Bucket List Antarctica (during an eclipse): All About Evita

 

Eva Duarte Peron : Former First Lady of Argentina

Don't cry for me, Argentina
The truth is
I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance

And as for fortune
And as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed

To the world
They were all I desire
They are illusions
They're not
The solutions they promise to be

The answer
Was here
All the time

I love you
And hope you love me
Don't cry for me
Argentina

To most Americans, what we know about the Perons has been told through the eyes of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice and Madonna. And perhaps of the three, Madonna had the closest bead on the truth.

Our guide, a local historian, Ms. Florence, says the portrayal is "a bit inaccurate." Oh the unending politeness of the Latin American! Gotta love it. 

But it is an understatement to say that the Perons were a populist government, did make some sincere efforts to help workers, poor, women's suffrage and that their influence is still felt strongly today. 

We began the tour at not too far from our hotel at Casa Rosada, the home of the offices of the President of Argentina. In fact, we saw his helicopter land while we were on the square.

If you saw the movie, you will recognize the balcony on the left where the Perons spoke to crowds. They didn't want to use the middle balcony because it was "too far away from the people."

What we couldn't estimate from the plaza in front of the presidential palace was the immense size of the crowds that gathered here to listen to the Peron's speeches. 

People were crowded into the plaza and even climbed onto statues to attend speeches by the Perons. It some ways (not necessarily politically), it reminded me of speeches by Hitler. 

We also visited the church on the Plaza Mayo where not only the Perons attended, but the current Pope Francis was the archbishop. 

Cathedral Metropolitano located very close to the Presidential Palace. Former parish of Pope Francis

Interior of the Cathedral: All Gold at the altar.

Although I had been inside this cathedral before, I failed to remember that San Martin, liberator of South America, is buried here and is under a 24 hour a day armed guard. They aren't quite as formal as the queen's palace in the UK, but they do look spiffy!

Masoleum to San Martin under guard

From here, we attempted to visit Evita's grave in the very beautiful Recoleta cemetery, but it is closed (unless you have a family member there) due to COVID. Her grave is believed to have healing powers, and you need only touch it for a variety of cures. It was not her initial resting place. After her death, her body was kidnapped and buried in Italy, then later returned via Spain (to her husband in exile)  and eventually Argentina and Recoleta. The guide said her sister always said she would not have wanted to be buried in Recoleta with the "wealthy" unless it was to "piss them off." 

Our next stop was the museum of Evita Peron which is housed in one of the homes she developed for single mothers. It was a refuge for them and their children, but the program also taught them a trade so that they could afford to live independently. I think Evita had a special place in her heart for single moms, as her mother was a "second wife and family" of sorts to a nobleman. Although her mother  had several children with this man and he knew them and provided her mother support, her mom worked as a seamstress to make ends meet. The " illegitimacy " of Evita's birth was a cause for her to be a nuisance to polite society in all her power and position. She had her enemies who said at her death, "A score for cancer." Here is a bit about what we learned about her in this small but informative museum with many of her clothes and old photographs. 

Not sure why mama dressed up all the kids, but Evita is the smallest one on the far right dressed as a bee.

 María Eva Duarte  7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952,  better known as just Eva Peron or by the nickname Evita, was an Argentine actress, politician, activist, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina  from June 1946 until her death in July 1952, as the wife of General Juan Domingo Peron (1895–1974). She was born in poverty in the rural village of Los Toldos, in the Pampas, as the youngest of five children. In 1934, at the age of 15, she moved to the nation's capital to pursue a career as a stage, radio, and film actress.

From her acting days

She met Colonel Peron on 22 January 1944 during a charity event to benefit the victims of the earthquake in San Juan province. Theoretically, thereafter they were inseparable.  They married the following year. 

She definitely dressed more "Hollywood" than her prior leading ladies who tended to be a bit "buttoned up" and subdued...and rarely seen. 

Juan Perón was elected President of Argentina in June 1946; during the next six years, Eva Perón became powerful  primarily for speaking on behalf of worker's rights. She also ran the Ministries of Labor and Health, founded and ran the charitable Eva Peron foundation championed women's voting rights in Argentina, and founded and ran the nation's first large-scale female political party, the Female Peronist Party.

In 1951, Eva Perón announced her candidacy for the Peronist nomination for the office of Vice President of Argentina, receiving great support from the Peronist political base, low-income and working-class Argentines who were referred to as decamisdos -- "shirtless ones". Opposition from the nation's military and landowners, coupled with her declining health, ultimately forced her to withdraw her candidacy. In 1952, shortly before her death from cancer at age 33, Eva Perón was given the title of  "Spiritual Leader of Argentina" (I'm sure the archbishop of Argentina loved that!)  She was given a state funeral upon her death, a prerogative generally reserved for heads of state. It lasted for fifteen days with millions visiting her grave as she lay in state. She was the first wife of a president to appear at his side, take an active role in politics and give speeches. Before that, the president's wife was pretty much just window dressing and stayed in the background silent. Evita  caused a lot of controversy. 

Cristina de Kirchner, the first woman elected President of Argentina, claims that women of her generation owe a debt to Eva for "her example of passion and combativeness".  claims that Evita has never left the collective consciousness of Argentines. We see plenty of evidence around town that this is true--statues, posters, and urban art. The Peronist Party still lives on in Argentina. 

We felt like we knew quite a bit more about Evita and something more about Peronism at the end

 of the tour but we also realized we probably only scratched the surface. Our guide recommended 

that we walk back to our hotel and visit to Ecoparque. She especially encouraged us to look for the 

animal that "is a rodent, but looks like a cross between a deer and a rabbit." I don't personally much 

care for zoos or animal captivity, but I was intrigued. It ended up the ecoparque was mostly under

renovation but we did see the animal, the mara, which is native to Patagonia.

The mara. It does have long legs and when eating, looks a bit like a rabbit .

We returned to the hotel through the Recoleta neighborhood where we might have found a pizza? 

We had dinner at an old favorite, Chila, which is on the waterfront area. It is a tasting menu and the chef is all about food as artwork. So even though we didn't go to an art museum today, we felt like we did! Warning: FOOD PORN ahead. 

Light and refreshing cocktails

Chila's take on bread and butter.

Dinner was a treat and we got a beautiful moonrise and a view of the modern pedestrian bridge in both daylight and dark from the windows of Chila. 

Modernist pedestrian bridge in moonlight

And in daylight:

“I know that like every woman of the people, I have more strength than I appear to have”
― Eva Peron

Paul's Ponderings:  Another great day in Buenos Aires.    I learned a lot about the Perons, given

that my knolwedge was a bit skimpy and it was incredible to look at the old newsreels and see

the huge crowds in places we had stood a short while ago.    Great food during the day and it

was quite warm here.   We ended at Chila, where we had been in 2019, and it was better

than our memories, which is saying a LOT.     Soon we'll be heading to a lot colder area!

Bucket List Antarctica (during an eclipse): First Stop Buenos Aires.

 

The Obelisk in moonlight

"Wandering down promising-looking streets, peering into papered-up windows, the thrill of having found each startling splash of beauty amidst the concrete ruins. This, for me, is Buenos Aires. My Buenos Aires is not always the most elegant, the most convenient, or the most picturesque. My Buenos Aires is fierce and gritty, creative and neurotic, disturbing and seductive. Buenos Aires is a place where the reward is in the details, not the monuments. And someone who looks will always find cause for marvel."

After nearly two years of only limited domestic travel, Paul and I find ourselves back in Buenos Aires and staying, once again near the obelisk. This is our first foreign travel since early January 2020. We will skip all the prep to get here--Covid testing, affadavits of health, etc--and just concentrate on the beauty and luxury of travel. Of walking streets similar and yet very different than our home. Of comparing the Paris of South America, to the actual Paris.  Such a joy to experience all that this vast city and the country of Argentina has to offer. For this, whoever runs the Universe, we, in this season of heightened gratitude, thank you!

We are staying at the heart of the city, in walking distance to everything we have interest in. Our hotel, the Grand Brizos (which we believe mean the big rocking cradle?) isn't as fancy as our last stay at the Panamericano, but it's pretty great and the staff is helpful. 

This hotel is comfortable, moderately priced and well-located for sightseeing. 

We started out with a nap---even though we got some sleep on the plane thanks to Paul sacrificing some frequent flyer miles for a seat that went horizontal on the way-- and then...What else? Pizza. We ate at Pizza Guerrin which has been here since 1932. It's a thick crust, which usually I don't care for, but if you've been around 89 years making pizza, you have to know more about it than I do! It was delicious and service was great. 

I didn't manage to get a photo before we tore into it!

Like many local pizza establishments, they also serve empanadas.

A very satisfied pizza customer. 

It did take a bit of effort to get to the pizza parlor because we arrived during a political rally. We were amazed at how many people were out marching on 9 Julio Avenida. There were literally thousands of people marching under various political banners with a pretty minor police presence, lots of good behavior and no violence or riots. 

Political rally Argentina style

A while back, we saw some artwork of Xul Solar who was an avante garde Argentinian painter and fell in love with those. So we had to revisit his home near the Retiro. Solar's paintings use striking contrasts and bright colors, typically in relatively small formats. His visual style seems equidistant between Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee on the one hand and Marc Chagall on the other. He also worked in some extremely unorthodox artistic media, such as modifying pianos, including a version with three rows of keys for his wife who wanted to learn the piano but had very small hands. He invented games, a language and furnishings. 

Modified keyboard instrument in three colors for his small-handed wife, Lita. 

Various works of Xul Solar in differing media

This was a great revisit for us and always enjoyable. We invite anyone unfamiliar with Xul Solar to take some time to peruse his art. 

From here, it was a walk back to the hotel and thankfully we logged about 8 miles permitting us to indulge in Restaurante Arumburu. This chef is all about the single bite and delivers an 18 course meal worthy of food porn photography. Fortunately, due to his wise use of bite-sized appetizers, entrees and desserts, it's not overly difficult to make your way through this outstandingly beautiful meal. 

The alleyway that houses Arumburu with outdoor seating and the moon!

The open kitchen at Arumburu for those who enjoy watching

Our appetizer: Goat cheese in a flower. 

Every course is a work of art

Beet Roses

Asparagus and avocado

The canoli

This was an outstanding and gorgeous meal and priced at about 1/4th what it would cost in NYC. 

For day #2, we slept in and let the jet lag wash off of us. And then, what else? Pizza. This time we ate at Antonio's pizza. The most common origin in Argentina isn't Spanish. It's Italian and there is definitely no shortage of pizza shops. Parilla is probably the next most popular food followed by sandwiches. Antonio's was authentic wood fired thin crust Napolitano pizza and we always recommend that. 

From here, we made a walk to the MACBA, museum of contemporary art. This museum definitely focused on Argentinian artists in numerous media. Their current featured exhibit is Alberto Greco---whom we had never heard of. But boy did we get a great introduction in their exposition called. Alberto Greco: How Great I Am. He created "living art" in which in addition to some few works on paper, canvas, etc. he did live events in which he created art that could not be preserved. He did chalk line drawings around common people, sponsored plays of a sorts without full scripts, puppet shows for children and even rolled out a 300 meter scroll of paper through a tiny town in Spain. He called this live art: Vito ditto---Italian for finger. He created such a fuss in Italy with his live art exhibit Cristo 1963 that they ran him out of town for sacrilege. It's hard to explain his work to others, but he didn't have a long career and committed suicide at age 35--again he considered his suicide a sort of living art and wrote the word "fin" on his arm while dying. This is something that defies explanation and is sad, but looking at his work and his concepts of the vito ditto manifesto was very revealing about his unique artistry meant to provoke an immediate reaction rather than leave something permanent. 

Alberto Greco with his 300 meter roll of paper accompanied by children as he rolled it out in the Spanish village of Piedralaves. 

An early project in which he as an unknown artist plastered signs in Buenos Aires proclaiming his greatness. 

From here we took a long walk in the ecological area of the Rio Plata. We plan to go back Saturday. 

Last but not least we enjoyed a nice meal at Restaurante Roux which we've eaten at before. Always delicious. 

The man and his dessert!

 "Travelers are seekers--always in search of that one place that will captivate, get under your skin and enter your heart. Please don’t go to Buenos Aires unless you are ready to fall in love…" - 

Paul's Ponderings:   What a pleasure to return to Buenos Aires.    We've had a lovely 1.5 days so far and it's basically summer down here to boot (80 degrees and over temperatures).   No shortage of great food here, both cheap and expensive (in relative terms though; this is a very affordable location for tourism).   We revisited an old artistic friend - Xul Solar - and met an interesting new one, Alberto Greco.   I've looked at a LOT of art in my life and weirdly I had never heard of the latter.   Probably because he died so young and his art was ephemeral by design.    

We've got a few more days here and then on to Patagonia....much more to come!

Happy #60 Paul: A Parisian in the Big Apple

A view of Manhattan from the South end of the island

“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years”. Tom Wolfe.

If you know anything about my husband, you know he likes music, food, wine and walking a lot. Oh, and definitely staying in fine hotels. So that said, where else for his 60th birthday but the Big Apple? It fits EVERY bill.  (And after cancelling his local celebration due to concerns about COVID-19, I really wanted to do something special for him.)

On the Highline

We arrived on Monday night, dumped our bags at the Langham Hotel (chosen for location and because it has a view of Paul's favorite NYC edifice, The Chrysler Building)  and we were off to Gramercy Tavern in mid-town. This is a perennial favorite of Paul's always leading to a story about seeing CREAM at Madison Square Garden with his buddies Ashley and Cy. This was a tasting menu with wine pairings and way too much food, but definitely NOT a disappointment. 

The Empire State Building at night from Madison Square Park

The following day, we went to Fotografiska to see some very good photography. There is eponomously-named museum in Stockholm and I highly recommend both. In addition to striking photos, we were treated to a short film by Maya Lin explaining the impetus her current exhibit in Madison Square Park-- Ghost Forest. Appropriate for Hallowe'en for sure, but it is actually about climate change and what is happening to forests. She used trees that were destroyed by flood waters from Hurricane Sandy. It takes a while for the trees to die once salt water soaks them, but eventually, they become quite barren. These were installed in Madison Square Park with some information about the native animals and people, most of which have been driven out of the area by human operations. There is a recording you can listen to on the phone while you sit in the park and observe the installation as well as the remaining denizen--squirrels, birds and non-native people. We even saw two little mice playing tag in the bushes, but the recording reminded us that bears, wolves, elk, deer and many other species once lived on Manhattan and called it home. It was a  reminder of the damage done and our current responsibility to take stewardship of our planet. 

Maya Linn's Ghost Forest exhibition

Fittingly, I suppose, we had our next birthday Michelin starred meal at Aquavit. I will have to say of all our dining experiences, this was the most unique and delicious. For Paul's birthday dessert, he got a concoction made to look like a bird's nest and eggs. I know people in some cultures do eat actual bird's nests, but I am going to wholeheartedly recommend this one instead. YUM and beautiful to boot. 

Paul's bird's nest dessert at Aquavit

We discovered the following day that the New York Architectural Society offers a circumnavigation tour of Manhattan Island from Chelsea Pier. This was a real find. The Chelsea Pier has plenty of history on its own. It launched the Lusitania. It received the remnants of the Titanic passengers and crew (and was supposed to receive the Titanic itself.) There are old photos scattered about and they are worth looking at no matter what reason you find yourself at the pier. 

On Chelsea Pier

On the day we took the cruise, there had been heavy rains and there was no passage under the Broadway Bridge, so we did a "horseshoe tour" instead. We had spectacular views of most of the iconic bridges (and passed under many) such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the 59th Street Bridge (made famous by Simon and Garfunkel), the Williamsburg Bridge and more. There was an on-site live narrator, himself an architect, who spoke and answered questions for the three solid hours of the tour. We got a gander at the Jersey burbs, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, parts of Brooklyn, Queens, Randall Island, Governor's Island, Roosevelt Island and all major buildings visible from both Hudson and East Rivers. We learned a lot (for instance, there is a high school on Governor's Island and a smallpox hospital in ruins on Roosevelt Island)  and got a very different perspective of Manhattan, the many bridges and the role the rivers play there. We came and went along the highline, an abandoned railway path that NYC has turned into a great walking destination. 

The Lady

Brooklyn Bridge from the water

From the East side

The Ledge. Notice the folks suspended over New York!

This recently constructed walking path was closed due to people jumping off of it and committing suicide

We had to do lots of walking everyday, because we did lots of eating every day!  And this was no exception. We ate at Jean George's. This tasting menu was "the classics" of the restaurant, and surprisingly manageable sized portions. 

T

The "tuna rose" at Jean-Georges

Happy #60 Paul

For Thursday, we discovered that Tours By Locals (one of our favorite purveyors of day tours and YES, it is a local person who will guide you) has a tour of Roosevelt Island. I had developed an interest in this before going because not only is there an old smallpox hospital there sitting in ruins, but there is the Octagon House---formerly known as the New York Lunatic asylum---which has been restored. Additionally, Cornell has opened a relatively new research campus there and a new hotel, the Graduate. It's not crowded and walking from one end of the island to the other is a four mile roundtrip with goodies on each end (sculptures and an old lighthouse in the process of restoration on the north end and a park dedicated to Franklin Roosevelt on the south). And if this wasn't enough to get me out there---The Roosevelt Island Tramway. To my knowledge, this is the only tram on the metro subway system. You get to cross the river with a great view of the city. We had a wonderful guide, Margaret, who worked in marketing (but now works as a volunteer at a senior city in Jersey) who has lived on the island and knew everything there was to know. For instance, they regulated the rent and she bought a co-op apartment for $20,000 and sold it for not much more than that. She says they also allowed only one grocery store, one dry cleaner, etc. There is a fairly good sized artist community. You can drive onto the island, but there are few roads and it is meant to be a walkable small city. We really enjoyed going there. For evening entertainment, we went to the Lincoln Center Jazz club, Dizzy's Coca Cola Lounge, and saw trumpeter, Jeremy Pelt and his excellent and  entertaining band. He recently wrote a book, Griot, in which he visited and interviewed "modern jazz artists" and then composed songs based and named by their comments. Then after three nights of Michelin starred dining, we went to the simple Osteria del Bianco and got sphagetti. I think it was Paul's favorite meal of the trip!

Under the Roosevelt Island Tram and 59th Street Bridge

Sculptures and Lighthouse under repair at the North end of Roosevelt Island

Now defunct (thankfully) Smallpox Hospital

Looking back on Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn from Roosevelt Island

Friday, we declared a museum day. We saw Jasper Johns exhibit at the Whitney (and there's a complementary exhibit of his work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art if you don't mind a train ride to complete the thought process), a fractal art show at the Arctechouse and a native son, Beauford Delaney, exhibit of 23 portraits at the Michael Rosenfeld gallery.

Fractal exhibit from Archetechouse

Paul admires the work of native Knoxvillian, Beaufort Delaney

 That made for quite  a day already, but Paul is never one to miss jazz. Evening was filled with Small's Jazz Club seeing percussionist Billy Drummond and his band playing with a "great vibe" as Paul would say in this very tiny, intimate space. All jazz musicians seemed ecstatic to back on stage with live audiences! Dinner was at Vestry. This is a seafood forward restaurant with great food, wine and bar treats. We didn't like it as well as the others we visited because of the overall "hipster quality" and loudness. Probably just means we are old fogies. Look who's 60 after all, maybe? There was a real honest to God gale going on outside with rain and wind turning people's umbrellas inside out. There was no getting a cab either. Surge UBER and LYFT prices were a pain in the wallet, but we got back to the Langham safe and sound after quite a bit of waiting and whining. But it was a sight to see all that wind!

Saturday was our finale....and none too shabby either. Paul had to get a COVID19 so we explored the world of obtaining a PCR test in NYC which is way better than trying to get one in Knoxville! I walked about and snapped shots of Halloween decor NYC brownstone style!  

Halloween decor Manhattan brownstone style

Halloween decor Manhattan brownstone style. Note the bleach and syringes in the skeleton on the upper far right 

Then we were off to see WICKED. This play is so colorful and the music is great. Please see this if you can. We were there on WICKED DAY. Unbeknownst to us, Wicked premiered 18 years ago on October 30. Happy birthday, Wicked (and Paul.) From here, we had an early dinner (for us) at Ai Fiori. Really, if you are in Manhattan, give this restaurant a try. It never disappoints. Housemade pasta al dente. What's not to like?

A cheesecake complete with fruity mouse

 To top off our Paul-Parris-Turns-60 extravaganza, we went to see David Byrne's production, American Utopia, at the St. James Theater. This was an outstanding both musical and visual experience. He threw a few Talking Head numbers in for good measure. The band was very heavy on percussion which added a great deal to the performance and had a variety of choreographic innovations as well. There was nothing on the stage except band members, instruments and bare feet. It was not only entertaining, but also cast a ray of hope on the overall American landscape (something known for bleakness at time of late!)

Whoo! What a birthday week. I hope we walked enough to keep from showing it on our waistlines.

“New York is not a city – it’s a world.” — Iman

Paul's Ponderings: What a great time in NYC.  A little bit of everything: music, art, architecture, outdoors, dining.  What's not to like as they say!