A week in Buenos Aires (late Feb 2008)

Lance and I went back to Buenos Aires to see my mom and dad off; the puppies stayed home. (Below: Rygel & Chiana)

We ate at my dad's favorite Chinese resturant, Todos Contentos (more than once). It was tasty! Especially the noodles and fried rice.

While the guys did work stuff, mom and I went to lunch at La Brigada in San Telmo, then shopped for antiques in the off-hours.

Since it was Thursday afternoon, we next headed to the Plaza de Mayo to catch the Madres de Plaza de Mayo in their weekly demonstration. Several women, who were obviously long-time members of the organization, led the march that circled around the statue in front of the presidential palace. The elderly women wore white headscarves with writing on them. The march had a purposeful, but friendly and casual air; it was interrupted briefly as acquaintances greeted the women with a kiss and joined in while journalists recorded the event and curious tourists looked on. My mom and I fell in step behind.

Why they march: since the time of the Dirty War (1977-1984), they have protested the disappearance of their sons, daughters, and loved ones--the kidnapped, tortured, and executed people, so-called political prisoners of the miltary regime--and demanded information of their whereabouts and closure for the families affected.

Some children were born of the secuestrados, and these babies were often adopted to military familes, without the permission or knowledge of their biological parents. There is a film about this, and an example of the domestic strife that can result from such an arrangement is in the current case of Maria Eugenia Sampallo Barragan, who was taken from her mother shortly after birth and adopted into a military family. She is suing her adoptive parents for pain and suffering and asking for their imprisonment, claiming that they lied to her about her origins. I have been reading about her in the local papers here in Neuquen, so I'm not sure if my understanding of her situation is accurate since my Spanish is not so good. Here's a summary of the basics in English. Here is her website. While it seems strange to me that a child would want to cut all ties with the people who raised her, I can't imagine the feelings such knowledge of one's orgins would engender. All I can say is, she must have incredible ambivalance toward her adoptive parents, her country, too.

The next day, before my mom left Argentina, we went to my favorite hotel in Buenos Aires, the lovely Park Hyatt Palacio Dahou, for tea in the garden cafe.

Gustavo flew in from Neuquen, and we met up with some friends and went out in Las Canitas, a very happening part of Palermo. I didn't get a picture of the street scene, but it was so packed, it reminded me of Sixth Street in Austin. After dinner (at Baez--delicious!), we went to dance a bit at a bar nearby. (Below: Luz, Juan Pablo, Gustavo, Lance)