Even before arriving in Argentina, I already had the impression that the country would be quite an interesting place. Having met some Argentinians in Chile, I caught little glimpses of the culture before I even got there…for instance, I knew that one will almost always spot an Argentinian drinking one of two beverages: mate, a bitter earthy caffeinated drink consumed from a distinctive little rounded cup and a metal straw, or fernet, a peculiar tasting alcoholic drink usually mixed with coke (which originally came from Italy). Also, everyone that I met who was from Argentina, or even who had just visited the country, raved about the culture and the people of the country. At the same time, I was familiar with Argentina’s dire economic crisis and the difficult politics, rich with populism, corruption, and scandal, not to mention the history of the dictatorship that I came there to investigate. I came in trying to understand how all of these different elements related to each other, and boy did I find that there was much to discover!
When I was in Chile, one of my new friends had told me this: “In Chile they are constantly trying to avoid talking about the past, but in Argentina it’s all they ever talk about!” In a way, I found this to be true. The dictatorship in Argentina, often referred to as the National Reorganization Process, lasted until 1983. But unlike in Chile, the military dictatorship in Argentina was wildly unpopular by the end of its rule due to its loss in the Falklands War with the UK (referred to in Argentina as the Malvinas War), its weak economic policies, and a clear awareness of the national and international public about the egregious human rights violations. So, nobody was really arguing that the dictatorship was beneficial in any way. One of the main reasons why this was the case was also because human rights organizations such as the Madres and the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo were active during the dictatorship, regularly confronting the military government and demanding answers about where their kids went. Immediately after the dictatorship ended, the new government issued a report called the CONADEP in 1983 (National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons), which led to the Trail of the Juntas in 1985. These trails included testimonies from hundreds of witnesses – in fact, all of the evidence about the crimes of the military dictatorship came from witness testimonies because the military neither admitted to their crimes, nor kept records of their atrocities. Despite these actions by the government, much of the memory and reconciliation work throughout the 80s and 90s was upheld by these human rights organizations because the state was often wishy-washy about taking a clear stance on supporting human rights – some presidents wanted to reconcile the issue and leave it in the past, while others tried to pardon some of the perpetrators.
This kept up until 2003, when the government of Nestor Kirchner institutionalized human rights memory and granted significant power & funding to organizations like the Madres and the Abuelas. To this day, the influence of these organizations is seen everywhere: the Madres still demonstrate at the Plaza de Mayo every Thursday, their symbol of the white headscarf can be seen on random streets, and they are outspoken political supporters of the Kirchners. Below is a mural at the memory site ESMA (former naval academy that functioned as a detention and torture center during the dictatorship).
Initially, I thought that this made Argentina a wonderful success story of how dialogue about memory can be created and sustained in a society; I had also only been talking to people at memory archives/museums, who all held similar views that idolized the Kirchners and their support of memory about the dictatorship. But then I started talking to other people, namely students or even Argentinian employees at my hostel, and I realized that the story of memory is a lot more complicated than it seemed. By their opinions, memory in Argentina was sometimes TOO radical. For instance, one interviewee at a memory institution told me that anybody who claimed that the left-wing was also violent during 1960-66 (before the dictatorship), was automatically a dictatorship apologist. Afterwards, the student who helped me translate the interview explained to me that this opinion was uncritical and extremely biased. I realized that although memory was institutionalized and talked about, perhaps it was not talked about in an open and critical way….behind the surface of a society that seems to have come to terms with its past still lie quite a few problems, like the fact that the Kirchners, who institutionalized memory, are also often believed to be populists who win the support of civil society organizations to remain in power. I don’t have an exact answer to this paradox, but it was definitely interesting to learn about and understand. Below are a few more photos that I took at ESMA, and the Parque de la Memoria (memory park).
However of course, the story of this past is not the only thing that I learned about Argentina. During the 12 days that I was there, I fell in love with the city of Buenos Aires. It was really curious for me to be there, since in comparison to Santiago, the city was a lot more European, colonial, and international. Argentina has experienced a lot of immigration, and as a result there were many many international groups that I encountered in BA. One result of this environment was that there was SO MUCH culture constantly being performed in the city. During my stay here was when I began to truly realize how much I enjoy going to different cultural events; in BA there were too many to go to, it felt like culture was literally oozing out of the society. I think that every Argentinian I met was creative in some form or fashion – it felt very beautiful and validating to be surrounded by so much expression and artistry. One of my favorite events included a jazz performance that I found on a random Tuesday, which ended up featuring the best jazz musicians I had ever heard (not exaggerating). Some other notable events included an epic street performance during the Sunday market in San Telmo, and an event at an apartment-turned-cultural center that featured a romantic Argentinian poetry performance, a funk music girl group, and of course – tango.
In Buenos Aires I also got to experience the joy of wandering around and exploring the different neighborhoods: some of my favorites included San Telmo, Recoleta, and Belgrano. Recoleta was to me the most architecturally beautiful…the architecture felt very French and it was easy to feel like I was actually in Paris. In fact, I think I liked this area more than I like Paris itself. I also spent a while walking around the historic and eerily beautiful Recoleta Cemetary:
Finally, to end this blog post here is a bonus photo from my trip to Cordoba, where I stayed for three days before Buenos Aires. I spent a whole day riding horses at a ranch with an Argentinian gaucho (cowboy) named Salvadore!
sofia circumnavigates 
Leave a comment