¡Viva la Patria!

According to the age-old adage, "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailor's delight," today should have been a beautiful day. In all honesty, I captured the following image last night from the balcony of my room...

However, the gray, drizzly skies this morning forecasted weather conditons very different than what Resistencia might have hoped for on such a historic day. 25 de mayo is an important national holiday that celebrates the start of Argentina's revolution against Spain in 1810. Each year in Resistencia it is celebrated with a parade in the city and other memorial demonstrations. This year, however, was especially notable as Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner honored the city of Resistencia with a visit for the holiday's memorial celebrations. You can imagine how excited I was several weeks ago when I found out that President Kirchner would be visiting the city. Since then, I have witnessed lots of "sprucing up" happening throughout the city, in roadwork and other aesthetic elements, the construction of a stage in Plaza 25 de mayo, and, in the last few days, the barricading of countless streets throughout the city marking the president's entrance route from the airport. And so ensues the tale of my 25 de mayo....

Being the overzealous American that I am (and simply super excited at the chance to see Argentina's president in person), my day probably started a little earlier than necessary. I was in the central plaza shortly after 8:00 am for ceremonies that wouldn't begin until a few hours later. Here, you see the stage with just the first few dozen spectators standing along the barricades.

I figured that finding a place to sit would be my best bet for remaining comfortable over the next couple hours but abandoned my seat and meandered across the plaza when I heard some music playing. This music came from a police band playing some patriotic tunes at a flag-raising ceremony. Several tunes were played, a few words of remembrance spoken, and general announcements made about weather-related ceremonial changes. You can see from these pictures taken at the flag-raising ceremony that skies were less-than-pleasant and even rather foreboding this morning.

After the ceremony, I headed back across the plaza to find a place to sit again and wait, and wait, and wait... While I was able to sit for some time, I eventually migrated toward the barriers when crowds began to grow. I made a pledge to myself that no matter how long I had to stand, my getting up so early from bed on a holiday was going to be made worth it. The next few pictures show a progressive growth of the crowd of people in Plaza 25 de mayo. In the following picture is one of the first large flags that a political group carried to the plaza for this day of memorial and political significance. This flag became one of many that flew over the plaza this morning.

Part of the 25 de mayo festivities include a special Catholic mass called the Tedeum. In typical Argentine style, this mass that was supposed to begin at 11:30 am started just minutes before noon with a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria. Outside Resistencia's cathedral (situated on Plaza 25 de mayo just to the side of the stage set up for President Kirchner's address), the throngs that had gathered heard a healthy mix of the religious service blaring from the outdoor sound system and the drums, singing and chanting of youthful political groups gathered and waiting in the plaza. You can see in the picture below that a large screen had also been set up outside the cathedral so that spectators might be able to see and hear the religious proceedings: a televised view that was mostly blocked for me by some of the countless flags waving in the air. Despite heightened tensions amidst the continuously growing throngs of people, a laugh was shared when the bishop announced that we should "sit/kneel and pray," something that was absolutely impossible at that point outside with the quantity of people that had gathered.

I also laughed when the Tedeum mass' conclusion was marked with a choral singing of the most famous movement of Handel's Messiah, "The Hallelujah Chorus." I felt like this song couldn't have more accurately described my thankfulness that the ceremonies would be moving soon toward the day's most anticipated event. Finally, eventually, the VIP's headed for their seats on the stage in front of the plaza. As if on cue, this was also when a steady drizzle began to fall from the massive sheets of clouds overhead. Thankfully I was buried enough in the crowd and beneath a couple trees that I became the victim of only a minimal amount of rain. After a brief welcome, a military band played the national anthem and a couple other patriotic tunes. You can see all the VIP's in attendance on stage in my next photos, including President Cristina Kirchner and Chaco governor, Coqui Capitanich to her right.

Capitanich was the first major political figure to take the microphone. In a typical politician's style, he talked about how Chaco was growing and improving in education (with students' achievements and the important government investment in student scholarships), in agricultural production, and in technological capabilities as one of the province's largest current projects involves extending a network of fiber optic technological capabilities to more rural areas of the province. He was enthusiastic, resoundingly positive regarding the province's progress and extremely complimentary of President Kirchner and her actions that, he says, have made these changes possible in Chaco (i.e. typical politician). Finally, President Kirchner took her place at the microphone to address the eager crowd. It was eight years ago nearly to the day that she sat in her senator's seat and saw her husband be sworn in as president. This memory was at the forefront of her thoughts today as she remembered her husband, Nestor Kirchner, who passed away after suffering a heart attack last October. Her voice cracked and her intonation fluctuated with this emotion and yet she spoke with great passion about how she has seen, and aided, the realization of his dreams especially for this region of Argentina. She briefly empowered the women of Argentina to continue working for positive change and called for Argentines to come together for the good of the nation's future. She urged that God's aid be sought to realize a different society: one in which qualities like humility, solidarity, and strength, among others, will allow Argentines to construct a better country.

Following President Kirchner's address, a parade of celebration processed around the central plaza. Floats and parade units included: a tree with acrobats (dressed up as various wild animals) on its branches doing all sorts of crazy movements, a staircase with two couples dancing and what might have been a local/city/provincial "Cotton Queen" waving at the top (or something of the sort as she was wearing a "Miss America" type sash), active and veteran military units, reenactments of fighting against the Spainards in honor of the holiday's revolutionary focus, a young woman who was swung around above the street as she was strapped to a crane (While she focused on graciously saluting the crowd, her presence was marked by an air cannon close to her feet that scattered into the air both cotton and confetti. Believe my description or not, I do not jest about this matter), and large truck beds filled with 20+ large speakers and amplifiers to blare the music for specific floats (I also kid you not about the quantity of speakers on these vehicles...crazy!). Despite the fact that it is an election year, I am happy to report that this parade was not [over]filled with local politicians and businesses soliciting the general public's attention when they would rather just enjoy the holiday and a parade of celebration.

I watched a bit of the parade as I walked, but after my crazy morning, I was honestly ready to get out of the square and out of the city. This proved much more difficult than I could have imagined as a ridiculous number of streets had been blocked off either for the parade or to assure the president's safe transit route. Eventually, I made it to the bus stop and was happily on my way to Puerto Tirol to celebrate 25 de mayo with Viviana and her family and friends. I enjoyed locro, the infamous dish of 25 de mayo, for the second time (although I just can't force/accustom myself to eating the plentiful pieces of solid beef fat that are left alongside the wonderful meat in this stew) and spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with Vivi who never fails to make me feel at home and relaxed and rejuvenated from our conversations. 

Oh, and Argentina beat Paraguay, 4-2, in the big soccer game this afternoon in Chaco. A favorable, memorable 25 de mayo. As I heard so many times joyously shouted this morning...¡Viva la patria!