Museums: The Best Assignments From Studying in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires boasts plenty of museums with many interesting historical and artistic items to look at. In comparison to museums in the US, these museums were either free or much cheaper to enter. Through various courses at the University of Belgrano, where I am currently studying for the semester, visiting these museums were requirements for projects or essays. As a result of these classes, I grew to appreciate museums a lot more as I could understand the culture and history behind them. In this post, I will briefly describe some museums I had the pleasure of visiting in Argentina.

Six Circles en Contorsion. When I pressed a button, they all moved around and changed shape.

MALBA: This is the museum of Latin American art. This is by far the most famous museum for art in Buenos Aires. Inside, art of many different styles could be seen. Graphic pieces of protests were alongside works of many bright colors. Some pieces moved when you pressed a button, evoking different shapes or illusions. My favorite part of the museum came from an interactive room. It was a pitch-black wind tunnel, with the instructions being only to enter, and to let your senses lead you toward the end of the path. I walked into the room, and immediately let the wind guide me. As I moved around, I realized that I kept running into walls, in which case I would change my direction. After a few minutes wandering around, I realized that I was in a square box no bigger than a bedroom, completely contrasting the long path I believed I had taken inside the wind tunnel.

In La Menesunda, where I felt temporarily gross in this room

MAMBA: This is the museum of modern art. Similar to MALBA, there were many different styles of art, from many different time periods. The most interesting part of the museum was another interactive work. It was by Marta Minujin, one of the most famous artists in Argentina. La Menesunda was an art piece that attempted to appeal to all of the senses. In one room, giant plastic sausages came down from the ceiling, and a rotting smell surrounded the room. In another, a couple lying in bed in underwear made me instantly uncomfortable. Even though that was discussed in my art class, I instantly became uncomfortable and left that room.
Evita Museum: The fervor surrounding Evita in Argentina is simply indescribable. Inside the museum, Evita’s life and works are demonstrated to attempt to show why she is an idol in the country. As First Lady, Eva Peron became an idolized figure throughout the country through her works with the poor. A few years after her popularity in the country was solidified, she passed away of cancer at a young age. Because of her immense popularity, her body was embalmed and preserved so that it wouldn’t deteriorate. After a military coup d’état, her dead body was stolen and hidden in Italy because it was worried that the body would be a rallying point for a revolution. After the military was taken down, her body was returned to the most famous cemetery in the country. Each day, dozens of people leave flowers at her grave for what she did as First Lady, demonstrating her influence some 60 years after her death.

Eric Straka is the Fall 2015 MOJO Blogger in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is currently a Junior at the University of San Diego.