Pictures of Eva and Juan Peron that are hanging inside the museum...
The Eva Peron MuseumDay 301
Buenos Aires, Argentina
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We felt very sad today...to hear of the assasination of Benazir Bhutto, twice prime minister of Pakistan...and,until her assassination, leader of the opposition of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Was this because she was a woman? A woman campaigning for the 2008´s elections?
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Today we did the same as the last couple of days (since being in our wonderful apartment!)..we ventured out about 3pm...and headed to Palermo to see the Evita Museum via Florida Street! And on the way home..to Plaza de Mayo.
We originally wanted to go to the Plaza de Mayo to see the Mothers and Grandmother´s mourning march..but when we read the BA newspaper, Englais Edition, we found out we had missed it. It was on yesterday! And we were down there yesterday, Thursday at 3pm..but too late. We felt so annoyed with ourselves.
This march is a reminder of all the children who disappered (kidnapped and murdered) during the revolution (so called the Dirty War!) in the 70's. The group of mother´s are known as the Madres de la and they come to protest the kidnapping of their children and to protest the lack of a complete accounting of their death and lack of justice by the Argentine Government.
Anyway..we missed it unfortunately...so headed to Florida Street.
Florida Street in FLorida. Last WORK FRIDAY in Buenos Aires!
We arrived to floating bits of shredded paper streaming over us!!! People were throwing it all out of their windows! At first we thought it was only one building..and we thought...those kids need to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck, told not to litter and then told to sweep the streets!
But we soon realised..and felt it floataing upon us...that ALL the buildings were snowing shredded and unshredded paper and documents! The streets were literally littered with massive amounts of paper!
We couldn´t work it out! The only thing i could think was....this must be a traditional thing to do..perhaps on the last Friday of December, before the New Year..because the paper was shredded diaries and hand written privileged information written on desktop diary pages (i got worried seeing this!)...and old used 2007 papers!
There were even toilet papers streaming out of the buildings...quite a sight to see i can tell you!
We stayed for a while watching this...then continued our journey to Eva Peron´s museum in Palermo. IT was about a 5km walk.
We finally found it..thanks to Greg´s impeccable directions (i have crap directional sense!) and as we approached the area...we soon felt we were pretty much in a ritzy area. The buildings were spectacular..so beautiful....this place certainly has beautiful buildings...all so european...you feel like you are in Paris or Madrid!
The Evita Museum, Palermo
The Evita Museum is just as decorative and beautiful. It was french architecture adn bought by her Foundation, The Fundacion Eva Peron, to use as a temporary home for women and children and later redecorated to become the museum to house her belongings and life and was only opened in 2002. Fifty years after her death.
We learned so much about Eva Peron..and her incredible life. She was such a powerful humanitarian and women´s rights advocate for Argentina. She founded so many schools and women´s houses...and did so much for the people of Argentina.
After she died, at aged 33, (1952) of cervical cancer, her body was stolen...and then shunted around for 16 years (firstly buried in Milan!?) and then finally brought back to Buenos Aires, her place of birth...and some of the footage we saw at the museum was quite disturbing. Her body looked mutilated by the time she was placed at rest. Her sister made an impassioned speech.
She was so loved...and so hated (because she was not the First Lady Argentine people expected!)....
And to see her museum was very poignant....albeit much of the writing was in spanish...
We also learned about her president husband, Juan Peron, who was a workers president. He ´felt´ for what they called the ´shirless workers´. Together they made quite a pair...battling for the humble..and they were both loved and hated.
We were glad we went today. We learnt so much more about the Peron´s. And their lives and their deaths.
Now, when we hear Don´t Cry for me Argentina...or watch Evita...or listen to Andrew Llloyd Webber´s songs from his hit, Evita...it will mean a whole lot more to us.
Back to the Plaza de Mayo...
On the way home we caught a taxi to PLaza de Mayo. The taxi driver had never heard of our hostel (!) so we thought..we´d come and have another look at the ´Argentine White House (althought it´s pink!) where Eva Peron made her last speech! It´s not really called that...just me comparing! It´s actually called the Casa Rosada and is in the The Plaza de Mayo...
When we got there...the place was full of Riot Police with shields, batons and vests...about 50 of them...and standing by an armoured truck with two high pressure water jets mounted on the roof. There was steel grilled protection on all the windows and wheels of the truck. It even had a grader blade at the front of it!
We actually walked through this thick paddock of police to get to where we were going..and when we surfaced on the other side..we could see a mob of demonstrators with signs and yelling words in spanish. We still don´t know what it was all about! I wanted Greg to take photos but he..and i..thought better of it. The police didn´t look that friendly!
I did notice there were a few of them at the back..leaning against other trucks....and drinking the mate tea out of their metallic straws!
That always gets me..to see that! They love this tea...we see people with their pots and metal straws everywhere....at shopping counters....in parks....everywhere..and we´re learnt that they don´t change their tea leaves until they´re refilled their pots about 10 times...ew.
Cultures are so different..the teas..and the shredded paper that is thickly littering the streets right now......the grilled and locked gates on all the buildings everywhere you go...and the vast numbers of security and police around the place....
All so different to what we´re used to...!
We had dinner at our fav pizzaria tonight.....they have such good pasta (canneloni and ravioli and legumes!! (vegetables!)
New Year´s Day....We diet!
xx
PS We found out the littering of the streets is a thing Bueonos Aires does every New Year!!!! Weird hey...
