24 March 2006

Acá no pasó nada

Today is "feriado nacional" (non-labour day) due to the coup d' etat´s birthday...30 years (see previous post about this here). It has been widly debated here in the past weeks if there should be a feriado or not. Human Rights assosiations were against it, saying that that would give people reason to celebrate and not to remember the dictatorship that took place here from 1976-1983. (by the way, tickets to turistic places were sold out for this weekend and invitations to numeourous parties were handed out), yet the government insisted there should be a "memory day" and passed the law. I really hope that people are aware what this holiday is for.
But having this "memory day" is like saying: NEVER AGAIN (Nunca más is also a book that stated all the investigations about the missing people, the "desparecidos", tortures, testimonies and so on).
This picture shows the artist´s opinion on that period and "acá no pasó nada" (nothing happened here) were the words you always heard in that period of time, and also "algo habrán hecho" (something they [the desparecidos] must have done).

Here is a song by Astor Piazzolla that allegorizes about the dictatorship and it´s victims:

Nacé, nacé, dale vida, metéle hermano que es duro
pero muy bueno el oficio de morir y renacer.
Renaceré, renaceré, renaceré,
y una gran voz extraterrestre me dará la fuerza antigua
y dolorosa de la fé para volver, para creer, para luchar.
Tendré un clavel de otro planeta en el ojal,
porque si nadie ha renacido, yo podré.
Mi Buenos Aires, siglo treinta, ya verás,
renaceré, renaceré, renaceré.

Be born, be born, let's go life, go ahead brother that it is hard
but good the task to die and to be reborn.
I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn,
and a great extraterrestrial voice will restore the strength, old
and painful, of the faith to return, to grow, to fight.
I'll wear a carnation from another planet on my lapel,
because if nobody has reborn, I will.
My Buenos Aires, thirtieth century, you'll see,
I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn, I'll be reborn.

Full lyrics + translation here

More info about what´s going on in the city around this subject on this cool website.

4 Comments:

Blogger Bob said...

It is surprising they still celebrate it. But it does depend on the perspective. Good post

3:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

9:28 PM  
Blogger Wolf said...

Who let the spammer in!! aghh!! That happened to me a while back:(

Anyway, that is a wild painting, did you want that person in the picture, or did she just happen to walk in front of you?
Holidays are great but most people don't even give it a thought as to why its a holiday...

12:28 AM  
Blogger Cynthia Quiros said...

Thank you guys!! Yes the spammer is pretty annoying...delete worthy. And the person looking at the picture was delberately, because I think that it was important to show someone watching this piece of art...and besides, she´s my best friend!! (not kidding) she hates me now for posting this :)

12:34 AM  

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