A final walk through el Rosedal

It was our final day in Buenos Aires and a beautiful autumn day indeed with a morning temperature approaching twenty and, as usual in BA, a clear sky. It was a great day for a walk through our favourite park.







The park is relatively quiet now. Summer is over and portenos are back to work and the kids are in school. The dog walkers are still busy of course, and one can hear the voices of tourists from Brasil and Chile, though less often than before.





This is a large urban park system covering many hectares and it's right in our neighbourhood. Since we arrived in January, it became a wonderful place to stroll in the evenings as the sun went down and the air cooled, or to take an early morning walk before the heat of the day.





The park changed with the season. The colours are different now, as are the floral scents. Jardin de Rosedal is still beautiful and we always spend time in this part of the park.













Rosedal is a relaxing oasis in this busy city, and though I have been tempted, I never climbing the tree.

Papa Francisco si ~ Palace no!

Pope Francis, the humble priest from Argentina, has announced he will not be moving into the vast Vatican palace normally used as the official papal residence. Instead he will stay in two rooms at the Vatican's guesthouse. While Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he refused to move into the Bishop's Palace, and with this action, Francis breaks a tradition over a century old.

Today the Vatican advised that the new pontiff will remain in the 120 room guesthouse, which isn't all that shabby either apparently, and stay among other members of the clergy and Vatican staff "until further notice."

The Pope will continue to take his meals in the common dining room and celebrate 7:00 a.m. mass with his employees in the guesthouse's main chapel.

The new pope is the son of working class immigrants to Argentina and has long maintained a preferential option for the poor. The option was first expressed by the Spanish priest Pedro Arrupe in 1968 in his letter to the Jesuits of Latin America. The concept is connected with the liberation theology movement of the mid 20th century which was first articulated by Gustavo Gutierrez, from Peru, in the landmark book: A Theology of Liberation (1971).




Recently Pope Francis shunned church protocol and tradition,and quite possibly stunned Vatican insiders, by choosing simpler and less costly alternatives to clothes and accessories in his role as pontiff.


Had he not been elected pope on March 13, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, would be leading Easter services at the Cathedral in downtown BA, as shown in photos above and right. His message, whether in Roma or Buenos Aires,  will likely be the same.


Pope walking photo by Antonello Nusca/Polaris

A word about garbage - and cartoneros

Garbage is a problem for urban areas around the world. City governments burn the stuff or haul it many kilometres away (it's always better in someone else's backyard). Many cities encourage composting and recycling and Canadian cities are often seen as star players in that field. In BA, they tried recycling a few years ago. It didn't work.


In some areas of this city there exists wealthy neighbourhoods where garbage is not a factor. By that I mean that there is some level of discreet removal of garbage from the neighbourhood.







Throughout most of this wonderful city however garbage collects on the streets. Usually at intersections, but not always. In front of cafes, restaurants, apartments, churches and businesses; it doesn't matter. Some areas have large dumpsters which eliminates some of the unsightliness of the whole thing, except for the dumpster itself of course.











In other areas, like our neighbourhood for example, and ours is not a poor barrio by any means, refuse is usually left at corners, or along the street. Portenos are not unruly or messy with their garbage; most often it is deposited neatly kerbside in plastic bags.







Garbage trucks seem to roam the city at all hours of the day and night, picking up garbage left by individuals and businesses alike. But for much of the day, and this goes on nearly every day, the garbage collects.




As the sun sets thousands of cartoneros (literally: cardboard persons) descend on the city, from poorer barrios in the Province, and sift through the garbage. These cartoneros are displaced from the economic life of the nation. In some instances they were middle class and educated people, perhaps former teachers, factory workers or business people, who have fallen into a desperate poverty. Cartoneros look for anything of value. They open the garbage bags and sift through them, sorting the garbage into categories: plastic drink boxes for example, glass and cardboard for another. They work at night, quietly and efficiently, filtering the garbage, taking what they can use or sell, and, for the most part, neatly leaving the rest in the original plastic bags for the official garbage trucks.





The large canvas bags are used by cartoneros to haul their stuff to various middlemen or depots to be sold. The canvas bags are placed on carros (wagons on wheels).









Cartoneros exist around the world and are known by different names. In Canada we have binners, dumpster divers and bottle collectors (which seems a gentler and less offensive term, though the work is the same).





Here in Buenos Aires, their numbers have been estimated to be as high as 40,000. Recent estimates suggest a number nearer 10,000 but no one knows for certain. In BA cartoneros usually work in family groups, including young children, which is a serious concern for the government. Efforts have been made by Federal and City governments to formalize the process and improve conditions for the collectors, but progress has been slow. Some now work in a cooperative and that has improved situations remarkably. No one doubts the value cartoneros provide the city through their recycling efforts, and residents in my neighbourhood certainly seem respectful, but this is dangerous and difficult work, and it is disturbing to witness. No one should have to sift through my garbage.

Honouring writers

Throughout Buenos Aires, and indeed across Argentina, there are many statues of important persons. Some are famous leaders of a military, political or religious background. Some are quite large and imposing.
















In el Rosedal, the famous and wonderful rose garden in Palermo, there are fifteen busts honouring writers: poets, authors and playwrights from around the world.






There are a number, including, Casona and Shakespeare, among others.













































And she isn't even dead yet.

Pope Francis is a hands-on kind of guy

According to La Nacion, the Pope cancelled his newspaper subscription, personally.

Archbishop Bergoglio was a regular patron of a newspaper kiosk in central Buenos Aires. Six days a week he picked up his copy of La Nacion early every morning, usually before six.

Around 1:30 p.m. on March 18, Daniel Del Regno, the kiosk owner’s son, answered the phone and heard a voice say, “Hi Daniel, it’s Cardinal Jorge.” He thought that maybe a friend who knew that the former archbishop of Buenos Aires bought the newspaper from them every day was pulling a prank on him. He reprimanded the caller.

“Seriously, it’s Jorge Bergoglio, I’m calling you from Rome,” the pope insisted.

“I was in shock, I broke down in tears and didn’t know what to say,” Del Regno told La Nacion. “He thanked me for delivering the paper all this time and sent best wishes to my family.”

Daniel Del Regno said he had asked Cardinal Bergoglio before he left for Rome if he thought he would be elected in the secret conclave.

"He answered me: 'That is too hot to touch. See you in 20 days, keep delivering the paper.'

The former archbishop had booked a return ticket to Buenos Aires where he was expecting to lead Easter services next weekend.

The Pope is also reported to have demanded he pay his Rome hotel room in person, rather than have Vatican staff do it for him. It's a nice touch, this humble man-of-the-people, hands-on thing, and great imaging. Future book sales will be fantastic.

Photos from La Nacion