Autumn in Buenos Aires: San Lorenzo and Carrefour

Autumn has arrived in Buenos Aires and the clearest sign is the number of sweaters and scarves that the Porteños are wearing. Mid-day today I was the only person walking around in short sleeves - 16 degrees and quite pleasant in the sun. My Canadian reaction to autumn is "enjoy it, it's not too cold after all" for an Argentinian it seems to be: "brace yourself, it might get really cold". At this rate, Argentinians are going to wearing Arctic parkas for 5 degrees above zero.

Coming winter also means the looming end of the Clausura tournament. San Lorenzo is sitting two points above near-top of the table Tigre and direct relegation to the Primera B. Of the remaining six matches, San Lorenzo needs to win at least four - and hope that Tigre struggles fails in at least two of their matches. Just to avoid direct relegation. Right now San Lorenzo is sitting in the third last spot of the promedios while sitting in the middle of the table, the Argentine-way of deciding which teams are the worst. The promedio is the ranking the average of points-per-game of each team over the last three seasons in the Primera A. San Lorenzo's greatest difficulty is that the two teams directly above, Rafaela and San Martin, have only had one season in the A. The mathematicians among us could explain better, but the result is that each three-point win for Rafaela and San Martin is more valuable. Tigre, thankfully, has had three seasons in the A and could create history by being the first team to win the league while directly descending to the B. It is a suitable reality for football in Argentina, where something is broken if it makes sense.

Today San Lorenzo is playing Olimpo of Bahia Blanca. The yellow and blacks are sitting at the bottom of the promedios and the table; guaranteed to be spending next year in the B. After some work, the Nuevo Gasómetro will be ready to host a night match. Two weeks ago, San Lorenzo needed to host Arsenal in the middle of the day because the stadium lights had yet to be fixed following the damaging storm. Enough of the lights will be working, hopefully, tonight for a 8 o'clock kick off. And yes I'm expecting to feel the cold.

While the Nuevo Gasómetro remains 'a work in progress', and I'm not talking about the completed stands and new roof promised by current club president Carlos Abdo, the march for the 'vuelta a Boedo' and the return to the Viejo Gasómetro hit a stumbling block. A week ago Wednesday, without much of their own publicity, Carrefour opened their Av. La Plata store. The French company has been working on the site for over a year putting a new roof - one that must be mentioned appears to be easily removed in pieces - on the building.

The group behind the Legislation of Historical Restitution and the marches for the Vuelta a Boedo has been organizing a few gatherings in front of the Carrefour; I was there a week ago Wednesday when they had opened. We were about six to ten persons (San Lorenzo was playing in the Copa Argentina at the time), equal to the number of military police sent to watch over us. Carrefour avoided any promotion of the opening and in the end very few people tried to shop, a few senior citizens from close by, parents picking up their children after school, and a few cars were all that passed us by to calls of "¡Complice! ¡Militar! ¡Sangre!". All references to the military dictatorship, which forced and profited from the sale of the Gasómetro. I should say, at times I wasn't too comfortable with things that things people from San Lorenzo were shouting. Racism is everywhere and football supporters in Argentina are trained from a young age to associate the release of anger to discriminatory language. "Bolivianos, Paraguayos, Peruanos" are used as insults because immigration from surrounding countries, much like in Canada and the US, has supplied cheap labour in Argentina. Any person with darker skin entering Carrefour was labelled as from a neighbouring country and told to "Go back to your country!" Not really the things I'd like to hear or support, but reflective of a much more complicated reality within Argentine society.

Today hinchas began protesting in front of the Carrefour at 10 in the morning. Later on, I'll be part of the procession from the "Tierra Santa" to the Nuevo Gasómetro 30 blocks away for the evening match against Olimpo. Carrefour is likely to suffer hundreds of football hinchas at its front gates for every local San Lorenzo match for the rest of the season.

Autumn is in full swing; the metaphor of transition is an ominous one for San Lorenzo - both in the relegation fight and with Carrefour. But if they make the best of it, win a couple of matches and keep the pressure on the city and Carrefour, maybe winter will arrive without too much trouble.

Plaza de Mayo filled by Cuervos

This was the biggest march I've ever participated in - way more than all the anti-war mobilizations in Ottawa including George W. Bush's visit - and all organized by a group of supporters and members of a football and sports club. Somewhere between 65 000 (LaNacion, which buried the story) to well over the 100 000, all to hear 40 minutes of speeches and put pressure on a municipal government to take action. I'd expect some academic friends to easily make the argument "but there are things more important than a football stadium" - before anyone takes the cynical route, just imagine 100 000 people coming together, happy and energized, to participate in the political process to demand restitution from past injustices and possibilities for community in the future. It is worthy to congratulate the organizers on what all those with just political causes regularly fail to do, speak to the emotional passion that moves people to participate. The organizers proposed an idea 10 years ago and have worked, as volunteers in their own time, to make this:

I'll have more later. Hopefully an edited video from the caravan and analysis. It might take a bit of time because I'm off to see San Lorenzo play in Cordoba. For the moment: gracias gloriosa ciclón! sos tenes una hinchada sin igual, ¡que fiesta pendejo! A volver, a volver, San Lorenzo a volver!

8 de Marzo - the Day the Hinchas Play

SanLorenzoTV, a supporter made youtube channel/website, and the Cuervos de Poe have put together a 'commercial' for the March 8th march supporting the 'vuelta a Boedo' - return to Boedo.


As if out of classic western, the fight against injustice is put forth:
"Their stadium was robbed" / "They swore to not stop till they won it back"

San Lorenzo lost their stadium in 1979 during some shady political business during the military dictatorship in Argentina; it has been long standing grievance for hinchas and in the recent years they have organized a social and political campaign to regain the property. Right now, a Carrefour shopping store, similar to a Wal-Mart, is under partial reconstruction where the "Gasómetro" once stood. Images of the old stadium define the historical memory of the club in its neighbourhood home of Boedo, the "historical restitution" of the "holy land" to San Lorenzo is also called "the return to Boedo".

Several marches have been organized in the past year or so to put pressure on the current city government to pass the law and figure out a way of returning the property to San Lorenzo. Starting at a few thousand, the second march in May last year was attended by 20 000 people and then 40 000 in June. Last December, more than 7000 people showed up to deliver a letter to the French embassador, outlining the case against the French company Carrefour. Ultimately, hinchas would like to construct a modern stadium on the Avenida La Plata.

On March 8th, another march is being organized by supporters. Advertising is sprinkled throughout the city and around the world - around 80 buses advertise the date, stickers and posters have been glued up, the date has been sprayed onto walls, and banners have been painted and displayed along highways, in towns in the provinces and as far away as Paris and Barcelona. Tables have been organized for the proceeding two weeks in the city centre and in Boedo to get information about the proposed law and campaign. Organizers are calling for 100 000 people.

No fight against injustice is complete without its heroes. The commercial stars some of the most recognizable 'characters' of San Lorenzo's hinchada, including the unstoppable "gordo ventilador" (the big fan), legendary 1970s player "el Sapo" (the frog) Villar, and members of the "Los Chiflados" murga. The rest of the captions read: "There is no flu / ...work... /... or exam that can stop us" "the return is supported by the people" "rise up 'cuervos' and occupy the Plaza de Mayo" "On March 8th, the supporters will play" ... "our faith moves supermarkets".

A work of (political) art.