From San Rafael, we proceeded by bus to San Juan, Argentina, getting off the bus about 9:00 pm. At the station, there was a woman rather aggressively suggesting we go to a nearby hotel. Since the one John had selected was way across town, we relented. We walked a couple of blocks and then were turned over to a sullen young man who showed us a room facing the street on the second floor. Walking into the room, it was about 10 degrees warmer than outside, where it was about 80 degrees. I said “¡hace calor!” (its hot!) and he pointed to a fan on a small cabinet next to the window under a non-functioning air conditioner. We said we´d take it. Outside the window as a large sign Hotel Star cantilevered into the middle of the street. John took the clothes line and set the fan in the window and tied it to the curtain rod to keep it from falling out the window. The next adjustment was to silence the smoke detector which was beeping the need for a new battery down the hall.. John removed the battery. We headed out into the city at a rather early hour for dinner in Argentina – 9:30 pm to a vegetarian restaurant. What we found was a lively, active city with plazas centered with fountains filled with people in conversation, a pedestrian mall filled with shoppers and people eating ice cream. When we reached the restaurant, we were amazed to find a great buffet on steam tables with about 25 imaginative vegetarian dishes. After dinner we returned to the room, where we found the bed to be like a hammock, rolling us toward the middle as we lay there without a sheet in the stifling heat with the fan beating uselessly I the window. In the morning, we went downstairs for the breakfast which was “includio”. We drank the coffee and put the white biscuits in our bag for a stray dog. As we went outside, soon we found a dog that looked starving. I anticipated effusive gratitude when I gave her the biscuit, but she took it in her mouth and then put it gently back on the pavement.
We visited a museum and national historic site to learn about Argentine history. The first was Casa de Sarmiento. Fausto Sarmiento is credited with bringing the country together, rather than as it was after independence from Spain – an aggregate of states resisting a corrupt government in Buenos Aires. Sarmiento was born to a woman in San Juan who had supported herself through weaving. The fig tree she wove by in front of the house she had built is still there. We were introduced to a lovely woman who spoke English. Sarmiento was apparently a very bright child who learned to read and write by age 4 and was a teacher by age 15. He was educated further in Europe, after a struggle to gain opportunity.. He advocated education and development of Argentine people and was president during the late 1800´s. Every city we visit has a street named Sarmiento.
Next we went to a Dominican Convent where the great military strategist and liberator of South Americafrom Spain, San Martin, spent 4 days developing a strategy, collecting funds and soldiers before crossing the Andes to defeast Spanish forces in Santiago. Here we had an articulate, knowledgeable English speaking young man. He told us that San Martin had 4 points to his military strategy. Take the 2 major cities – Santiago, Buenos Aires; take the Mendoza-Cuyo areañ and take Peru and Bolivia. This entailed 4 marches – to Mendoza, over the Andes in the most difficult pass to surprise the Spanish in Santiago de Chile, and in the South to Buenos Aires and in the north to Peru and Bolivia. Of course, this in an enormous territory, and I doubt if the geography was well known, although he relied on spies. The final defeat around Mendoza was of a Spanish regiment that had actually been one of the few to defest Napolean in Europe, and the flag from that regiment is in the convent in remarkably good condition. He said if we wished, we could donate to the museum and I gave him US$5. He said – you may see some demonstrations today since it is the one-year anniverrsary of “El Corralito” – the little corral. This was the day in 12-2001 that the President de la Rua resigned and passing of laws restricting the withdrawal of dollars saved in the banks (reducing peoples available assets enormously and – from what I have learned so far – putting about 40% of the population below the poverty level). Structural reforms imposed by the World Bank as conditions of its loans in the past, have resutled in private ownership by foreign companies of many formerly government owned businesses – such as the phone company. These companies want to eliminate inefficiencies and costs so there is about 20% unemployment. The peso had been artificially equal to the dollar by law and then it was given its “market” value which caused devaluation – which is why things are incredibly cheap for us. Revelations that the President from 1989 to 1999 (Menem) has taken huge amounts from the National Treasury for his own use is demoralizing. The guide to the convent said that most of his friends also at the University blame the U.S., but he doesn not. He feels the peso´s value is tied to the nation´s productivity and resultant profit returning to the country. He feels if there were greater national unity and spirit, such as he has seen in the U.S., the national economy would improve. The issues are so complex, I am struggling to understand them and it is wonderful to talk to a thoughtful young political science student. I wish I could speak Spanish so I could talk to many more people to hear their perspective.
Yesterday, John and I were in a gold jewelry store and a woman came in the door loudly crying and making apparently pitiful statements. The woman who was helping us said ¨”that is the problem with this country” and looked quite sorry for the woman, rather than indignant that she would enter the shop and share her dispair with us. I asked what she meant. She said the government is corrupt and has ruined the country. We did see a large demonstration that evening by a variety of political groups. There was one with “Uncle Sam” on stilts with various problems as puppets he was guiding labeled “corruption”, “poverty” – and faces of politicians. A man told us a “joke”. “How can you tell a politician is lying? He is moving his lips.”
We moved from San Juan to Mendoza - a lovely larger city with a huge plaza Independencia. At night, probably because it was Christmas (Felices Fiestas), there was a big band concert with thousands of people and their children up until after midnight listening to rousing marches and songs. It ended with everyone singing the national anthem. We went to a Tango concert. I didn´t know Tango was a music form, but thought it was just a dance form. It took place in a elaborate old bank turned into a cultural center. There we heard Nene Avalos, Tonio Contrereas and Oscar Medina – 2 guitar players and one singer. The concert started about 10:30 pm and we were standing outside the bank and a very tall man came up to us carrying a guitar case and said “Come inside for the Tango”. This was Nene Avalos.We followed him inside and selling tickets for 5 pesos each ($1.50) was Tonio Contreras. I asked him about the group and the Tango. He said that Tango was like the blues in the U.S. – about “impossible love”. He said the music sounds “hard” and I didn´t know what he meant until I listened to it; and that one must be older to really hear it: He said “The tango waits for you”. I interpret this to mean that you have to have lived through many joys nad tradegies to hear the mature epxression of this in the music. Nene narrated the history of the Tnago between songs, and they played pieces representing the evolution of the genre. The singing was very expressive, changing tone from hopeful, to bitter, to angry to enchanted quite abruptly and I suspect the words were poetic and sometimes bitterly ironic with some humorous twists of ideas and expressions. The artists were so cordial and welcoming to all, including us, shaking our hands warmly and thanking us for attending.
On Christmas eve, we caught the bus to Puenta de Inca (bridge of Inca). This is on the road through the Andes from Argentina to Chile. Puenta de Inca is at about 9000 ft. and surrounded by high rock faces. ¡In the next installment, you will hear about Puenta de Inca and the exciting adventures of how John and Cathy catch El Rapido!