This weekend was a long one, with Monday and Tuesday off from work, courtesy of the Argentinean Government who had turned carnival Tuesday into a bank holiday last year and had thrown in the Monday as a puente. This year, plans to fly somewhere fell through, so we decided to use the weekend to relax and explore the city and surroundings. The weather was not really playing along, with frequent rains and grey skies, so we slept in late, read a lot, and only ventured outside during the dry spells.
On Monday, things looked a bit more cheery, so we climbed into the car and drove to Luján, a little town around 60 km west of Buenos Aires and home of Our Lady of Lujan, Argentina’s patron saint. Those of you who have used a taxi in Buenos Aires before might have already seen the image of the lady on the dashboard. You know, the one with the stiff triangular-shaped blue-and-white dress, hands folded in front and surrounded by a golden halo.
Well, legend has it that the statue of the virgin was on her way from Buenos Aires to Tucuman in 1630 when the cart got stuck in Luján and would only move after the statue had been removed. So the owner decided to leave her in Luján and build her a shrine. Since then she has worked many miracles and caused the visit of more than one pope – Pope Leo XIII came around in 1886 and brought her the golden coronet and the pearls. And she keeps attracting her fair share of pilgrims, especially on the Día de la Virgen de Luján on the first Sunday of October, when believers actually walk up from Buenos Aires. But the main reason that lead us to the place was the imposing basilica that was built from 1887 to 1935 and which now houses the virgin’s statue. That, and the fact that the guidebook described it as a „pleasant riverside town“.
Imposing it was. After driving through the flat and not so pretty Pampa for about ¾ of an hour we were directed to a turn-off especially designated to the basilica and which really deserved the name. One minute we had been bumping along the so-called highway and the next moment we were heading smack towards the basilica and being guided to a free parking spot by a friendly guy with a towel.
In terms of pilgrims this was probably a slow weekend, but we saw plenty of families, groups of happy nuns, and some elderly and feeble faithful who had obviously come for the blessing and perhaps some little miracle cure by the lady. People milled around the huge plaza in front of the church where they could have their picture taken by professional photographers or buy sweet popcorn, cotton candy or other sugary snacks.
Closer to the church it got a bit more devotional. Although most of the younger bunch were busy taking each others picture on the entrance steps some visitors took up the offer of a priest – at least I hope it was one – who stood in a little elevated booth and blessed bypassers by sprinkling them with holy water. I couldn’t quite make out if the service was for free but I am pretty sure that I saw a woman take out her wallet. Although that could have been a donation, not a fee. Definitely for sale where all kinds of devotional objects, like pictures and little and not so little statues of the virgin, rosaries, colourful flags and red streamers with prayers and benedictions, key rings, fridge magnets ... you name it.
The inside of the basilica was nice and fairly impressive, come to think of the location in the middle of nowhere. They were holding a mass when we came in and a large queue was waiting to get closer to Our Lady of Luján but we managed a quick look at the nave and the side altars. Part of the interior was covered because of renovations and the cloister was also closed off due to repair works. But what finally put a damper on the mood was the sign reminding us to take care of our belongings because of pickpockets. Really!
We then went outside in search of the pleasant riverside town mentioned in the guidebook and headed for the river. Here, an esplanade houses all kinds of carnival rides, restaurants, little shops and if that is not enough of fun, you can rent a little paddle boat or book a trip on a bigger riverboat. All the rides were a bit outdated and shabby and the riverside walkway appeared slightly run down. But it would nevertheless have earned the adjectives „charming“ and „quaint“ if it hadn’t been for the trash and the neglect of the whole place that actually screamed „rat attack“.
It doesn’t have to be Disney perfect and you don’t need super new and expensive rides to have a good time, but this place was – I am sorry to say - a bit disgusting. There were ripped garbage bags everywhere, not to mention the smell of rotten food, and tiptoeing along the messy sidewalks I was expecting rats to jump out of the bushes and biting me in the leg any minute. The other visitors didn’t seem to mind though, since there were families sitting at the picnic tables and the kids enjoying their pizzas and sodas. So we simply decided that it was not for us, went back to our car and drove home to Buenos Aires.
But I am trying to figure out what to do with the experience. Are we Western Europeans simply too spoiled with our extensive recycling habits and the regulated system behind this? Or is it not really a question of money but of a certain attitude to the environment, which seems to be so different here in Argentina? Luján is a touristy spot, and the equivalent of 5 Euro they charge for a Milk Shake at one of the cafes at the plaza have to go somewhere. And how much would it have cost the town council to clean up the esplanade and have the trash bags removed on a regular basis? But as I said: No one seems to have minded apart from us, and we had been free to leave.
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