I took a short tour of the city in
the afternoon with Cecilia (a guest from Sweden). Our tour guide was Julieta.
We saw the march of the Madres in the Plaza de Mayo at 3:30 which was very impressive.
The mothers have been marching every Thursday in this plaza for over 30 years
to commemorate their children who were abducted and murdered during the military
dictatorship. These mothers are very famous and have even founded a university
in Buenos Aires. The 24th of March was recently declared a national holiday commemorating
all who died during this terrible time. On the 24th, there will be a huge march
and demonstration on the Plaza de Mayo.
Here is the official web site of
the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo.
http://www.madres.org/
Here is an English
language description:
http://www.womensvoicesforchange.org/2007/05/mothers_plaza_d.html
After the Mother's march, we returned to the house about 5:00 and went
dancing at the Chique Milonga. Interestingly, Michelle Kwan, the Olympic Figure
Skater from the US was at the Milonga. She is on a public relations tour and was
there with 3 people from the State Department. Here is a video of her visiting
an ice rink in Buenos Aires.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=L1e3-TUQzW8
We
had a nice chat with her. She tried to dance some tangos including one with Luis,
and it was fun watching her try to learn. We then went upstairs to the restaurant
and had a farewell dinner for Lanti, Dianne, and Suzie who are leaving tomorrow.
by
Catherine Crain (blogspot: http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-260072.html