All of this, of course, means that this year is the 200th anniversary of the May Revolution. I had no idea that I'd be in Buenos Aires for the celebrations (lucky me!) but by a serendipitous twist of fate (or something) I happened to rent a room in a house two blocks from one of the biggest centers of the festivities. For the five days of the holiday, the national government blocked off ten blocks of 9 de julio avenue (if you recall, this is one of the widest streets in the world). The government put up huge pavilions in the street showing off products from all the provinces, showing off Argentine industry, history and culture. There were various stages along the route for musical and dance performances, culminating in the main stage just in front of the obelisco, at the intersection of 9 de julio and Corrientes. For those of you from the US, think of the Washington Monument and set it down in the middle of a sixteen lane avenue cutting through the heart of Buenos Aires. There were also stages set up in the Plaza de Mayo and other historical areas in the city. Hundreds of thousands of people came out to the celebration (probably in the millions if added up over the course of the five day holiday).
The first night, Friday, was a celebration of Argentine National Rock, and was a lot of fun. I recognized quite a few of the artists that played at the free concert, which lasted until 2 am (Leon Gieco, Los Pericos, Fito Paez, etc.). I headed out to the concert early, in an attempt to meet some couchsurfers, but we all got lost in the crowd. Or at least I did. Lots of people in close proximity, lots of elbows and tight spaces and pushing and compression. But, overall, I was very impressed with the civility in the crowd. I only saw one instance of violence, which I'll write about later. No one was even really bad mouthing anyone else (unless they were referencing politics). Since I couldn't find the couchsurfers, I attempted to meet up with my new roommates and their friends. About an hour into searching (aided by text messages), I was able to find them thanks to one of my roommate's ingenious plan to put one of his friends on his shoulders and have her wave his red hat in the air until I stumbled upon them. Lucky for us, we were able to walk home that night. The streets were completely full of people, and the subways were overflowing with people. It truly was a mass of humanity, and I wouldn't have wanted to try my luck underground with that many people on all sides.
I was struck with how civil things were, truly. I remember attending a free concert in Guatemala City. We had to pass through checkpoints to enter the area in front of the stage and were patted down for weapons and had our bags searched. There were black, seven foot barriers surrounding the plaza, and the guards carried guns. Here, there were no barriers, no weapons check, not that many police in sight. Or rather, I saw cops but really only near the stages. At one point on the fourth night of the holiday, one of my Spanish roommates and I were sitting on the ground right in the center of the crowd, waiting for the next band to set up their equipment, when a group of people beating the hell out of thief almost fell down right on top of us. Apparently the man had stolen cell phones from some of the people in the crowd, and at least three of them (a woman and two men) were hitting and kicking him until he gave the phones back. Almost by accident he dropped the phones, and they let him run off into the crowd. It was vicious, and no one even made a move to call the police over. But somehow I think it would have played out differently in another setting or another country. I don't know. It may just be because there are less guns in general circulation in Buenos Aires than in Guatemala (per capita, I suppose...don't quote me on that until I can actually check out the statistics). More than anything else, I was just glad I was able to scramble out of the way in time.
The next night I was able to meet up with some couchsurfers, and we enjoyed an evening of international music (including Gilberto Gil!) once again situated right in the heart of the crowd. I will say my knees ached for weeks afterward because of standing for so many hours. I'll bet I averaged about five to eight hours a day on my feet in the crowds or walking around over the five days. The concert was a lot of fun. But definitely not for the claustrophobic! While I was hanging out with the couchsurfers, my roommates embarked on a daring plan (well, ok, not really daring, but that makes it sound better, no?) to make a little cash. Budding entrepreneurs that they are, they bought up 100 cans of beer and sold them for double the price to thirsty revelers. Later they proudly informed me they sold out in less than an hour! I spend the third evening inside after the festivities were canceled due to torrential rain. It was a nice rest for my weary legs.
It was really quite an experience to be part of this celebration. I wonder what it must be like for foreign tourists to partake in similar celebrations in the US. I obviously missed quite a bit of the patriotic fervor of the celebration and probably much of the underlying connotations of certain performances, etc. But it was definitely a fun party! I'll fill in the rest in the next post...
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