Maté and Memorias

Today was a holiday in which people in Argentina remember the Dirty War of Argentina. I asked Marta this morning to tell me a little about it, but this just threw her in a 30 minute debate with Ariel about if people knew what was going on during that time and if some of the victims actually were not innocent, etc.
*Lesson from this: Never try to debate Marta! I would definitely lose and I'm pretty sure Ariel lost the debate this morning

Here is what I think happened during the Dirty War (using my Spanish skills and research skills I can never be positive) In 1976 there was a dictatorship, in which young adults were captured and tortured because of supposed opposition to the government and to General Rosas. These people were captured during the night and taken to an undisclosed location where they were tortured, mutilated and killed (they are known as the desaparecidos or the disappeared).  About 30,000 disappeared and only about 1/4 of those were found.  During this time many newborns (born to families that were at risk) were given to those not at risk. Besides this, many mothers of the desaparecidos would march every Thursday in Plaza del Mayo (where the Casa Rosada and other government buildings are).
*Side note: Last year on the 35th anniversary, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called for the trials to be reopened for all those who were involved in the killings of many innocent people and children.

Anyway, every year on March 24 everyone gathers in the Plaza del Mayo:

Sam, Christa, and I went with the people we hung out with last night, from the Methodist Church. We had the opportunity to have Maté with them. Maté is basically like strong unsweetened green tea. It is a major part of the culture down here. One person is the host and fills the Maté gourd with the Yerba and warm water. Then people take turns finishing the gourd, after which the host refills the water and gives it to the next person. Last week I bought a Maté gourd which I am now in the process of curing. This means that for 3 days I had to put Yerba in my gourd with boiling water and let it sit all day and then repeat the next day. This I guess causes the flavor to be better.  Below are 4 pictures: Yerba Mate in plant form, me drinking my first Maté with the "host" our new friend Juli, my Maté gourd, and what the Yerba looks like before and after adding water

I also bought some Argentine earrings today. If you don't know, I collect earrings (both holiday earrings and earrings from places I have traveled). In Argentina, all the earrings are fairly large and bold.