Today the class took a trip to the National Historical Museum in San Telmo, a vibrant, upscale district with many French style buildings and grandiose and colorful churches. Upon arriving we saw the museum’s beautiful yard complete with many full gardens and commemorative and decorative statues celebrating San Martín.
The museum showcased the historical importance of San Martín in Argentine history and revolution. We were able to see reconstructions of San Martín’s living quarters with the actual furniture and floor plan. It was interesting to find out that San Martín, although a Spaniard, actually lived in France, and his granddaughter who donated the furniture lives there as well. We examined the different décor and living styles of this period’s colonial upper-class. Next we looked at San Martín’s clothing, highlighting the differences in poncho meanings and his formal solider uniform. The tour guide directed us to a quote from San Martín describing his views on the cavalry, solders, and roles of blacks and mixed peoples. “El major soldado… que tenemos son los negros y mulatos; los de estas provincias [blancos] no son aptos sino para caballería” (the best solders… we have are the blacks and mixed peoples: those of these provinces [whites] are not fit for the cavalry).
I think this really shows the historical diversity that is in Argentine culture and go against the “No hay negros en Argentina” (There are no blacks in Argentina) myth which is present in modern popular culture. To finish the tour we discussed the Argentine revolutions. First we touched on San Martín’s role and moved into talks about what el 25 de Mayo, one of two days celebrating independence in Argentina, actually represents. May 25th for Argentina, is not about the beginning or the end of a battle, but rather the beginning of a movement. This was a huge moment for the population of Argentina, in which they came together as one unit to overcome the colonial power, as one, white, black and mixed, Argentina fought.
After leaving the National Historical Museum we headed to La Boca. The streets were filled with many people, with venders on each side. In the streets danced many couples, performing the famous and suave Argentine tango, on the cobble stone streets of the markets with the bright colored houses in the background. The venders sold authentic Argentine foods like empanadas (a type of pastry that has either cheese, meat, vegetables or a combination) and alfajores (dessert with two cookies and dulce de leche in between then dipped in chocolate), cultural treasures like paintings and jewelry, and souvenirs like key chains and maté cups (a cultural tea enjoyed by many Argentines) with Argentina and images of famous Argentine people like Lionel Messi, Eva Perón, and Che Guevara.
To wrap up our excursion to La Boca, we went to see La Bombonera, the stadium of the local soccer, or fútbol, team the Boca Juniors. Along the walls we saw many pictures depicting the culture and history of the Boca Juniors. Proud flags hanged everywhere with paintings of fútbol plays and soccer balls. One mural painting pointed out a key part of Boca Junior history: their colors. A Swedish ship crosses a blue ocean as a hand pants a yellow line over the blue background. The uniforms of Boca Juniors were actually pink but after their first game, the colors would change, and the color change would depend on the next ship that came into the port. When the Swedish ship crossed and docked, the official colors of Boca Juniors changed to blue and yellow, the same as the Swedish flag.
