Eat, Study, Tango

Saturday

We were ready for another exciting day!  Led by our tour guide, Lorena, we were driven by bus on a tour of the city.  There would also be plenty of walking to do when we got off at our stops.

We visited the Cathedral.  This is the church where Pope Francis said mass when he was bishop.  The church is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen!  The area behind the altar was decorated in gold all the way up to the ceiling.  When you look up at the ceiling, you can see paintings decorating the ceiling.

From the courtyard, we could see the Casa Rosada.  Evita gave her speeches from the balcony of the Casa Rosada.  This house is also known as the Pink House because it is painted the color pink.

We visited the cemetery where Eva Duarte Peron is buried.  The cemetery is in Recoleta.  The cemetery looked like it was built with white marble.  There was also lots of black.  This was a place where rich people are buried.  The families purchased the small areas of land, and they built mausoleums where the coffins are preserved.  There are small windows where you can look in and see the coffins.

Eva is buried in the Duarte Family Coffin, and her actual body is four meters under the ground in front of the mausoleum created by her family to prevent any desecration of her body.

Other families did not have the money to keep the sites where their loved ones are buried in good condition.  These sites are referred to as abandoned coffins.  They are in disarray and look very dirty and dusty.

Later in the evening, we went to a milonga where old people danced tango.  They danced very close together, and the music was not live.  They were dancing the old style of tango that was popular years ago.  The woman usually dances with the man for at least three tangos, unless she is not very fond of him and gives him an excuse not to dance.  These dances have a prescribed order to them, with a break in between dances.