Drew International Seminar-Argentina 2006-2007

Friday, January 12, 2007

January 11, 2007

Maria Gonzales and Jamie Sherman

...Our First Trip to CEMLA, the Plaza de Mayo, and a Visit to a Milonga...

Today we all met early in the morning and trundled off to CEMLA for a lecture by Alicia Bernasconi on Italian immigration, mostly focusing on its history and the reasons Italians left their homeland for Argentina. We learned about the government´s population policies during different eras (e.g. the periods when immigration was almost completely unrestricted vs. those that were completely government controlled), as well as the ideologies behind restrictions and immigration patterns. After this, some of us returned to the hotel for some extra rest, while the rest of us searched for lunch. Of course, we stumbled upon more restaurants with excellent empanadas, which seem to have become a staple of our diets here.

After this, we walked to the Plaza de Mayo (which is not a short one, to be sure), and observed the weekly march of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo), who march every Thursday with photos of their family members who were of the desaparecidos (the disappeared) during the Dirty War. After this, we returned to the hotel to get ready for tango lessons. After a bit of trouble finding the milonga (tango bar) where we had made reservations, we entered the crowded bar and had a wonderful time learning the basic steps of Argentine tango. Of course we worked up an appetite, so we hit a steak house on the way back, where Carla mis-translated and ordered me (Jamie) kidney. That’s right. Kidney. After I turned very red with embarrassment and some laughter from the waiter, we sorted it out and I got the most amazing steak I have ever tasted. Everyone enjoyed their meal, and we ended the day with a cab ride back to the hotel and some much-needed rest.

The most poignant part of the day, by far, was the march of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. These elderly women, some of which have a hard time walking in general, don their white headscarves and, as they’ve done faithfully for 30 years, march around the statue in the middle of the Plaza de Mayo. Even after so many years, they still talk with each other and ask questions about their disappeared loved ones. They hold banners, pickets, and sometimes even just hang the photos around their necks as they trek around the plaza, and in each of their eyes we saw a distant but very much unforgotten sadness. It brought a solemnity down on all of us watching…although it was irritating to watch some of the tourists running up in the old women’s faces and photographing or videotaping them. It is true that publicity is what keeps their cause going and what keeps their hope alive, but it’s hard to see how this annoyance doesn’t really phase them.

In a close second came the trip to the milonga to learn to tango. It was really quite an experience, and since girls outnumber boys on this trip, some of us danced with Argentine men and really got a cultural experience with those who knew how to dance already. It was interesting, but very crowded, so a few of us plan to return for intermediate lessons so we can learn more and show off our skills.

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