Gnocchi alla Romana on Argentinean Gnocchi Day

Gnocchi alla romana - a bit different from the classic gnocchi, even in looks!

 The end of another month is approaching fast... but before we get all philoshophical here and start pondering over  how time flies and where all those nice March days have gone to, take a good look at your calendar. It's almost the 29th of the month and this means... it's Gnocchi Day! Or at least, it's Gnocchi Day in Argentina. 

These small doughy balls known as gnocchi in Italian and as ñoquis in Argentina, are generally made from potato but there are many other varieties that are just as delicious as the traditional potato ones.
To celebrate this special day in our culinary calendar, I invited bloggers Katie, Ana, Rebecca, Meag and Paula  to come up with their special version of the ñoquis for this 29th March. The idea is to share our recipes and have new options for the 29th of the months still to come. We will find out what delicious recipes these ladies have prepared for this special holiday in a moment....

But first, why is the 29th Gnocchi Day in Argentina?

The truth is no one knows for certain and there are a number of theories to explain this tradition, like that it was brought over to the New World by our Italian ancestors who celebrated St. Pantaleon every 29th in Italy by serving gnocchi on this day.

The most likely explanation, though, is that the 29th is the day right before payday and what better food is there to feed your family, that is cheap yet delicious and filling and is easy to make at the same time? The answer is ñoquis, of course!!
Serve them with a simple red or white sauce or just drizzle some olive oil and and put a sprinkle of parmesan on top and it becomes a dish that is rich and will leave you and your loved ones with full bellies and happy hearts. In fact, that is what you say, before eating the ñoquis - but wait! let's explain how it should be done:

First, make your ñoquis and serve them with your favourite sauce. Then place a folded bank note under each plate to attract prosperity to your house and your dear ones. Take your napkin and tie it around your neck (ok, you can skip this one if you promise to mind your manners) and make a toast to a "full belly, happy heart" (in Spanish, "panza llena, corazón contento") and.... dig in!
A friend of mine who is originally from Uruguay (our neighbours from just across the Río de la Plata) told me that in her family, they normally count how many ñoquis each member has been served and later place bets on that number in the lottery! The idea is, do anything and everything you can to bring good luck and prosperity to yourself and your family!

Now, here is my idea for Gnocchi Day tomorrow:

Ñoquis a la Romana: 

Gnocchi alla romana don't have the traditional gnocchi shape.

 This recipe is pretty simple and it can be served as a first course or with some sauté  mushrooms and veggies (leeks or chard stalks and leaves, are my favourite to serve this way) or even some tuna or beef meatballs in a red sauce.
Tomorrow I am going to be serving mine with sauté mushrooms, leek and paksoi. The idea for this combination came from an Argentinean food blogger, Cristina. You can see her recipe here.

They are a bit different from the gnocchi we are used to, they look more like disks than like little dough balls and the texture is different as well. My grandma used to make them when I was a little girl and I remember I used to love cutting the gnocchi in different shapes so that the dish ended up looking a bit strange in the end! Another thing I liked was that if there was any dough left, my grandma used to sprinkle a bit of parmesan and rosemary over the dough, cut it in little sticks and fry them to eat as snacks until the ñoquis (as we called them) were done. 


Ingredients: (serves 4)

45g. unsalted butter, melted
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
3 egg yolks
1l. milk
pinch of nutmeg
200g semolina flour
salt, pepper to taste

For the topping:
40g butter, melted
90ml cream
30g Parmesan cheese, grated


Preparation:

Notes:
- Have all the ingredients ready beforehand, because the dough needs to be hot when you pace it on the baking sheet to set and cool. 
- Seasoning is important, make sure you taste the dough is not too bland before you put it in the fridge to cool.

Line a shallow bread tin or dish with some greaseproof paper to have it ready when you are done with the mix.
Whisk the butter, Parmesan cheese and the egg yolks and season to taste. Set the mixture aside.

Heat the milk in a big pan. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. When the milk is just beginning to boil, add the semolina flour in a thin stream, little by little, whisking constantly - and I mean, constantly - you don't want lumps in the dough. Reduce the heat and let the mixture cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring continually, until all the milk has been absorbed and the mixture comes loose from the sides of the pan. The texture has to be thick, but still creamy and moist.

Take the pan from the gas and whisk in the egg mixture you had previously set aside. Taste to correct seasoning if necessary.  Spread the dough while still hot (very important, since this will make it easier to spread the dough) on the sheet to a thickness of about 2cm. Spread it as smoothly as you can, using the flat side of a knife or a metal spatula, dipping it first in cold water before touching the dough.
Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge to cool for a couple of hours. If you are not going to make the ñoquis right away, you can at this stage the dough overnight or freeze until needed.

To cut the gnocchi I used a cutter with a funny shape. They're ready to go into the oven now!

 Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a shallow ovenproof dish with some butter. Take the flat dough from the fridge and cut disks of about 4 cm in diameter with a round cookie cutter or a glass previously dipped in cold water. Keep dipping the cutter in cold water to prevent sticking. Arrange the disks or ñoquis slightly overlapping in the greased oven dish.

Grate some Parmesan on top of the gnocchi and take it to the oven...

For the topping, mix the butter and the cream. Pour this mixture onto the ñoquis and sprinkle generously some Parmesan cheese. Put the dish in the oven and bake the ñoquis for about 25-30 minutes until the top layer is golden brown. Once they are ready they should be served right away.

Out of the oven, bubbling away...

* * * * *

Let's now take a look at the other ladies' ñoquis recipes!
(you can go to their recipes by clicking on the link under the photo)

Spinach Gnocchi by Paula de Caro

Arugula Gnocchi by Ana O'Reilly

Butternut Squash Gnocchi - Two Ways by Katie

Roasted Beet Gnocchi by Meag

Ñoquis del 29: A family tradition by Rebecca

This should definitely see us through the next six months of full bellies and happy hearts, don't you think? (wink!)

The Jesuit legacy in Córdoba (Argentina) - Jesús María

The church of the estancia in Jesús María, Córdoba

Strongly recommended when visiting Córdoba in Argentina, is to take a tour of the Jesuit Block in the city and the Jesuit estancias spread around the province.
The presence of the Order of the Society of Jesus in the Spanish colony during the 17th and 18th centuries marked forever the character and the identity of Córdoba. The Jesuit priests that settled in the Spanish territories in the New World  brought with them not only their religious zeal to spread the Catholic faith among the indigenous people of the land (a practice that may be seen today as objectionable), but they also brought enlightment and progress in the form of the first university they created in the country, and the impulse they gave to the economy of the region through their agricultural and industrial establishments - the estancias.

The Jesuit Block (containing the church of the Society of Jesus, the priests' residence and the Collegium Maximum, later university) together with five of the Jesuit agricultural establishments spread around the province of Córdoba, were declared World Heritage Site in the year 2000 by the UNESCO.

The Jesuit estancias -as the large rural estates are known in Argentina- were mainly agricultural establishments founded by the order to produce the food, the goods and the resources needed to maintain the missions spread throughout the colony as well as the college and university they had founded in the city of Córdoba in 1613.
These estancias today are an excellent example of the fusion of the European and indigeneous cultures and they illustrate an unparalled social, religious and economic experiment that spread over 150 years of Argentinean history and lived on even after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767.

Today we take a look at one of the Jesuit estancias, the one in the town of Jesús María, about 50 km from the city of Córdoba.

In 1618 the order bought land in the region of Guanasacate, as Jesús María was originally known in the language of the sanavirones, the indigenous people living in what is now the province of Córdoba. The bulk of the goods produced in this agricultural and manufacturing establishment went to maintain the Colegio Máximo, the college founded in 1610 in the city and which was later to become the university of Córdoba.

In the estancia of Jesús María, the priests instructed the natives in many manual crafts like candle and soap making, raising cattle and wine production for which they received a salary. There was also a population of approximately 300 slaves bought in the port of Buenos Aires who did most of the heavy work around the estate, leaving the natives to dedicate to the more specialised crafts.

Wine making was the main activity in Jesús María. In 1618 when the order bought the estate in the province of Córdoba, they also acquired 20.000 grapevines and they started their own wine production.
With an average of 600 cans of lagrimilla -as the wine became known- per year, the Jesuit winery of Jesús María was the first and later the largest wine producer in the viceroyship of the Río de la Plata. Their lagrimilla wine was the first wine produced in the colonies to make it to table of the Spanish king.

The tajamar or water reservoir made by the Jesuits in their estate in Jesús María to supply water for use in the cloister  as well as for irrigation of their crops and vines.

The architecture of the monastery/factory/residence complex is an example of the typical construction favoured by the Jesuits and is a fusion of European and indigenous colonial style.
A central courtyard is enclosed on two sides by a two-storey arched gallery that housed the cloister, while the third and fourth side were occupied by a storage building and a high wall. The priests' living quarters and communal rooms were located in the back of the construction.
The natives and the slaves lived in precarious huts spread in the outskirts of the estate, but these were in due time replaced by proper living quarters built of bricks, stones and tiles.
An ingenious compound of lavatories was built in the cloister of the estancia, making it the first construction in the country to have indoor toilets with their own waste disposal system.

The style of the single nave church is beautiful despite its simplicity; the only adornment of its central cupola is a relief work thought to have been made by native artisans. No picture taking is allowed inside the church, so unfortunately, I cannot offer you a peak into the interior of this jewel of 17th century religious architecture in Córdoba.

The simple façade of the church in the estancia de Jesús María

After the expulsion of the Jesuits from the colonies in 1767, the estancia of Jesús María (as all the other estates, missions and the university) went into private hands and a long period of decadence and deterioration followed.
During the first half of the 20th century, the national government took charge of the former Jesuit establishments declaring them national monuments and started with the renovation works.  Finally,  the UNESCO gave all the estancias and the Jesuit Block in the city of Córdoba the status of World Heritage Site in 2000.

A local artist describing his work to a couple of tourists.

 The estancia of Jesús María houses today the National Jesuit Museum which aims to preserve an important part of the history of Córdoba and the country by recreating the original purpose of the complex. With eighteen exhibition rooms, the permanent collection of the museum includes archeological finds from the northern and central regions of the country, period furnishings and tools, and a very fine collection of 17th and 18th century religious art among other things. Temporary exhibitions as well as concerts, conferences and other cultural events are also periodically held within the ancient walls of the estancia.

This bird is probably a descendant of one of the old inhabitants of the estancia during the Jesuits' times.

In the 150 years that the Jesuits remained in the country they increased their prestige and their power carrying out an important role in the colonial society mainly as educators and entrepreneurs. In Córdoba they founded the first university in the Río de la Plata and one of the most prestigious universities in Latin America.  It is thanks to the university that the city of Córdoba is known still today as La Docta, meaning "the wise" in Spanish.
The estancias they owned were models of industry and progress from their very origins, and many of the activities and crafts introduced by the Order in the 17th and 18th century -like wine making and agriculture- still form the basis of the economy of the region.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic...

 (Lee este post en español aquí)

Three months have gone by since the last time I wrote here on my blog. In the meantime, I have been travelling, working and enjoying the company of  friends and family and I cannot think of a better way to spend my days. 

This year I have been very lucky - I have been on short holidays three times: to beautiful Andalusia in Spain, to the Ardennes in neighbouring Belgium and to the Argo Saronic Islands in Greece. I fell in love with all of these places and I feel it would be a dream come true to go back to each one of them some time in the future.
In late August, my parents came all the way from Argentina to spend two months with me in The Netherlands.  It was the first time my father visited Holland, so we made sure that he got to see as much as possible and we also spent two weekends abroad in Germany and in Belgium. 

My parents during our visit at the Southern Sea Museum in the NL.

Finally, the time came to pay our annual visit to my home country, Argentina. Right when a quite unusually beautiful autumn was beginning to set in in Holland, the four of us -my parents, my husband and I-  flew together across half of Europe and over the Atlantic to land here in the southern hemisphere some 25 hours after leaving home. Here in the south Nature´s cycle is just beginning and trees are not losing their leaves but rather filling up. The usual brown and earthy colours that are so common in Córdoba, are slowly changing into green again and it is warm and sunny most of the time.


I usually feel sorry to miss the beauty of the autumn in The Netherlands, especially this year when it has been such an unusually fantastic season, judging by what I´ve seen in my friend Alison´s blog -A Flamingo in Utrecht- lately. Here are some of the shots she took around the city of Utrecht:

Autumn along the Oudegracht. ©Alison Netsel

Mist in a street in Utrecht. ©Alison Netsel.

 

Autumn Domtoren (Church bell tower) ©Alison Netsel

But the beauty of the spring in Argentina makes up for all that I am missing in the northern hemisphere. It is during this time of the year when the beautiful jacarandá, a typical tree of these lands, get covered in gorgeous purple flowers. I recently admired them in the photos my friend Diego -from the blog in Spanish, Contacto con lo Divino- took in Buenos Aires. Here are some of his pictures:

Jacarandas in bloom in Buenos Aires. ©Diego Bianchi

Beautiful light trhough the jacarandas. ©Diego Bianchi

View of 9 de Julio Av. in Buenos Aires. ©Diego Bianchi

I still have three more weeks to enjoy my holiday here in Argentina, during which I hope to see more of my friends and family and enjoy visiting all the familiar places that mean so much to me ...

Hasta la próxima...!

Guest blogger: Patricia and her special place in the world

 Para leer esta entrada en español, hacer clic aquí.

view of the lakes and mountains from the top of Mt. Campanario, Bariloche.

Since many of those reading this blog have asked me in the past to post about Patagonia, I thought that there was no one better qualified to tell you about this distant and beautiful region of my country than my friend, Patricia Sgrignuoli.
Patricia, author of  Notas y relatos de viajes - viajando por Patagonia (in Spanish with English translation tool), lived all her life in the city of Buenos Aires, but ever since she was a little girl she had a dream: to live in PATAGONIA one day.
Currently, Patricia and her husband are preparing to move to their new home in one of the most beautiful corners of Patagonia, the  place that has always been *her* place in the whole wide world.
Here is the story of how she fell in love with this region of Argentina, and how her dream of one day living there, is now coming true.

Patagonia - My place in the world... 
by Patricia Sgrignuoli

Snow-shoeing in the forest in Tierra del Fuego.

I was very pleased when my friend Aledys invited me to write a post in her blog about one of the most beautiful,  magical and far-off parts of my country - Argentinean Patagonia  -  and the story of why I believe it is "my place in the world". It is not easy to express in words the emotions that this place always inspires in me, but I think that after reading these lines and looking at the photos you will understand how I feel.

This is my story:

I was twelve years old when my parents took me for the first time to Bariloche, a city at the foot of the Andes, during the summer holidays. I can still remember the view we had from our cottage window: the intense blue colour of the Nahuel Huapi lake, the mountains in the distance ... While trying to take in that breathtaking view of the surroundings, I remember thinking to myself how nice it would be one day to live in that place.

Riding on a sled pulled by huskies in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego

A few years later we came back, but this time during the winter. I had my first experience in the cold weather of the south and it was also the first time I got in contact with snow. I liked it so much that, right there and then, I decided that I wanted to live in Patagonia when I was older! Along the years I kept going back to the south again and again; and each time I would grow fonder of its landscapes, its wildlife, its people... and that is how my long-standing romance with Patagonia started.

Lago Caviahue, province of Neuquén.

Many years went by while I was studying and working, until finally, I managed to save enough money to make a dream of mine come true: going on a ski holiday to La Hoya, a resort near Esquel, in the northwest of the province of Chubut.
To get there I had to travel for 24 hours on a bus, making a total of 2,000 kilometres, which is the distance between the city of Buenos Aires and Esquel.

I went on practising ski for a number of years, and that is how I got to see places of the Patagonia like Chapelco (near San Martín de los Andes in the province of Neuquén) with its beautiful beech forests. I also visited the Atlantic coast of Patagonia: Puerto Madryn, a place with stunning beaches and skies so clear  that you can see the stars and spot satellites as well. There, the Valdés Península, is a natural marvel with an amazingly rich wildlife like there is not anywhere else on the planet. The highlight of my trip to this beautiful place was the sighting of whales out in the sea, who just a few metres from the shore, seemed to be following our walk along the beach with curiousity.

Images of Caviahue in the province of Neuquén.

A few years later, together with a friend, I decided to do something a bit more adventurous and we set out to travel across the vast Patagonian steppelike plains. After an entire day on a bus traversing the rough and desertic landscape of  Patagonia, we finally reahed our destination - the spectacular Perito Moreno glacier, situated in the province of Santa Cruz. This was an unforgettable experience!

After I got married, my husband and I travelled to a place that we had never heard of before - Villa Pehuenia, a small village on the shores of Aluminé lake and at the foot of an extinct volcano. Mt. Batea Mahuida has been inactive for millions of years and a deep blue lake with volcanic sandy beaches was formed in the dormant crater of the volcano. Also, a very peculiar tree, the araucaria or pehuén (as the original inhabitants of the region, the mapuches, call it) grows in this remote place of the northern Patagonia.

Mascardi lake near the city of Bariloche, Rio Negro.

We both fell in love with this place and as of that moment we started seriously considering the possibility of moving there in the near future. This was a big step and we had to think carefully if we really wanted to leave behind the big city and start a new and completely different life in Patagonia. There were too many aspects to take into account, since in Patagonia life is not altogether easy: in the winter there are constant power cuts and fuel shortage; and sometimes the heavy snowstorms leave whole towns completely cut off from civilization... Despite all these problems that are logical in such a remote place, we finally made up our minds and decided that we wanted to make a home in Patagonia.

images from Bariloche, in the province of Rio Negro.

We made one more trip after we decided to change our lifestyle and move away from the big city: we travelled to the end of the world, to the city of Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the whole hemisphere. Ushuaia is ....

beautiful and majestic; mystical and unique; mysterious and magnificent; colourful and magical ... So many words can be used to describe this place, but to me it is simply where nature, adventure and legend come together at the end of the world...

When I wrote these words I had Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) in mind, but the description suits the whole region of Patagonia perfectly. In this remote part of the country, there are no (or very few) shopping centres, no huge lights or big cities; but also, there is neither violence nor pollution... just endless plains, green valleys, mountains and lakes; clear skies and pure deep blue waters; above all, there is silence and peace.

After so many years travelling across the Patagonia, the little girl who fell in love with those beautiful landscapes so long ago, will be hopefully celebrating her 50th birthday next year in her new home in Patagonia, just as she dreamed so long ago. Very soon, my husband and I will be starting our new life in a small town in the northwest of the province of Chubut: Lago Puelo - a place where Mother Nature is mistress of all and which , for my husband and me, will become our place in the world....

Spotted in the Netherlands:

It's a small world,  isn't it?

Just about a month ago I spent a day in Almere with Blogger pal Sandra, author of Presépio com Vista para o Canal. We had a fantastic time visiting a special photo exhibition and enjoying lunch together in the city centre which served to prove once more that Sandra is a fantastic host. I will soon post about this particular day in Almere more in detail, but today I wanted to share something that happened to me on my way back home.

After parting with Sandra I had just about enough time to catch my train to Amersfoort where I would take my second train back to my city - Zwolle. I took a bus in one of the new neighbourhoods just outside the Almere centrum hoping that I would make it in time to Almere Centrum, the train station.

Unfortunately, my haste made me get off one stop too soon and I had to run the remainder of the way to the train station. Totally out of breath, I climbed down the stairs to the platforms, looked for the right one, saw the train, double-checked that it was going in the right direction and happy but exhausted from the run, I jumped onto it - and just barely seconds before the conductor whistled and the train started to move.

The car I chose was almost empty so I began to relish the moment I would be able to sit down, cool down a bit and finally take out my book to read and enjoy the rest of the ride to my next destination. I chose a seat on the right-hand side but then I decided that the sun would be bothering me and I changed to the other side. Finally! I was sitting, I was opening my bag, I was taking out my book .... when something that was written on the window caught my eye. My hand froze halfway into my bag, still holding the book and my heart almost skipped a beat when I read the word: ARGENTINA!

All I could think right then was: "what are the odds?!" I took out the book, yes, but not so much to read it anymore as to create the perfect scenario for a photo - I had to share this moment! I took my camera too,  and started clicking away while the train was leaving Almere behind and traversing the polder. I took a few shots of the highway we were just passing, the fields.... until I finally saw the right kind of landscape approaching fast: Argentina (the grafitti) and the Netherlands (the mill in the distance) in one single shot.

 
After the photo session was over, I kept thinking about this other Argentinean person: what had brought him/her here to the Netherlands: love, a holiday, a business trip? I somehow could not picture a serious businessman writing a grafitti on a train window ... so he or she had probably been a student at one of the Dutch universities...? How long ago had this person sat on this very same spot, on this same train?

Anyway, even if I don't condone this kind of creative writing on public transport, finding this grafitti served to keep me musing about being far from home, about being an expat in the Netherlands. When you are living the life of an expat you adapt, you change, you become one of them in many ways, without noticing it.You go through the motions of your new life day in, day out, until things like this silly grafitti makes you stop for a moment and ask yourself, "How did I end up here?", and also realise all of a sudden, "boy, am I far from home!"

If you are an expat too, have you ever had such moments? Or if you have moved from your original city to a new one in your country: do you ever stop to think how you never imagined you would be living in a totally different place at some point in your life? How does it feel for you?

Happy Friend's Day!

click on the photo to see large

Today is one of those days  when I would love to be back home, in Argentina: it's 20 July - Friend's Day.

Día del Amigo or Friend's Day is a very important celebration in Argentina and Uruguay.
On 20 July 1969, the whole world united while watching the images of the first Moon landing achieved by the crew of Apollo 11 and "... for one priceless moment, in the whole history of Man, all the people on this Earth [were]truly one," as American President Richard Nixon said in his phone call to astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin moments after they stepped on the Moon for the first time.

In Argentina, a teacher called Enrique Febbraro, had a brilliant idea: he proposed that this day should be remembered in the future and celebrated as Friend's Day, because at that moment in history back in 1969, the entire world had been friends of the three astronauts that had landed on the Moon.
His proposal achieved even official recognition with a government decree (number 235/79)back in the year 1979, and today, it is one of the most popular celebrations in my country as well as in Uruguay.

click on the photo to see large

Friend's Day is not a holiday in Argentina, but it is an excuse for young and old to celebrate friendship. Normally, you start the day making and receiving phone calls from friends: those that are far away, and you haven't seen in a while, as well as those that live in the same city as you do. Another popular thing is to send emails, cards, flowers or sweets to your most dear friends. During the last couple of years, mobile phone networks have even experienced temporary breakdowns during this day!
In the evening, after work, people normally get together for the real celebration. Restaurants, discos, bars - they all offer special arrangements for this day and they normally take reservations well in advance. If you are just visiting or passing by on 20 July, don't bother to show up at a restaurant, because the chances are that you will not find one that can accommodate you without a reservation.


Merijelen and I, at the turn of the century (this century, of course) 
On this photo I am with my dear friend Maria Elena, or Merijelen as I like to call her, using a strong Spanish pronunciation of her anglicized name "Mary Ellen". You may ask why I bother to pronounce in Spanish an English name that was anyway Spanish to begin with. That is something Merijelen and I just do: we have developed our own language, in which we turn Spanish words and expressions into English or viceversa - just for fun.
Back in the day when we used to work together, we would share those special moments - like when we both used to make fake dates with Brad and George over the phone...

Photo source

... or charge money to each other in exchange for help. I would come to her and ask if she could find some book or tape for an exam I needed to have ready, and when I thanked her, she would always say "you're welcome, it's $10!"

We have been friends for a long time and I am pretty sure I owe her millions by now - in pesos, dollars, euros, rands... and every possible currency that exists out there in the world. My debt has increased and grown out of proportion with the passing of time. A couple of  tapes for the Cambridge exams, $50; helping me to prepare the auditorium for a workshop, $150; revising the timetables for the examiners and giving them a call, $200; being there in the good times, $500,000; during the hard times, $1,000,000..... and the list goes on. But I was hoping she would forgive that huge debt with this tribute to our friendship on this very special day:

HAPPY DAY, MY FRIEND! 

Thanks to the models for these photos: Nicole, Angela, Izan, Vero and her friends!

Happy Birthday

Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía
Cathedral in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Photo by Roberto Bowyer

For the last couple of weeks I have been planning to write a post about Córdoba, my hometown in Argentina. It is, I think, a long due tribute to the city where I was born and where I lived many years of my life.

It has been no easy task, though. What to tell, where to begin and most importantly, how to express how I feel about Córdoba?

After much thought and deliberation, false starts and drafts that ended up in the trash bin (cybernetically speaking, of course) I finally found the answer ... and it came with a little help from my friends, as the song goes.

How so?

I happen to have friends who are very talented photographers. Their photos are fantastic because they are all very technically and artistically skilled - they have the eye for it, as they say. But something else happens when they shoot photos of Córdoba: they put their soul into it as well; and when you look at their images you know that no matter where in the world they live now, they've left a piece of their heart behind in Córdoba - just like me.

Today, we are celebrating Córdoba's 437th birthday. On a day like today, 6th July 1573, the Spanish conquistador Don Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera, founded the city of Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía on the margins of the river Suquía. The name of Córdoba was chosen as a tribute to the conquistador's wife, who had been born in the Spanish Córdoba.

This is how Claudia Gibson, Gustavo Alterio, Roberto Bowyer and humble me, say "Happy Birthday" to our city!

(You can click on each photo to view it large)

Claudia Gibson takes the best shots of the skies of Córdoba.

A view over the city by Gustavo Alterio.

Capuchinos Church and Buen Pastor cultural centre, by Gustavo Alterio.

La Cañada (channeled stream) by Roberto Bowyer.

The Cabildo, old Town Hall in the city centre, by Roberto Bowyer.

Santa Teresa's Church, built in 1628.

Ecipsa tower on Yrigoyen Av.

Happy Birthday, to our city!!

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).