Dearest Friends:
Incredibly long, busy, but good day. Beyond tired. The fog hit again and visibility was terrible, making it tough to decide whether to hit the Etchecolatz Trial or not. At about 9:30 (already a bit late) I figured things had cleared up enough despite the official warnings to risk it. Hearings were especially important today because one of the main witnesses -- one of the founders of the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo -- testified re her daughter-in-law being shot to death, her granddaughter (then just 3 months old) being stolen and her son being disappeared and eventually killed. The granddaughter is still missing. Court was more crowded than usual. I arrived a little late, but only missed the first 30 minutes or so of what turned out to be day-long testimony. Four witnesses were scheduled, one unable to testify and so we heard just three. At various points court was disrupted by audience members and the lead judge had to remind everyone to please keep quiet or hearings would have to be closed.
During the break I spoke to the Court Secretary and discussed the possibility of getting the official audio of the trial, something they don't make public. He also offered, if I brought disks, to give me copies of all the official court "actos". This is all very good. Audio unlikely, actos likely. Will follow-up on Friday. Also made friends with a young journalism student who is following the trial for personal reasons; seems very nice and bright. And, the local society-dame seems to have taken a liking to me for ornamental reasons.
The Simon trial resumes here in BA tomorrow, but don't think I'll go. Am focusing my energies on La Plata and need to use my day of rest to run other research related errands -- buy a couple of books on my list, make a couple of calls, catch up on emails, and regroup a bit. Bolivian ambassador to give a talk in the evening and I'll probably go. Also I'm pretty sure I'm changing travel plans and will remain in BA for the rest of July. Much too much going on.
Noches.
B.
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