Tuesday 29 December 2009

Still Imagining Argentina

The National Flag Memorial in the city of Rosario, Argentina.

Before leaving the Netherlands for my annual visit to Argentina, I thought it might be a good idea to ask you, the readers, what you already knew about the country and to run a sort of quizz with photos and questions. I was pleasantly surprised to read all your responses and to discover that actually, all of those who frequently visit my blog already had some previous knowledge of the country where I was born and raised.

Of course some of you, have acquired that knowledge through first-hand experience: either from your visits to Argentina or because you have lived there at some point of your lives.

Such is the case of Rebecca, for example, who married an Argentine and fell in love with the country, its people, its traditions and, of course, its food, as she explains in her blog "From Argentina, with Love", where she explores Argentinean culture and especially, Argentinean cuisine.
I found her blog some time ago by chance, while Googling names for my own blog - and a lucky find that was!
If you are curious about what we Argentineans eat, I suggest you visit her blog - you'll find there traditional recipes and tales told with flair and good humour.

Others, instead, have come to know more about Argentina directly from me. Probably, every time we meet or talk online and I happen to mention how things are different in my country, you think to yourselves, "oh-oh, here we go again!" But hey, consider it this way: I am in a manner of speaking, giving you a free Geography or History or Culture lesson ... so you are welcome! (just joking!)



In my post Imagining Argentina I shared with you a collage with photos of (rather) famous Argentinean people. Many of you could name quite a number of them. Starting from the upper left-hand corner, they are:
1) Eva Duarte de Perón, or better known as Evita, former first lady of Argentina (1946-52), political icon and legend, known for her work in favour of better conditions for the poor and for the working classes;

2) Diego Maradona, a former football player considered by many to be one of the best players of all times and also, a very controversial and newsworthy figure in my country;

3) Princess Máxima of the Netherlands (née Máxima Zorreguieta), the Argentine-born wife of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands;

4) Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentinean Marxist revolutionary active in the Cuban Revolution and whom since his death has become a symbol within popular culture;

5) Gabriela Sabatini, former professional tennis player who became one of the leading players in the 1980s and 90s. She somehow became an icon of Latin beauty in her day;

6) Julio Bocca, one of the most important ballet dancers of the last part of the 20th century and certainly the most important dancer in Argentina;

7) Jorge Luis Borges, leading figure of Argentinean literature of world renown who inspired a whole generation of 20th century writers like Umberto Ecco or Paulo Coelho;

8) Astor Piazzolla, Argentinean composer and bandoneón player who transformed (some say "modernised") tango music by incorporating elements of jazz and classical music. It was to the notes of his "Adiós, Nonino" that Princess Máxima of the Netherlands wept during her wedding ceremony back in 2002;

9) Juan Martín del Potro, another professional tennis player, currently ranking number 5 on the ATP list;

10) Carlos Gardel, the most prominent figure in the history of tango.

I also posted this photo of a famous house in the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina, and I asked if you recognised it or if you had seen it before. This is the Casa Rosada (literally, Pink House), the seat of the national government in Argentina. You may have recognised the building from the film Evita in which Madonna plays the role of Eva Perón, in which you can see her (Madonna/Evita) rallying the masses from the balcony of this very government house.


My beautiful Córdoba


This mosaic of photos I posted on Imagining Argentina, shows you different places and views of the province where I was born: Córdoba. It so happens that the capital city of that province is also called Córdoba - easy to remember, don't you think?

Next week I will be posting some of the interesting and/or funny comments you wrote in that blog entry and I will try to answer your queries about Argentina, too. Stay tuned!

For now, I wish you Happiness, Prosperity and good times to last you all the year 2010 and I hope to continue enjoying your company next year!

Sunrise at the Cordón del Plata, in the Andes (Mendoza, Argentina).

20 comments:

buday said...

A Happy New Year to you too, Aledys. Looking forward to your posts.
I clicked on the link to Rebecca's blog. It made me hungry, ayayay! :)

Presépio no Canal said...

My Dear Aledys!

Wishing you an atonishing 2010 plenty of Tango , good argentian food and poffertjes from the Nederlands and all the good things for the two worlds. I am not forgotten about the bacalhau recipe , but well, my time this final year ...well you know, ...but I will post it before the end of the year...

Enjoy the New Year and I will stay tuned with your blog, of course! I want to learn more about Argentina!

Mil Besos! A Great year to you and your dear ones! :0)

MIGUEL NONAY said...

Aledys, hola, soy Miguel, de A SALTO DE MATA.

Quiero agradecerte que hayas visitado mi blog, desde ahora, tu espacio, y que te hayas hecho seguidora.

Me encanta tu blog y tu estilo, así que me hago seguidor y de paso, repasaré mi porbre inglés.

Creo que en febrero iré a holanda pero no se muy bien aún lo que haré.

También quiero decirte que, lo que me ocurrió en Argentina puede suceder en cualquier lugar, con cualquier aerolínea o compañía de transporte, que aquello no impidió lo bien que lo pasé , la gente increible que conocí y los días inolvidables que pasé en tu pais, tienes un país increible, impresionante, bello y salvaje, con una exuberancia natural como poco lugares. Quiero volver, dejé amigos allá.

Feliz 2010 y nos leemos.

Saludos

A salto de mata

Unknown said...

@buday,
Thanks and the same to you!
Every time I visit Rebecca's website, I not only feel hungry, but also nostalgic for my country and my people because spending time with our loved ones goes always together with sharing food - good food and lots of it, too! :o)
Happy New Year to you!

@Presépio,
No rush - take your time with that recipe! And enjoy this weekend!
Happy New Year!

@Miguel,
Muchas gracias por pasar a visitar mi blog. Tengo una herramientra para traducir aquí mismo, pero habiéndola probado yo misma, uff.. no la recomiendo! :o)
Muchas gracias por tus palabras y Feliz 2010 para tí también!

Anonymous said...

The National Flag Memorial is really quite stunning!

I'm afraid to click through the link for the food and recipes. I'm very hungry today as it is! ;)

Looking forward to reading more about Argentina! In the meantime, happy holidays!

Unknown said...

@oranjeflamingo,
Thanks!
Don't be afraid, my friend! You don't gain weight by just reading about food!! :o)

M.Eugenia said...

Muy interesante el collage, a este paso voy a saber mas de Argentina que de España. Que grande Astor Piazzola, tengo varios discos de él. Es que oir un bandoneon es lo máximo.
Besos y Feliz Año

Unknown said...

@M.Eugenia,
Pues nunca está de más, "el saber no ocupa lugar", dicen! jeje
Muchas gracias por tu visita!

thamarai said...

Hello Aldeys, its indeed a pleasure to get these free history/culture lessons for free from you..;)..wish you also a very bright and prosperous new year ahead..:)

Unknown said...

@thamarai,
Thanks a lot, and a Happy 2010 for you and your dear ones too!

VagaMundos said...

Happy New Year Aledys!!!
All the best

Unknown said...

@Vagamundos,
Thanks a lot, the same to you, guys!

Unknown said...

Happy New Year!
Ik moet je Flickr foto's deze week kijken ;-)

Unknown said...

@Aggie,
You did very well as it is, in the questionnaire! As for Che, I think everyone knows him (his face is everywhere!) but very few people know what he is famous for or much less, where he was born.
THanks for stopping by!

@A Touch of Dutch,
Happy New Year to you, too!
Ah, nee, dat is geen verplichting, hoor!! :o)
Cheers!

~ Lopa said...

Aaaah to quiz results are out...hehehe
And i had skipped the quiz so i am happy, i dont have to check on pass or fail..hehehe

Loved the "The National Flag Memorial in the city of Rosario, Argentina" picture in the blog... So now you are back and we have more stories to look fwd from you :)

Happy New Year :)

Droomvla said...

Thanks for the FREE culture/history lesson. lol I love reading your blog.... makes me feel so much closer to my Argentinian hermana, Daniela. :D

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Sonya said...

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! I love it when I come in contact with other expats living here:)

Argentina is so beautiful! Im a follower for sure now!

Unknown said...

@Droomvla,
Well, you now not only have an Argentinean hermana, Daniela, but also a second cousin, Aledys! hehe
Thanks for being there!!

@Sonya,
How can I stay away from your blog with your delicious food? :o) As an Argie, I don't eat to live, but live to eat!
Cheers!!

TBM said...

Happy New Year, Aledys! I can't wait to learn more about your beautiful home country.

Invader_Stu said...

Great photos