taken from their homes, heavily drugged, and tossed out over into the Atlantic Ocean from an airplane while still alive. The government tied weights to these victims to ensure that their bodies would never be found. This time is referred to as the "Dirty War." Another atrocious crime committed by the government is the displacement of thousands of children from their "disappeared" parents. The government removed these babies and gave them to new families where they were raised without knowing the truth about their biological parents or that the government had murdered them. The mothers gather every Thursday to demand information about the "disappeared" and about the children who were "adopted" into military families after their real families had been killed. The government has this information, but refuses to release it to the public. The mothers have been protesting since 1977...and they continue to protest every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the Plaza de Mayo.
After seeing the mothers, I can realize how this is a sensitive topic for many. While many Americans don't know about the heinous crimes the Argentinian government committed against its people, it is still as cruel as the war crimes we do know about, like the Holocaust. The sad thing is that this happened just 40 years ago...my host family and some of their children lived during this time. My parents were alive when this was happening...and the whole world turned its cheek to 30,000 people being brutally tortured and murdered. To families being ruined and displaced...there are kids just a little bit older than me here in Argentina finding out that their "parents" aren't really their parents. The people who have raised them helped to commit murder against their true biological parents. That's scary stuff. And its recent. And the mothers put on an excellent show to remind people of these atrocities and to fight for information regarding the victims...and they haven't stopped fighting for over 30 years. The mothers wear white caps to represent the blankets of the misplaced babies and some of them carry pictures around of their disappeared children/grandchildren. They don't yell or scream...they just walk in a circle around the square carrying their pictures and their signs. It made me want to cry for these women...I can't imagine what they've been through wondering where their kids are for all these years. It's crazy and I'm really glad I went to see it.
I also went to the Pink House's museum which is in the basement of the house...it's really cool. They have the old blueprints for Buenos Aires, keys and random things from the house, artifacts and clothes from the presidents, paintings...I really liked it. Also, one of the head architects or something for the city is Aduana Taylor...that's right kids...a Taylor designed the Pink House!!! Go figure...I'm definitely going to have to do some digging about that...maybe I have Argentinian roots!!!
I met up with Aidi and Emilia for some Freddo...what else is new, and we also decided to go to Cafe Manhattan to share a bottle of wine...when in Argentina? It's also about 10 pesos a pop for a bottle of wine...that's like 2.50 a person. Argentinian wine is also very famous...its one of the leading exporters of vino! So, that is our new tradition. :) Unfortunately, Emilia is leaving tomorrow. :( I'm going to be very sad to see her go, and I'm glad that I met her and experienced Argentina with her. Maybe, we will get lucky and she won't be going home until July 1 anyway, though, because they are canceling flights left and right because of the ash!!!
Today was my oral exam...which was very simple. I got a 7 in the class overall...which equates to like a B+/A- down here. Don't ask how they grade things...everything around here is illogical. Aidi and I went to Van Gogh for a celebratory bottle of wine...Malbec which is specific to Argentina. We sat and chatted about life...it's very fun, and I'm glad that Aidi is staying for the next month, so that I have a buddy. In fact, I think we are going to go to Palermo Hollywood tonight to go bar hopping, which I'm looking forward to. I just finished my first intensive month of Spanish and I'm ready to let loose!!!! Have a great night everyone!!!
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