Sunday 7 January 2006
Ryan and I went out to the southern suburb of Avalleneda, to check out the Carrefour, looking for hard-to-find ingredients or maybe even cheddar cheese. When we arrived at the Avalleneda train station, however, we found that it had been renamed by local grafittiers. Everywhere, on every sign and over every door, the names Darío and Maxi appeared. Nowhere did it say the correct name. And on all the walls were stencils and paintings and slogans and portraits of these two men, saying things like "Ni muertos nos detendrán," (Even though we are dead, they will not stop us) and "Darío y Maxi no están solos" (They are not alone.) We had no idea what was going on, but snapped a few photos (see Ryan's for some really nice ones) and went home.
I found out, however, that on the 26th of June 2002, there was a massive protest on the Pueyrredon bridge in Avalleneda, where over 4,000 unemployed workers took to the streets and blocked off the highways in and out of the city. (This was just after the economic crash, when unemployment was very very high.) Two of these "piqueteros," named Darío and Maxi, were shot down by police trying to control the march. The two ran for cover in this train station, hence the connection. They have become something like local martyrs, and I believe that people still block that same bridge every year on June 26th.
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