South by South America Tour – Argentina Part 18
Friday, August 16, 2019
Mendoza, Argentina
A mural next to some stairs at the Annexo MMAMM in Mendoza, Argentina.
Parque Central in Mendoza, Argentina.
Arcoiris Cosplay by Joana Ortega at the Annexo MMAMM in Mendoza, Argentina.
By 7:00 am, it was free breakfast time at the Hostel Alamo, and since I had not acquired a wink of sleep all night, I decided to get up and eat! After chowing down on a pancake, bread and cereal, I slept for four hours. (My original plan was to take a tour of some wineries right after breakfast, but I was too exhausted.) Waking up just after noon, I ventured out to buy a Red Bus card at the trolley station a couple of blocks away. Seeing no kiosk around, I asked some people working in a building there, and they sent me packing a couple of blocks away, but I couldn’t find anything.
Arcoiris Cosplay by Joana Ortega at the Annexo MMAMM in Mendoza, Argentina.
Arcoiris Cosplay by Joana Ortega at the Annexo MMAMM in Mendoza, Argentina.
Arcoiris Cosplay by Joana Ortega at the Annexo MMAMM in Mendoza, Argentina.
Long story short, I asked six or seven different people where I could buy the card, but the location each of them sent me to turned up nothing—no kiosk, no sign in front of any shop. Somewhere in between there, I had also returned to the hostel and asked the front desk clerk, but I couldn’t even find the place he pulled up on his computer—even though I had taken a photo of it! Finally, I went back to the hostel again and asked an old guy from Florida who was staying in the same room as me. He was nice enough to walk me over to a small snack shop and speak Spanish to the clerk, who sold me a Red Bus card. Finally!
A paint-splashed wall in Mendoza, Argentina.
Parroquia Santo Domingo in Mendoza, Argentina.
The Squeezebox Man in Mendoza, Argentina.
Unintentional minimalism in Mendoza, Argentina.
Since it was past 2:00 pm and too late to go to the wineries, I decided to visit a couple of more museums instead. So, I walked a mile or so over to the Annexo MMAMM, which, as its name implies, is an annex of the Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno at Plaza Indepencia. Inside the small gallery was a one-man show called Arcoiris Cosplay (Rainbow Cosplay) by Joana Ortega, which consisted of some really whimsical puffy costumes, each hanging from the ceiling over a matching pair of platform sneakers.
Male and female figures at the Museo del Área Fundacional in Mendoza, Argentina.
Two more figures at the Museo del Área Fundacional in Mendoza, Argentina.
A loggerhead sea turtle at the Aquario Municipal in Mendoza, Argentina.
There was also a short video of a woman posing and dancing around in the get ups, which was really nice to see. “Joana Ortega’s work is inspired by the concept of Japanese cosplay, which modifies and resignifies the practice of disguise, and the optical phenomenon of the rainbow as a metaphor for the transformation of the body. It presents a sculptural set consisting of seven costumes and a video performance that reflect on the ‘fashion,’ the interpretation of roles that enable the costume and the social conventions of clothing and bodies.”
A toothy fish at the Aquario Municipal in Mendoza, Argentina.
A yellow fish at the Aquario Municipal in Mendoza, Argentina.
A psychedelic fish at the Aquario Municipal in Mendoza, Argentina.
A tree-lined lane in Mendoza, Argentina.
Next, I headed several blocks east over to the Museo del Área Fundacional, which exhibits historical city models, dioramas, sculptures, and archaeological artifacts amid other remains of pre-Columbian ruins, all of which explain the history of Mendoza. After an hour poking around in that museum, which was really quite pleasant, I headed over past the skatepark to the Aquario Municipal, or the Municipal Aquarium, which is free with your ticket from the Museo del Área Fundacional. This small building houses some pretty impressive and strange creatures, including a big ol’ loggerhead sea turtle, a pufferfish, an eel, frogs, turtles, alligators and much more. All in all, visiting three small museums in one day was quite a consolation for missing out on the winery tour again.
Words and photos ©2019 Arcane Candy.
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