Buenos Ay-ya-ya-res

Again, this post is long overdue.  Pardon me.

My buddy Tennessee heard of a religious theme park in Buenos Aires and of course our interest was peaked.  We decided to go on a Saturday because his roommate, Joe, who I call Ruben (long story), works during the week.  Turns out the park is not open on weekdays anyway (maybe??), so it all worked out for the best.  Our friend, Jena, met us at the door.

To start, I have to say that we were going to this park ironically.  But we were the only ones.  Thus, we tried to be as respectful as possible.  Don’t worry, Mom, I did not shame our family.  I kept my cynicism on the inside. 

We started by trekking up this giant fake mountain.  We saw the crusificion of Jesus and continued up the stairs.  We got to the top and looked down at an ampitheater full of people.  All of a sudden, a 6-story Jesus came out of the mountain we were climbing! They resurrect Christ on the hour every hour!  He was huge, he had awesome theme music, who wouldn’t bounce around excited?

But contrary to what I assumed, La Tierra Santa is not just a Christian theme park, it includes many many religions.  We spent a lot of time in the muslim section, eating at El Café Bagdad some empanadas arabes (Arabian empanadas).  They were great!

I made Ruben, Tennessee and Jena pose with many of the statues in the park.  We also went through the Jewish section (for those of you who remember my story about walking through Once with Ari Heckman asking people where the frontier of the Jewish sector was, well, you can sleep comfortably knowing we found it in La Tierra Santa).  There was a fake Wailing Wall and a sign that said any notes would be brought to the real Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

The most interesting thing about this place, though, is how it came to be.  A few years ago, the government wanted to develop the large piece of land on which it resides.  They asked for bids and different organizations started proposing projects and bidding on the land.  Out of nowhere, the whole bidding process ended and a worker’s union (not sure which one) just got the land.  I think there was a bit of confusion as to why they got it outright.  And they turned the land into a religious theme park and it is has been WILDLY SUCCESSFUL.  If you think about it, can you think of another religious theme park anywhere else in the world?  Sure, religious tourist attractions, but generally those are sites where something happened first–they were not stetches of undeveloped land by the airport.

I was a bit disappointed that this theme park didn’t have any rides.  I was kinda hoping for a Noah’s Upside Down Ark or a Jesus’s Wild Coaster or something like that.  But the photo opportunities were not exhausted in my one visit.  I will be bringing many visitors back to La Tierra Santa.  Just one more reason you all should come visit me.

P.S.  I hope I did not offend anyone with this post.  You have to admit that there is something hilarious about a religious theme park, no matter how religious you are.

I have been going to some soccer games lately.  As you might know, soccer (in Spanish, futbol) is the most popular sport in much of South America, and Argentina is no exception.  The team that gets my support is La Boca.  I guess I picked this team because the neighborhood that houses the stadium is right next to mine, so I figure they’re my team.

The team’s official name is Boca Juniors.  Why Juniors?  No idea.  I think they picked it because it is an English word.  They’re is nothing Junior about this team, though.  The biggest rivalry in Argentina is between Boca and River, a team that resides in the upscale neighborhood of Belgrano.  And the fight goes way beyond the field–it is basically a class war.  River calls themselves "Los Millionarios," aka the millionaires.  I once went on a few dates with this guy, but when he found out I was a Boca fan, he got all upset.  It is like the Capulets and the Montagues, the Sharks and the Jets, you cannot be sympathetic to the other side!

The games are amazingly intense, and for a girl who constantly complained that she didn’t understand why people got so into sporting events, I have come to understand a bit better.  I have to say, though, Boca fans know how to back a team like no other fanbase I have ever seen.  I sit in the "popular" section, meaning there are no assigned seats, and no one is sitting anyway.  There is always someone playing a big bass drum, others on horns, and everyone singing songs to cheer on the team.  People tie banners that cascade all the way down the stadium, they handout flags and confetti….  It is a very powerful experience to be amongst the Boca fans, you cannot leave without being completely seduced.

My first game was probably my favorite so far.  For some reason, early in the game, the opposing team got a penalty kick.  The goalie took the kick and scored.  Ok, we Boca fans can deal.  What happened next, well, just goes to show what not to do when playing in La Cancha (the stadium of La Boca).

So, the goalie scores, and then goes up to the corner of the field and starts TAUNTING the fans.  You can imagine he was saying stuff like, "Yeah, that’s right, who just scored on you guys?, etc." and gesticulating and dancing about.  WELL, the fans start chucking whatever they can over the stands into the field, mostly empty plastic bottles, but there is a downpour of trash right on his head.  And he gets a yellow card for being so obnoxious.  But the most important part about this is how short sighted that goalie must be.  First of all, I doubt he expected the yellow card.  But more so, he forgets that after the first half, the sides change, and he will be manning goal right infront of the popular section!

So, the second half is about to start, the players take their positions.  Unfortunately for this goalie, he cannot get in goal.  Buckets of trash are being thrown into his net.  Nonstop.  It literally lasts (and I mean literally) 15 minutes.  Eventually, Palermo, a very popular player on La Boca, has to come over and plea with the fans to let the game begin because it can’t start until the goalie gets in position!

I just couldn’t stop laughing.  It was truly amazing.  And while one could say that Boca fans take everything too far, I completely disagree.  In this case, this guy got his just desserts.

One of the icons of La Boca is the number 12.  The reason why La Boca is associated with the number 12 is that there are 11 players on the field on either football team.  But when you consider the force of the Boca fanbase, well, they have 12 players.

Now, that’s beautiful.

I apologize for the next four posts.  I have been very bad about keeping up my blog and so these are all late late late!  I promise to work harder in the future!

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My friend Emanuel (Ema) never liked to celebrate his birthday, but Susannah and I were very keen on making this one special.  After a number of conversations, we got him to agree to a birthday costume party at our pad. 

Being that all my friends are super creative, I feel this intense anxiety whenever I have to come up with a costume.  For one, I cannot be the same thing I have ever been, nor anything a friend of mine has been.  Additionally, I prefer homemade costumes to store bought.  But how to accomplish this goal without Saver’s, the Salvation Army, or Lorraine’s Fabric Store?  Nor my pre-existing closet filled with bizarreness?  The task was daunting, to say the least.

I finally decided to go as a cita ciega, or in English, a blind date.  I donned some feminine gear, tied it up with ribbons, and then put on some hefty sunglasses and made a cane out of a curtain rod.  Get it?  BLIND date?  I also pinned a note with a rose that said, "Soy Leslie, busco a Pepe/I’m Leslie, I am looking for Pepe".  Needless to say Pepe never showed.  Or maybe I just didn’t see him.

Susannah and Cristian were very attractive aliens.  And Ema was a priest.  Pretty much everyone showed up in costume.

My favorite was a friend of Ema’s that came as a piquatero (picketer).  To explain what a piquatero is would be a whole other blog entry, so I will save that explanation for the future, but I promise he had a very convincing constume.  (See picture with bumble bee girl).

All in all my souirees here have a mixed party favor of making me feel at home and also like I am making a life for myself outside of the good ol’ USA all at the same time. Yay friendship!