"I thought the space heater was a TV!" Mr. Jimenez exclaimed as we recounted horror stories of last nights sleeping conditions. Apparently, the ominous knob with the word "thermofusion" engraved onto the cold metal was not a heating apparatus. Thankfully, we awoke to the sweet aroma of scalding hot coffee wafting through the common area. We were offered a myriad of delectable breakfast goodies including eggs with ham and toast with jam, man oh man! After breakfast, we had a fascinating lesson regarding the manifold uses of the word "coger." We were warned to steer clear.... And that concluded our time in El Tigre! We voyaged across the murky river back to the main land.
After some well deserved leisure time at the hotel and some scrumptious sandwiches, the bulk of our day began. We commenced our journey in the concrete jungle by bussing to the first of many museums. At the Museum of Modern Art we met our tour guide for the day, Tatiana. Although it may have been hard to understand her rapid Buenos Aires Spanish, that didn't stop us from understanding the beauty and intricacies of the pieces we feasted our eyes upon. The broken shapes displayed free from the constraint of a frame taught us that art has no limits, and neither do we. Guided by Atticus's bountiful inquiries and analysis, we traversed through the ages of contemporary art. The pieces that manipulated light taught us to challenge reality. The collection entitled "Mordaza," or "gag," took our breath away. The outfit adorned with bananas peeled away our preconceived notions of fashion. We made like bananas and split from the first museum and walked towards a private exhibit. In contrast to the accessible art displayed before, this gallery highlighted pieces that tackled more explicit deceptions of taboo topics such as homosexuality and transgenderism. Another section centered around the them of sound waves; a specific piece explored the complexities found in cicadas, it was all the buzz. The next stop was a small art store where we were encourage to explore freely. Unlike the previous art displays the shop aimed to appeal to a more diverse audience, containing images of famous soccer players and other famous figures, along with more interpretive piece. What appeared to be child's painting of Homer Simpson was 90 dollar. Needless to say, none of us bought anything. For the last hurrah of this fun filled day, we were able to experience the pleasures of the Candombe artform. Starting with a captivating percussion performance, we were taught the complicated origins of Candombe. Used as a resistance to European Oppression, it developed into a core piece of the Afro-latin Culture. Brave volunteer Edge Woodruff showed us that guitar wasn't his only musical strong suit, as he kept up with the fast paced music on the drums! The workshop ended with all of us, Profes included, dancing the night away, and our hips did NOT lie. Speaking of, we got dinner, which consisted of an empanada appetizer and our choice of entree. We were welcomed into the restaurant by waiters flaunting shirts with expletives that conveyed their pride to be from San Telmo. After dinner, we slept well, drained from our long day.
Written by Danny and Akhil.
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