Happy Sunday! It has officially been one week in Buenos Aires and it was a full day of exploring Argentina’s culture. Today’s activities started out bright and early with a walking tour to Recoleta! We got to see some of the historical castles within Buenos Aires, a beautiful church: the Adoración Eucarística, an English inspired clocktower, and more. Our final destination was the Recoleta cemetery. This cemetery hosts the city’s most famous government officials and political figures as well as many of its upper class families. One of the most notable people buried here is former First Lady, Evita Perón. There were also some people with very interesting stories, for example, Rufina Cambaceres, who was buried alive after her heart briefly stopped due to an unknown heart condition. It wasn’t until they changed her coffin the day after her day that they noticed the scratch marks on the inside, indicating she was not dead when she was buried.
After the Recoleta Cemetery, we went to the Evita Perón Museum. We ate at their restaurant for lunch, and I had a delicious chicken meal. Afterwards, we had a guided tour through the museum. I was able to learn more about Eva’s life, her impact on the healthcare system, and Peronism. The birth of Peronism, led by Evita’s husband and Argentina’s President, Juan Perón, was October 17, 1945. Perón was the first to declare healthcare was a right, therefore beginning to create a healthcare system that provided coverage to all. He believed in direct social benefit, so created the trade unions, or Obras Sociales, which provided insurance to all citizens with a job. Eva also did a lot for Argentina’s healthcare system. She worked with the Ministry of Health to provide food for children in the country to make sure everyone was getting the nutrition they needed to grow properly. Eva helped create clinics in different provinces in Argentina, including Mendoza, Salta, and San Juan. She also helped create an innovative hospital structure, and had multiple hospitals built. Eva Perón also created some of the first nursing schools in Argentina in order to fulfill initiatives, for example, less infant deaths, created by the public health sector. Evita was an inspirational and powerful woman, who was admired by so many in her country. She also advocated for women’s suffrage and education.
After a long and interesting day, we headed back to the hotel. I rested before going to dinner in Palermo, at a restaurant called La Mala, where I had the best carne wrap!
I also want to acknowledge that today is Mother’s Day! Thank you Mom for giving me the opportunity to travel the world and for everything else you do for me, I am forever grateful. I love you and can’t wait to see you soon!
