Salta

Fuimos al Norte por el fin de semana pasado.

We went North over the weekend- to the provinces Salta and Jujuy (pronounced who-whooey). It was absolutely gorgeous!

It seems EVERY city big or small has a plaza in the center; this is the Plaza 9 de Julio (July 9th marks the date of Argentina's Independence from Spain). Most plazas have a cathedral, cabildo (like a city building), justice building, statue(s)/water fountains, and then restaurants and other businesses.


In the Plaza there was a tent with veterans from La Guerra de Las Malvinas (war Argentina fought with Britain for the Falkland Islands). I found out today from my Spanish teacher that this Thursday, April 2 is a dia feriado (holiday) commemorating La Guerra de Las Malvinas.

There were posters and pictures as well as the veterans with old newspapers explaining things from their point of view.


This is the cathedral...

I don't remember what building this was (below) but the architecture was really beautiful.

Lots of students were on break and hanging out in the Plaza.



"Niños del Llullaillaco"

There was a really incredible museum (El Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña) in the Plaza that told of the archaeological discovery of three Incan mummy children found in the Andes- "Niños del Llullaillaco." Llullaillaco (name of a volcano) is a Quechua (native dialect) word "Llulla" signifies lie/false, and "llaco" is water- put together it's "false water" or something like that.

If you google the Niños del Llullaillaco, it says that three Incan children were sacrificed almost 500 years ago; according to the museum and information presented there, Incans didn't believe they were "sacrificing" the children or feeding them to the gods. The Incas performed religious ceremonies before putting the children (while alive) into the ground; when the children went into the cavernous structures, the Incas believed they went to paradise with the gods and didn't die (according to the way we think of death) - it was considered a great honor.

These "sacrifices" didn't occur often and the Incans chose children because they were considered to be the most pure. The museum mentioned that the children were from noble families because their skulls were slightly cone-shaped (from wearing a device that bent the skull that way).

Here is a picture of a 15-year old girl nicknamed La Doncella (the maiden). She was the only mummy on exhibit (the museum rotates them so they aren't all on exhibit at the same time).

The archaeological site where these mummy children were found is the highest altitude site in the world; the children are the best preserved Incan mummies as well. They were frozen- DNA analysis and analysis on their blood and organs has been done.

Though a lot of the information was in Spanish, there were some English translations. It was all very, very fascinating. Visiting the museum was probably my favorite thing we did in the city.



We then went to the city museum; it was a collection of a bunch of random stuff... Amanda wasn't very interested.


This is a picture of one of the cathedrals in Salta. It was built in the 1700s (I think) and was described as the most "outlandish" cathedral in Salta.


We ate at a place across from the cathedral; we tried humita en chala. Humita en chala (en chala meaning wrapped up like this in corn husk) is quite different from a tamale but very good. The masa is wetter- the waiter said it is made with fresh corn, not dried corn masa as used in tamales. It had fresh corn and cheese in the middle; humita is regional food but can also be found in Córdoba (it was really good).

We went back to the hostel relatively early (11:00 ish) because we had to get up way early the next day (6:00 AM). Y'all may not think 6:00 AM is that early but it is when regional custom is to go to dinner around 10:30 PM or later.

Dia Feriado "Holiday"

I've been wanting to blog about a recent holiday that was celebrated on March 24- a day set aside for remembering the Golpe de Estado (coup) of 1976, when the military dictatorship took over.

I have two main informants here in Argentina- Gaby y Laura. They are the people I ask questions about all things Argentine- the culture, customs, where to buy something, the history the politics (I also learn Spanish from Gaby y Laura). The day after the holiday, Laura brought in some information about La Dictadura to read and discuss during our lesson. I learned many interesting things- as we were discussing, it eventually became Laura narrating to me what things were like (though she was born just before all of this occurred). I'm going to talk about what she told me (keeping in mind that she gave me general ideas and not precise details)

Isabel Perón was the second wife of Juan Perón (his first wife being Eva/ "Evita" of course) was elected president of Argentina after Juan died. During her presidency many economic, social, and political problems arose; Laura told me there were military/political factions fighting- killing each other, bombing and kidnapping, things were in chaos.

Proceso de Reorganización Nacional- El Proceso

When the military dictatorship took over they called their reforms the National Reorganization Process- what is referred to as El Proceso.

Laura told me that during this time (1976-1983) approximately 30,000 Argentines disappeared- they were kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. A few main provinces such as Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Santiago del Estero(?) were affected by El Proceso- provinces with lots of students, political scientists, and journalists. I was told that students, journalists, political scientists- anyone who expressed sentiments or ideas opposed or not in-line with those of La Dictadura, were taken, killed, or tortured.

This sign was posted before the holiday on a building directly behind the mall- very close to where we work.

It signifies: 33 years since the coup, neither forgotten, neither pardoned.

On the 23rd of March, I was walking through the Plaza San Martín and I saw people painting these in preparation for the holiday:




The night of the 24th, there was a large march/parade with all kinds of people carrying banners and flags (FYI- pretty sure the rainbow flag here is a symbol of Andean culture, it was common to see it up north). Some of the banners had messages against violence, abuse- many were for derechos humanos (human rights).




In the Plaza San Martín, some celebrated by sitting in a circle and sharing a joint (no! we weren't "some")


There was choripan...


There were couples gettin' friendly (we always take pictures because we're still not used to the fact that PDA's are totally acceptable- you see people seriously making out on side of the street all the time).



Many children were taken during El Proceso- they were kidnapped and often times given to families of military members or to families with connections to the military. Pregnant women were tortured and their babies taken.

Madres de Plaza de Mayo

When El Proceso ended, a group of women calling themselves the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo organized and would protest in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires- I've posted some picures from my Buenos Aires trip:

They would march outside this building (like the White House of Argentina except it's the Pink House-  literally, it's the Casa Rosada where the President resides).  The Mothers are a group dedicated to finding children and other loved ones that disappeared during the dictatorship and reuniting them with their families.

My Spanish teacher Laura told me the story of a little girl that was playing in her house while her family's maid was sweeping the floor with the TV on. There was a news special with a woman being interviewed in the Plaza de Mayo.  The woman was holding up a picture of her lost granddaughter that had been kidnapped during the dictatorship (the girl's mother was killed); the maid watching the TV stopped in shock and started crying because it was the same little girl inside the house playing!  She reported to the newspaper and helped reunite this little girl with her real family.

Laura told me that there were many cases like this, and many cases where children didn't want to leave their "military" families or have anything to do with their real families.  Imagine growing up and then finding out your "family" kidnapped you from your real parents that were probably tortured and murdered. 

Loco para Criollos

It started when we went with our professors to have an asado in Cuesta Blanca...

and now,

It's an Obsession

We tried criollitos (criollos) for the first time in Cuesta Blanca and now we eat them, think about them, dream about them... ALL THE TIME!

This is a criollito con azucar from the asado lunch in Cuesta Blanca:


Since then, we have made a point of going into a bunch of panaderias (bad, bad idea-I know!) to try their criollos. Criollos are unique to the Córdoba Province, they can only be found here.

This my friends and loved ones back home,

This is the one.

The panaderia where these are made is on the way from Spanish class to the lab. Every time I walk past, the door is open and a welcoming scent envelopes me; I mosey on in to have a look. What do you know? A pan of criollos is sitting on the counter- in the pan they were baked in. Warm, flaky, buttery, a bazillion calories- but who's counting?

These aren't just any criollos...

They are criollos hojaldre... hojaldre is puff pastry. Can you now understand my obsession? To my understanding, puff pastry is a special dough with tons of butter folded in to get that flaky texture.

Can you see the layers?

Not All Criollos Are Created Equal:

The only reason we didn't toss this one right away, was because I needed it for this post, so I educate you all on the art of the criollo (I know, I'm full of it but don't write me off yet). It was dry, hard, and not made with butter... It was made with some other type of fat. It is a criollo común.

Don't get me wrong, criollos común are very good. The ones from the panaderia on the way home are the best criollos común in Córdoba (so I was told by my professor as we stopped in one day).

This is a better example of a criollo común.





Another criollo hojaldre (from a different panaderia). Very good, but not as good as

The One.

They're supposed to be very easy to make; I will learn before coming home so you too can be

Loco Para Criollos

Peña

Check this out:

I took this at a restaurant/bar where there was live folk music.  The singer was playing a "chacarera" and asked if anyone in the audience knew how to dance it; a mother and her son volunteered.

¡Marco Antonio Solis... Estoy Tuyo!

This is Marco Antonio Solis.

He is a Mexican singer/songwriter that is famous throughout Latin America.  I was a fan of his music before coming to Argentina and was excited to see pirated DVDs of his music videos sold along the streets here.

I was so excited when a friend told me that he was coming to Córdoba!

So were all the middle-aged/old ladies! 

They would rush to the front of the stage to hand him teddy bears and flowers.  A woman behind me was yelling "Estoy Tuyo!" (I'm Your's)  and "Te Amo!"(I love you... but you probably knew that).

There was an occasional husband...

I wasn't the youngest person... let's just say Marco's got a more mature fan base- but no importa, I love him anyway.

I couldn't find ANYONE to go with me (it's mostly my fault, I waited until two days before to ask people if they wanted to go, and by then the affordable seats were gone).  Everyone I talked to said they were fans and wanted to go, but couldn't make it for whatever reason.

So I went by myself.  The day before the concert I asked my Spanish teacher/friend Gabby which bus to take to get to the Superdomo- I made my way up there and after asking two or three different people I found the boleteria (ticket counter- which was across the street in a shopping mall and hidden in some wacko department store).  

I saw a picture of Marco and there was a white piece of paper over it with something written on it... my heart sank, I had a feeling it said "sold out!"  I asked anyway.

They told me there were no tickets left... I asked again real let-down and whiny

 "No hay nada?"

Another girl behind the desk overheard and said that yes, there were 3 tickets left!  They were on the floor and expensive- but no importa right?  (They were actually quite a bit cheaper than when he came to Salt Lake a few years ago).  I bought one, and a lady and her son behind me bought the other two.)

  

At first I was hesitant about going alone (and debated going to a church dance instead) but then I thought to myself, Why the hell not go? I'm in Argentina,  I've got to live it up! 

I am  SO glad I went.

He has an amazing voice and was excellent live. I don't completely understand Spanish (songs are tricky for me because you can't translate all the words literally- there's a lot more you have to puzzle out to get the entire meaning) but the music was absolutely beautiful.

I had been listening to his CD days before (and now as I write this post).

I LOVED IT...LOVED IT...LOVED IT!

We all went home happy.

Vamos Instituto!

(I'm posting this Sunday night but backdating it so it looks like I updated my blog Thursday)

Martín is a lot of fun.  We were in the lab working and mentioned wanting to go to a football game... Martín is an Instituto fanatico (Instituto is one of the teams in Córdoba- they aren't like a "major league" team but that doesn't seem to matter to their fans.

We got to the cancha (stadium) about 15 or 20 minutes before the game... it wasn't enough time because we didn't get in until 15 or 20 minutes into the game.  I didn't mind because it was very entertaining to watch the crowd's reaction.  Men would yell and whistle, shout obscenities and so on; even though Martín had earphones and was listening to the game, he was anxious and couldn't hold still because he wanted in.

We were literally hearded into a single-file line before entering the cancha.

The minute we got into the cancha Instituto scored a goal...Martín literally ran, jumped and shouted- as did the rest of the audience.  I enjoyed this game more than the one in Buenos Aires; it was smaller but we went with locals and sat with people that desperately rooted for their team.  The Riverplate game in Buenos Aires was fun, but we didn't get as close to the action.

Amanda and I had to be the only extranjeras in our section... we were there snapping photos and recording video while everyone else was intently watching the game.

I snook this photo of Martín; there 10 minutes or so of the game and he kept his fingers crossed willing Instituto to hold the lead until the end.  Ironically, his girlfriend Marisel is a fanatica of the Talleres- Instituto's rival team; she didn't come with us to the game.

I'm telling you, watching the audience was the funnest part!

I'm thinking I might try to sneak some flares into the next BYU game I go to... bring a little "culture" to good old Provo.

Martín said he'd teach us the canciones/cheers for the next time.  We listened really closely but just couldn't pick out the words.

Instituto won!  The cheering and song singing didn't stop after the game... crowds of people were jumping and cheering as they exited the stadium; as we walked home (the cancha is 12 blocks from our house) people were cheering and waiving Instituto banners out of their cars.

I forgot to make my Provo, Utah banner to hang on the fence... next time.

Folklore and Argentine Boys...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I celebrated with my 3 dollar pair of green Ralph Lauren shorts. I'll admit I thought they were kind of ugly when I first saw them at Dillard's (at their original price). A few months later they were put on the three dollar rack- they didn't seem so ugly then (Ralph Lauren's for 3 bucks!). For that kind of deal I was going to "make it work."

Amanda had a little bit of green on her bracelet so I refrained from pinching her.

I had another folklore lesson today (I've also seen it spelled folclore but who knows?).

This is my teacher Luis

We were learning about the chacarera- this drum is a bomba leguero. A legua -or league- is approximately 5Km; this drum is so named because when played en al campo (countryside) it can be heard 5Km away.

The chacarera is a type of rhythm from the Argentine province Santiago Del Estero- directly north of the Cordoba province. (I think it's also from the Salta province)

This is a charango- a small high pitched little instrument that originated in the Andes- in Bolivia I think. I'm enjoying learning about the different instruments and rhythms and the various provinces they are from.

We played a really pretty song called "Chacarera del Chilalo." Chilalos are little birds (the actual word is from an indigenous dialect of Quechua); the rest of the lyrics talk about the beautiful mountains, aromas of the flowers in bloom, indigenous plants and trees.

There are a few lines in the third estribillo (chorus):

Se entreveran los tum-tum
de bombos legüeros
de hachas, de malambos
y de criollos morteros.

That talk about the "tum-tum" of the bombos legueros, sounds of axes (cutting wood or whatever), malambos (folk dancers- malambo is a type of dance), and of morteros (mortar and pistil grinding wheat or herbs).

mortero



malambos

Malambo is an Argentine folk dance for men only. I did some research (google) and found out that during the 19th century gauchos would show off their dance skills with the malambo (around pit fires and at parties). When we visited Buenos Aires a while back, we went to LA BOCA; I remember there being malambo dancers as well as tango dancers performing on the stages at the little cafes. There was a lot of jumping and pounding with the feet- I can easily see why it was compared to the sound of the bomba leguero and axes chopping wood.

I'm really enjoying my folklore lessons and I can tell Luis enjoys teaching me. He is excited to show me new rhythms, draw me maps of Argentina showing me where the rhythms are from, he explains the lyrics of the songs and why the lyrics are important. Folklore from the northern regions talks about the countryside and carnival whereas folklore from Mendoza (the wine province) will compare things to vino (wine) and vineyards and so on. Songs with the chamame rhythm from the provinces of Corrientes, Misiones, and Entre Rios (near Buenos Aires and south of Brazil) have lyrics talking about the rios (there are two main rivers) and about fishing and so on. It's all really interesting.


*So, my dad teases me over the phone. He tells me to take my new, fancy guitar and play it on the street in front of our house- so I can catch me a cute Argentine boy. Well...

Amanda, Mareen (our new roommate from Alemania- Germany) and I were walking home last night and I had my guitar with me (after my folklore lesson). As we walked past the corner kiosk, two guys said something to get my attention- I looked back and they started asking about my guitar. We start talking (and Amanda comes back to see what held me up) and they ask if I have time to sit and play- I did.

After playing the first song they clapped and then we started talking some more- their names were Cristian and Alejandro, they lived a few blocks away (we didn't tell them where we live) and they were our age. They started asking if I knew any folklore music (lucky that I did right?) and then Alejandro asked me what other types of music I listened to (at this time Amanda was talking to Christian). All of a sudden we saw our tango teacher- Francisco- walk across the street to his car (Amanda LOVES Francisco and swears she will kiss him before leaving Argentina); Amanda ran across the street to say hello and Christian's brother drove by so Christian went off after him to say hello.

Are you still with me?

• Amanda is across the street with stars in her eyes talking to Francisco, the biologist with a P.h. D who teaches tango in his spare time...
• Christian is down the street a quarter of a block talking to his brother...
• Alejandro is sitting next to me and asking me questions while I mess around on the guitar...

(5 or 1o minutes earlier before Amanda and Christian left)

Alejandro: you have very pretty eyes...

Malena: Awwww, thank you... (look away and go back to my guitar)

Alejandro: Do you have a boyfriend?

Malena: No.

(Back to when Amanda and Christian walked off)

Alejandro: Can I have a kiss?

Malena: swallow... Ummm, a beso? (mind you- he was speaking Spanish so I did a double take)

Alejandro: Sí

Malena: NO! (awkwardly avert my eyes and go back to playing)

NOT even a few minutes later...

Alejandro: please, un beso...

Malena: Ok...acá. (point to my cheek)

He kisses my cheek

Alejandro: a kiss for me?

I kiss his cheek. (awkwardly go back to my guitar)


Amanda comes back with a dreamy look in her eye. Alejandro says something about loving the way I play or loving my playing. I cue Amanda that it's time to go; we say our friendly goodbyes and go home.

I don't know that my dad realized there was some truth in his words when he teased me about playing on the street. (This isn't the first time I've been invited to sit down and play... after my first lesson, a street vendor selling movies had me sit and play. Another guy my age stopped and talked to me... I even made a small tip!)