Tuesday, March 4, 2014
I had another day to myself today as Jeff was again at work and I had a pretty full schedule booked with museums and tours and that type of thing. My first stop was at the Museo Evita which is about a 10 minute walk from Jeff's place. It is in the opposite direction of everything else though so was saved for this day (closed on Mondays) when I was on my own (plus not sure Jeff would have enjoyed it as much as me).
Some of you may know your Evita history from the musical (on stage or the movie version with Madonna) and I must admit before I saw the musical in the 8th or 9th grade, I had never heard of her. If you are at all curious about her life, this is the place to come. Some of you may remember the controversy when the movie version came out and Madonna was cast to play Evita. Many in Argentina felt that Madonna's antics and reputation were an insult to Evita and her memory however, Eva Duarte was an actress before she became any type of a political figure and national hero so maybe it wasn't such bad casting after all.
An early photo of Eva Duarte.
Another early picture of Evita. She was just 15 years old in this picture. She left her rural family home at a young age in hopes of finding success as a movie star. I don't think anyone could have predicted just how famous and loved should become in Argentina and the world.
Another display connected to her acting career. She actually wasn't a huge film star (really did not have the talent for it) however she found great success in radio shows. It was her acting career that enabled her to meet her future husband, Juan Peron and the rest, as they say, is history.
Compared to the earlier pictures, this is more how people are used to seeing Evita. This would have been after she married Juan Peron and became the First Lady of Argentina.
A highlight of the museum (well for some of us) is the collection of clothing that are on display. Evita was always known for being well dressed and there were plenty of examples of it on display....like these beautiful outfits.
Oh the hats......the lovely, lovely hats.
Fundamentos de nuestra constitucion. The outline for a new constitution. The Perons always had a pretty clear idea of who they wanted to help and the direction the country should take. Of course that didn't please everyone (they were viewed by many as dictators and Person was actually overthrown by a coup d'etat in his second term (after Evita's death) and exiled from Argentina from 1955-1973.) . Their political movement was known was Peronism and today is still represented in Argentina by the Justicialist Party.
Cannot include pictures of clothes without some beach wear. A very nice coordinated outfit.
Evita and Juan Peron introduced a lot of programs to Argentina, mostly aimed at the lower and middle class populations, as their political focus was eliminating poverty and dignifying labour. These included educational programs including nursing schools and summer programs for children. Swimming programs and trips to the beach were one of the favourites as lots of kids would have never had the opportunity to experience this without the Eva Peron Foundation.
The outside of the museum. A beautiful old building in a very nice part of Buenos Aires.
Once I was finished in the museum I headed back across town to the cathedral to catch the changing of the guard. The guards actually come from Casa Rosada for the change.
Here is the little video I took of the changing of the guard. A very quick procedure for sure but as you can see from all the people, a very popular event to witness.
From there it was a quick walk over to the Casa Rosada (Pink House) where I was looking to take one of the free tours they offer. Lucky for me there was one starting shortly so I did not have to wait too long. I think I mentioned in a previous post that Casa Rosada is the working house of the President, but the President does not live here. It is a very nice building however and worth taking some time for a tour.
One of the rooms in the Casa. There are guards placed throughout the building, and similar to those outside places like Buckingham Palace, they do not interact with the public.....however there always seemed to be a few who were willing to pose in pictures.
The tour group was quite large (probably close to 50 people) and the tour was being done in both English and Spanish so I often found it hard to hear the explanation about each room. I'm not sure exactly what this room is, but thought it was very pretty.
Some of the artwork found in the building. Some very beautiful and interesting pieces on display. This is "Se formaba ronda pa' verlos bailar" by Ricardo Carpani.
I like this because it not only shows some of the intricate decorations found throughout the building, but also the upgrades (electrical etc.) that have been done over the years. I feel like they can come up with a better way of hiding it though.
Even the elevator looks nice in here.
Another Ricardo Carpani piece, called "Martin Fierro". This piece covered the entire length of the room.
This is the room of Influential Women. As you can imagine, the focus was Eva Peron, however the room was filled with pictures of other Argentinian women who have, and continue to leave their mark on Argentina.
For example, this is Mercedes Sosa, also know as La Negra (The Black Woman). She was a Argentinian Folk singer and a major contributor to nueva cancion (socially committed music) in Latin America. The songs tend to have strong political messages and although no longer a part of main stream music, is still often used in political campaigns.
That's a Presidential Inkwell. It is the work of Argentinian sculptor Lola Mora.
One of my favourite places was the Galeria de Idoles Populares, which was a gallery with many of Argentina's favourite celebrities past and present. This one is of (starting at the top) Mafalda, Mariano Mores and Dona Petrona C. de Gandulfo.
This piece of art is called "Shelter - 2010" by Raul Farco.
One of the highlights of the tour is of course a visit to the balcony. It really is beautiful.
And had a great view of square below. Imagine it filled with a few thousand people, listening to the words of Evita.
Don't Cry for Me Argentina!!!!
In the Eva Peron Salon. Evita was the very 1st First Lady to be featured in a Presidential Portrait.
A look at the sitting area of the Eva Peron Salon.
Another one of the beautiful rooms in the Casa.
Well this is an ooops picture. I say that because this is the actual desk of the President's Assistant however I was not supposed to take pictures in this room. With the noise from the large group however, I missed when the tour guide said that in English. But it is Argentina so no one came running at me to take my camera or even make me delete the picture (I think I've lived in the Middle East too long because that is what I was expecting). It is still holidays though so no worries about any important documents on the desk.
The giant Argentinian Flag that sits just behind Casa Rosada.
Once my tour was over, I headed back to Jeff's place for a bit of rest and to get ready of the evening. Sadly, the realisation that our posse would be heading in opposite directions tomorrow was hitting home. We had decided however that we had to do one more thing together......take in a Tango Show. Yes, they are probably overpriced and very touristy and not overly authentic but it's Buenos Aires....you have to do it.
The remaining posse was Jeff, Vanessa, Jason and myself. We agreed the dinner and the show was not enough and we needed to take a lesson as well. Yes, it was a very quick, one hour, introductory lesson, but it was pretty good.
Vanessa (in the green top) and I winning the tango lesson. The steps were taught to us separately, as in women and then men. We quickly established that women have far more work to do and the men get to stand there a lot and have us dance around them. Eventually we were paired up, Jeff and myself (the instructor was very disappointed in Jeff when he found out Jeff and I are just friends......I had a good laugh about that), Vanessa and Jason, and I must say we did pretty good for our first attempts. Once the lesson was over, we had a head to head tango off....Jeff is very competitive so there was a lot of "focus" and "let's do this" and well let's just say we won.....by a lot.
We then headed up for the show and dinner. It was very entertaining, although we all found there was not quite as much actual tango going on as we would have liked. But that didn't matter. We had a great time. Eventually though the night ended and we had to say our goodbyes. It is always great to meet new people while travelling....and even better when you know you'll get to see them again somewhere else in the world.
That night I also said goodbye to Jeff. He was a great host (I think part of that comes from his international public servant experience) and I am so glad we were able to take the trip to Antarctica and then spend a few days in Buenos Aires together (and with our new friends). I was off to the airport nice and early (I didn't expect him to make the 3am wake up with me).
I have to say Buenos Aires did not disappoint but I'm off to see more of Argentina in the morning.
Julie
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