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found: argentina travel posters

Argentina, travel poster, Aerolíneas Argentinas, routes

As a tour guide, I’m often interested in how destinations market themselves. How do cities or nations identify themselves to potential visitors? The golden age of travel may be long gone, but its memory persists in the guise of travel posters. Interestingly, Argentina used to portray itself as a nature destination & stressed the gaucho & beef… nothing about tango (at least in the posters I found) & only one hyping Buenos Aires. How times have changed.

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housing for the masses: barrio 17 de octubre, 1950

Barrio 17 de Octubre • Villa Pueyrredón
(Avenida de los Constituyentes & Avenida General Paz)

Like several other Perón era housing projects, a name change occurred after military leaders ousted the President. 17 October 1945 marked the birth of Perón’s political presence when workers marched on Plaza de Mayo, demanded he be released from jail & requested his nomination as President. Later consecrated as the Día de la Lealtad & made a national holiday, such a polemic moment in history could not survive the anti-Perón years which followed the coup. A less controversial name for this neighborhood —Barrio General José de San Martín— today commemorates a less controversial historical figure. Locals also know it as the Barrio Grafa, named for a former adjacent textile factory (Grandes Fábricas Argentinas), today occupied by Walmart.

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buenos aires: monumento a colón

Buenos Aires, Plaza Colón, Monumento a Cristóbal Colón

No denying it. I have a certain fondness for this piece of sculpture. Columbus was the subject of some of my first digital photos in 2002, he often wowed tourists when I began guiding locally ten years ago, & Plaza Colón was one of the few places my mom wanted to see during her first & only visit overseas (that’s a tiny her below!). But in addition to sentimental reasons, the Monumento a Cristóbal Colón remains one of the most remarkable pieces of public artwork in Buenos Aires… a city filled with hundreds of statues. That says something.

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argentina: córdoba, civil architecture

Argentina, Córdoba, city view

Perhaps to prove I saw more than religious architecture in Córdoba, there are even more photos in this post. Even though it was the middle of winter & the weather didn’t always cooperate, I managed to get a few decent shots. The newest architecture is pretty exciting —with a few notable exceptions— and the best from the past are a number of surviving Neocolonial buildings (pretty much the same period as Art Deco). So in no particular order, here’s the rest from my walks around Córdoba…

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argentina: córdoba, religious architecture

Argentina, Córdoba, primer trazado

Founded in 1573 by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera, he named the city after his wife’s Spanish hometown. Location was key. As geographic center between the capital in Perú & the major Atlantic outlet of the Río de la Plata, Córdoba became an ideal crossroads… connecting men & ideas throughout the Viceroyalty. Remember that Buenos Aires would be founded for a second time seven years after Córdoba.

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business: what’s in a name

Robert Wright, explaining flamenco in Sevilla

During 11 crazy years of working for Rick Steves my responsibilities included everything from guiding groups around Europe to updating & writing new content for their guidebooks. Over time, I even helped develop new tours. It was an incredible learning process & very interesting to see what worked & what didn’t. In many ways, the company & I grew together professionally.

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