This morning we went on a very interesting walking tour of our own neighborhood as well as the neighborhood of Recoleta. We had an amazing tour guide with us who showed us around these areas while we learned about more of the Argentine culture as well. The history that makes up Buenos Aires is so rich and almost every building you see has some sort of story behind it. We learned about how the wealthy families owned a lot of palaces in the city, and all used them as ways to show their status. One story that I thought was amusing was when one family decided to build a massive building in between two of them to block the view of a church that I believe was from another family. It was funny to hear about these petty acts, but also how beautiful the buildings they responded with.

A lot of these palaces now are used by the government for different things, so there aren’t really any families living there. It’s very clear to see all of the European influence that created these buildings, as they had stunning detail and glamor. Our tour guide also said that a lot of these buildings were created like a puzzle, where their pieces had different numbers or letters that had to be matched so they could be put together. This was due to the fact that the European designers wouldn’t actually come to Buenos Aires to create them, so this was how the people were able to build them.

Once we entered Recoleta, we went to the Recoleta Cemetery which is home to hundreds of familial mausoleums that are still taking in coffins of the respective families. The intricate walkways of the cemetery along with the close proximity of each mausoleum made it challenging to know exactly where you were and what was being seen, but our tour guide did an amazing job with pointing out different ones, and the stories that came along with it. It was actually mind-blowing to see how beautiful and preserved some of these mausoleums were, and how many family members were buried in each of them. Each one also had such strong symbolism based on the person or family who was there, and I loved learning about each one.

The Recoleta Cemetery is most famous for holding the body of Argentine icon Eva Perón, also known as Evita. Evita’s mausoleum was filled with beautiful flowers and notes from the people who came to visit, and it showed how the Argentine people actively preserve and remember the heroic actions she did. Evita was the husband of Juan Perón, who founded the political ideology of Peronism which was the leading political party of Argentina for a long time afterwards. Peronism is founded on the three flags including social justice, economic independence, and political sovereignty. Without the Peronist party, healthcare would not be a guaranteed right in Argentina. We learned a lot about Evita in the Museo Evita, which is a museum dedicated to her life and impact on Argentina.

Evita is most well known for the establishment of her foundation which made many advancements in her time being alive. One way that the foundation contributed to the healthcare system was the creation of the la Escuela de Enfermeras, or the Nursing School. The school would also provide free education to those who could not afford it, and trained many women how to become strong independent nurses who could go out and make a difference in their communities. A story was shared on how she was not satisfied with the care being provided in one of the city hospitals, and went around to every floor and almost every patient to ask about their experiences, and find the flaws in their system. Major reforms were in place after this walk through of Evita. Evita also gave checkups to every child who participated in these major sports events which were held through the foundation, which expanded the sense of primary care at this time. This is just a glimpse into the work of Evita, and much of Argentine culture and history would not be the same without the efforts of Evita herself, the foundation, and the work of her husband Juan Perón and Peronism.

Overall I loved this cultural activity day and the things we got to see and learn. Today is also Mother’s Day, so I am sending a special shoutout to my mom, Jen, who I know will be reading this post soon. Love you Mom and can’t wait to tell you all about the trip! Also sending another special Mother’s Day shoutout to Grammy and my aunts who are also staying up to date with my adventure. Love you all and hope you had a very special day today! Stay tuned to see what we are up to tomorrow!