Celebration at the Obelisco

(Katherine) Vamos Argentina! After our learning our lesson the hard way about needing to arrive early to Shoeless Joe's for futbol matches, we arrived just after 2:00 for the 3:30 Argentina verses Mexico game. We were able to get a seat right at the bar, and sat next to a lovely couple who were vacationing in BA from Brazil. It turns out they were from Rio and they confirmed that we made a wise choice with deciding to stay in Ipenema for our trip next week. We also met the two bartenders, one guy from New York and one from Madison, WI. Sounds like the owner of the bar hires Americans who come down to BA to go to school so they have a part-time gig to make money – a great way to learn Spanish and meet girls!


Luckily, this match went better than the US game – Argentina won 3-0 over Mexico. The crowd went nuts for each goal, and we tried to capture the energy on our FlipCam to document true World Cup excitement. Once the game was over and the last of our beer consumed, we decided to head to the heart of the city where the whole town has been gathering after each World Cup victory – El Obelisco de Buenos Aires. This is a modern monument which was built in Plaza de la República in 1936, and is the spot where the Argentine flag was flown for the first time. It looks very much like the Washington monument in the US.

Even walking down to the Obelisco was crazy – everyone on the street was heading the same direction, and the cars were all honking and waving flags out their windows. Everyone was smiling, and there was a general feeling of camaraderie amongst the entire crowd. It was pride in their country, in their team, and a feeling that “we won!” According to some of the locals we have met here, this country needs a boost like this – their economy has weakened, and I think there is a lot of discontent with the current government. It was wonderful to see so much national spirit.

Once we got to the Obelisco, we just stood there for a while on a ledge and looked over the crowd, taking in the aura of happiness that was floating up from the hundreds, if not thousands of people who had gathered. Young kids ran around kicking an empty Coke bottle as if it were a soccer ball. Older fans walked around with silly hats and waived huge flags. It was truly remarkable to see so many shining faces in one location where EVERYONE was in a good mood – such a rare sight to see in this day and age!