On Friday, October 22 the President of Argentina, along with her husband (the previous president), the provincial governor, local mayor and other officials visited Chivilcoy for the city's birthday celebration. Our curiosity got the best of us, so we went to the city's main square to have a look! We ended up waiting in a mass crowd for two hours for the President's late arrival. Once she and the other politicians were on the platform we went home to listen and watch on TV. According to the local paper 22,000 people filled the plaza in this city of just 70,000!!! If you follow Argentine news, you may have heard that the presidents husband, probably the most powerful person in Argentine politics, died of a massive heart attack just five days after he was in Chivilcoy.
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| Debbie, Rocio (one of our youth), Danny and Kristi |
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| A literal sea of people spilling into the plaza (left) and filling the entire width of a four lane avenue. The municipal palace is seen in the background. |
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| View of the platform |
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| Flags and hats are worn by syndicate members. Argentina has very powerful syndicates. |
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| Four thousand students from local schools were present to sing. Some of our own youth were in the group seen on the steps of the Catholic Church in the background holding flags. |
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| President Kirchner comes onto the platform (far left in tan outfit) |
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| A large screen in front of where we stood gives a close up view of the politicians, with Mrs. Kirchner and her now deceased husband on the right. |
