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We managed to get seats together for our long flight, we had a whole row to ourselves on the plane, and the first, shorter flight was early, thus facilitating us actually catching the longer flight. Sometimes it's the simple things. So, we're in Buenos Aires doing the obligatory tours about town, and looking forward to getting to Ushuaia the day after tomorrow, and on the ship for the Antarctic cruise.
La Casa Rosada (English: The Pink House) is the official executive mansion of Argentina. Nevertheless, the President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is baby pink, and is considered one of the most emblematic buildings in Buenos Aires. It also has a museum, with objects related to the presidents of the country. It has been declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina.
in support of her husband, the future President of Argentina
María Eva Duarte de Perón (Spanish: [maˈɾi.a ˈeβa ˈðwarte ðe peˈɾon]; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952) was the second wife of President Juan Perón (1895–1974) and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.
Eva (Evita) Peron is probably the most identifiable name associated with Argentina, and was the subject of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical, Evita.
To this day, Argentinians are split on how they feel about Eva Peron. They tend to either love or hate her. Her populist approach had won the hearts of most Argentinians, but she was just as adamantly opposed by the upper echelons of Argentinian society whom she had sought to heavily tax in order to raise the standard of living for all Argentinians.
Shortly after her death, plans were made to construct a memorial in Evita's honor. The monument, which was to be a statue of a man representing the "descamisados," was projected to be larger than the Statue of Liberty. Evita's body was to be stored in the base of the monument and, in the tradition of Lenin's corpse, to be displayed for the public. While waiting for the monument to be constructed, Evita's embalmed body was displayed in her former office at the CGT building for almost two years. Before the monument to Evita was completed, Juan Perón was overthrown in a military coup, the Revolución Libertadora, in 1955. Perón hastily fled the country and did not make arrangements to secure Evita's body.
In 1971, Evita's body was exhumed and flown to Spain, where Juan Perón maintained the corpse in his home. Juan and his third wife, Isabel, decided to keep the corpse in their dining room on a platform near the table. In 1973, Juan Perón came out of exile and returned to Argentina, where he became president for the third time. Perón died in office in 1974. His third wife, Isabel Perón, whom he had married on 15 November 1961, and who had been elected vice-president, succeeded him, thus becoming the first female president in the Western Hemisphere. It was Isabel who had Evita's body returned to Argentina and (briefly) displayed beside Juan Perón's. The body was later buried in the Duarte family tomb in La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires.
A young man with 10 or 12 dogs in tow is not uncommon.
To top off our stay in Buenos Aires we went to a Tango Show & Dinner at a club named after Argentina's iconic Tango man, Carlos Gardel.
Carlos Gardel (11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a singer, songwriter and actor, and is perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was born in Toulouse, France, although he never acknowledged his birthplace publicly, and there are still claims of his birth in Uruguay. He lived in Argentina from the age of two and acquired Argentine citizenship in 1923. He grew up in the Abasto neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He attended Pio IX Industrial high-school located in the Almagro neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He died in an airplane crash at the height of his career, becoming an archetypal tragic hero mourned throughout Latin America. For many, Gardel embodies the soul of the tango style. He is commonly referred to as "Carlitos", "El Zorzal" (The Song Thrush), "The King of Tango", "El Mago" (The Magician) and "El Mudo" (The Mute).
The unerring musicality of Gardel's baritone voice and the dramatic phrasing of his lyrics made miniature masterpieces of his hundreds of three-minute tango recordings. Together with lyricist and long-time collaborator Alfredo Le Pera, Gardel wrote several classic tangos, most notably: Mi Buenos Aires querido, Cuesta abajo, Amores de estudiante, Soledad, Volver, Por una cabeza and El día que me quieras.
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