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• Buenos Aires
• La Boca (Buenos Aires)
• Iguazu
• Cordoba
• San Francisco
• Rafaela
• El Calafate-Patagonia
• El Galpon-Patagonia
• Ushuaia-Tierra del Fuego

A Piemotese Tango:
The Piemontesi nel Mondo Argentina Trip, or . . . What You Missed!

Twenty-eight of us participated in a tour of Argentina on October 15-30. Despite much time spent at airports and on domestic flights, it was an outstanding experience. The weather cooperated. We had rain only one morning, we bundled up a couple of days, it was windy a few times, but we mostly enjoyed good touring weather and a spectacular sunrise in Ushuaia. Fantastic dancers and shows were enjoyed everywhere, and, oh!, those wrap-around legs doing the tango seemed to go all the way up. What most of us do best, eat, was momentous. We had feasts: yards of salads, fruit, salamis, cheeses, etc., served at buffet tables, followed by various meats-more than I've eaten in a whole year.

About half of Argentinians have Italian roots, and there are sixty active Piedmontese organizations there. Everyone we met was friendly, and we got lots of attention wearing our Piemontesi nel Mondo jackets. While waiting for one of our flights, we talked with other passengers of Italian descent. Some of us boarded the plane singing Quel mazzolin di fiori along with our new friends.

Argentina is more than 2,000 miles from top to bottom. We covered a good portion of it, starting and finishing up at the the capital, Buenos Aires, a beautiful, fashionable and very European city, with many grand avenues, especially La Florida and Lavalle for shopping. Our first tour took us to the heart of the city: the Plaza de Mayo, the Casa Rosada presidential palace, the cathedral, Congress, and various parks. The next day we walked through La Boca, first settled by Italian immigrants, now filled with artists, colorful houses, and tango dancers.

We then flew to Iguazu to visit the spectacular falls, walking along the panoramic paths where 275 waterfalls are close enough to feel the mist. I had visited the famed Niagara Falls just two months earlier, but the Iguazu Falls are beyond comparison.

Next, we flew to Cordoba, toured it, and the following day were bussed to San Francisco. As we approached the city, we were stopped by police. After initial nervousness, we realized that we were actually being welcomed by a column of cars filled with people waving Italian flags, and we were escorted along the main street to our hotel, where a number of local Piemontesi waited to greet us. Four generations, and they're still speaking italiano and piemonteis. I felt more Italian in Argentina than on my visits to Italy. That evening we had dinner with a group including the handsome Italo-Argentine mayor and his beautiful wife. The next day the highlight of our tour was the fifty-foot high Monumento National al Inmigrante Piemonteis, a replica of Torino's Mole Antonelliana.

We then drove to the city of Rafaela to celebrate the Festa del Piemonte. We arrived late at an auditorium to see a Piedmontese skit. The show had been delayed for us, and it was very emotional to have the audience stand and clap as we marched in behind our president, Kathleen Maggiora Rogers, carrying our banner. Following the program, we adjourned to another fantastic meal accompanied by warm comradeship, including a delegation from Fossano in the province of Cuneo, Rafaela's sister city.

Returning to San Francisco, we attended the opening of a photo exhbit with a delegation from the Regione Piemonte. The evening's activities included the official establishment of a sister organization relationship between the Piemontesi of San Francisco, California, and those of San Francisco, Argentina.

The next morning we left for Buenos Aires to catch a connecting flight to El Calafate, a little village in the middle of Patagonia. The next day we visited the Perito Moreno glacier, an ice wall 262 feet tall and about sixteen miles long that suddenly appears after a walk through the forest. It was awesome seeing and hearing enormous pieces of ice crashing down into the water. We then visited an estancia, or ranch, where we watched dogs herding sheep, had a "nature study" walk, and a sheep-shearing demonstration, before another outstanding dinner.

We then flew to Ushuaia, "the end of the earth." Ushuaia boasts a dramatic setting, located on the coast and surrounded by jagged glacial peaks rising from sea level to nearly 5,000 feet. We toured the city, visited a museum, took a boat ride along the Beagle Canal, and saw islands with birds, sea lions, and lovable little penguins.

On returning to Buenos Aires, we toured Puerto Madero, the old port area transformed by restaurants, cafes, art galleries and shops, and visited the Teatro Colon, where Aida was performed on opening night in 1908. Operas, symphonies and ballets are enjoyed in this beautiful setting, which was the world's largest opera house until that of Sydney, Australia, was built. A visit to the Immigration Museum was a very emotional moment for me. On their computer I was able to find the certificado de llegada of a twenty-one year old great uncle who arrived in Buenos Aires, November 23, 1886, on board the Matteo Bruzzo, which had sailed from Genoa.

Another highlight was attending Mass at the basilica of San Jose de Flores, founded in 1806, with Cardinal Jorge M. Bergoglio celebrating. It was extremely crowded, but all in attendance were quiet and attentive. My Spanish is limited, but I had reverent feelings when he said, "Viva la familial," and the audience responded, "Viva!," "Viva la fe!," "Viva!," followed by various other "Vivas!" It was quite emotional. At the end of the service, mothers with babies and young children went up to the altar for a special blessing.

We spent our last full day in the pampas with the gauchos. Some of our group went horseback riding, some on carriage rides, others on tractor-trailer rides, and again we enjoyed a fantastic meal and show. At the end of the performance, the dancers got audience members to participate. It was truly a glorious finale to a wonderful trip.

On a sad note, the mother of our tour leader, Lucetta Rossetto, passed away during our trip, and Lucetta had to go back to Italy for the services. She did manage to return to spend the last few days with us. We were able to express our sorrow for her loss in person, and we also were very happy to thank her for the outstanding trip she had arranged for us. We can hardly wait for the next one!

May Barbano