Cordoba… It’s Fine

This is the Chrysler Cordoba. -->

The ultimate in style, class, and sophistication.... in 1979.

I’ve spent the last several days in Cordoba. It’s a city with malls, lots of storefronts all selling the same clothing and scarves with no significant difference and catering to the small city aesthetic, and restaurants all with menus that are fundamentally similar.

It’s a fine place, but somewhat generic for my tastes.

However, I have seen several nice cathedrals and museums. The museums feature artists from Argentina only, mostly artists from Cordoba. I’ve seen some nice pieces and had a fine time walking about the city.

I’ve visited:

• The Museo Historico Provincial Marques de Sobramonte, a small museum that contained furniture, women’s fans and hair combs, dishware, and chamber pots that belonged to a wealthy family that lived here in the mid-1700s;
• The Criptica Jesuitica, a small stone museum which at one time housed the bones of Jesuit priests (which were then moved), then the bones of those who died from a cholera epidemic. Then they crypst was destroyed and then dug up again in 1986 and is now on display;
• The Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Dr Genaro Perez, a small, quaint museum with some sculptures and paintings;
• The Museo de la Memorial, a small museum housed in the former Department of Intelligence (D2) building, famous for kidnapping, torturing, and “disappearing” those who opposed the government in the 1970s. Its displays were interesting in that they were quite clean, artsy, and modern but set within the slightly still frightening torture and interrogation rooms;
• The Palacio Ferrerya, a larger museum with lots of nice paintings and sculptures from a host of different eras and an attempt at modern design inside the museum itself, with the benches and staircases covered in black cowhide, including the cow hair. It was odd to sit on and even weirder to grab hold of when walking up or down the stairs;
• The Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Caraffa, the main modern art museum in Cordoba, which was large and well architected, but had very little actual art in it. ???
• The Iglesia Cathedral, the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, and the Parroquia Sagrado Corazon de Jesus de los Capuchinos (all churches), the former two were representative of the style in Argentina. The latter one was quite impressive in size and very representative of the gothic style of architecture.

I don’t know that I have much else to say about Cordoba. It seems to me like it’s aspiring to be a “worldly” cultural center, but feels like the delivery isn't quite there. Kind of like the little redheaded sister who follows the cool big sister around, wanting to wear her lipstick and high heels and wanting to be grown up but just isn't yet so looks kind of funny when she dresses up in the big sister's lipstick and heels. In this case, the cool big sister is Buenos Aires, and the little sister… well you get the gyst.

My hostel is fine, nothing special. Really, I just can’t say anything bad or great about Cordoba. It’s fine, just fine. Oh, the weather is nice.

Tomorrow I leave for Mendoza, the place I’ve been aching to get to since I decided to go a couple of weeks ago. I’ve booked well-regarded hostel there and am set to taste wine. Onward.