Home of the Oddly-Placed Consonant

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (from the United States) there was a president named Juan Domingo Perón. Perón was a wonderful president was a terrible, terrible man remains a fairly polarizing figure. One fact that cannot be disputed is that he built a group of large hotels on the Argentine coast, just a few hours south of Buenos Aires, and instituted reforms that made it possible for average Argentine working families to have a beach vacation. Suh-weet!

This weekend, las chicas and I had the chance to travel to Chapadmalal, Home of the Oddly-Placed Consonant and Perón's famous hotels. In fact, we even got to stay in one of those hotels! The occasion? The Comisión's annual Jóvenes y Memoria (Youth and Memory) conference. Thousands (6,000 to be precise) of high school students flocked upon Chapadmalal over the course of 15 days in turns of 3 days to display the final result of a year-long investigation project. Most of these projects were videos, and most had to do with the last dictatorship, desaparecidos, or the Malvinas War, although there were some exceptions. It was really neat to get to see so many politically involved high schoolers presenting truly impressive documentaries and plays. Eating in a dining hall with approximately 600 boisterous teenagers was also an interesting experience.

We also got to enjoy the picturesque beach of Chapadmalal, although the frigid winds and presumably frigid-er water prevented any kind of swimming monkey business. Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure:

One of the hotels.

View of the same hotel from the pier.

Alarmingly corroded concrete pier.

Enjoying some mate (particularly its warming properties) on the rocks.

That reminds me... have I not mentioned mate? Ah, the uninitiated... a blog post for another day, me thinks. Until then, some parting wisdom from Chapa 2010:

Para ser adolescente siempre, que es como vencer...
To be young forever, is how to overcome