The Day Of the Twelve Hour Argentinian Parade
Why the Name Buenos Aires?
When the Aragonese conquered Sardinia, they established their headquarters on top of a hill that overlooked the city. The hill was known to them as Buen Ayre as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, which was located very close to swampland. “Foul smell” is another word for malaria (bad air), since at that time people believed the air to cause illness. Swamps are the breeding ground of mosquitoes, which carried the malaria that had been plaguing Sardinia for years. The founder, Pedro de Mendoza, originally named the city “Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre” which translates to “Royal of Our Lady Santa María of Fair Winds.” I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad that I don’t have to say that ten times fast. Buenos Aires, Argentina is now called this name for many reasons such as the fresh air and high winds of the city as you can probably tell from the picture below where the poor lady’s hair is flying away.
Casa Rosada
The Pink House is the home and office of the President of Argentina. The pink color of this mansion is a complete mystery. This building is considered one of the most notable in Buenos Aires. The outdoor courtyard is used for many occasions such as lunches, family time, or just simply relaxing. Part of the reason that this outdoor courtyard was built was because the president of Argentina wanted fresh air in his own home, so he decided to build an outdoor room in the astonishing mansion that is Casa Rosada. The White Palace was originally a tiny room in the center of the mansion. The president wanted to use this for conferences and meetings, but the size just didn’t fit his needs nor did it fit with the rest of the architecture of the home, so he decided to add multiple mirrors throughout the room. The president also added a balcony surrounding the perimeter of the room; however, the balcony can only hold up to three people at a time. The building also houses a museum, which contains objects relating to former presidents of Argentina. It has been declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina.
A 12 Hour Parade
Many weekends in Argentina there is a cultural festival, or as we know it, a parade. A different South American country contributes to these festivities each time. For example, Peruvians may come one weekend, and then Colombians might come the next weekend. In the time frame that we were there, the Bolivians came. We found out about this by literally following a couple of people that were in costume. These were the most elaborate costumes that I have ever seen! The colors were so vibrant and the music was so loud. Even in the subways, we could hear the festivities roaring above.
Floralis Generica
Floralis Genérica is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum that is in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas. This massive structure weighs 18 tons and is 23 meters high. As though it may seem, this isn’t just any old statue of a flower. The sculpture was made to move as it closes its petals at night and opens them up early in the morning. It opens at eight in the morning and closes late at night. These movements are made possible by an electrical system depending on the time of day. This mechanism also closes the flower if strong winds are coming or are present. There are four special times in which the petals stay open all day and night which are May 25, September 21, December 24 and December 31.
La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Peron, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy and a granddaughter of Napoleon. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with large tombs. These tombs are still being used by the rich families of the deceased in Argentina that have their own tomb. Several can be found with broken glass and littered with rubbish but overall, this cemetery was a site to behold.
Personal Experiences
Getting hit by a taxi
Ok, so let me start off by saying that the sidewalks in Argentina look EXACTLY like the roads.; most everything is cobblestone. Thinking that I was walking across a sidewalk, I didn’t look for any cars, but apparently, I was wrong to do that. Luckily, only the mirror hit me, so it’s fine…totally fine.
Smashed in a subway door
Some subways in Argentina obviously don’t like to stay at one station too long. Make sure that you do not ever try to get on a subway at the last second…even if the locals do. The way the locals do it is that they rip the doors open after they close. Argentinians must not like being late to anything. Well, usually subways beep 6-7 times before the doors close, but this specific one only beeped twice. As we scanned our tickets, it beeped once and we ran. My mom made it on and I was directly behind her, but I was about a half second short of making it. As I tried to push my way into the train, my mom tears the doors open and lets me, my dad, and another lady onto the train. On the way to our destination, I asked her if she knew that she actually completely opened those doors and she said “I did? I guess it was a motherly instinct or something.”