Above is the McDonalds that marks the corner between the 2 biggest streets, Corrientes y Avenida 9 de julio. When I see the "Mac donal" as they say here, I know to get of the bus when en route to the IFSA office. Monday night of the Bicentenario festivities, we tried to see the opening of the Teatro Colon, the opera house that's been closed for 3 and a half years, but I think everyone in Buenos Aires had the same idea. The amount of people that came out to these events was astounding. It was like the most crowded subte ever, but it didn't end for blocks. People were literally on top of each other. It was really interesting to see how many people were interested in coming to celebrate their country and see these performances.
I was trying to compare these performances and parades with similar things that we have in the US, like the Rose Parade or the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Those are so specific and I guess people do come out for them in crowds. But this felt more unifying, maybe because its the capital of a country and it was celebrating a national holiday. I guess it would've been something like 4th of july in D.C.? I can't really compare it to anything I've ever been to!
Above you can sort of see the Flamenco dancers on the stage. Because of the crowd, and because I'm kind of short, I couldn't see much, but with the vibe of the crowd and standing on my tippy toes, it was worth it! 
Tuesday night was the 25 de mayo, which is the actual date of the Bicentenario. The biggest parade took place in between Plaza de Mayo (where the Casa Rosada is, and all the important political buildings) and the obelisco (the center of the city). The parade retold Argentine history, especially the story of the revolution that the 25 de mayo celebrates. There were people dressed in colonial clothing, fake snow to remember the winters and mountains they had to travel during the revolution. The "Nave de los imigrantes" above, was supposed to represent (I think) immigrants coming to Argentina. This was the most exciting part, because the theatre company, De La Guarda, who is most famous for their shows Villa Villa and Fuerza Bruta, did some performances on the ship. The big sheet of tin-foil fabric around the boat is straight from Fuerza Bruta and it had the women walking sideways running and dancing on it, just like the show. On the top there was a big sail-type thing that also had flying people walking on the sides. The next day my theatre professor commented on how this part of the parade combined different genres of theatre and performance by including things from different points of history. I loved that I went to the parade and saw what my teacher was talking about! I felt cultured and realized that I love my theatre theory class more and more each day! Too bad the midterm is ruining that love...
People were everywhere and sitting on top of everything.
Awesome view of the obelisco!
Here, many argentines stop to watch the parade on TVs in the window of an electronics store. Little did they know the actual parade was taking place about 3 blocks away. I guess its always a better view on TV, but it was just hilarious to see people stopped and watching when the real thing was so close.
This one's for you mom. Me and the obelisco!
People were everywhere and sitting on top of everything.
Awesome view of the obelisco!
Here, many argentines stop to watch the parade on TVs in the window of an electronics store. Little did they know the actual parade was taking place about 3 blocks away. I guess its always a better view on TV, but it was just hilarious to see people stopped and watching when the real thing was so close.
This one's for you mom. Me and the obelisco!
No comments:
Post a Comment