Parque Centenario

November 2006. I visited Parque Centenario early in the morning, around 9:00 a.m. The main goal of the visit was to get a few macro photographs. I needed them to submit to a contest, but I didn't really know what macro photography was back then, and I almost sent the wrong pictures by mistake. When I arrived at the park, there were already quite a few people, and by noon it was packed.

At that time, they were still remodeling the park; a whole section was already finished, but by then, work had been going on for over a year. By 2014, after the remodeling had been completed, it deteriorated again—partly due to a lack of maintenance and partly due to people’s lack of care and some vandals. I took a few photos, then left the park looking for a newsstand/kiosk to buy some cookies to lure the birds over.

I had the chance to witness a chase involving a man in a car and a young guy running away. Later, two police cars were chasing what seemed to be the guy on foot, while the man in the car pointed and guided them. The police cars drove by with their sirens on three different occasions spread over time. I didn't see any police officers on foot.

The street fair—which keeps getting larger and, according to some websites, opens at 11:00 a.m.—already had stalls set up when I arrived at 9:00 a.m.

While I was sitting down, two women approached me, one young and the other much older. I had already noticed them talking to a girl who was sitting on the grass leaning against a tree, drinking mate. They came up to me and said they wanted to talk. I told them I wasn't interested, and they replied that I didn't even know what they wanted to talk about. So I said, "Well, let's see, what is it about?" They dodged the question, and the younger one asked me what I thought about corruption. I told them again that I wasn't interested, so she asked for permission to leave a brochure so I could learn who Jesus truly was. That’s when it clicked—they belonged to some sect (or something similar, a religious cult), and when I looked at the brochure, they were indeed Jehovah's Witnesses. They then went on their way, walking at a very slow pace alongside other park visitors.

In Parque Centenario, there are two or three species of ducks and white geese. The smaller birds I noticed were sparrows, horneros (rufous horneros), various species of pigeons and doves (common pigeons, eared doves, and picui ground doves), and benteveos (great kiskadees). I also saw a bird I couldn't identify; it ducked into the tall grass on the little island in the middle of the lake—it was a bit larger than the other birds. Around 2006, they reintroduced some birds, ducks, and geese. The last ones had been around 1989 and vanished during the economic crisis of that time when, apparently, people ate them. As of 2014, I don't know what the current situation is.

In the fountain, they had added a few colorful koi fish, quite large ones.

A koi swimming around there.

The woman with the sword was wearing very peculiar clothing—violet, loose-fitting, with some embroidery or something similar, a very striking outfit that set her apart from everyone else.

When I arrived, a middle-aged woman practicing with a sword caught my attention. I stood watching for a moment and thought about taking a picture, but several people were watching, so in the end, I didn't. Later, it turned out she was the instructor for a group doing exercises, likely some form of martial arts, though she was the only one performing well. Those following her in the routine were using broomsticks. Later, closer to noon, I saw another group doing exercises right across from where I was sitting, but further away; this group all had swords.

And in this photograph, the ones across from me, almost all with swords, some with sticks.
There were many members of the Guardia Urbana (Urban Guard) around. It’s hard to tell what their actual role is—they just walk around with their walkie-talkies in their distinctive blue uniforms, and that's about it.

So, after spending a good while there—about three hours—and taking several photos, I headed back home.