Saturday January 31, 2004, Puerto Eden, Chile

Patagonian native languages on verge of extinction

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. A rainbow seen over a boat in Puerto Eden.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Sunday February 1, 2004, Puerto Eden, Patagonia, Chile

Kawesqar, Patagonian native language on verge of extinction

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Francisco Arroyo on a trip to collec reeds and tree bark for his handicrafts. Reeds are used to make baskets and bark from the maño tree to make small boats that are sold to tourists.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Saturday January 31, 2004, Puerto Eden, Patagonia, Chile

Patagonian native languages on verge of extinction

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Tourists from the ship Magallanes that makes the trip from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt and back visiting Puerto Eden. Francisco Arroyo, one of the last six Kawesqar speakers, stands stoically waiting for somebody to show some interest in his handicrafts.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Monday February 2, 2004, Puerto Eden, Chile

The Last Six Speakers of Kawesqar, a Native Language of Patagonia

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Three generations: Gabriela Paterito Caac with daughter Maria Isabel Tonko Paterito and granddaughter Maria Jose posing outside their houses on the Puerto Eden bay.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Saturday February 7, 2004, Puerto Williams, Navarino island, Chile

Patagonian native languages on verge of extinction

Puerto Williams is located farther south than Puerto Eden which is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan spoken only by two women who live on Puerto Williams, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Cristina Abuela, one of the last two women Yaghan speakers, standing by the waterfront of the Beagle Channel. The coast on the other side is Argentina.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Monday February 2, 2004, Puerto Eden, Chile

The Last Six Speakers of Kawesqar, a Native Language of Patagonia

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Maria Jose (Cote) Tonko is on school vacation. She studies in Puerto Natales and is visiting her mother Maria Isabel and stays with her. Here she is in her room in the light blue house seen in previous pictures.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Monday February 2, 2004, Puerto Eden, Chile

Patagonian native languages on verge of extinction

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Carlos Enrique Eden Ulloa, one of the last six Kawesqar speakers, at home.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Tuesday February 3, 2004, Puerto Eden, Chile

Patagonian native languages on verge of extinction

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Francisco Arroyo, one of the last six Kawesqar speakers, watching TV at home.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Wednesday February 4, 2004, Puerto Eden, Chile

The Last Six Speakers of Kawesqar, a Native Language of Patagonia

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. Maria Isabel Tonko in the bathroom that her brother Juan Carlos and journalist Jack Hitt built.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Friday February 6, 2004, Punta Arenas, Chile

Patagonian native languages on verge of extinction

Puerto Eden is a tiny fishing village on Wellington Island where only six inhabitants still speak Kawesqar, the language native to these parts since the last ice age. Along with Yaghan, Kawesqar is the last native language of southern Chile still spoken. The Kawesqar are famous for their adaptation to the cold, rainy world of islands and channels. They traveled in canoes, naked, oiled with blubber, sometimes wearing an animal skin. The men hunted sea lions with spears, the women paddled, the children maintained a fire in a sand pit in the middle of the canoe. Keeping fire going in a land of water was the most critical and singular adaptation of the Kawesqar. Fire blazed continuously in canoes and on the wet land causing the first European explorers to marvel at the sight of so much fire in a wet and cold climate, and the Spanish named the southernmost archipelago the land of fire, Tierra del Fuego. From left to right: Juan Carlos Tonko (Juan Carlos Tonko's son) Juan Carlos Tonko, Ayelen Tonko (Juan Carlos Tonko's daughter) Gabriela Tonko (Juan Carlos Tonko's daughter) Oscar Aguilera Jose Tonko, linguist at the Universidad Arcis Magallanes, a scholar of Spanish decent who has devoted his life to the language of the Kawesqar. They all live together under Aguilera's academic guidance but all speak Spanish together. Aguilera who has compiled a Kawesqa grammar is often asked by the half dozen living Kawesqas to remind them some words they forgot. He believes he might be the last one to speak the language.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Wednesday April 2, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Presidential Candidate Nestor Kirchner

Nestor Kirchner, one of the three presidential candidates for the Peronist Party at a rally in River Plate Stadium. Kirchner, backed by President Eduardo Duhalde, is ahead in most polls followed closely by former president Carlos Menem and Adolfo Rodriguez-Saa for the April 27 elections.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Sunday April 20, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentina Presidential Elections Campaign

Nestor Kirchner, one of the three Peronist presidential candidates running for president in Argentina's April 27 election and Vice-Presidential candidat Daniel Scioli at the presentation of their campaign platform in the Coliseo Theater.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

March 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Presidential Candidate Nestor Kirchner

Nestor Kirchner, one of the three presidential candidates for the Peronist Party, in San Fernando. Kirchner, backed by President Eduardo Duhalde, is ahead in most polls followed closely by former president Carlos Menem and Adolfo Rodriguez-Saa for the April 27 elections.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

March 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Presidential Candidate Nestor Kirchner

Nestor Kirchner, one of the three presidential candidates for the Peronist Party, in San Fernando. Kirchner, backed by President Eduardo Duhalde, is ahead in most polls followed closely by former president Carlos Menem and Adolfo Rodriguez-Saa for the April 27 elections.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Wednesday March 19, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentina Presidential Elections Campaign

Ricardo Lopez Murphy rally at the Luna Park Stadium. Lopez Murphy is the presidential candidate for the RECREAR party. Politically It is right of center and its followers come mainly from the upper middle class.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Sunday April 20, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentina Presidential Elections Campaign

Karina Rabollini, wife of Vice-Presidential candidate Daniel Scioli and Cristina Kirchner, wife of Nestor Kirchner, one of the three Peronist presidential candidates running for president in Argentina's April 27 election.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Friday May 9, 2003, Santiago de Chile, Chile

Argentinian Elections: Kirchner Campaign stop in Chile

Presidential candidate Nestor Kirchner meets Chilean President Ricardo Lagos. He was accompanied on his trip by the Argentinian Minister of Economy, Roberto Lavagna.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Wednesday March 19, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentina Presidential Elections Campaign

Ricardo Lopez Murphy rally at the Luna Park Stadium. Lopez Murphy is the presidential candidate for the RECREAR party. Politically It is right of center and its followers come mainly from the upper middle class.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Sunday May 25, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nestor Kirchner is inaugurated as Argentina's new president

Nestor Kirchner is sworn in as Argentina's President. Cuba's President Fidel Castro, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and current President of Argentina Eduardo Duhalde.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Sunday May 25, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nestor Kirchner is inaugurated as Argentina's new president

Nestor Kirchner is sworn in as Argentina's President. Walking towards the people before entering the Pink House (Presidential Palace known as Casa Rosada )for the first time.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Tuesday March 4, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tango fever in Buenos Aires

Dancing the tango. At the El Beso dance Hall in Buenos Aires

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Saturday March 8, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

World Tango Championship Has Argentina Dancing All Night Long

During the Buenos Aires Tango Festival, the streets were filled with Tango dancers on Corrientes Avenue. Two hundred couples from around the world gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the First World Tango Championships. Competing in two categories, Tango Salon and Stage Tango, dancers moved to the music of the bandoneon in pursuit of the first prize before an audience of thousands. Outside, the streets and clubs were filled as tourists in town for the Buenos Aires Tango Festival tried their steps at dance parties called "milongas," including a raucous Saturday night street fiesta. Tango schools had brisk business teaching the three styles of tango: the Tango Milonguero, the Tango Salon Style (the most popular), and the Stage Tango, or 'Fantasia,' which is danced only on stage and not in the 'milonga.'

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Saturday March 8, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tango fever in Buenos Aires

Dancing the tango. Street dancing at Corrientes Avenue during the tango festival

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Sunday March 9, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

World Tango Championship Has Argentina Dancing All Night Long

In the final round at the Tango Salon competition, 32 couples, including three from abroad, danced for first prize at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium. Two hundred couples from around the world gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the First World Tango Championships. Competing in two categories, Tango Salon and Stage Tango, dancers moved to the music of the bandoneon in pursuit of the first prize before an audience of thousands. Outside, the streets and clubs were filled as tourists in town for the Buenos Aires Tango Festival tried their steps at dance parties called "milongas," including a raucous Saturday night street fiesta. Tango schools had brisk business teaching the three styles of tango: the Tango Milonguero, the Tango Salon Style (the most popular), and the Stage Tango, or 'Fantasia,' which is danced only on stage and not in the 'milonga.'

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Wednesday March 5, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tango World Championship

Backstage at the Stage Tango World Championship.

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Thursday March 6, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

World Tango Championship Has Argentina Dancing All Night Long

Dancing in the final round at the Stage Tango competition, before a crowd of over one thousand at the Metropolitan Theater. Two hundred couples from around the world gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the First World Tango Championships. Competing in two categories, Tango Salon and Stage Tango, dancers moved to the music of the bandoneon in pursuit of the first prize before an audience of thousands. Outside, the streets and clubs were filled as tourists in town for the Buenos Aires Tango Festival tried their steps at dance parties called "milongas," including a raucous Saturday night street fiesta. Tango schools had brisk business teaching the three styles of tango: the Tango Milonguero, the Tango Salon Style (the most popular), and the Stage Tango, or 'Fantasia,' which is danced only on stage and not in the 'milonga.'

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Wednesday March 5, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

World Tango Championship Has Argentina Dancing All Night Long

Backstage at the Stage Tango World Championship at the Metropolitan Theater, Japanese contestants prepare for their performance. Two hundred couples from around the world gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the First World Tango Championships. Competing in two categories, Tango Salon and Stage Tango, dancers moved to the music of the bandoneon in pursuit of the first prize before an audience of thousands. Outside, the streets and clubs were filled as tourists in town for the Buenos Aires Tango Festival tried their steps at dance parties called "milongas," including a raucous Saturday night street fiesta. Tango schools had brisk business teaching the three styles of tango: the Tango Milonguero, the Tango Salon Style (the most popular), and the Stage Tango, or 'Fantasia,' which is danced only on stage and not in the 'milonga.'

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Monday March 3, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tango fever in Buenos Aires

Dancing the tango. At the Canning dance Hall in Buenos Aires a dancer wear a shirt with singer Carlos Gardel's face

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Sunday March 2, 2003, Buenos Aires, Argentina

World Tango Championship Has Argentina Dancing All Night Long

Tango dancers performing at the Plaza Defensa during the Buenos Aires Tango Festival. Over two hundred couples from around the world gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the First World Tango Championships. Competing in two categories, Tango Salon and Stage Tango, dancers moved to the music of the bandoneon in pursuit of the first prize before an audience of thousands. Outside, the streets and clubs were filled as tourists in town for the Buenos Aires Tango Festival tried their steps at dance parties called "milongas," including a raucous Saturday night street fiesta. Tango schools had brisk business teaching the three styles of tango: the Tango Milonguero, the Tango Salon Style (the most popular), and the Stage Tango, or 'Fantasia,' which is danced only on stage and not in the 'milonga.'

Credit: Diego Goldberg / Polaris

Diego Goldberg