On May 25th, I tagged along on my parents’ (my “real” parents, who were visiting from the U.S.) date in celebration of their 30th wedding anniversary, which consisted of a fabulous dinner at La Brigada, one of Buenos Aires’ finest parillas (steakhouses), and a risqué tango show, appropriately called Rojo (Red) Tango.

Also on this date, Argentina celebrated an anniversary: its bicentennial of the May Revolution, the beginning of the country’s journey to independence, which was declared on July 9, 1816. The festivities on Tuesday were a culmination of 5 days of activities such as parades and performances that took place along the Avenida 9 de Julio—the main thoroughfare in the center of the city. To put it simply, the bicentennial celebrations were akin to a mixture of a University of Wisconsin football game day and Grant Park on November 4, 2008. Light blue and white, the colors of Argentina’s flag, were on every balcony, every food stand, and every person. It was truly fascinating to see, but I have to admit that if I was in Washington, D.C. and saw American flags everywhere, I would probably be less impressed.

As joyous as the vibe of Buenos Aires became over the course of the weekend, the celebration of la patria brought forth some interesing, and at times less festive, ideas. As I discussed in my urban anthropology class later that week, the bicentennial celebrations were an opportunity for the country to create, or re-create, its image and quickly disperse it to a wide audience. Walking through the huge, temporary exhibition rooms that were themed Human Rights, Environment, and similar titles, I thought about how the display presented the country’s history and current situation. How accurate or slanted were the presentations? What type of image was Argentina trying to create?

In the environmental booth, I read information about the Riachuelo River, which is the most contaminated river in Argentina, one of the 30 most contaminated sites in the world, and is the cause of hundreds of thousands of sicknesses and deaths. The environmental policy in relation to the Riachuelo is the topic of my research project I have been conducting here. There were four large posters detailing information about the river, none of which did more than merely state that there was indeed a serious contamination problem and the government was in the process of addressing the issue. One word jumped into my mind: greenwashing.

Another question that the bicentennial posed is: why exactly is the country celebrating? From the perspectives of some people, including my host parents, there is not much to be honored at this point in Argentina’s history. Inflation remains a consistent problem and large percentages of the urban population lack access to basic resources. Furthermore, corruption within the government continues to thwart positive advancements. However, the country does have much to be proud of, such as fairly high access to health care, not to mention its abundant natural beauty and its fascinating and complex culture.

Regardless, the bicentennial was certainly an interesting opportunity to see the country sporting their Argentine pride, as if I’m not going to witness enough of that once the World Cup begins in a couple weeks. But as my cab driver the other night told me, everyone forgets their differences and comes together for futbol.