Thursday Arch Series, Plus A Papal Bonus

A shot of the Arch from the north, taken in an old, worn-down industrial area. The train looks to be made up of hopper cars. They could be carrying grain, chemicals or who knows what. The bridge in yesterday's picture, not far away, carries only railroad traffic. These cars may have just crossed the Mississippi.

So, habemus papem (second conjugation, first person plural; first declension, accusative singular) - we have a pope. See what junk the Jesuits, like Jorge Mario Bergoglio, crammed into my head?. The new dude in charge comes from Buenos Aires, one of my favorite cities. I took the photo below in BsAs' Metropolitan Cathedral three years ago (odd that it's not named for a holy person or event.) Note the depth of religious devotion.

Are the locals sad to see Bergoglio move to Rome? Well, he says . . .        

Images And Memories

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I have no new local material and this week is horrible at work. For the next few days I will post a few images from Chile and Argentina that give me something to remember. Time to get back to leaving some notes on my friends' blogs, too. New St. Louis material around the weekend.

Many more pictures have been added to the trip set on Flickr here.

STL DPB Going Home: The Spirit Of Argentina

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When this post goes up we'll probably be over Brazil somewhere in the middle of the night.

We had an exciting trip. It was our third visit to this country. We found a nation full of ambition and pride with an infrastructure often crumbling under its feet. I always got email and Internet on my iPhone. After a heavy thunderstorm Friday afternoon the aging storm sewers were overwhelmed and torrents ran down the streets of Recoleta, a nice part of town, starting to flood homes and businesses. The children - lots more than in white America and Europe - were ever cheerful. Yet the national poverty rate is about 25% (by someone's definition) and we saw abject shantytowns. Nearby the dangerous slums of La Boca, the steel and glass towers of Puerto Madero gleam over the Rio de la Plata - the Silver River. The people are stylish. You can dine fabulously well for a moderate price. The government plays to the crowd. Lots of people evade taxes. The sidewalks crumble. They have national health care, unlike someone else we could mention.

Come here if you get a chance.

This time next year we hope to come back to South America and focus our attention of Chile. Our little taste last week was enticing. Home by this afternoon. More new pix in the set on Flickr here.

STL DPB Far From Home: Life, Death And Transitions In Buenos Aires

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My co-workers have an unfortunate habit of throwing black balloon birthday parties at the 10 year marks. I'm having none of it. I turned 40 and 50 far from St. Louis. Today I turn 60 in Buenos Aires.

This city has an intense sense of life and death. I shot some more in Recoleta Cemetery yesterday and was again struck by the monuments of mourning. Over the top by today's standards, sure, but so robust, so brazenly displayed by those who survive. In the evening, we went to the obligatory tango dinner show at La Ventana. Fabulous. Well-performed tango is electric, a swirl of motion and full of grim sexual energy.

A couple of museums today, then an overnight flight back to the US. Home tomorrow afternoon.

STL DPB In Buenos Aires: Evita

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We spent yesterday on the streets of Buenos Aires. It seemed strange to be touring on on a warm summer day, knowing how cold it is at home. We ended up at the Museo Eva Peron, an interesting and well-designed place. It was not a house of Evita worship. The contradictions of her life were presented in a balanced way. Visitors were left to answer the big questions about her for themselves: angel or devil? Tireless champion of the poor and workers, or power and luxury-mad woman, clawing her way to the top? In the end, her personal tragedy is depicted simply. It was very moving.

The quotation below is from Evita's book The Reason For My Life. It translates as something like, "when my life crossed paths with the life of Peron."

More new photos in the trip's Flickr set here.

STL DPB On The Road: What's New, Buenos Aires?

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Apparently not much. Got into town late this afternoon and went out to run a couple of errands. Looks like the same old issues around here. The grafitti on the top photo roughly translates as "gorillas tremble when Kirchner [the current president, Cristina, or her predecessor and husband, Nestor, who was term-limited out] is around." It is signed by JP, a descamisado, or shirtless one, the workers and populists who put Juan Peron into power. The Kirchners are nominally Peronistas. Looks like some of the public isn't buying it any more.

The bottom ad says something like, "Enjoy yourself without hiding. Pay your taxes." The billboard portrays a couple lounging on a beach wearing clownish disguises. Argentines aren't coughing it up any more freely then they ever did. It doesn't surprise me. All the Argentines I've talked to don't trust the government.

TOMORROW: on the streets of Buenos Aires.

STL DPB On The Road: Buenos Aires

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It's 4:55 AM Sunday morning and we just got up to go to the airport for out flight to El Calafate. We had a little time for a walk when we got to Buenos Aires yesterday afternoon so we went to famous Recoleta Cemetery. Eva Peron is the best known resident but her tomb, shared with many family members, is not so impressive. There is still lots of weepy funerary sculpture to photograph. More later if possible.