SAUD- High End Fashion from Argentina

SAUD

 

While I was in Argentina, I had the opportunity to visit SAUD, a very high end store located in the Recoleta Mall.   I did not have time to explore the entire mall but I knew I wanted to blog about  at least one store. I was drawn to SAUD because it reminded me of the stores on 14th and 34th Streets in New York City.

I walked into SAUD on an early Sunday morning. I was the only customer there and I was glad because I was able to talk with the sales associate, Juan, (who, thank God, spoke very good English) about SAUD and it’s designer.

Juan told me that the designer of SAUD is a 32 year old Argentine native name Marian Saud. She comes from a wealthy family of lawyers and other high professions.  She is a very well known designer throughout Argentina who dresses  a lot of famous people in Argentina like models and actresses.

He included that her inspiration comes from designers like DIOR and Michael Kors and her constant desire is to give SAUD an international image. Her dream, like all designers, is to have a store in New York and Europe.

He shared with me how hard it is to sell materials in the Rocoleta mall because SAUD is a very high end store and is the only one that offers that type of couture.

I tried to compare the store to Zara but Juan informed me that Zara in Argentina is very different from the Zara in New York. I then compared it to BCBG MaxAzia but he had never heard of BCBG. Now I am thinking that maybe SAUD can be like a Kate Spade? Not the style but maybe the price range?

Find out more about SAUD at www.mariansaud.com

Dr. Anderson

Dr. Anderson

 

On the way to to Puerto Madero Via Puente de la Mujer,  I shared the taxi ride with Dr. Anderson.

Dr. Anderson is the one who pulled strings and pushed for a group of students from the College of New Rochelle to visit Argentina. As an undergraduate she visited Argentina alone and later on when it came time for her to do her thesis she wrote about Argentina and it’s history. She is still contributing to the country, more specifically, the Afro-Argentine people.

Bartolina Sisa

Bartolina Sisa

 

One thing I noticed while in South America is there is a huge emphasis on women. Women are celebrated and visible in their history. Despite the fact that Argentina currently has a female president, during my studies about the county, I notice that women are the ones who did a lot of political and activist work throughout history and even today.

During our short tour of the Casa Rosada, I came across this photo of Bartolina Sisa, an Indigenous female. I was moved by this photo and ask a young lady standing next to me about Sisa’s importance.

She is the wife of Tupaj Katar. They were both Bolivian revolutionaries who wanted the Indigenous people to be treated fairly and recognized as what they were and not what others were trying to make them become.  Sophia, the name of the young lady who told me this, said Sisa and her husband, Katari were brutally killed by colonial troops.

Sophia, who told me she was a student from Chile, not only told me about Bartolina Sisa but also filled me in about Don Evo Morales Ayma, the first Indian president of Boliva and she told me about President Christina Fernandez De Kirchner, the current president of Argentina.

I will share a picture of Sofia in the next blog post.

Oh, one last thing, the flag painted behind Bartolina Sisa is the flag of the Indigenous nation.

 

Brain Museum

The Brain Museum

 

For fun my class created a brain museum. We spent some time learning about our brains, it’s huge capacities and capabilities. Then we posted our art work around the room and invited family and friends to the classroom to inform them about the wonders of the Brain.

Pen-Pal Day

Pen-Pal Day

 

Before I left to Argentina, I was able to pull together another pen-pal day for my students and the children’s choir at my church. It was a success and we had a blast!

 

Thanks to all the parents, Bishop Green, my sister in Christ, Latrina Newton  and my supervisor,  Miss Lurgen, for all their support.

 

 

Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada

 

Pictured here is the back yard of the Casa Rosada, the equivalent of the white house. Defaced is a stature of Christopher Columbus. The current president of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, is taking it down to put in its place something that represent the culture and people of Argentina.