La Plaza de Mayo...and some other stuff too

For my first "full" day in BA, I managed to knock out most of the major tourist attractions, which included checking out the "obelisco," Argentina's version of the Washington monument. No major significance to this statue, and some locals consider it an eyesore, maybe even to a greater extent when they cover it with a pink condom each year during AIDS Awareness Week.

After the obelisco, it was a trip to the famous Plaza de Mayo, known by some for the scene in Evita, where Madonna cried out "not to cry for her Argentina," as done decades earlier by Eva Peron, who is an idol in her own right to many Argentineans. A little bit later in this post, I will talk more about the significance of the Plaza de Mayo, and why my visit there later in the week was one of the highlights of the entire trip.





















For lunch, it was finally time to try some beef. And I'm not talking about a few chunks of meat in an empanada, I'm talking about a real, 10 oz. grass fed "ojo de bife" (ribeye) steak. You can barely see the thing under all of this salsa criolla and roughage, but trust me, it was big and it was good. I was full for a good three hours after this thing. I worked some of it off walking around other parts of the city, and managed to get over to the Museo de Bellas Artes, which hosted works by prominent artists including Rodin, Picasso, Miro, Rivera, Modigliani, etc. Also some interesting works by lesser known local artists.















Near the museum is this flower statue, called Florales Generica, again, with no real historical significance, but nonetheless, pretty cool. Evidently it opens and closes with the sunlight, though I hear that it is not working that well and generally stays open.

Later in the week, I ended up returning to the Plaza de Mayo, and, not to get out of sequence with the blog, but figured I would post this photo and talk about the real significance of the Plaza.

For years, each Thursday at 3:30 PM, the "Madres de la Plaza de Mayo," march around the plaza in protest and remembrance of the "desaparecidos," or those that disappeared during what is commonly referred to as the "Guerra Sucia," or "Dirty War," in Argentina, which lasted from 1976-1983. The mothers and grandmothers wear white scarves with their childrens' names embroidered, to symbolize the diapers of the children and grandchildren that disappeared.














In reality, the Guerra Sucia was not really a war at all, but a government-sponsored massacre of left wing activists, or anyone rumored to express any ill will towards the ruling party. Over 30,000 people disappeared over these years, many of whom were tortured, beaten and murdered.

The picture below is with one of the leaders of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo movement. In 1977, representatives of the military came to her house in the middle of the night, assaulted her husband and carried him off, never to be seen again.














Today, with the help of the government, and DNA testing, mothers are being reunited with their children who were kidnapped approximately 30 years ago. Still, out of the thousands of children that disappeared, only a few hundred have been located.

Although the government efforts are laudable, it can be a mixed blessing for the mothers. In particular, those that may have already moved on with their lives and accepted the notion that their loved ones were gone for good, may be given a false hope and be forced to bring back awful memories.

In any case, it was a special experience to meet this woman, and hear a bit about her story. According to another woman I spoke with at the Plaza, these days, fewer of the Madres are marching around the Plaza since they receive government support and tend to place less importance on the weekly gatherings. As a tourist however, previously only having read and heard about what had happened, I am glad that there are still people that find it important to go out and represent and remind the rest of us what occurred.