Pro Dada
Alive and well in Mar del Plata - November 05, 2005
Date: November 8th 2005
View archives of past emails here: http://www.songseek.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/jamie
Photos here: http://www.pbase.com/stevegallagher/jamie
Hey there,
We had a long day yesterday but are all alive, well, and not in jail! The night before last we decided to get a hotel room down town so that we would have a place to go if things got crazy or if we needed a shower to get rid of teargas, paint, or whatever else the cops might spray us with. It turned out the first hotel we could find that was still open (most were either full, or more commonly closed and boarded up) was one called Hotel FishGolf. It's windows were covered by old yellowing newspaper, and it had a small sign on the door saying closed for renovations. However, the door was slightly ajar so we thought the name was too priceless to simply walk on by. The lobby was dark and dingy and three guys sat around drinking Matte, the drink of choice in Argentina. We chit-chatted for a few minutes and when they found out where we are from and why we were here they offered us a room. Upstairs at the back of a dark hallway was room 17, a small room with a bathroom but no beds. They said they could bring us a couple beds later, so for US$7 a piece, we said we´d take it. We then went back to Tinta Roja and packed our bags for the next day. When we arrived back into the town center to check into our hotel, sure enough there were 4 beds in the room. We dropped off our bags and wandered downtown for dinner, hoping to find something open.
Our meals generally consist of either really bad pizza which is dirt cheap and can always be found, cheese and tomatoes on bread, or a real meal at a Tenadore Libre (free fork) which are all you can eat buffets for 7 or 8 pesos per person. These tenadore lebre´s are well known and can be found all over the country. we´ve tried three or four here in Mar del plata, and every single one as exactly the same dishes! The only thing we could find open was a pizza place, so we settled on that.
We awoke just after 6am yesterday morning to the sounds of loud drumming and chanting. We had strategically placed our hotel one and a half blocks from the first march of the day, scheduled to start by 7am. We dressed quickly, and headed for a day on the streets. a crowd of somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people quickly gathered, and by 7:30 or 8 we started marching towards the stadium, where Hugo Chavez was scheduled to speak at the Summit of the People.
The march was built of many different groups which did not intermingle at all. We marched with the few other unaffiliated people on the sidewalk and just went up and down looking at each different group. Groups consisted of 50 to a few hundred people, and each group had their own peace police and often a rope around to keep infiltrators out. Most groups had large banners up on 15 or 20 foot poles, some nearly as wide as the street. Many groups also had cars or buses with their own loudspeakers. Throughout the march, various small groups of activists often dressed in all black (but not always) spray painted various anti bush and anti-capitalism slogans on any and every surface along the boarded up streets.
The march ended and most people went to listen to Chavez speak while everyone else hung out outside, trying to stay our of the drizzling rain, and to catch an ooccasional ray of sunshine. The next march did not start until nearly four that afternoon, at which point we had decided to march with the largest of the black blocks (we have become close friends with many of its members).
Aside from spray painting and lively chants, most of the march was uneventful. Someone spray painted an Anarchy symbol on the face of a statue outside a police station, and one person threw a rock at the police stations window, but everyone just kept moving along. There was a definite feeling of "save your energy for the fence".
The plan was to spend 30 minutes at the fence chanting peacefully and then each affinity group could carry out whatever actions they were planning and folks who wanted to leave could do so. However, it appeared that upon arrive at the fence (which we later found out was 6 blocks away from where Bush was at that very moment) the police started spraying rubber bullets and tear gas.
I had expected the crowd to expect this and react to it much better than they did. Instead of holding ground, most folks just turned and ran. Pretty soon however, people started throwing rocks through bank windows, and going in and dragging out desks, cardboard, and other large items and lighting large fires in the streets. Tear gas and smoke filled the streets, but luckily the wind was against capitalism too and blew it right towards bush and the other presidents who were posing for a photo op on the beach 6 blocks east.
Amid the fires, the breaking glass, the tear gas, and the excitement, we held our ground and stayed in the thick of it. It was very intense, but also a powerful experience. Everyone expressing their anger at specific targets in a calculated manner. At one point however, police started coming in from a side street and after breaking out the windows of an Argentine national bank, the group I was with decided to retreat down a side street. We were chased a few blocks by about 10 riot cops, but got away, changing out clothes as we went. We spent the rest of the evening watching the news and hoping all of our friends had made it out just fine.
I know that many of you don't generally think property damage is an appropriate action in this setting, but I must say here it sends a very clear message. One person accidentally broke a window of an apartment building, and everyone yelled at them loudly to make it stop. Just about all damage was done to banks and transnational corporations, which are all forces of oppression. My friend Cory was talking to a local elderly couple later last night and asked what they thought of the protests and all they said was ¨"The banks had it comin to them". I think this sums it up very well. Everyone expected and the vast vast majority of the people here supported that type of action. While randomly breaking and looting things certainly doesn´t accomplish anything, in this situation targeted property destruction sent a very clear message to the folks who live well by oppressing the rest of the population. (I by the way avoided actually participating in the property damage as it is not my city and I don't know as much about local issues, who owns what buildings, etc as well as other reasons).
Overall it was a long day and nerves where high, but we were all very surprised that it just sort of ended around dark and everyone went home. Bus loads of people returned to Buenos Aires and other cities around the country, and many activists from afar left last night or this morning.
Today we took a walk down Colon Avenue (where most of the action took place) and surveyed the damage, store fronts where already being repainted, windows repaired, and many places where opening back up. This afternoon we went with a group of people to the part of the fence where motorcades carrying delegates out of the security zone were passing. We had a noisy rally there, but mostly just waving flowers and middle fingers at the passing motorcades. Tonight we return to Tinta Roja and debrief and say our good byes to our friends there. Tomorrow in Nicole's birthday and then Monday morning we get on a train to the next still unknown destination!
love to all,
Jamie
Photos here: http://www.pbase.com/stevegallagher/jamie
Hey there,
We had a long day yesterday but are all alive, well, and not in jail! The night before last we decided to get a hotel room down town so that we would have a place to go if things got crazy or if we needed a shower to get rid of teargas, paint, or whatever else the cops might spray us with. It turned out the first hotel we could find that was still open (most were either full, or more commonly closed and boarded up) was one called Hotel FishGolf. It's windows were covered by old yellowing newspaper, and it had a small sign on the door saying closed for renovations. However, the door was slightly ajar so we thought the name was too priceless to simply walk on by. The lobby was dark and dingy and three guys sat around drinking Matte, the drink of choice in Argentina. We chit-chatted for a few minutes and when they found out where we are from and why we were here they offered us a room. Upstairs at the back of a dark hallway was room 17, a small room with a bathroom but no beds. They said they could bring us a couple beds later, so for US$7 a piece, we said we´d take it. We then went back to Tinta Roja and packed our bags for the next day. When we arrived back into the town center to check into our hotel, sure enough there were 4 beds in the room. We dropped off our bags and wandered downtown for dinner, hoping to find something open.
Our meals generally consist of either really bad pizza which is dirt cheap and can always be found, cheese and tomatoes on bread, or a real meal at a Tenadore Libre (free fork) which are all you can eat buffets for 7 or 8 pesos per person. These tenadore lebre´s are well known and can be found all over the country. we´ve tried three or four here in Mar del plata, and every single one as exactly the same dishes! The only thing we could find open was a pizza place, so we settled on that.
We awoke just after 6am yesterday morning to the sounds of loud drumming and chanting. We had strategically placed our hotel one and a half blocks from the first march of the day, scheduled to start by 7am. We dressed quickly, and headed for a day on the streets. a crowd of somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people quickly gathered, and by 7:30 or 8 we started marching towards the stadium, where Hugo Chavez was scheduled to speak at the Summit of the People.
The march was built of many different groups which did not intermingle at all. We marched with the few other unaffiliated people on the sidewalk and just went up and down looking at each different group. Groups consisted of 50 to a few hundred people, and each group had their own peace police and often a rope around to keep infiltrators out. Most groups had large banners up on 15 or 20 foot poles, some nearly as wide as the street. Many groups also had cars or buses with their own loudspeakers. Throughout the march, various small groups of activists often dressed in all black (but not always) spray painted various anti bush and anti-capitalism slogans on any and every surface along the boarded up streets.
The march ended and most people went to listen to Chavez speak while everyone else hung out outside, trying to stay our of the drizzling rain, and to catch an ooccasional ray of sunshine. The next march did not start until nearly four that afternoon, at which point we had decided to march with the largest of the black blocks (we have become close friends with many of its members).
Aside from spray painting and lively chants, most of the march was uneventful. Someone spray painted an Anarchy symbol on the face of a statue outside a police station, and one person threw a rock at the police stations window, but everyone just kept moving along. There was a definite feeling of "save your energy for the fence".
The plan was to spend 30 minutes at the fence chanting peacefully and then each affinity group could carry out whatever actions they were planning and folks who wanted to leave could do so. However, it appeared that upon arrive at the fence (which we later found out was 6 blocks away from where Bush was at that very moment) the police started spraying rubber bullets and tear gas.
I had expected the crowd to expect this and react to it much better than they did. Instead of holding ground, most folks just turned and ran. Pretty soon however, people started throwing rocks through bank windows, and going in and dragging out desks, cardboard, and other large items and lighting large fires in the streets. Tear gas and smoke filled the streets, but luckily the wind was against capitalism too and blew it right towards bush and the other presidents who were posing for a photo op on the beach 6 blocks east.
Amid the fires, the breaking glass, the tear gas, and the excitement, we held our ground and stayed in the thick of it. It was very intense, but also a powerful experience. Everyone expressing their anger at specific targets in a calculated manner. At one point however, police started coming in from a side street and after breaking out the windows of an Argentine national bank, the group I was with decided to retreat down a side street. We were chased a few blocks by about 10 riot cops, but got away, changing out clothes as we went. We spent the rest of the evening watching the news and hoping all of our friends had made it out just fine.
I know that many of you don't generally think property damage is an appropriate action in this setting, but I must say here it sends a very clear message. One person accidentally broke a window of an apartment building, and everyone yelled at them loudly to make it stop. Just about all damage was done to banks and transnational corporations, which are all forces of oppression. My friend Cory was talking to a local elderly couple later last night and asked what they thought of the protests and all they said was ¨"The banks had it comin to them". I think this sums it up very well. Everyone expected and the vast vast majority of the people here supported that type of action. While randomly breaking and looting things certainly doesn´t accomplish anything, in this situation targeted property destruction sent a very clear message to the folks who live well by oppressing the rest of the population. (I by the way avoided actually participating in the property damage as it is not my city and I don't know as much about local issues, who owns what buildings, etc as well as other reasons).
Overall it was a long day and nerves where high, but we were all very surprised that it just sort of ended around dark and everyone went home. Bus loads of people returned to Buenos Aires and other cities around the country, and many activists from afar left last night or this morning.
Today we took a walk down Colon Avenue (where most of the action took place) and surveyed the damage, store fronts where already being repainted, windows repaired, and many places where opening back up. This afternoon we went with a group of people to the part of the fence where motorcades carrying delegates out of the security zone were passing. We had a noisy rally there, but mostly just waving flowers and middle fingers at the passing motorcades. Tonight we return to Tinta Roja and debrief and say our good byes to our friends there. Tomorrow in Nicole's birthday and then Monday morning we get on a train to the next still unknown destination!
love to all,
Jamie
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