Some of my favorite things about Cordoba, Argentina:

• Watching the World cup, and feeling whichever building we're in shake each time Argentina scores.
• Walking to and from our hotel and the arena, and feeling completely safe. 
• An amazing steak house, a grocery store, a mall, a bank, a laundromat, and many more restaurants all in the same parking complex as our hotel. 
• Steak. I rarely eat red meat, but when in Argentina you're getting the best steak in the world. It's truly incredible here, and all grass-fed. 
• Malbec. $3 U.S. currency for a quality bottle... Need I say more?!
• Evenings spent on the patio of our hotel with new, wonderful friends. Cold enough for your warmest jacket, but still refreshing to be outside. 
• BBQ's at the venue! One post-rehearsal day, and One post-three-show-day. Both delicious food, and more laughs than I can count. 
• Ten shows with amazing audiences, and the fact that they are allowed to crowd around the ice level during our finale number. Seeing the excitement in the eyes of those kids up close make for some pretty special moments. 

A few more pictures of my time here in Cordoba:

In the midst of exploring downtown Cordoba, Argentina, we stumbled upon quite a unique spot. Literally in an alley-way behind El Iglesia Catedral del Cordoba (the most iconic cathedral in Cordoba), and the main Plaza del San Martin, is a small run-down structure that turns out to have extreme significance. 

We later learned why this site is so important. From 1976-1983, Argentina's government was run by military dictatorship; the leaders at the time called it, "Proceso de Reorganizacion Nacional" or, "Process of National Reorganization." Now, it is often referred to as the "Dirty War." 

A bit of a history lesson for you: 

General Juan Peron had originally served as President of Argentina from 1946-1955. During this time, he was married to famous political figure Eva Peron (Evita - sound familiar?). Eva Peron died during his office in 1953, and he eventually re-married to Isabel Martinez de Peron. Several decades passed with various changes in the government, but Peron was democratically re-elected in 1973. He died in 1974, and his wife, Isabel took over the presidency. Not being as experienced politically, the government weakened under Martinez de Peron, and was seized by the military in 1976 (led by Lieutenant Jorge Rafael Videla).

Throughout the regime, extreme secretive measures were taken to eliminate any opposition of military rule within Argentina's population, mostly through what was called "forced disappearances." Over thousands of people with any attribute of deterrence toward the dictatorship were arrested or kidnapped and taken to "detention centers," where they were tortured and often killed. Many of the bodies were hidden or destroyed without record, so the military could deny that any such terror was of their own doing. 

Comision y Archivo Provincial De La Memoria, the site we wandered upon accidentally is a former Detention Center, labeled CCD (Clandestine Detention Center). 

Thank fully for Argentina, the dictatorship ended in 1983. Thousands of relatives of the disappeared filed reports of their missing family members, and were finally heard. President Raul Alfonsin took office, and human rights organizations have since worked alongside the government to ensure that a similar situation does not happen again. 

In 2006, the government of Cordoba approved a law called "Act of Remembrance." A part of this act includes preserving the Clandestine Detention Center in downtown Cordoba, and developing it into a memorial, or site of memory. The act created jobs for people to research and find testimonials of those who were involved in the terrorism or had family members who had disappeared. The project is continuous, as other locations are being restored into memory sites. The archives of the Disappeared are continuously growing to this day, as more and more claims of people who went missing are made.

The Site of Memory, as it is called, is small yet heart-wrenching to see in person. Despite the descriptions of each room or item and people's memories all being written in spanish, the site makes an important piece of Argentina's history very real. Not only is it extremely humbling as an American citizen who has never experienced such extreme violence and terror from government rule, but it also provides a better understanding of the Argentinian people and country as a whole. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am here with a different show than my own. My show is on a break, and I am here as a “break worker” filling a spot on this show until my show begins again at the end of August.

Often, break workers come to a show in the middle of its tour, and will learn their roles in the show as it is running. I am fortunate to begin my break work at the start of this show’s tour, so we have a full two-week rehearsal period to learn the show, while the returning cast also rehearses, reviewing and building upon the quality of each number and scene (well, a week and a half, thanks to the World Cup!). The break workers, and other performers new to the show come in early each morning to learn numbers, and we then put it all together, clean, and perfect with the full cast each afternoon.

Each Performance Director will run rehearsals a bit differently. It has been great to be a part of a slightly different rehearsal pace and style from what I have experienced in the past. Not only are the staff and cast different from what I am used to, but the numbers, and my specific roles are extremely different as well!

My show is the newest running Disney On Ice show to date; my roles and characters are more “Disney channel” style, the music is updated, and I get to play either a person, or a mermaid, or you know… a napkin J. The show here in South America is the oldest running Disney On Ice show to date! The numbers are much more “classic” style Disney, and it includes The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Lilo & Stitch, and Peter Pan. I think after performing my show over 600 times, any change would be enjoyable; yet, I can see why this show has been running for so long – it is just extremely fun!!

In all honesty, it is quite special for me to perform in this particular show no matter what costume I wear or role I play. A little less than three years ago, I had just sent my audition video to our casting director, and was asked to attend a live audition. At that point, I had no idea if the opportunity to tour and perform in shows would ever be my reality, and I had never actually seen a classic Disney On Ice show. I figured that seeing a show was a good idea before deciding if this was something I might legitimately want to do. I was in school at Miami University (Ohio) at the time, and one of my best friends and I got tickets to see the Disney on Ice show that was coming to Cincinnati that fall. It turns out the show we saw, that helped me decide I could do this, and truly wanted to try it, is the show I am with in South America right now. I remember watching the numbers that I am now in, thinking “I could actually do this…” but so uncertain as to whether I would get the opportunity.

It really hit me the night we opened in Cordoba; our first time having an audience. Being on the other side now, and looking out into that audience, it was a pretty cool feeling to perform the numbers that I remember watching, and know that I am actually doing this. I could not feel more fortunate to have the opportunity to be in this show in South America right now!

Three weeks ago today, after a amazing break at home, I found myself en route to beautiful Cordoba, Argentina. A full 24-hour travel day (Raleigh/Durham to Newark, NJ to Lima, Peru to Cordoba, Argentina) brought me to Cordoba just in time for the sunrise on Monday morning, June 23. 

It's hard to believe it has only been three weeks here. It is always odd to be in one place for several weeks while on tour, and so much has happened since we arrived! I am here with an entirely different show from my own, filling a spot on this show while my show is on a break from touring. It is an amazing opportunity to experience a different show (and continent, at that!) through what is called "break work," and I feel so fortunate to be here. 

That said, the past three weeks have involved getting to know a new cast and crew, learning  the choreography of an entire show and new roles within it, opening the show and performing our first week of shows for this tour, exploring Cordoba, enjoying a lot of steak and Malbec, and watching Argentina dominate in the World Cup. 

That's right; the World Cup! Here in Argentina, its like the Olympics, the Super Bowl, Christmas, and Easter combined. It is unreal how excited the Argentinian people get for their team, and a fantastic experience to get pulled into it all. In fact, nobody will work during a game in which Argentina is playing. Taxi's won't run; grocery store clerks are crowded around a television instead of at each's respective check-out counter; and because of a game, we couldn't get the local workers necessary to build the ice floor and load in our set in the arena in time to start rehearsals on schedule. Thus, an extra day off for us! Cheers to the World Cup! 


Several new, wonderful friends and I took advantage of our extra time off and explored downtown Cordoba the day after arriving. This city is known for having the oldest cathedrals in Argentina, as well as the largest university in Argentina. My photos in the album below include a taste of both, and the dog we named "Sketchy," who followed us around town all day. Enjoy! More tales of this beautiful country to come... :-)