On Saturday, the group was able to sleep in.  A couple of us went to a quick restaurant and at 2:30 we left for a Racing soccer game.  The bus ride was about 30 minutes and the bus quickly filled with Racing fans wearing light blue.  Upon arriving, we got drinks and choripans and made our way to our section.  The field was surrounded by a mote to prevent fans from running on the field.  As kick off started to approach, the stands started to become very rowdy.  People were passing blue and white plastic bags to blow up and wave around, while others were tearing up newspaper to make confetti.  The atmosphere was lively the entire time as the fans were constantly singing chants and songs throughout the game.  This game was also special because one of the players was retiring and this was their last game.  The retiring of a soccer player is like a death and is a very big deal.  There were many banners hanging around, people were passing out flyers with his name on it, and there was an honorary sign made displayed on the field.  The team received 2 penalty kicks during the game and the retiring player was allowed to take both, and scored on 1 of the penalty kicks.  We left early to avoid the crowds but there was even a ceremony to be held after the game for the player.  Overall, seeing a soccer game is a must if you want to experience the heart and soul of Argentina.  Soccer is essentially a religion here and an extremely important aspect of Argentina’s culture.

On Tuesday, we departed from the hotel to the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA).   The museum is located in Palermo and was currently holding exhibitions by Jorge Macchi, Claudia Andujar Marcados, and more.  The museum was small but very spacious in layout.  My favorite collection (and many of my classmates) was Perspectiva by Argentine artist Jorge Macchi.  The exhibition has pieces over the course of 25 years and has a lot of pieces that really cause one to think.   It is hard to adequately describe his work because it spans such a wide period of time, but to me the pieces create atmospheres that waver between the metaphysical and mysterious.  One of my favorite pieces had two contradictory movie clips playing and 3 different sound recordings that wonderfully meshed into a harsh but strangely beautiful harmony.  Another was a room with a disco ball and holes cut into the wall that imitated the light shining from the disco ball.  I loved that all his pieces were so unique and thought provoking.  I also really enjoyed the pictures taken by Claudia Andujar Marcados.  She took pictures of native Indians in 1980 in Brazil.  Each Indian received a numbered tag to show they were vaccinated by doctors volunteering in the area.  The work questions how we “brand” or label people.  Even though this was positive for the Indians, Marcados experienced friends and family marked with a yellow star to be “branded for death” and this greatly influenced her 60 years later to make this exhibition.  Overall, there was quite a range of pieces in the museum and many Argentinians were showcased.  Many famous artists had works here and there was even a piece by Frida Kahlo.  MALBA is incredibly important to the collection and preservation of Latin American artwork, and helps to educate the public on the culture.

On Saturday, the group was able to sleep in.  A couple of us went to a quick restaurant and at 2:30 we left for a Racing soccer game.  The bus ride was about 30 minutes and the bus quickly filled with Racing fans wearing light blue.  Upon arriving, we got drinks and choripans and made our way to our section.  The field was surrounded by a mote to prevent fans from running on the field.  As kick off started to approach, the stands started to become very rowdy.  People were passing blue and white plastic bags to blow up and wave around, while others were tearing up newspaper to make confetti.  The atmosphere was lively the entire time as the fans were constantly singing chants and songs throughout the game.  This game was also special because one of the players was retiring and this was their last game.  The retiring of a soccer player is like a death and is a very big deal.  There were many banners hanging around, people were passing out flyers with his name on it, and there was an honorary sign made displayed on the field.  The team received 2 penalty kicks during the game and the retiring player was allowed to take both, and scored on 1 of the penalty kicks.  We left early to avoid the crowds but there was even a ceremony to be held after the game for the player.  Overall, seeing a soccer game is a must if you want to experience the heart and soul of Argentina.  Soccer is essentially a religion here and an extremely important aspect of Argentina’s culture.