The Revolutionary Path
Alta Gracia is an old Jesuit estancia (estate) founded in 1580. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Americas in 1773 by both the Spanish and Portuguese empires the massive estate passed through private hands until the early 20th century when the owner platted the estate to build a town.
The town grew quickly and many wealthy Cordobeses built their homes here. The estancia buildings and church were expatriated by the Argentine government in 1966 and are now a National Monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The museum is filled with artifacts of Spanish colonial life.
Many famous Argentines and Spanish expatriates have spent at least part of their lives here, but by far the most well known is Ernesto ‘che’ Guevera. Ernesto suffered from asthma and at 12 years old his family left their Buenos Aries home and took up a second residence here for Ernesto’s health.
The home sits on a beautiful tree lined street with early 20th century homes. Though of modest size relative to some of the mansions in the neighborhood it does have a separate kitchen, maids quarters, and a large yard. Now a musuem it houses many family photos from the period and letters from Che whil fighting in Cuba, The Congo and Bolivia.
While the prize piece of the collection is doubtlessly Che’s motorcycle he road across South America, my favorite piece is a small picture on the wall across the room from his bike. He is in his revolutionary period and sporting army fatigues while putting for par on a golf course. Looking on is Fidel Castro who seems to be tense, possibly behind in the score.
Che got his name from the local tick in Argentine Spanish. It is similar to dude at home, but far more pervasive and completely asexual. People will always introduce the familiar with “che” and he was no different. In fact it is said that he called everyone che and since this is a part of speech particular to Argentina in the Spanish world outsiders began to refer to him as Che and the name is now an icon of the last century and still a constant of Argentine dialog.
Castro visited the museum not more than two months ago with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a summit of Latin American leaders in Cordoba. I laughed wondering what must have crossed his mind while gazing at the Golf picture in the gallery and if he still plays. After Castro’s visit to Argentina he fell quite ill. There was great speculation in the Western press of his impending death; he seems to be doing fine now.
There is a popular late night sandwich here, the chorrizopan. It is essentially a sausage on a roll with all sorts of goop on top. it has a notorious reputation for giving belly aches. During Castro’s illness a local satirical paper ran a photo of Castro chomping down on one of the tasty, if dangerous, sandwiches.
The headline read, “Cordobeses succeed in what the CIA couldn’t do for 50 years!”
Alta Gracia has kept up it’s exclusive image. New homes are many and large. They sport three car garages and large fenced yards with security systems. It reminds me of being in an exclusive suburb in the north bay of San Francisco. A stroll through the neighborhoods is a strong reminder into the high standard of living that Argentineans expect for their future regardless of the recent economic collapse.
