Buenos Aires Economics Trip

The economics portion of the TIES program began last week. Much of the week was spent studying and analyzing the different perspectives that are used when gauging and transforming economic development.  There will be a number of guest speakers throughout the economics course.  Valentine Maqueda, a political science student at the University of Cuyo, came and spoke on the structure and history of the government of Argentina.

 Thursday evening, we embarked on a 15 hour bus trip to the great port of Buenos Aires.  Upon arrival, were granted a tour of the Los Pibes community center in La Boca, one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by the economic crash of 2001. The center is a private organization that was founded to assist the poorest members of the community with educational opportunities, vocational training and food assistance.   Conditions in the neighborhood have been steadily improving, but the center still feels about 200 families a day through direct meals and home support. 


Valentin translating during a tour of the textile facility at Los Pibes

Following lunch at Los Pibes, we then took a tour of Buenos Aires, including both the old and new areas.  We started in La Boca, the first port of Buenos Aires, which was built by Italian immigrants that worked in the warehouses and meatpacking plants.  The neighborhood was transformed by the artist Benito Quinquela Marti, who convinced his neighbors to liven up the neighborhood with festive colors, making it one of the most famous neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. 

The center of the city hosts an impressive array of colonial architecture, including the Casa Rosado, the historic presidential residence, where many famous political speeches have been given, including Eva Peron’s famous Cabildo Abierto  dialogue with the people in 1951. The adjacent Plaza de Mayo is an icon of political activism in the nation of Argentina.  This is the home of the “Mothers of Plaza Mayo” which march around the plaza every Tuesday, seeking to know what happened to the children that disappeared in the Dirty War.


Casa Rosado, with the central balcony made famous by the Perons



Plaza de Mayo, with the famous protests signs seeking information on the "Disappeared Ones"



 The last part of the tour was to Palermo and Recolleta, where we say the Floralis Generica, a sculpture donated by architect Eduardo Catalano.  The pedals of the flower open in the morning and close in the evening.  Our final stop of the day was La Recoleta Cemetery, which is a cemetery for the wealthy and the revolutionary heroes.  Eva Peron, the first lady of Juan Peron and Julio Roca are among the dignitaries in the cemetery.



TIES crew touring the famous Recoleta cemetary



Floralis Generica

The following day was ushered in with a tour of the Teatro Colón.  Built in the late 19^th century and into the 20^th century, this theater is decorated in French and German styles. The theater recently went through a restoration process that took five years and 3,000 workers to perform.  The only flaw in the theater is that the acoustics are perfect because if someone hits a wrong note, everyone know it.  In the afternoon, we were able to choose any of the several museums to attend for the afternoon.  The most common choices of attendance were the MALBA, National Fine Arts Museum, and the Evita Peron museum.


Courtney dazzling the red carpet of Teatro Colon

The evening ended with a tango show, including lessons and a dinner show.  Tango has its roots in Argentina, and has a circular history whereby the tango rose through the social classes in Europe after migrating from the immigrant slums of Buenos Aires, where it was based on the hard times of trying to find work and make ends meet as an immigrant in the port.  The tango became an important symbol in Argentina after gaining immense popularity in Europe.

 


Alisha and Tom demonstrating the focus needed for the Tango







  



















 

 


  


  


  


  
 


 
 


 
      




  



  


  

Lavalle Desert Biology

     Our final week of biology involved a three-day excursion in Lavalle.  On Monday we went to CONICET, the Argentine national research organization, to meet with Drs. Julieta Aranibar, Florencia Campon and Susana Lagos. Julieta presented her studies on the root structure of mesquite forests and how they gather water in desert environments,  Florencia talked about insects in the Mendoza region, and Susana presented information about arachnids and scorpions and their defining characteristics. 

     The next day we left for Lavalle, a desert region in the north of Mendoza province. We set up camp at a puesto/restaurant where we would stay for the next two nights.   




TIES crew at the Lavalle puesta

  Our first activity we divided into groups and looked for ant colonies. For each colony we found we marked the ants with pink nail polish to collect later as a population estimation method. 

Alex collecting insect specimens in the Lavalle desert

  Afterwards we gathered and had a group discussion with Julieta, Florencia and Susana concerning women in natural sciences.  That night Olga the owner prepared two goats for dinner. After we feasted we observed insects under a spot light outside in the dark.  We categorized the insects into genus nomenclature.



Excellent specimen of a walking stick found during our investigation

The next morning, we awoke early and drove to a mesquite forest. Julieta gave us instructions to measure a transect of 100m and we collected data on plant species and returned to the puesto.  That afternoon Todd Wellnitz gave an informal lecture on the intermediate diversity hypothesis followed by a discussion with Julieta , Florencia, and Suzanna on the differences in  higher education between the United States and Argentina.   



Brandon discussing academic issues with CONICET researchers

  Afterwards we split into groups and collected insects from two different terrains to decide where we would be doing our scorpion hunt later that night.  After a hearty meal of empanadas we set out at night to hunt for scorpions.   Because of a prehistoric evolutionary trait designed to protect them from excess UV radiation, scorpions contain a protein that reflects UV light, which causes them to glow in the dark when illuminated by UV light. We collected over 15 scorpions that night.



Glowing scorpion found in the dark of night, Lavalle



Scorpion death grip, Lavalle desert



Our final day we measured out another transect of 100m and collected data on plant species but in the sand dunes. Then we put out ant traps with two different baits. One consisted of commercial birdseed and the other of tuna. We did this in order to understand their eating habits. 

     We returned to Mendoza that afternoon to finish our final research projects for biology. On Friday, we completed our three weeks of Biology with an open discussion connecting what we'd learned over the three weeks and then presenting our final projects to the group.



 














 

 

Uspallata Ecology

As biology continued into its second of three weeks, we got down to the nitty-gritty and had an introduction to biology and statistical analysis so we could infer patterns and relationships in the data we collected on our horseback trip.



Todd Wellnitz leading the TIES crew in a Biology discussion at the hostel

            The next day was an introduction to what the next study would involve with two native Argentine researchers, Erica Scheibler and Paulo Lambias.  They gave us the information we needed for data collection and explained what we would be looking for in Uspallata.  Erica’s research in the Andes is heavily dependent on streams and, for our research purposes, diversity.  Paulo is currently working on his Ph.D. with his research on monogamy in the South American sedge wren.

In Ithaca, New York, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, Paolo is doing a lot of research with these birds to understand different lifestyles and processes of these birds based on their environments.   The sedge wren has an interesting way of building their nests, as the female, aided by the male, often builds more than one nest in the tall Pampas grass.  There are many possible reasons for this, including avoiding predation, creating distractions, or allowing the males of the species to practice polygamy. 

When we arrived at the Uspallata region, we were divided into four groups.  Two groups went with Paolo to a field full of Pampas grass (often taller than us!), even though this is not the mating season for the wrens.  The groups in the fields were to measure the Pampas grass sections by using cups to represent wrens’ nests.  We measured the height of the grass, density of the plant, and the concealment it provided the nest.


Brandon and Alicia measuring the height of the Pampas grass



 The other two groups stayed with Erica and Dr. Wellnitz to collect samples from the stream nearby and then record diversity data of the aquatic organisms they collected. 

  


Alex and Erica gathering samples from RIo Uspallata near our campground



Frank collecting stream ecology samples



 

The night ended for everyone with a campfire and dinner at our campground.  Around the campfire Dr. Wellnitz, with the help of Paolo and Erica, taught us about the evolution of species.

The second day, the stream groups went into the field and the field groups went to the stream.  The new stream team sampled different streams than the group.  One group went about 30 kilometers north of Uspallata to collect data from a stream near Tambillos. 

Kelsey and Kris collecting stream data near Tambillos

  

These transects provided three different locales to evaluate the diversity of streams.  We measured this the same way as the first group at the other stream did.  This was done by holding a net in slow, medium, and fast stream water, and disturbing the ground - catching everything that got picked up by the current.  We did this for five minutes, measuring velocity by timing how long an object took to float five meters. 

When the groups met at the end of the field studies, we headed back to Mendoza to put everything together.  The sedge wren groups looked for patterns in their data, while the stream stream collected all of their critters from their samples. 



Dan and DJ collecting stream ecology data



The next morning, Paulo gave a lecture to answer questions about the information we gathered from the wren’s nests.  This was followed by a short lecture from Dr. Wellnitz and time to work on our group projects.  
















  


  

Mendoza Mountain adventure

 

     The TIES-Argentina Biology unit started off with a morning lecture from Dr. Todd Wellnitz followed by an afternoon activity at the Mendoza Zoo.  The zoo was more old-fashioned than we were used to, allowing us to get closer to the animals than zoos back home.  A troupe of monkeys wandered the grounds begging for food and entertaining patrons, something we were surprised to see.  We observed the different adaptive features of monkeys, bears, birds, elephants, and other animals.  The zoo sprawls across Cerro de la Gloria in Parque San Martin, with a wonderful array of beautiful flora, and we really enjoyed the afternoon with our peers.  This was also an excellent exercise in people-watching, as many families were also strolling the zoo’s grounds on Sunday afternoon. 
 

TIES crew and assessment team assembled for the start of the Biology section


     For our first Biology trip we revisited Uspallata for five days.  Once we arrived and settled into the hostel, we ventured down the road to do a preliminary survey of plant life in the high desertTher and to choose a topic for our practice project.  Groups then developed a hypothesis based on their observations and worked to develop a methodology for testing this hypothesis for the following day.  The TIES team then recharged with a talk from Jane Pederson (of UWEC’s History department) on handling horses, an asado (we can’t get enough!), a clear view of the stars, and some friendly ping-pong matches.

        Day two started in the field at a very student-friendly (and appreciated!) 10 A.M.  We began collecting data according to our protocols, altering them as our individual studies required.  After fieldwork, students were split into two groups for a one-hour horseback “training” ride - a chance to practice handling the horses (as a few students had never ridden before) and take in some of the stunning scenery nearby.  This also offered us the opportunity to meet our guides for the trip, three brothers and their cousin who are gauchos (or Argentine horsemen).  Many of us found the ride both relaxing and invigorating and we traded much of our anxiety about the upcoming trek for excitement. 
 


Westward ho!  Headed into the Frontal Cordillera on horseback



           On day three, TIES saddled-up to take on the Andes and our second biology projects with our groups.  We rode for about four hours before taking a lunch-and-biology break.  Teams each investigated a topic (human impact on the ecosystem, ants, a conveniently-located cow carcass, and stream-critters) in the immediate area and gave a brief presentation about their findings.  After two more hours of riding, we arrived at our camp.  Nestled in a valley alongside a stream, tents went up, the stars came out, and we enjoyed another asado prepared by our gaucho friends and guides.



Horse camp at Chacai Creek (6400') in the Frontal Cordillera

      For the first time on a fieldtrip the TIES group was split-up to work in two separate locations, with two groups riding two hours further into the mountains to another valley for their new projects and two remaining at the campsite for theirs.  The seven students that rode further (accompanied by Dr. Wellnitz, Dr. Brian Mahoney, Lori Snyder, and a few guides) negotiated steep ascents and descents with their horse-companions, arriving at another stream nestled in a valley.  These two groups studied the lichen and thorny plant populations at the site, while the two groups at the first site braved arthropods in addition to studying plant diversity and abundance.  Once reunited, the group enjoyed an Andean thunderstorm, dinner, and, once the storm cleared, a gorgeous view of the night sky.

View down canyon from upper research area at Los Leones (7500'), Frontal Cordillera



            Before the afternoon ride back, the two groups that rode further the previous day joined forces with Team Arthropod and Team Cacti (lovingly nicknamed by the students) and helped them finish collecting data.  


Team Arthopod with Todd Wellnitz collecting diversity data on transects



Team Cacti collecting data on barrel cactus


 After a quick lunch at camp, horses and mules were loaded and the caravan, exhausted in all the best ways, rode four hours back to the hostel to board the bus back to Mendoza.  Overall, the trip was outstanding, and the TIES crew extends its utmost appreciation to the guides and gauchos of Mendoza Mountain for their knowledge, professionalism and good cheer!



TIES crew with gauchos and guides  at base camp



 


www.mendozamountain.com

http://www.hosteluspallata.com.ar/

 

 

 


     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  
  
 
 
 

Valle de Uco

After a very relaxing three-day break, the group was ready to pick up where they left off in the history and culture class with Marcelo Reynoso.  This six-day section focused on the era of Perón in Argentine politics and was divided into two parts.  The first part included lecture time for half of the day while the other half of the day was focused on local fieldtrips. We took three fieldtrips during these first few days. The first fieldtrip included a visit to the local artisan’s market. While there we learned about the history of how the market came to be and how it continues to progress today. Our second trip took us to El Museo de Cuyo, which focused on the history of the Mendoza region, where we learned about several important figures such as San Martín, la familia de Francisco Civit, and Manuel Belgrano. The last fieldtrip focused on the economical development of IMPSA, a large industrial factory in Mendoza. There we learned about an Italian family who transformed their small workshop into one of the largest international industrial factories in Mendoza. After our visit to the industrial factory, Leonardo Román, a history student from the University of Cuyo, visited us and aided in the discussion about Peronism during the 1970’s.



Touring wind turbine manufacturing at the IMPSA plant



             On Saturday we got up bright and early to start the second half of our six-day history and culture lesson, a three-day trip to Valle de Uco. After a short stop at a monument dedicated to San Martín we arrived in San Carlos where we sat down for a talk with Camilo and Blanca. The couple shared their history of how their family arrived in San Carlos and also talked about their experiences during the presidency of Perón. After visiting with Camilo and Blanca, we set off to meet with Marcelo’s parents to talk about their life in San Carlos. It was interesting to see the two varying viewpoints of the couples on politics during the era of Perón and the differences in the history of their families.     

            The next morning we embarked on a bike excursion. This adventure led us on a tour of the canal system of San Carlos. We had several stops where we looked at how the canal system was controlled and listened to Marcelo explain the importance of the canals. After a 13 kilometer ride the group sat down for a quick lunch before a rafting trip on Río Tunuyán. 



Rio Tunuyan and the Frontal Cordillera, Valle de Uco




TIES crew ready to raft the Rio Tunuyan


Following a chilly ride down river, the group returned on bike to the hostel in order to get ready for that night’s festivities. For dinner we headed to a local restaurant called Bar del Abuelos in San Carlos that continues traditional culture. This restaurant still uses family recipes that are 60 years old and also maintains traditional dress. While enjoying the food, we were also serenaded throughout the night.

  Monday morning included a trip to two government offices in San Carlos that are in charge of controlling irrigation of the region. After talking with the superintendents of irrigation in this region, we were able to fully understand how the irrigation system around San Carlos functions and the different demands that it fulfills. We then returned to the hostel to sit down and talk with two Peronists, people who were in support of Perón during and since his presidency. These gentlemen took time to explain to us their political affiliation and experiences during Perón’s presidency and discuss how they continue to practice this identity.  This meeting, as well as the others, helped to put into context the lecture Marcelo had given during the first three days of this section. After a full six days we returned to Mendoza for a short break before starting our biology block.

 






Group discussion with Peronistas









Our history and culture instructor, Marcelo Reynoso with his parents in Valle de Uco





Aconcagua and Villendima

     This past week we returned to the Uspallata valley to further study the Aconcagua fold and thrust belt.  The first day of our trip we hiked partway through the small valley leading to the tallest peak in the Americas, Aconcagua, stopping periodically to discuss the geology along the way. 



Hiking up Rio Horcones toward Cerro Aconcagua (6963 meters a.s.l.)



The TIES crew at Cerro Aconcagua

 This is the high spine of the Andes Mountains and the Aconcagua fold and thrust belt is spectacularly exposed.  Afterwards we headed to Cristo Redentor, along the border between Argentina and Chile at 4,000 meters (~13,000 ft) above sea level.  To get to the top of the peak, our trusty bus drivers took us up yet another dirt road with seemingly countless switchbacks.  The road was once the only route to get to across the border to Chile.  On the way up we got a great view of a hanging glacier on a nearby peak.  At the top is a monument of Christ, commemorating the peace between Argentina and Chile.  The plaque at the base of the monument reads, “These mountains will crumble before Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ Redentor.”  Some of us escaped from the cold wind with a mug of artisanal hot chocolate from the small station next to the monument.  Dusk fell as we returned down the road (nerve-wracking to some!), and we caught sight of a couple desert hares and a fox.  





Cristo Redentor (Paso Internacional Los Libertadores), border between Chile and Argentina (4000 meters a.s.l.)

   The second day of our field trip was spent studying the Miocene (9-12 million year old) synorogenic sediments that make up some low ridges between the Cordillera Frontal and the Cordillera Principal of the Andes.  Examination of these sediments allows us to document the uplift and erosion of the Andes Mountains.  We will use the geologic information we gathered on this trip to create our stratigraphic sections of the region, which will be included on a group poster to be presented at the UWEC Student Research Day.  



Examining synorogenic basin deposits that record the uplift of the Andes



     Upon our return to Mendoza, we were able to enjoy Vendimia, the Mendocine wine festival.  It began with a parade on Friday night.  Each of the sixteen districts, or counties, of Mendoza province had a float celebrating particular products from the region.  The elected pageant queen of each district also rode on the floats.  Instead of throwing candy, the people on the floats tossed grapes, apples, melons, and bottles of wine to the onlookers.  Some were more energetically thrown and some of us ended up with slight bruises from the flying fruit.  



Mendozan beauty queens tossing fruit to parade attendees

     Saturday began with another parade, then a visit from Cristina Kirchner, the current president of Argentina.  During her visit there was a very large and energetic protest against the proposal for the construction of the proposed San Jorge open pit copper strip mine in northwest Mendoza province.  The people of Uspallata are very concerned about the environmental ramifications of the proposed mine and they are very eager to discuss it, as we discovered on our visits to Uspallata. 

Protest against the proposed San Jorge mine in northwest Mendoza province

       The main event of Vendimia took place Saturday night at an outdoor amphitheater on the edge of the city.  We were lucky enough to get tickets to the show, which 60,000 people attended.  It was quite spectacular, with musical and dance numbers celebrating the culture and history of Mendoza.  Over 800 people directly participated in its production. Toward the beginning of the show, the whole audience participated in a toast to Vendimia and to Mendoza.  Afterwards, each traditional folk dance was performed, as well as other elaborately choreographed numbers.  Everyone was very affected by the dance representation of the extermination of the native peoples.  The show was heavily influenced by political messages, especially concerning the native population and the working class.  

Vendimia dancers performing

     At the end of the night the Queen of Vendimia was crowned.  It was very interesting to watch as each of the 200 votes was read out loud.  The audience was roughly divided into the different districts and each time a vote was read a part of the crowd would erupt in applause and cheers.  After much anticipation, the Queen of Vendimia 2011 was announced and the show ended with an incredible fireworks display.  As we waited for a bus back to the city, it began to rain heavily.  Finally, a city bus arrived and the driver said he could take a bus load of people back for free.  We still don’t know how we fit so many people onto one bus!  It was completely packed!  About halfway to the city center, someone began singing a traditional Mendocine harvest song and all the Mendocinos on the bus joined in.  It was a great display of cultural unity.  

The Vendimia Queen contestants

Andean Cordillera

After our project developing a geologic cross section of the Andes Mountains, we had a free day to enjoy Mendoza followed by a day of touring the wineries in the region of Maipú in the province of Mendoza.  We visited two wineries, the first being a larger and older winery called Lagarde that was established in 1897.   We examined the process of wine production from picking the grapes to bottling the final product.  After learning about the manufacturing processes we were then taught proper wine tasting techniques and tasted three different wines made at Lagarde.  The second winery we toured was called Palo Alto which is a smaller, newer boutique winery established within the last decade.  We got to see the similarities and differences between the two wineries before tasting the wine produced at Palo Alto.  We tried three different varietals of Malbec, which is Mendoza’s most well known grape.  After an elaborate lunch we had the opportunity of touring an olive oil factory.  After learning the processes involved in producing olive oil, we got to try a variety of oils.



The very popular Malbec grape



The group at the Lagarde winery after our tour and tasting 

 

On February 25 we started our second geology project and headed back into the Andes.  For this project we were examining the Malargüe Fold and Thrust Belt near Las Leñas that developed during the uplift of the modern Andes and the sedimentary basins that formed during this deformation.  The first day we camped along the Rio Atuel and were cooked a traditional Argentinean asado by our comedic bus drivers, Luis and Jorge.

Jorge and Louis preparing for a traditional Asado

Before beginning of our basin research project, we gathered in the Triassic rift basin exposed in Cañon Rio Atuel for a brief biology lesson from Dr. Todd Wellnitz about stream ecology – a taste of the many exciting biology lessons we are looking forward to in the coming weeks.    



Todd Wellnitz explaining stream ecology in Rio Atuel.







Later that morning, we then traveled to Los Lenas in the southern central Andes to examine the record of mountain building.  We split into five groups, each lead by a geology student.  Each group was responsible for a different aspect of the poster we would later create.  We travelled into the mountains to Valle Hermoso which is at about 9,000 ft. elevation.  After a challenging hike we examined the deformed rocks in this area and stopped for a lunch that overlooked the spectacular valley. 





Greg Valitchka overlooking the stunning Valle Hermoso

   



Alex, Greg, and Tom explaining the deformation of the Malargue fold and thrust belt



 The next day, we headed to El Sosneado to measure and describe the sedimentary basin that was initiated by uplift and deformation in the Andes about 9-12 million years ago.  We then travelled back to Mendoza to compile the information we gathered.  The next geology field trip will examine similar processes in a different portion of the Andes, and the two areas will be compared in our geologic poster.



 



Olivia Iverson explaining some of the sedimentary structures during the basin analysis in El Sosneado.