Hasta Luego Buenos Aires

Hasta Luego Buenos Aires

by | Jun 27, 2011 | Deep In It

Buenos Aires

On Wednesday June 15, 2011, we left Buenos Aires on one of the first flights to the United States out of the capital after the eruption of the Puyehue volcano in southern Chile spewed its ashes across Argentina.

The winds played capricious games with itineraries across the continent. Our original flight was for Monday the 13th. Ever the optimists, we took the $40, one-hour cab ride to the airport for our scheduled flight. We found ourselves back in our apartment pretty quickly, 80 bucks poorer.  We were told Friday was the earliest available flight to the U.S.

Tuesday was the scramble day, trying to find a flight to the States. We looked at every option out there.  A previously scheduled memorial service three days away on Friday in Michigan was not something we were prepared to miss.

Around noon on Tuesday the best option was to take a very long bus ride (700 miles) to Santiago, Chile, which would put us on the west side of the ash cloud. That bus was leaving at 5 pm. It was decision time, make the memorial at all costs or accept our fate in Buenos Aires.

Before we needed to make that decision, at around 12:30 pm, an email came from the local United Airlines representative saying that they had a “special flight” leaving at 9:00 am the next morning if we wanted to be on it. He said the winds were shifting in a hopeful direction and it was supposed to rain overnight, so they thought they could get the flight out. Amazingly, that flight left on time, which had us landing in the U.S. Wednesday evening.

Thursday morning we headed to Flint, Michigan, some 576 miles away in our 2003 Buick. The memorial loomed on Friday at 1:00 pm. With time to spare, we shared in the memorial and spent the weekend with relatives.

Downtown Flint Above the Cobblestone Street

 

Boston Skyline

The following Tuesday we drove to Boston, Massachusetts (725 miles), to help our daughter move. A good night’s rest in a motel and back on the road to Baltimore, Maryland (411 miles). So, seven days, some 5,000 flight miles and 1,700 driving miles since landing on our special flight out of Buenos Aires on Wednesday evening we began settling into our Baltimore apartment. It is Sunday the 26th, time to get busy.

We have much more to write about Buenos Aires. We spent four wonder-filled months in that great city. Our Spanish improved, we enjoyed several museums, some excellent meals, saw Placido Domingo perform live outdoors, listened to a symphony at Teatro Colon, reveled in spectacular natural beauty, and met some wonderful people. If you ever have the opportunity, seize it — get to know Buenos Aires.

Stay tuned for more from TheNextRoad…

Baltimore, Maryland, The Next Road

 

The Disappeared in Argentina

The Disappeared in Argentina

by | Jun 12, 2011 | All-Time Favorites, Deep In It

Siempre con las madres                                           Always with the mothers

Siempre con las madres ©2011

Every Thursday afternoon for more than 30 years, mothers and grandmothers of “the disappeared” (los desaparecidos) and their supporters have gathered and marched around Plaza de Mayo in front of the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.

During the Dirty War of the military dictatorship in Argentina (1976 to 1983) it’s estimated that anywhere between 9,000 and 30,000 people disappeared. They were predominately trade unionists, students, journalists, Peronists, and people opposed to the military rule. Imprisonment, torture, detention centers that some call concentration camps — it’s not a pretty story. It’s also estimated that around 500 of those who disappeared were the babies of women imprisoned during those years.

U2 has a song about the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, and when U2 performed in Buenos Aires in March, “Mothers of the Disappeared” was performed. Sting, Ruben Blades, and Joan Baez have also immortalized in music the plight of mothers of the disappeared.

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo  ©2011

The mothers and grandmothers want to know what happened to the disappeared and the babies. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) has proposed legislation this year and in each of the previous three years, that would have required the U.S. to release records and documents that could help the mothers find out what happened to their children and the others. In the last vote, in May, the amendment was defeated by just 20 votes.

It seems way past time for the United States to release this information. It’s just short of 30 years since the military dictatorship ended in 1983. If these were our babies and Argentina had information that could help us determine what happened to them, what would we want? Wouldn’t we want Argentina to release that information, even if it revealed some ‘dirty little secrets’ about Argentina? Doesn’t the world already know that the U.S. has ‘dirty little secrets’?

“Groups like the Madres are needed to serve as a reminder, not only to Argentina but also to the world, of the atrocities that can be committed by governments in the name of patriotism.” –Jeff Barry, Author of 4 Perfect Days in Buenos Aires.

Siempre con las madres.

———

Video from our afternoon with las madres at Plaza de Mayo.

Ilene Squires has some great photos here on her blog.