I saw most of the Italy-Germany game at home but had to skip the overtime to meet Ceci at the cardiac institute where her father had a procedure on Tuesday. (He’s doing fine). Got to the hospital just in time to hear the cheers as Italy won. Suddenly the street was full of cars honking their horns again. Of coure, Argentines were happy to see Germany lose after Germany’s recent defeat of the Argentine team.

The game also reminded me that there are a lot of Italians in Buenos Aires. A lot are like Ceci and have dual citizenship but a lot are like her mother who immigrated here after World War II and remained simply Italian, never obtaining Argentine citizenship; needless to say, she was very happy after the game (and that her husband’s procedure went well).

I wonder: during the Argentina-Germany game did the cardiac institute have to keep an extra close eye on its patients?

Some words about the cardiac institute, Fundación Favaloro: it’s a very nice, modern facility and there’s an interesting history behind the foundation. René Favaloro was one of the foremost heart surgeons in the world. In 1967, at the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S., Favaloro pioneered the coronary artery bypass graft surgery, a procedure that has impacted the lives of millions.

Favaloro returned in 1971 to Argentina from the U.S. to create the first thoracic and cardiovascular center in Buenos Aires. Over the years Favaloro developed Fundación Favaloro, the Universidad Favaloro, and the non-profit Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Sadly, Favaloro committed suicide on July 29, 2000 by shooting himself in the heart.

Favaloro was a strong supporter of universal health care, treating the uninsured and wealthy without discrimination. At the time of his death the foundation was owed millions but also was itself deeply in debt and almost bankrupt. Just before his death, Favaloro wrote a letter to Argentine president Fernando de la Rua pleading for financial assistance to the foundation. I don’t know the full story about the financial problems of the foundation at that time, which undoubtedly were complex, but the foundation has recovered.

In so many ways, Favaloro is a very admirable person…a child from a working class family who became a great surgeon; a man that left behind the immense personal wealth of a medical practice in the U.S. in order to promote healthcare in Latin America; someone who devoted his life to helping others.

If you’re interested in learning more about René Favaloro:

– Fundación Favaloro page about his life (in Spanish)
– A memorial tribute to Favaloro by the Texas Heart Institute is a well-written essay that should inspire anyone, not just medical students.
– An excellent article in the New York Times, Argentina Searches Its Soul Over a Suicide, is particularly poignant considering what happened in Argentina in the years after that article was written, a reminder that the country’s collapse didn’t start in 2001.

Favaloro, isn’t that name Italian? I thought today that I was just going to watch a football game, but I learned about so much more.

Someday we’ll make it up to Brazil to attend the Festa Literária Internacional de Parati, which surely must be one of the world’s great literary festivals. The festival, August 9 -13, will open with a concert by Maria Bethânia. According to the just released festival program, it looks like a great few days. The main international star of this year’s festival is Toni Morrison.

I’m mentioning the festival on the Baires blog because one of the participating authors is Ricardo Piglia, who will speak at a talk titled The Last Reader:

Can literary criticism be a form of autobiography? This is what Argentine writer Ricardo Piglia asks in his exquisite reflections on the great works of literature. “Writing fiction changes the way we read, and a writer’s criticism raises a secret mirror to his own work,” he claims in Formas breves. For this extraordinary event, Argentina’s most celebrated novelist and literary essayist, author of Respiración artificial and El ultimo lector, will consider the extent to which his forays into literary criticism are a reflection of his own very private reading history.

The festival is actually quite affordable. No doubt thanks to festival president Liz Calder, one of the founders of the publisher Bloomsbury. Costs for the opening concert and each of the author’s readings is 17 reais, which is about 8 dollars.

Big losses in the World Cup this weekend….not sure whom I’m cheering for now, Italy, perhaps Portugal. Yesterday, just before the Argentina-Germany game I heard the church bells again ringing across the street at Santa Catalina. Perhaps it was just the midday call for prayer, something Argentina needed but didn’t get against Germany. Oh, well, losing is part of the game.

Saw one of our neighbors on the stairwell after the game. She was cursing Leonardo Franco, the substitute goalkeeper for Argentina.

Ceci had been sick with a head cold, sinus headache, for a few days and went over to the pharmacy Friday afternoon to get a migral. The pharmacist said that he just couldn’t get over his rage about the game.

Fortunately, after Saturday’s games, Argentina isn’t alone in the Mundial misery column. Compared to the fate of both Brazil and England, the Argentina loss doesn’t look so bad.

Went for a long walk today, from San Telmo, up thru the microcentro, and ended up at a cafe in Recoleta to watch the second-half of the Brazil-France game. All the Argentines in the cafe were rooting for France. Next to the Argentine team, I like the Brazil team, but kept my mouth shut in the cafe. All the Argentines cheered when France won and the cars driving along Junín started blowing their horns. I thought that it would be nice for a South American team to remain in the tournament. But, maybe Brazil has been just too successful and people like to cheer for the underdog, though I’m sure there is some Argentine-Brazil football rivalry figuring into it, too.

Came across a nice historical map displaying the best performance of countries in the World Cup. I didn’t realize that Uruguay was once such a football powerhouse. Now, that I’ve been converted into a football/soccer fan, I’m looking forward to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.