In this country, history is everywhere. Politics too. And the way people adored Evita fifty years ago and continue to do so (I saw a man kissing her tomb this morning), some people seem to nurture the same kind of admiration and devotion for Cristina Kircnher. The politicians never fail to use and explore these kind of feelings. It feels too much.
Today I walked from the centre to Recoletta and from there to the Congress and back to the Plaza de Mayo. I saw beautiful neighborhoods, reminding me a lot of Athens. I had to think hard to remember where I was. It is easy to talk to people in the street, especially shop owners. It was such a pleasure talking to a grocer today about the quality of aubergines.
A stop at Café Tortoni for lunch. A tourist trap, really. The café is absolutely beautiful. Everything else a robbery, that´s why the locals don´t go there. I met the locals later, for coffee, at the Café Puerto Rico. Not as glamorous, but it doesn´t make you feel a stupid tourist.
At exactly 3.30 pm, the Madres de Plaza de Mayo started their weekly march. I looked at their faces, trying to imagine, if possible, how it feels. I felt ashamed for taking photos, they are not exactly an attraction and I am not a reporter. But they are history, live history, in front of our eyes. Tomorrow I´ll meet someone whose husband and two brothers were taken away from a family lunch one day and never seen again. She was left with two babies. How many more stories like that in this country... And others... How did they find the way to go on?
At the end of the day, I went to the Buenos Aires Book Fair, just to finish myself off. So many people, so many books I felt like buying. And then dinner in Palermo and nice, warm red wine from Salta. It was a beautiful almost summer day in Buenos Aires.
Today I walked from the centre to Recoletta and from there to the Congress and back to the Plaza de Mayo. I saw beautiful neighborhoods, reminding me a lot of Athens. I had to think hard to remember where I was. It is easy to talk to people in the street, especially shop owners. It was such a pleasure talking to a grocer today about the quality of aubergines.
A stop at Café Tortoni for lunch. A tourist trap, really. The café is absolutely beautiful. Everything else a robbery, that´s why the locals don´t go there. I met the locals later, for coffee, at the Café Puerto Rico. Not as glamorous, but it doesn´t make you feel a stupid tourist.
At exactly 3.30 pm, the Madres de Plaza de Mayo started their weekly march. I looked at their faces, trying to imagine, if possible, how it feels. I felt ashamed for taking photos, they are not exactly an attraction and I am not a reporter. But they are history, live history, in front of our eyes. Tomorrow I´ll meet someone whose husband and two brothers were taken away from a family lunch one day and never seen again. She was left with two babies. How many more stories like that in this country... And others... How did they find the way to go on?
At the end of the day, I went to the Buenos Aires Book Fair, just to finish myself off. So many people, so many books I felt like buying. And then dinner in Palermo and nice, warm red wine from Salta. It was a beautiful almost summer day in Buenos Aires.
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