Porteño Corner: Father Sebastián Risso

Name: Father Facundo Sebastián Risso
Parish Vicar, Maria Madre de la Esperanza
Age: 39
Lives: Villa 20

• At what age did you decide you want to dedicate your life to religion?

When I was 16 years old my brother died in a fatal accident. I don’t come from a religious family, they don’t go to church or anything – maybe they have their religious beliefs but they don’t go to church. This situation made me seek God.

I got older and soon after I was invited to a parish – it started there.

• Can you tell me a bit about the work that you are doing at the moment?

The parish is a place where people come and stay, in other parishes you just go and attend religious services. They come here to study. They come here to play. The parish is a place of refuge and safety.

I try to help them to grow in a safe place to widen their horizons. I’m thinking about this at this moment, to let them go out of here or not. I think I have to respect them to also let them grow and decide.

I find that the poorest thing is lack of education, not lack of material things, but lack of education. They just don’t know they can study or earn a lot of money, or apply for a position that could give them a more comfortable lifestyle and they just do what their parents have done.

The families are broken here, most of my time I accompany young people. I find that all of them are sons and daughters of fathers who abandoned their family. There is a lot of physical violence and other kinds of violence. Alcoholism is huge here. There are many who were raped in childhood.

The most horrible thing is that they have naturalized that behavior. One is just used to being hit — the boy is just used to seeing his father hit his mother, who is drunk and drunk for a week. It’s tough.

• So most of the work you do is with young people?

Yes – with young people because I think they need it more, in my assistance, I can help them.

• So the church offers them a place of refuge. What do you hope to achieve in the future and are you seeing any changes?

Yes – for example this – (pointing to the homework of a young boy studying in the parish).

I think that, of course, I can’t teach them everything. Many times (it’s about) the lack of this being with the ‘other.’ The mother has to go to work and there is no father. Simply when the boy comes back home after school there is no mum to do homework with the boy. So they don’t do their homework.

This simple thing means the boy is educated here. Maybe he does not pass his exams, by 16 when he or she has to retake the year – (they) abandon their studies, go to work or are about to be themselves a father or mother because they got pregnant. It’s very difficult. I find that I can be with them maybe, but I cannot make them do another thing. Maybe with my advice and presence and just my hugs I could make a difference. I don’t know if I have to change their lives, I don’t think I have to do that because they have to live what they decide to live and what they can live. I mean it’s not them and us, (that) their lives our horrid and we have the power. I don’t think in that way. I think you can live better and I can show you that, but you decide. It’s difficult because they are not my ‘patients’.

• Describe your typical day

I have many tasks. In general, I get up early and pray. After my prayers I have many places to visit. Maybe I go to bless a house of one of the families who called me. Maybe I go to a meeting with one of many institutions here. I work together with the justice and health system also and education as well, different schools here.

So I have to go, for example, to one of the schools to talk with one of the headmasters. We are working with a project that has to do with Nazism and the Holocaust and also the last dictatorship here in Argentina and human rights with teens. Human rights are important, they need to know the rights they have. If they don’t know the rights they have they just do not ask for them. I do this one-on-one, in confession or just people who come to speak with the priest. I try to help them in whatever I can, not only religious things, (with) what they need in general. There are many activities here in the parish that has to do with culture, sports, art. I visit the different groups and relate with the people who come to the groups and also try to give them what they need.

Also the religious part: mass, baptisms, visiting them in their houses, attention when one dies – that’s very important.

• How large is the Parish?

About 50,000 I think, I have heard — it is too much.

• Are you the only priest in this parish?

There are two of us, but we are very tired and the people here are very religious. For the catechism we have 600 children every Saturday — it’s a lot. For all the activities with the children they receive something to eat because it is very important for them. We need a lot of milk, chocolate and food and it is not that easy to find. No one gives us money. That is important because for some it could be the only meal they receive in the day so it is very hard. I think my place, what I do is also to help them to fight to be hopeful. I think it is very important, just being there beside them, praying with them and showing them that they can be better. God’s will is for them to be better.

• Are the people here are very religious and attached to their faith?

Yes, because they are very poor and because most of them are from Bolivia and Paraguay and they are not from the cities, but from the countryside. They were very religious in their countries so they bring that with them. They come here with those same roots of the faith. They live here as they live in their countries, with the same religion, the same traditions, with the same dances, music, language.

• How has the Catholic faith changed in the last few years?

That is a difficult question to answer because I know him very well (points to a picture of Pope Francis on the wall). For us in Buenos Aires and in particularly (us) priests, who knew our former Archbishop well, I am really not astonished or surprised. He is doing the same things that he was doing here. But one thing is being the Archbishop, and one thing is being the Pope.

• So you knew Pope Francis when he was Father Bergoglio well?

He was my bishop and my father. We spoke many times.

• Do you think he is more of a political pope? He is more outspoken on certain topics than other figures in the past.

I think that he is himself. Now he can just show another dimension and here he couldn’t — he had limits and now he can be himself and say what he likes. I did not read all of what he said to the U.N. and on the U.S. visit. I heard from the other priests that he just talked about the gospel; he did not say anything else. He just preached the gospel – just a simple preacher but it’s the Pope speaking to the U.N. and the U.S.

• Some say he is quite a modern pope, he has Twitter and Facebook and he’s become more accessible to the people in this way –

Here he didn’t even use email!

• Do you think it’s important to do more things to modernize to become more accessible to the people?

Yes, of course. I think there is an army of laborers and workers helping him answering things.

For instance, I went to Berlin last year to a seminar. I really miss him. The last day we ate breakfast and I went to the hotel lobby and asked them for paper to write three lines, “Thank you, now I am very well in the parish that I am in and I pray for you.” I gave it to the priest who was going to the Vatican City. He told me that he wouldn’t see the Pope but I could give to his secretary. Ten days after that I received — with his handwriting that I know very well — a card, just a card. I think, from the whole world he receives cards and letters and he found the time to read (my message) and write back.
For me it was very important and that way of being present – I think that changes the church. He is with the people, as simple as that. Like Jesus, there with the people with the suffering ones. I insist on this – he hasn’t changed – he does the same things as he did in Buenos Aires. He goes to the prisons, he goes to the work places — he does the same (things he did before).

• What do you enjoy doing outside of your faith? What are your likes and dislikes?

I love singing. I’m interested in reading everything. I like psychology and the application of psychology as to be better with others. Cultural things. I’m interested in studying. I like to study about the culture of what I do. Now I’m here with the Bolivian and Paraguayan people, so I’m interested in studying their rituals and ceremonies.

Also I like landscapes. I like traveling; I like knowing different cultures and people, like the Jewish culture. I like languages, spirituality. I like to seek and to reach and to find out how people get happiness or live happy.

My dislike — injustice.

Are you originally from Buenos Aires?

Yes – my mother was born in Paraguay, but she emigrated when she was 18.

Do you have a favorite place in Buenos Aires?

The bookshops on Corrientes. I don’t go to those places unless I have to go with another person such as a tourist, but I like doing that.

What is you’re opinion on Argentine Folk Saints such as Gauchito Gil? What do you think of them?

It’s very complex. The story says he was like a Robin Hood – people are devoted to him. Of course, if someone asks me to come and bless the image I do it, because I think God wills people to something religious.

A lot of people who come here would like to help communities such as the one you work in, what are the different ways they can do this?

I used to say that the best way is to come and visit, if you visit you can find what they need and you can give them that. Time – anyone who can come and do homework with the boys is excellent. We need food because there is no one who gives us food and there are a lot of people who eat in the parish. Money is also very important so we can buy what we need. If someone comes and says they want to help, I tell them to come here. Many people are not interested and they help (only) with food or money or whatever. But the best way is to come and visit the area and the people because they can find what they need and give it to them.

-interview: Maral Shafafy

The Day of Kings: Argentina’s Christmas Finale

The Day of Kings (El Día de los Reyes Magos) on January 6, marks an exciting end to the Christmas season for children in Argentina.

Though Christmas in Argentina is more about food and fiesta than gift giving, the kids make out with some good loot on the Day of Kings, which marks the day of the Christian Epiphany on the twelfth day of Christmas.

The event commemorates the visit of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar who followed a star to Bethlehem from the east to bring gifts and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Argentina’s Catholic tradition dictates that children write a letter to the Three Wise Men (aka Kings of the Orient) with their list of wishes and then leave their shoes under the Christmas Tree or by the door on the Night of Kings (Noche de Reyes, January 5). They also put out some water and grass for the three kings’ camels before they go to bed.

On the magical morning, children who have been good all year discover that the camels ate their rations and the Three Wise Men left gifts.

In some, usually more rural, neighborhoods there is also a Three King’s Parade on the Day of Kings, in which the Wise Men march through in ancient-style robes accompanied by various servants, soldiers and other characters to give out toys and candy to the children.

In Argentina’s small towns and in the countryside the festivities may be more elaborate with gauchos, or Argentine cowboys, dressed up as the biblical kings riding through town on horseback.

In Buenos Aires the Three Kings visit children’s hospital wards and sometimes make an appearance at Plaza Mariano Moreno in front of the Congress building, before parading down Avenida de Mayo to the Plaza de Mayo.

Christmas in Buenos Aires and Beyond

What is Christmas like in Buenos Aires? With fireworks, warm temperatures, calorie-laden food, and dancing until dawn, Navidad in Buenos Aires is a party that is literally not for the faint of heart.

It may be Christmas but It’s Hot as Hades!

Christmas falls in summer in the southern hemisphere, so traditions such as Santa Claus in full regalia, real pine trees and Christmas stories around the fire do not translate temperature-wise, making Christmas a mash-up of European traditions and Latin American summertime partying with family, friends and feasting.

The main day of celebration in Argentina is on Christmas Eve and the evening plays out in a manner oddly similar to New Year’s Eve in other predominately Christian countries.

A small snowman in Buenos Aires from 2007 — Don’t expect to see snowmen like this once-in-a-century specimen from 2007

Argentine Christmas: Religion vs Commercialism

The Christmas season is nicely contained by specific religious dates in Argentina. It starts on the Fiesta de la Virgen (Day of the Immaculate Conception) on December 8th, a Catholic holiday revering Mary. On this day families put out a nativity scene, a faux Christmas tree and string up lights and decorations.

Argentines are mainly Roman Catholics but most celebrate Christmas in a secular manner. Church bells ring at midnight on Christmas, but in urban areas not many people attend midnight Mass. Those who want to go to Mass, but not miss the toast at midnight head to church earlier in the day. The best place to attend midnight mass in Buenos Aires is the Catedral Metropolitana, where former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (aka Pope Francis) led mass for many years until being chosen as the new pontiff.

Most people celebrate at home with friends and family, but those with no talent or time to cook may go to one of the many restaurants that offer a fixed-price menu on Christmas Eve. Argentines will celebrate at any cost and restaurants take full advantage – eating out on Christmas Eve comes at a premium.

Those planning to dine out will want to make reservations in advance. Attire at your average Christmas party or restaurant in Palermo on Christmas Eve is semi-formal, with women donning summer dresses and men wearing a button up shirt, and weather permitting, a sport coat.

Street side asado (Argentine barbecue) — A sidewalk asado on Christmas in Buenos Aires.

Papá Noel (aka Santa Claus) & Gifts

Unlike in many other South American countries, children in Argentina do write cards to Santa Claus. The range and money spent on gifts depends on the family but is usually modest compared to more consumer-oriented nations.

Short-sleeve southern hemisphere Santa Claus — Santa Claus keeping cool in Buenos Aires

Argentina being a nocturnal country, no one bothers to send children to bed with threats that Santa won’t come if they don’t — instead they find a way to distract them, at which point Mr. and Mrs. Claus place gifts under the tree.

The money spent on gifts depends on the socio-economic level of the family, the rate of inflation and the state of the nation. Most of the gift giving is focused on younger children. Families with older kids often exchange one gift with each member of the family.

Purchasing gifts for friends is optional, although bringing food or drinks to share at gatherings is a common courtesy. An exception on the gift front are small token gifts — girlfriends sometimes present pink underwear as a gift to single gal-pals for good luck in finding love in the New Year.

Everyone toasts Merry Christmas at midnight on Nochebuena,(Christmas Eve) and gifts are opened afterward.

Pyromania

Christmas in Argentina, and especially Buenos Aires, most resembles New Year’s when midnight strikes, everyone toasts and the skies alight with fireworks. Plan to be somewhere secure and strategic at this hour to watch the fireworks.

In some neighborhoods the streets can resemble a war zone around midnight, with firecrackers popping everywhere, sirens blaring, a few stragglers on the sidewalk and dogs running panicked.

In Buenos Aires, the adventurous may make their way to the Obelisco or a park to watch the fireworks display.

Another classic — if slightly dangerous tradition — is to launch paper globes with candles in the air. Due to the fire hazard, this is seen less in Buenos Aires’ neighborhoods and more in other areas of the country.

In recent years there has been a backlash against fireworks of any kind, especially after a polar bear died at the Palermo Zoo in 2012 due to heat combined with the stress of the exploding skies. Thankfully, partly in response the to Polar Bear’s death, the zoo has been converted to an Eco Park. Also, as the headlines report at the end of every year, there are a few hundred injuries across the country caused by pyrotechnics, so their unsupervised use is waning.

Those who are firework-adverse may want to consider going to more rural parts of the country, such as Patagonia, where they have been banned for many years.

Christmas Eve Transportation Tips

It is important for visitors to know that in Buenos Aires there is little to no public transportation between the hours of 9 p.m. until at least 3 a.m. Those who need to get to a destination by bus or taxi, need to remember to travel outside these hours or risk getting stranded.

It is good idea to stay off the roads during the party hours anyway — drunk driving is still a big problem in Argentina, and there are few police patrolling the streets on Christmas.

The Christmas Eve After Party

Private Christmas Eve parties in Buenos Aires stretch until at least 3 a.m., even in the most conservative of homes. Bars and clubs start to open at around 2-3 a.m. for Christmas Eve after-parties.

On Christmas Day some are nursing hangovers or suffering sleep deprivation. The day resembles New Year’s Day in other countries, with family and friends going around to visit each other while recovering from the night before.

If you love the loud ‘4th of July-style’ Christmas in Argentina, you can look forward to doing it all over again one week later, on New Year’s Eve.

The Day of Kings on January 6 marks the official end of the Christmas season in Argentina.

Gauchito Gil — Argentina’s Gaucho Saint

Folk Saint. War hero. Outlaw deserter. Dubious myth. Antonio Mamerto Gil Núñez, better known as ‘Gauchito Gil’ is the colorful figure revered as a mystical symbol of bravery in his native Argentina.

Gauchito-Gil-1 — Gil is usually depicted as a moustachioed Christ-like figure dressed in red

Imagine Robin Hood meets patriotic soldier meets protective Saint and you will have some idea of the many sentiments this mercurial character elicits in Argentine popular culture. According to the story, Gauchito Gil lived, loved and fought in provincial Argentina back in the nineteenth century before he was strung up and executed for desertion on January, 8, 1878. It’s an adventure story sprinkled with pagan mysticism, but it remains unclear how much of it is fact, and how much is fable. What cannot be questioned is the extent to which he is revered by many Argentines, despite being in no way sanctioned by the Catholic Church.

Corrientes is a steamy, subtropical frontier province which lies between the Pampas and the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay in Argentina’s far north-east. Historically its capital of the same name served as a stop-over town between Buenos Aires and Asunción for purveyors of both commerce and spirituality. It was a land of Jesuit missions and powerful caudillos, the political strongmen who ruled over the population like feudal kings. In the 1860s, Corrientes was in political turmoil, suffering the effects of South America’s bloodiest ever conflict, The Paraguayan War, and the fall of the great caudillo, Juan Manuel de Rosas. It is from these heady times that the Gauchito Gil legend emerges.

Estrella Díaz de Miraflores, so the story goes, was a widow and wealthy rancher from the town of Pay Ubre, who began a salacious love affair with the gaucho, Antonio Gil. For a woman of wealth and fine breeding to sully herself with a gaucho (the fierce, knife-wielding drifters who roamed the Pampas looking for ranching work) was sure to cause a stir. Indeed, it certainly riled the local police commissioner, who himself had eyes for the widow. He conspired with Doña Estrella’s brothers to frame Gil for robbery and thus expel this thorny intruder from all of their lives.

No stranger to rambling, Antonio took flight before the local police could nab him. He sought refuge in the army, and went off to fight bravely for the Triple Alliance forces against the marauding Paraguayans, proving to be a patriotic and inspirational warrior.

He returned to Pay Ubre a hero. These were troubled times though, and the power vacuum left by the ousted tyrant Rosas fostered the emergence of two factions, the liberal Blues and the federalist Reds. Civil War broke out and Antonio was recruited into the Blue forces. Not only was Blue ideology against all of Gil’s gaucho principles, he was sick of war altogether, let alone a war that pitted countryman against countryman, brother against brother.

With a couple of companions, he fled the army. They took to banditry, living off the land by poaching livestock. They were able to evade capture with the help of local peasants, who saw Gil as an honorable thief, taking from the rich and giving to the poor, a rebel standing up to greedy and corrupt authorities. Eventually, Gil’s band was ambushed by police and his companions were gunned down. Gil was marched to Goya for trial, and it is here in the story where he evolves from Robin Hood-style popular outlaw to mystical Saint-figure.

Displaying the type of wickedness that one would expect from a crooked cop in stories such as this ine, the police captain who was transporting Gauchito Gil for trial decided he couldn’t be bothered with the long journey, and ordered the prisoner executed on the spot on a phony ‘attempted escape’ charge. He was hung by his feet to a tree and a deputy prepared to slit his throat.

The gaucho implored him to wait, insisting that an official pardon was already on the way. Scoffing at this desperate attempt, the officer continued with his preparations. Little did he know that the judge in Goya had indeed already pardoned Gil, but alas the message would arrive moments too late. Then the prisoner told the policeman that rather than carry out this unjust act, he should go home to care for his son, who had suddenly taken ill. The policeman was not swayed by such tactics, however, and proceeded with the execution.

Just before he slit the outlaw’s throat, Gil told him that the only way he would save his son would be to invoke the name Gauchito Gil in prayer. Unmoved, the officer did the gruesome deed, ending Gil’s life, while guaranteeing his immortality.

When he arrived home after burying Gil, he did find his son gravely ill. He prayed to the recently deceased gaucho, and his son was miraculously cured. The next day he returned to the burial site and planted a wooden cross, and upon hearing the story of the merciful bandit who had saved his executioner’s son from beyond the grave, others also came to visit the site, and the first Gauchito Gil shrine was born.

Soon, the rich landowner on whose property Gil lay buried got sick of the constant pilgrims and had the remains removed to the cemetery in the nearby town of Mercedes. Immediately he fell seriously ill as well, and remained so until he prayed to Gil for forgiveness.

wa-walls-san-telmo-gauchito-gil — Gil makes an appearance in Buenos Aires street art

From this story, and other variations of it, emerges a pagan-style cult that manages to attract masses of devotees throughout Argentina, despite lacking any official sanction.

On January 8 every year, more than 100,000 devotees flock to Pay Ubre to honor Gauchito Gil as the cross from his shrine is marched in a procession to the church in Mercedes.

Representations are easily recognizable, and appear all over the country; the hirsute gaucho with a red poncho and red bandanna, and an always prominent wooden cross. Devotion is particularly strong in the Northern provinces such as Santa Fe, Chaco and Mendoza, as well as Corrientes of course, where roadside shrines adorned with red flags, crosses and candles are a common sight. Even in the metropolis of Buenos Aires it is possible to see Gauchito Gil in all sorts of unexpected places. He appears as a figurine looking over bars and restaurants, on stickers on the back of delivery trucks offering them safe passage, and even in wall-sized graffiti tributes.

→ cont reading: Gauchito Gil in Buenos Aires