Day 5, part 1
Bus one! Bus two! Bus three! We left in groups by bus to head down to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. This 28 meter tall stone and fresco heaven was my favorite thing to see today. The Italian influence mixed with the music and dance of the theater made the perfect ambiance of a stunning opera house. Corinthian columns were placed at almost every corner and the ceilings were doused in stained glass and magnificent paintings. We were given a tour by a lovely guide, and she showed us everything we had to see.
She showed us the sculptures of famous composers such as Wagner and Liszt (whose statues were facing away from each other for obvious reasons of past tensions) and the names of them written on the ceiling painting in the concert hall. The concert hall can seat up to 2,487 and we got to sit in the best seat of the house, where the president sits. This box is dead center and and the perfect height for maximum viewing pleasure. The theater was defiantly a MYSO favorite, with people talking about it on the bus ride to La Boca.
La Boca is a neighborhood on the border (or “mouth,” hence “la boca”) of Buenos Aires. It is home to a rival soccer team, Boca. This team has intense tensions with the other Buenos Aires team, Independiente. The influx of immigrants from Italy painted scrap metal with whatever brightly colored paint they could to brighten up the wasteland. We also learned the history of the tango and saw dancers and singers on almost every street corner. We didn’t get as much time to wander the streets as we would have liked to, so we pulled a few strings and we are going back to la Boca tomorrow.
The Recoleta cemetery was a truly beautifully gothic sight. Graves lined with marble and sculptures to honor the lives the dead had lived. We saw the grave of Evita, which was full of bouquets of marvelous flowers and sweets. Some people cried and some people threw parties when she died, but it is true many people still love and adore her. We saw the most expensive grave which had a humungous statue of an angel and a soul leaving to go to heaven. Another grave belonging to Luis Federico Leloir had a some lined with mosaic and an elevator! The elevator was taken out a few years ago, but the memory of him still remains.
After the final look at the glorious graves, we all headed out for lunch. I had wonderful Chinese food and my roommate picked up snacks from the market next door. After we ate we got ready to board the buses for our concert, which you will read about in part 2! Hasta luego!