Elisabeth Barker is a multimedia travel journalist based in Washington, D.C. She has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland in 2006, and will earn her Masters in Journalism from Georgetown University in May, 2010.
In February 2010, Barker traveled to Buenos Aires to experience and report on Argentina's bicentennial celebration. It had been 200 years since the country won its independence from Spain, beginning the transformation of an entire continent’s people and natural history. Barker, a journalism graduate student at Georgetown University, thought she would merely witness a slice of a year-long party in a nation most Americans know little about, but for Gauchos, “Evita” Peron and the tango. What she discovered was the essence of a people and a place.
This site a portfolio of the articles, observations and broadcasts produced before, during and after her trip.
On May 25, 2010, Argentina will celebrate the bicentennial of its independence from Spain. Americans – North Americans, that is – old enough to recall the festival that was July 4, 1976, will understand the national party and nationwide soul-searching Argentineans will experience, celebrate and endure. Argentineans must reflect the accomplishments and setbacks, ecstasy and terror, their country has experienced over the past two centuries.
The soul of the people and the land’s natural wonders will be at the core of the year’s events, many of which I experienced not as a tourist but more like an invited guest at a family Christmas celebration. I watched, listened and learned about the dynamics and family relationships as an unbiased stranger and hope to convey what I learned to you.
When people from the United States think of Argentina, certain familiar icons come to mind such as Evita Peron, Che Guevara, Gauchos, the Iguazu waterfall, Patagonia, tango and the Falklands. There is much more to Argentina than that, just as the United States is more than the Grand Canyon, Ground Zero and baseball, but you can derive deeper meaning about our nation and the people here from examining Ground Zero and its history. I hope to do the same thing by exploring Argentina’s most famous icons to learn about the country, culture and its citizens.
Argentina is part of the Bicentenary Group created to commemorate the bicentennials of all the South American countries celebrating their birthdays between 2009 and 2011: Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Current President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner created the Permanent Committee for the Bicentennial of the Revolution of May 1810-2010. (www.bicentenario.gov.ar) with the goal of encompassing, “schools, social justice, economic prosperity; respect for human rights, raising the entire population’s public awareness and national identity; reducing inequality; and strengthening democracy.”
“Past and future come together in the present,” Professor Stella Maris Palermo, chairman of the department of history, geography and tourism at the University of Salvador said regarding Argentina’s bicentennial. “…The bicentennial is an opportunity for us to take charge of our history, reaffirm our values and admit our limitations; and above all, to accept our heritage: ‘This is what we have been; these are our achievements and failures; and it is starting from here that we need to move forward.’”
In February 2010, Barker traveled to Buenos Aires to experience and report on Argentina's bicentennial celebration. It had been 200 years since the country won its independence from Spain, beginning the transformation of an entire continent’s people and natural history. Barker, a journalism graduate student at Georgetown University, thought she would merely witness a slice of a year-long party in a nation most Americans know little about, but for Gauchos, “Evita” Peron and the tango. What she discovered was the essence of a people and a place.
This site a portfolio of the articles, observations and broadcasts produced before, during and after her trip.
On May 25, 2010, Argentina will celebrate the bicentennial of its independence from Spain. Americans – North Americans, that is – old enough to recall the festival that was July 4, 1976, will understand the national party and nationwide soul-searching Argentineans will experience, celebrate and endure. Argentineans must reflect the accomplishments and setbacks, ecstasy and terror, their country has experienced over the past two centuries.
The soul of the people and the land’s natural wonders will be at the core of the year’s events, many of which I experienced not as a tourist but more like an invited guest at a family Christmas celebration. I watched, listened and learned about the dynamics and family relationships as an unbiased stranger and hope to convey what I learned to you.
When people from the United States think of Argentina, certain familiar icons come to mind such as Evita Peron, Che Guevara, Gauchos, the Iguazu waterfall, Patagonia, tango and the Falklands. There is much more to Argentina than that, just as the United States is more than the Grand Canyon, Ground Zero and baseball, but you can derive deeper meaning about our nation and the people here from examining Ground Zero and its history. I hope to do the same thing by exploring Argentina’s most famous icons to learn about the country, culture and its citizens.
Argentina is part of the Bicentenary Group created to commemorate the bicentennials of all the South American countries celebrating their birthdays between 2009 and 2011: Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Current President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner created the Permanent Committee for the Bicentennial of the Revolution of May 1810-2010. (www.bicentenario.gov.ar) with the goal of encompassing, “schools, social justice, economic prosperity; respect for human rights, raising the entire population’s public awareness and national identity; reducing inequality; and strengthening democracy.”
“Past and future come together in the present,” Professor Stella Maris Palermo, chairman of the department of history, geography and tourism at the University of Salvador said regarding Argentina’s bicentennial. “…The bicentennial is an opportunity for us to take charge of our history, reaffirm our values and admit our limitations; and above all, to accept our heritage: ‘This is what we have been; these are our achievements and failures; and it is starting from here that we need to move forward.’”