Andrew Anderson '10
Standing in the Cathedral of the city of Córdoba, one cannot help but gasp at the wonder of the richly decorated church. Gold embosses virtually everything with the ceiling being wonderful murals of biblical passages. The attention to detail is impeccable; the miniscule Venetian mosaic floor covers the entire church and makes you wonder at the thousands of hours that went into its building. The pulpit is covered in a layer of gold foil that makes the detailed wood carvings truly show what power the Catholic Church wielded in colonial America. The murals on the ceiling, which are technically not murals, differ from those found elsewhere because they are not directly painted on the ceiling (thus are not technically murals) but are painted on cloth which was then placed on the ceiling. Regardless of their technical name they are wonderful works that create an unbelievable sense of openness in the Church.
The ceilings of the church are covered in gold and cloth paintings of Biblical passages
The beauty of colonial Córdoba is reflected in the in the Cathedral which is a prime example of some things you will see in the Manzana Jesuítica, or simply the Jesuit block. Containing early 17th century colonial buildings, the block is home to several important building: the cathedral, the Jesuit Church, and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba are only a few. The university is the second oldest in all of the Americas and the second largest university in Argentina (second only to the university of Buenos Aires). The University was founded by the Jesuits 1613, it currently has 113,558 students, and the incredible number of universities in Córdoba adds a youthful feel to the city amidst its colonial architecture. The students also add an element of political radicalism in the city, which apparently is a traditional bastion of the Unión Cívica Radical, or the Radical Civic Union Party. The left-of-centre politics in the city is interesting given the proximity of Che Guevara's childhood home.
The Students of Córdoba show their dislike of economic exploitation
While the good Doctor Ernesto was born in Rosario, his acute asthma (which would affect him for the rest of his life) led his family to spend more time in a second home outside Córdoba. While the home is not particularly historically significant, the house represents something of our fascination with San Ernesto. We come to look at knick-knacks of a revolutionary: cigars, mate glasses, hats, etc. and for what purpose? We seem to have this glorious picture in our heads of this grand counterculture, which leads kids who have never heard of the Sierra Maestra mountains to put Che's image on pins, hats, shirts, cigars, patches, lamps, clocks, underwear, posters, and just about everywhere imaginable. Che has become market capitalism. Maybe it is just that Alberto Korda took a stupidly good photograph, but kids do not put quality images of waterfalls on their backpacks. So Che's childhood home represents something of our deep drive to fight the man, surrounded by his motorcycle, "The Mighty One," and green military fatigues, I cannot help but think, maybe we all just have a secret desire to look really good in a beret.
