Last weekend, the city of Buenos Aires hosted two cultural festivities celebrating Mexico and Paraguay on the popular Avenida de Mayo. This was a great opportunity for the invited countries to share their cuisine, traditional dances and music.
The Mexican and Paraguayan Festivity were located on Avenida de Mayo, the Mexican across Plaza de Mayo meanwhile the Paraguayan on between the streets Cerrito and Uruguay. Vendors were offering many cultural crafts and foods. In the busy street, people waited in long lines for tacos and quesadillas and the Paraguayan offered sopa and guayaba. The Mexican festivity had the popular Mariachi singing on stage the spectators to sing along.
The Paraguayan festivity not only had dances and music, but poetry in one of their indigenous tongue, Guarani, and in Spanish. People cheered, it echoed the city’s old European architectural buildings and some people were seen with tears in the eyes of joy and probably some of sorrow of their previous struggles.
El viernes 8 de Mayo compartimos en la FM Riachuelo 100.9, la presentación del espacio “Con Otro Acento”, programa semanal de VG, en esta radio. Junto a voluntarios, alumnos del apoyo de inglés, Mario de la Escuela para el Hombre Nuevo, compañeros de El Hormiguero, SuLavandería y de la FM, vimos imágenes y audios del ciclo que ya lleva casi un año al aire y que se emite los miércoles de 18 a 19h.
Entre mates y empanadas y diversos acentos, construimos un programa que transmite los valores de VG,reflexiona sobre la realidad de los barrios y visibiliza los proyectos en los que participamos.
Un espacio,dentro de una radio, parte de otra forma de entender la comunicación popular y comunitaria.
So first things first: Name, nationality and where have you been volunteering?
Hey! My name is Pui and I come from the UK. For the past four weeks I have been teaching English at the academy in the Buenos Aires province of Pablo Nogues.
How does it feel to be coming to the end of your Voluntario Global experience?
I am finishing my placement after signing up for only four weeks, and it is quite emotional to be reaching the end so soon already! It was not a straightforward experience by any means – teaching with relatively limited resources definitely keeps you on your toes, and it can sometimes be exhausting, especially when you know only enough Spanish to get by in a restaurant – but I have gotten to know some great students as well as the legendary Silvia (who runs the academy) and will be leaving with plenty of amazing memories.
It seems as if you've become pretty attached to the life here. Is there any part of the porteño culture or language that has particularly resonated with you?
Well, partly due to the thickness of the Argentinian accent, it’s been tricky to pick up the local dialect. However, when a super pancho vendor asks if you’d like ‘papas fritas’ on your hotdog I get the happiest feeling. [For those of you who haven't yet had the pleasure, a super pancho is a hotdog like no other that can be picked up all over the city. And yes, they put potatoes ON the hotdog, as well as a plethora of sauces]. Most mentions of 'asado’ – the typical meat stew here – has a similar impact.
So other than trying a super pancho, what other piece of advice would you give to the next volunteer at the Academy?
I would say don't be afraid to go off-script in the classroom occasionally. During the first couple of days I stuck to the textbooks very rigidly but this wasn’t always the most effective method. Sometimes my lessons would veer from slightly off-topic, like teaching some curious students the relevant vocabulary in French or even Chinese, to extremely off-topic. In one particularly memorable instance, the lesson devolved into a weird combination of 20 Questions, Hangman and snippets of ‘Wrecking Ball’ by Miley Cyrus (who the kids unsurprisingly love). It’s really just as much a cultural exchange as it is giving students the chance to learn English from a native speaker, which I found is equally appreciated all round.
And finally: can you sum up your time here in three words?
Challenging, tiring (but) rewarding.
Thanks Pui, we’re going to miss having you around the house!
If you like the sound of Pui's experience, for further information please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Voluntario Global consists of a small but perfectly formed operations team and working with them on various communication projects ranging from blog writing and photography to film-making is a great way to gain an understanding of how the organisation works as a whole.
It is the communication team's job to share and document the volunteer experience right from the start of every journey – reaching out to new volunteers in advance of their arrival, welcoming them in their first days and finding creative ways to share their first impressions and experiences using social media and the Voluntario Global website. There is a weekly team meeting, where everybody gets together and catches up on the progress of the projects, the volunteer house and where the communication team should focus most of their efforts and what the aim is for the week. Depending on your Spanish language proficiency this can be quite a daunting challenge to start with but it's amazing to see how your understanding and input develops as the weeks past and confidence grows.
Up to once a week you travel out to the volunteer projects at different stages – photographing and interviewing the volunteers and coordinators when the time is right. This is a great opportunity to see parts of Buenos Aires you would never see as a tourist and navigate the public transport to reach the more remote projects base outside of the city.
There are always special events, educational and social gatherings to report back on and it is important to use your initiative for new topics for blog posts and ways to present and spread the ideologies and practices of Voluntario Global, perhaps if you take some time to travel the rest of Argentina or get involved in another aspect of Porteño life in your free time!
Those interested in the more technical side filming, with their own cameras and equipment have recently been working on developing and recording a 'Buenos Aires Survival Guide' a series on YouTube that will feature volunteers from all over the globe, sharing tips and funny experiences. Location scouting, filming and documenting the real heart of the city, practicing editing and casting the right volunteers for the job is both challenging and enjoyable for all involved. Scheduling and mapping out routes and timetables for filming and where it is possible to get the best visuals and interesting view points of the city.
Working in the communications team is a varied role and you definitely get out of it more than what you put in, it is a perfect way to share skills and experience whilst adjusting to a new way of life in Argentina, meeting and interacting with locals and travellers alike.
The hard-working crew of Voluntario Global took a break from work, to take part in an educational trip to Maciel Island, in La Boca, an extension of the so called “Villa Miserias”. We were greeted by the Valdoco Foundation, an organization from the island with the sole purpose of educational anyone about the island’s culture and history. Since many people think the place is for the poor and uneducated, criminals, drug dealers and addicts, truth is that the island has many good things.
The tour started with the guides passing out mugs and napkins for the tea and delicious bread. As the volunteers were eating, the tour guides talked about the island. One of the many interesting things explained, was that murals all around the streets have become quite renown in Argentina; images of Messi and Maradona are found. The island was a center of imports and exports at the old port back in the 1900’s. Back in those days, tango was danced between men only, as it was taboo to dance with a woman. They also talked about how people lived there and how they benefit with the huge bridge crossing every day [before, they had to take a 45 minute bus ride all the way around to get to the city]. Now even the children cross the bridge connecting La Boca and Marciel Island to go to school.
We saw the island from far away, but what the tour guides information it was good enough to get the idea. The organization doesn’t charge a fee for the tour. They want to show the world where they come from and how people are getting the wrong message of the place.
I had arrived at the volunteers house early the previous morning and had since slept a good 13 hours: I was ready for my first night out in the city renowned for its extensive and vibrant nightlife. We left the apartment around 10pm - that's early here – and made our way towards the bus stop. Somewhat surprisingly, a bus came along soon enough, sweeping us up off the roadside rather like the Night Bus from the Harry Potter books.
The March of Indigenous Women took place, on a bright sunny day, in front of the Julio A. Roca monument. Around 1:00 PM, a large crowd of people were there and it continued to grow with the rhythm of drums. The Indigenous Women are part of 36 nations, with the support of their followers by standing with pamphlets with different messages, but with the same idea: the right to a good living.
This was one of the many things they were demanding, as well as human rights and respect of their culture. They established messages like how they want to recover their indigenous names that society has taken/stolen away, that their culture continue for generations just like many big cultures on this planet, the respect and right for their future generations to have an opportunity for great-quality education as any other Argentine citizen, and to take care of the environment. Moira Millan, one of the many in charge of the march, established the right of good living in front the Roca Monument, how many look at him as a villain against the indigenous people.
The respected historian, journalist, and cinematographer, Osvaldo Bayer, declared that the monument is a symbol of genocide against all indigenous nations, and it should be changed to indigenous women. Also, Nora Contiñas de Plaza de Mayo and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, showed their support in the march. The march took over the Avenida de Mayo street, as people kept joining, until reaching the Argentine congress with their message loud and clear.
On a warm Friday evening in April, after a twelve hour journey back across the Andes from San Pedro De Atacama in Chile, the bustling frantic streets of Buenos Aires didn't initially feel too far away as we pulled into the bus terminal at Salta. Car horns were honking and locals all marching alongside a parade of vans playing drums and shouting about equal rights... Ahh, back to the city, I thought, but I soon learnt there was a very different 'onda' in this city.
Waking up the next morning it was apparent that the incessant tango of Buenos Aires had faded away here in the north of Argentina. Instead a more laid back 'charango' folk music filled the air, deeply rooted in Spain and the Andean cultures of the bordering countries of Peru and Bolivia. I have read in guidebooks that the peña is to Northern Argentina what the milonga is to Buenos Aires, and this I feel is a good way to begin summing up the cultural differences between the two cities. The lyrics of the peña discuss the importance of territory and rural life rather than the stories of heartache and romance that so often fill the tango. One of the popular dances I got to witness was the 'chacarera' in which couples group in the shape of a star, stomping their feet as they circle around each other.
Ask anyone in Buenos Aires who makes the best empanadas and nine times out of ten they will tell you to head north to Salta or Jujuy. Empanadas salteñas contain a more hearty, meal-like filling of knife cut meat, chunks of potato, boiled eggs and the delicate seasoning of spring onion.
It's not just the cuisine and music that sets the cities apart – you feel a lot closer to nature as the Andes gently hug Salta and it's surrounding barrios – in some directions lush green mountains, others with a splattering of cacti and the odd llama, vicuña or donkey. It's a very different way of life out in Northern Argentina, to Buenos Aires but the two cities appear to balance each other perfectly in their distinct outlooks.
Today is Workers Day —Día del Trabajador— in Argentina and many other countries in the world. An official holiday that is also known as Labor Day in other parts of the world. It is a celebration of laborers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labor movement, anarchists, socialists, and communists on May Day - an ancient European spring holiday which occurs every year on the 1st of May.
International Workers' Day is actually the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike in order to achieve an eight hour workday.
It is important to reflect on what has been achieved by with regards to workers rights since this time - the hours we work, the safety of the conditions we're working in, the right to a contract, paid sick leave and not to be harassed are all legal requirements for employers.
Celebrations and demonstrations related to labor movements take place all over the country and it is customary to get together with friends and family for an asado! (Argentine barbecue).
About 28km north of Buenos Aires city lies Tigre – a picturesque town sat on the Paraná Delta. Don't be fooled by the name. You won't be seeing any tigers stalking the undergrowth here, the name derives from the jaguars which were hunted in the area in the 1800s and if you look closely at the flag and seal which adorns every road sign and tourist attraction you'll see there are no stripes, it is in fact a jaguar!
Rather than facing the weekend crowds we favoured a quiet Wednesday jaunt on the bright blue, shiny new air conditioned 'Trenes Argentinos' to Tigre. It is one of the capital's favoured day trips and the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. Arriving at Tigre we were expecting to be inundated with tour guides trying to entice us on to their boats but coming during the week, and off season, meant that there were few people about so we were left to our own devices to follow the river path and nose around the streets, rowing clubs and marinas, barely meeting another person on this quiet sunny afternoon.
Passing a small museum dedicated to Argentina's favourite drink, Mate and the Naval Museum we then ended at the impressive architecture of the Art Museum. Interestingly, this building was not initially built to be a cultural space or a museum but instead a slightly lower brow entertainment hub for gambling and dancing! The permanent collection of art housed there features Argentine works from the 19th and 20th centuries.
With so few people about it was difficult to get an idea of which restaurants were popular with the locals but the bright yellow building of the 'Club De Regatas Hispano Argentino' drew us in with the promise of fresh fish and we were not disappointed – it was a great find and a place we would happily return to.
By now we were desperate to get out on the water so we walked back to the other side of the water to book onto a short 1 hour boat ride up the delta. There were of course plenty of options for longer trips, and many including lunch and luxury spa visits along the way but for a quick and easy glimpse of the waterways this suited us fine. Leaving at 5pm in the afternoon we got to enjoy the sun low in the sky, silhouetting many of the stilted waterside houses – it was very beautiful. Being one of the later rides of the day it was clear that the locals who live in these houses also managed to catch a ride, and used our boat like a water taxi and a delivery service for fresh water (and dog food!) stopping at the little jetties along the way as required. There are no roads that lead to the houses along the waterside, so all supplies are delivered via the water – we passed a gentleman rowing swiftly with his shopping bag from the local supermarket, let's hope he hadn't forgotten anything!
VOLUNTARIO GLOBAL
Voluntario Global helps local communities by being available to discuss anything that local organizations need, and offering ideas for further change and development.
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CONTACT
Location: General Pacheco. Buenos Aires. Argentina
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