Posts By: Norma Gomez Tomasi

Argentina’s first railway

primer ferrocarril

In 1857 was opened the first rail service that took the country.
The terminal station, called “Park” was on the site now occupied by the Teatro Colón, and after covering 10 km. arrived at the terminus of Floresta neighborhood.
In 1873 they put in another lane, which started from September 11 square and arrived at the Riachuelo, which is carrying goods but also the garbage of the city and why it was called the “Rail of garbage.”
The line was closed in 1895


Celedonio Flores

Escultura en el cementerio

On July 28, 1947 died Celedonio Flores, one of the greatest poets who took the tango.
He was 50 years and suffered a heart attack at his home in Palermo (Buenos Aires).
He had been a featherweight boxer with the nickname Kid Cele.
At 18 he received a prize of $ 5 for the verse “For the look” in a poetry lunfardo contest organized by the newspaper Last Time.
Gardel released five years later at the Empire Theatre with music by guitarist José Ricardo under the title Margot.
Many of his works were written in the Café Tortoni napkins.


The Oldest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires

Monserrat - uno de los barrios más antiguos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

On July 8, 1769 divided the city of Buenos Aires in six parishes that were the first neighborhoods in the city. Were emerging around the churches.
The word “neighborhood” is “barrio” in spanish and this last word comes from “barri” of Arab origin that means each of the parties that divide the larger towns.
The parishes were: San. Nicolás, Socorro, Concepción, Montserrat, La Piedad and Catedral


Machaq mara (new year in aymara)

When the first ray of sunlight pierced the door Tiawanaku, today, 21 June, began the New Year Aymara
This ceremony has taken place for the Bolivian Altiplano lands belonged to one of the longest living cultures of South America, which was developed over 2700 years and came to 1200 AD.
Tiawanaku was the capital of a great state pre-Inca Andean.
The Aymara New Year is a family celebration during which people gather to celebrate the rebirth of life sprouting from the Earth. Huddled with each other around the fire, spend the night outside the Tiawanaku´s door waiting that first ray of sunshine for the shortest day of the year.
In this ceremony, song, dance, eat, drink and symbolically burn all the negatives of the previous year
Tiawanaku door is a calendar that marks the two solstices and two equinoxes of the year and was built in place with a thorough orientation to the first ray of sun the first day of winter pass through it.

Source: Julian Varsavsky – Página 12 (supplement Turismo 12)


Balvanera

Junín y Lavalle, Buenos Aires streets where walked the man named “El Choclo” which gives its name to tango, belong to Balvanera neighborhood

History

We can start its history in 1799, when Fray Damián Pérez, Franciscan, received a land grant in which time later built a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Balvanera. For a long time, this chapel supplied to the spiritual needs of the few local residents On 1 April 1831, Bishop Mariano Medrano y Cabrera undertook to erect the Parish of Our Lady of Balvanera, thereby recognizing the importance of the area was gaining. Five years later the parish had 3635 residents. It is within the current boundaries of the neighborhood the traditional Miserere Square, whose name refers to the nickname he was known Don Antonio Gonzalez Varela, owner of the land during the eighteenth Century. The square was an important stage during the British invasion and thence Don Santiago de Liniers summoned the surrender of General William Carr Beresford.

Source: CEDOM


El Choclo (tango)

According to Roberto Selles account, this tango by Angel Villoldo was released in the elegant restaurant “The American” in 1903, which was located in Cangallo (now Juan Domingo Peron) 966. The orchestra that played for the first time was that of José Luis Roncallo. He named this song as “Creole Dance” as the tango had a bad reputation in that environment
It is not known when it was made but some versions speak of 1898
Regarding the name, Villoldo Irene (sister of the composer) had told the singer Juan Carlos Marambio Catan that Choclo “was the nickname of a man which had set up camp in the vicinity of Junín y Lavalle and referred to the color of his hair. “. This man was a “malevo” and “fioca”
Villoldo wrote two letters but none of them appeared in the score published in 1905
In the ’30s Marambio Catan adapted another letter which was sung by Angel Vargas
In 1947 Enrique Santos Discépolo writes the final verse
With this new letter was released by Libertad Lamarque in the Mexican film “Gran Casino”, directed by Luis Buñuel
One of the best known version is sung by Tita Merello

“Malevo”: Bully, fighter, slum dweller
“Fioca” (lunfardo voice): Pimp


I was there…

I will begin by explaining that I know that a blog should be flexible, dynamic, short, short, immediate, and consequently almost liquid.
I believe that all communication has to be responsible, thoughtful, strong to endure and expand and grow it who participates in the debate (how I wish that some are caught in it!). This does not mean to be boring or heavy and I apologize in advance if I can not entertain them a bit but that will surely be the lack of great sympathy that can lock my carácter

And I’ll go … ..

Having spent a few days of celebrations for the Bicentennial, the excitement continues, but I needed time for reflection.
I was one of the 8 million who traveled through what was called the “Walk of Bicentennial, but also by our Plaza de Mayo and the streets and avenues between Callao and Plaza de Mayo, and between Corrientes and Independencia and also were full of people moving from one place to place to live this party.
I felt like a small grain, yet important

The sand is a handful
But there are mountains of sand.
(Atahualpa Yupanqui – El payador pursued)

It is difficult to convey what it feels like so many voices together to sing the anthem or the March of San Lorenzo, but also the Happy Birthday it was like to sing for each other or for themselves. We were celebrating. It was our birthday.

And feeling like the chanting parts of songs as The Olimareños sang “Milonga del shot” and “Gallo black, red rooster.” Of course we also sing with Soledad Pastorutti and Fito Paez and Susana Rinaldi and other artists. But I emphasize these two subjects what they mean and because long time not listening. The people that chanting the songs was very young , and I agree with Eduardo Aliverti, I might have melancoly about the seventies but something returned.

From 4 days I lost only 1st and was always the same climate: PARTICIPATE.
Although you can do several readings, I get the following:

• Participation was happy but by no means naive and harmless. There were various thoughts and to exchange views and political discussions (I witnessed a few) but in the sense of exchange of views and thoughts and not fighting.
• Nothing changes for some holidays … or yes. I think for many it was a turning point for rethinking ideas, visions, positions.

• Who has ever organized a meeting for more than 10 people know the effort and work that meant organizing these celebrations with the participation of thousands of artists and I imagine the thrill of them before the magnitude of the public who participated and shouted cheers (Ernesto and I we had the chance to dance in front of 200,000 people-10% – and that enabled my guess). I tip my hat to all who in one way or another involved in this organization
• Parades, and especially the closure by Brute Force, were shocking (I missed what happened to the screenings and events in Plaza de Mayo and Columbus – can not be at all) but I’ll save the thread all which I think was the right thing:

  • o It’s honored and celebrated people of yesterday and today
    o It revalued the original peoples, European immigrants but also
    o others parts of the World, mainly LatinAmericans
    o returned to the vision of Latin American unity
    o the integration is made visible not only nationalities but of different religions and manifestations of gender and the inclusion of the group that represented just homosexuals in the “Parade of integration.” But also because they could participate in the festivities which never do as people who are on the street and they were obviously displayed by those who want to see
    o The selected historical passages told us about the participation and action of the people, sacrifice and pain of such participation but also of memory, hope, creativity and joy. I think all revolutionary and progressive seriously is optimistic, cheerful, sing, dance and is happily responsible for decisions and actions they perform.
    o I welcome all the scenes but I’m going to stay with one that received no further comment: the penultimate, the classroom, children, the generation that will give life to the grandparents of the generation of the tercentenary (I overtook a lot … I do not think .) The references in the media was talking about a balloon but I saw an egg like that gives life to animals and humans (some are external eggs like chickens and other domestic and human egg or zygote) and within it, along children, teachers and researchers in their tasks, a sentence that is turned on and off constantly and most watched, read and applauded:

“We were able, we can”

I know these are only gestures and should be transformed into actions, a task that belongs to us all from the role each plays.
To paraphrase something I once read and I am indebted to the author because it is not who he is:

“Watch your thoughts because they become gestures;
Watch your gestures because they become words;
Watch your words for they become actions;
Watch your actions because they become habits;
Watch your habits because they are transformed into thoughts and ideology “
Full Circle

This is written in a personal capacity, is that Ernesto coincides with some things but it is he who declares his match and the magnitude of it.
For the time being to continue celebrating the 200 years that we comply player deserved a full glass that we have on hand and no gaps in the pool.

SALUD!

PS: It’s worth reading “The day of the Rosette” – Eduardo Aliverti – Page 12 – 31/05/2010
Note the semiologist Raul Barrientos – Page 12 to 27 or 05/26/2010
Letter and those of Fito Paez.


2010

If by 2010 we can acquire clarity, maturity, solidarity, cooperation, pluralistic vision, strength of spirit …
If, moreover, allows us to add significant dose of joy, creativity, a little madness in the wind …
If pushes us to discover that one can think differently to that have become established systems and structures and media messages …
If we feel that Pachamama is present and lives forever, but who needs our care and commitment …
If we understand that we can be vanguardist just because our roots are strong …
Then the wishes of hope, happiness, good fortune, which is renewed every year, begin to appear for an interesting and intense way.
We augur that this new period gives them strength,work and rebellion to achieve work