Today was spent going on various tours to explore the city of Buenos Aires. Starting off with the city walking tour, we took a bus to La Boca, a neighborhood well known for its vibrant and colorful homes, shops, and restaurants. It was really interesting to see a neighborhood so lively, brought to life by its red, yellow, blue, and green painted buildings, as well as its many murals of paintings and famous figures, such as Argentine soccer players. We then headed to Santelmo market, which was full of shops with handmade products and dozens of little tents with classic Argentine cuisine. I definitely would like to return and try some of the foods offered there, as it all smelled and looked delicious. After the market, we walked to a nearby church and breifly stepped inside to check out it’s intricate carvings, paintins, and design. We then headed towards the center of Buenos Aires to La Casa Rosada (the Pink House), which is where the Argentine president works, but does not reside- unlike our president, who both works and lives in the White House. La Casa Rosada had a lot of interesting history, including it’s pink color coming from cow blood in the protective paint layer, and the collection of rocks just outside it from people who lost loved ones from COVID as a form of protest. In the same plaza as La Casa Rosada, we visited a beautiful church called the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires and were able to witness a service. Our last stop was La Librería de Avila, a library established in 1785.

The second half of our day was spent on a graffiti tour through palermo and some of its neighoring towns. We walked though sidestreets, a downtown area, and an antique market looking at all kinds of graffiti. It was interesiting to learn that even though graffiti is illegal in Argentina, it is present all over the city and people actively come in at night to paint and re-spraypaint artwork. The different peices end up getting overlapped to create a unique art piece of its own, a combined work of various artists. The graffiti ranges from Argentine soccer players to monkeys with messages on them, and represent social and political issues that are currently relevant. Each brush stroke or line of spray paint makes a difference on the art piece.  

Today’s prompt was to compare the similarities and differences between the United States and Argentine history. Both countries are built on immigrants and were heavily colonized by European powers, as the U.S. was colonized by Britian and Argentina by Spain. Each country had to fight for their independence from Europe, and continued experiencing waves of immigration, especially in the 1800s and 1900s. Looking at differences, the U.S. has consistently had a democratic system with two distinct parties, while Argentina has experienced multiple periods of military dictatorship, with a more unstable political history with multiple coups and invasive military control. Lastly, the U.S. is globally known and recognized for its cultural, political, and military influence, whereas Argentina does not hold a strong influence.