President Barack Obama Visiting Bariloche Has Presidential Precedents

Summary: President Barack Obama visiting Bariloche with his First Daughters, Lady and Mother-in-Law is a first for him, as prior trips by three U.S. presidents were.

Hotel Llao Llao, with Lago Moreno (Lake Moreno) in foreground and Lago Nahuel Huapí (Nahuel Huapi Lake) in background: Alexrebolledo, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forty-fourth U.S. President Barack Obama visiting Bariloche with his daughters, mother-in-law and wife attests to the appeal of the city in the southwestern Argentinian province of Río Negro to Very Important People.

The presidential visit Thursday afternoon, March 24, 2016, brings to four the number of U.S. presidents to visit the European Alpine resort-reminiscent San Carlos de Bariloche. The Villa Tacul Trail of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, whose 6.1 million acres (2,468,582.42 hectares) include Bariloche, called the First Family out in hiking gear. Argentina’s and Chile’s Lake Nahuel Huapi, 2,510 feet (765.05 meters) above sea level, drew the First Family to a trip aboard the Modesta Victoria (Modest Victory).

The trip ended, 15.53 miles (25 kilometers) down Avenida Exequiel Bustillo, at overnight lodgings in the Lake Moreno wing of the Llao Llao Hotel and Resort.

The Obama First Family followed two presidential precedents in scheduling Bariloche into official visits to the Argentine Republic and in staying at the Llao Llao Hotel.

Theodore Roosevelt gets credit for beginning the tradition, not as 26th U.S. President but as American Museum of Natural History-sponsored Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition collector in 1913. His memoir, A Book-Lover’s Holidays in the Open, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons of New York in 1916, has two chapters that specifically pertain to Argentina. Chapter VI, “Across the Andes and Northern Patagonia,” indicates: “[A]ll tourists who come to South America should make a point of visiting this wonderfully beautiful region.”

President Barack Obama visiting Bariloche juggles business and fun, similar to Bariloche stayovers by 34th U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and by 42nd U.S. President William Clinton.

Llao Llao Hotel, built of wood in 1939, re-built of reinforced concrete and stone in 1940 and renovated by 1993, keeps records of three presidential stays.

Registries list among the Llao Llao Hotel visitors Feb. 28, 1960, President Eisenhower and 36th U.S. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, successful fishers of a large trout. Historians and political analysts mention that day’s signing of The Declaration of San Carlos de Bariloche: Joint Declaration by the President and President Frondizi of Argentina.

The declaration by President Eisenhower and 32nd President of Argentina Arturo Frondizi notes joint determination “to foster improved living standards for the peoples of the Americas.” It offers attaining “inter-American ideals” of democratic institutions, economic and social progress through “adequate economic policies,” “efficient utilization” of human and natural resources and “mutual respect.”

Archives of the Patagonia-related newspaper Diario Río Negro of General Roca in Río Negro Province provide images of President and 44th First Lady Hillary Clinton’s visit. The glaciers, rapids and waterfalls of Nahuel Huapi National Park qualify as an effective setting for President Bill Clinton’s address Oct. 18, 1997, on climate change.

President Barack Obama visiting Bariloche and, earlier, Buenos Aires March 23, 2016, retains globally-warmed climate change’s high prioritization during talks with 57th Argentine President Mauricio Macri. Threats to southern Andean deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus), National Natural Monument since June 30, 2006, and to southern river otters (Lontra provocax) show climate change’s continued relevance.

Bariloche treats guests to world-famous architecture, chocolates, discos, indoor/outdoor activities, music events, restaurants, scenery and shops, and four outdoors-loving presidents to world-renowned fishing, golfing and nature-watching.

(left to right) U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and First Lady Juliana Awada: La Capital - Rosario @lacapital via Twitter March 25, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Hotel Llao Llao: Alexrebolledo, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Llao_Llao_desde_punto_panor%C3%A1mico.JPG

(left to right) U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and First Lady Juliana Awada: La Capital - Rosario @lacapital via Twitter March 24, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/lacapital/status/713170458338832384

For further information:

La Capital - Rosario @lacapital. 24 March 2016. ".@MauricioMacri despidió a @BarackObama en #Bariloche y retrató el momento con varias fotos." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/lacapital/status/713170458338832384

Eisenhower, Dwight D. 28 February 1960. “The Declaration of San Carlos de Bariloche: Joint Declaration by the President and President Frondizi of Argentina.” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
Available @ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=12127

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 March 2016. "Buenos Aires Radio Nacional Bomb Scare During President Obama's Visit." Earth and Space News. Wednesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/buenos-aires-radio-nacional-bomb-scare.html

Roosevelt, Theodore. 1916. A Book-Lover’s Holidays in the Open. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Available via Bartleby.com @ http://www.bartleby.com/57/6.html