Fourth of July in Buenos Aires
Another week has come and gone in La Plata, Argentina. This past weekend I celebrated the Fourth of July by taking the train to wintry Buenos Aires for a weekend trip. I absolutely adored spending my first morning in the city reading at a corner café enjoying medialunas (Argentine style croissants) and a dulce de leche flavored latte. After a stroll through the city’s Recoleta neighborhood, often said to be heavily inspired by Parisian architecture, I headed to El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (the National Museum of Fine Arts). I enjoyed perusing the large variety of paintings, photographs, and sculptures on display in the museum. The paintings below especially stood out to me. The first, Otoñal by Santiago Rusiñol Prats, depicts an autumnal park scene. Though it was painted in Spain it reminds me of the weather and foliage here in Argentina for the past month. The latter, The Tango by Rafael Barradas captures the motion and color of a bustling cafe in expressive, abstract shapes. Similarly, while painted by an artist from neighboring Uruguay, this painting seems to capture the vibrant culture of the porteño (port) cities on the Río de La Plata.
After my trip to the museum, I rented a bicycle and rode down a bike path that ran parallel to Avenida del Libertador to Microcentro, the city’s central business and performing arts district. I snapped photos of the Obelisco (the Obelisk), a 67-meter-tall monument built in 1936 to commemorate the city’s 400th anniversary. As a native of the DC region, I couldn’t help but think of the Washington monument. It felt like an eerily familiar landmark in an unfamiliar setting. While in Microcentro, I also purchased tickets to see Come From Away, my favorite musical, at Teatro Maipo that evening. Exhausted from my busy morning, I took the metro back to my hotel and napped for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to return to the theater to see the show.
I was absolutely blown away by the performance. Come From Away tells the true story of a small Canadian town that unexpectedly came to host thousands of stranded air passengers after flights were grounded of flights following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The music draws substantially from the traditions of Newfoundland folk music, which I grew up listening to at home. My mom’s work frequently took her to Canada where she developed a love for the country’s music. Hearing those familiar melodies performed in Spanish by Argentine cast was surreal and especially moving. The show’s message about the value of kindness, empathy, and cross-cultural connection felt even more powerful presented by actors from the opposite side of the equator, interpreting a story about a North American tragedy with such sincerity and warmth. The musical performance was the perfect ending to a busy day of sightseeing, pastries, and theater as it captured everything I have come to love about Argentina so far: its creativity, warmth, and ability to make even a foreigner feel at home.