Today began with a short walk to the Austral Downtown campus for a lecture from Codika, a technological consulting firm in the healthcare industry. This lecture was one of my favorites so far on the trip. I thought it was really cool how the company uses innovation in the form of an app to produce an effective change in something, specifically related to healthcare. We also learned about the process in which ideas become an actual product and this is always fascinating to me as people come up with really good ideas and then go somewhere with them.
After the lecture, we headed to lunch at a delicious three course restaurant that I am still full from. Then it was time to go to the colorful and vibrant neighborhood of La Boca. We had a combination of a bus tour and a walking tour with some free time. We saw the stadium where one of the soccer teams in Buenos Aires plays along with the colorful buildings and all the murals along the streets. It was so pretty and fun to look at, and there was a whole outdoor artisan market down the street of La Boca.
It was funny today because the lecture in the morning was all about innovation and change and La Boca is more about traditions, especially with tango. While it is always important to innovate, I also think it is important to remember the traditions. I think these traditions can easily be remembered throughout change by teaching and reminding the younger generations of traditional tango, while also letting them innovate and producing results like the electro-tango music we heard. Overall, La Boca has preserved traditional tango in the sense that it is not uncommon, but they also haven’t pushed away any of the new takes on tango. I also think this is an important factor for remembering traditions as well. If you force one style on the younger generations and reject their take on it, they will resent the tradition and not pass it on to anyone below them, resulting in the tradition to end abruptly. Change is good but so is remembering traditions.
La Boca was a really cool area, and I’m glad we got to see it. I can’t believe tomorrow is our last day of site visits! These two weeks have flown by so fast, but they always say time flys when you’re having fun!