Tuesday 1 May 2007
El libertador José de San Martín is the founding father of Argentina. He's like the George Washington of Argentina, except way more popular. I've put up a picture of his giant tomb which is within a cathedral, guarded 24/7 by guards in fancy uniforms, and has an eternal flame outside it. There is a street in every single town called San Martín, and usually a school, a hospital, and maybe a few other things, too. He liberated Argentina, Chile, and Peru from the Spanish, and marched over the Andes with only horses and a few soldiers in a very short time. (I forget how long. 24 days?)
Anyway, you see his name a lot down here, and even more so here in Mendoza, as this is where he lived with his family. Today we took a city tour, which wasn't great, but I discovered that San Martín has his own adjective in Spanish. Now that's impressive. This sign is showing a San Martín route, where he marched with his soldiers on his way to Chile.
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