{"id":17217,"date":"2021-07-28T09:58:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T16:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/?p=17217"},"modified":"2023-08-23T23:48:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T06:48:40","slug":"a-dark-sky-mission-in-argentina","status":"publish","type":"darksky_news","link":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/news\/a-dark-sky-mission-in-argentina\/","title":{"rendered":"Alejandro Sommer: A dark sky mission in Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each month DarkSky International features a DarkSky Advocate from the worldwide network of volunteers working to protect the night. This month we\u2019re highlighting the work of Alejandro Sommer in Argentina.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Alejandro-Video-Spanish.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lo importante no es encontrar tu estrella, sino en no perderla de vista.<\/span><\/i><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The important thing is not to find your star, but not to lose sight of it.<\/span><\/p><cite><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2013 Alejandro Sommer<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alejandro Sommer is full of energy. You could say he\u2019s a man on a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mission<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to protect the darkness of his province: Misiones, Argentina. The second smallest of the country\u2019s 23 provinces, Misiones is Argentina\u2019s opposable thumb, a little finger of dark sky bordered by the blazing lights of Paraguay and Brazil to the west and north.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIf you look at the light pollution map, you will see Brazil and Paraguay fully lighted and Misiones is a dark-sky corridor,\u201d says Alejandro. \u201cI am really trying to protect that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-17225\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG-20210228-WA0044.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG-20210228-WA0044.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG-20210228-WA0044-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG-20210228-WA0044-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG-20210228-WA0044-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG-20210228-WA0044-720x405.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Alejandro holding a lunar sphere and explaining why we should use warm light instead of white or blue, within a dark skies talk. He graduates the colors of the sphere from reddish to white in the dark to illustrate the importance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">DarkSky Advocate, astrotourism consultant, cultural cosmologist, dark sky storyteller, and teacher, Alejandro wears many hats and exudes relentless enthusiasm for his work. His main passion is Cielo Guaran\u00ed (Guaran\u00ed Sky), an astrotourism project at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.misiones.tur.ar\/en\/salto-encantado\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Salto Encantado Provincial Park<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that connects visitors with the cosmology and culture of the local indigenous communities, the Guaran\u00ed, through storytelling and nighttime excursions into the jungle of Misiones.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAccording to Guaran\u00ed tradition, people are not allowed into the jungle at night because of bad spirits. But if you have the protection of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tacuaras<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">takua recha<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (bamboo torches), you may enter. We do a ritual blessing and ask nature\u2019s permission to be there. It works perfectly because I need red light to do modern astronomy, so we replaced the red light with safe, controlled fire, which is already part of the Guaran\u00ed rituals. It&#8217;s lovely.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-17230\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"742\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ast-Aug.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ast-Aug.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ast-Aug-600x412.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ast-Aug-480x330.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ast-Aug-240x165.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ast-Aug-720x495.jpeg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Activities carried out under the stars with the light of the takua recha (bamboo torches).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alejandro also works on a pre-Hispanic cultural project disseminating the legacy of the Jesuit astronomer Buenaventura Su\u00e1rez, who lived in Misiones in the late 17th century.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-1440x960.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-720x480.jpg 720w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_2476-scaled-2160x1440.jpg 2160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Alejandro Sommer guiding the group of Scouts Argentina, where he is an educator of the group of rovers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to all of this, Alejandro is a trained <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Education\/Teachers_Corner\/Galileo_Teacher_Training_Programme\">Galileo Teacher<\/a>, teaching inclusive astronomy to visually impaired students; and in his spare time, he leads a scout troop.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alejandro\u2019s involvement in the dark-sky movement in Argentina led him to begin advocating for government policies to protect Misiones\u2019 delicate nocturnal environment. Earlier this year, Misiones adopted a provincial law for dark-sky protection according to <a href=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/resources\/guides-and-how-tos\/lighting-principles\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"14092\">DarkSky lighting principles<\/a>. A major win for nocturnal conservation in Argentina, the law goes beyond the protection of nature reserves to include a full provincial lighting management plan that covers cities and urban areas, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alejandro emphasizes the importance of collaborating with the indigenous community and promoting and preserving their unique astronomical cultural heritage. The Cielo Guaran\u00ed visitor experience includes a collaborative myth and storytelling session with several indigenous leaders and chiefs, including Fernando Villalba from the Aldea Peruti community and, more recently, Domingo Moreira from the Aldea Yvytu Por\u00e1 community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-17226\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-480x360.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210409_165027-scaled-2160x1620.jpg 2160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Alejandro (right) with Fernando Ariel Villalba from the Peruti Community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During the pandemic, Cielo Guaran\u00ed has focused on attracting domestic visitors to Misiones, many of whom, Alejandro says, have never experienced a truly dark sky. The project is one of eight stops on a new national astrotourism route through Argentina \u2014 the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.argentina.gob.ar\/turismoydeportes\/la-ruta-natural\/ruta-de-las-estrellas\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ruta de las Estrellas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Route of the Stars).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThis is the only place [in Argentina] that the public can have outdoor access to the stars and look through a telescope to see a very good sky. So that really is a big goal,\u201d says Alejandro.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-17231\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-480x480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-1440x1440.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-240x240.jpg 240w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-720x720.jpg 720w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210227_183748-scaled-2160x2160.jpg 2160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">Alejandro (right) with colleagues Romina and Daniela in the viewpoint of the valley of the Cu&ntilde;a Piru.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alejandro\u2019s plan for Misiones over the next few years is to see the implementation of the new light pollution law, which stipulates that an DarkSky representative must sign off any commissioned changes to lighting in the province. Further developments include three new regions oriented to astrotourism, additional light pollution mapping, creation of more astrotourism products, and consolidating the protected natural areas and ecotourism activities across the province, which in 2019 was listed as Argentina\u2019s capital of biodiversity.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He also has designs on light protection work in neighboring Paraguay, which has been stalled by COVID-19. \u201cI have Paraguay right there \u2014 10 blocks away, the Paraguay River and one border \u2014 and I can\u2019t cross because of the pandemic situation. I have a huge consultancy project on light policy there, and I just can\u2019t go. So, like all of this work, it will take time, but I will get there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The most important thing to Alejandro, though, is to continue creating awareness about the cultural heritage of the Guaran\u00ed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe cannot leave aside the wisdom of the worldview, cosmology, and teaching of the Guaran\u00ed people. They have been the custodians of nature since ancient times.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-17232\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/darksky.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Cun?a-Piru-Ast-Aug.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17232\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption pt-4 mx-5 md:mx-0 !mb-0 !mt-0\">The Milky Way above Cu&ntilde;a Piru and trees lit from bamboo torches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Guaran\u00ed legend of the hummingbird<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-lg-font-size\">Below we have included the Guaran\u00ed legend of the hummingbird, a very sacred bird for the community. Visitors to Cielo Guaran\u00ed hear this legend told by torchlight by Domingo Moreira, chief of the Aldea Yvytu Por\u00e1 community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One day, the jungle began to burn in flames. All the animals fled in a stampede except one small hummingbird. He seemed a little more scared and desperately tried to get closer to the flames and then returned to the bank of the Paran\u00e1 River to cool off. His intention of reaching the fire seemed to have no sanity. A jaguar saw the hummingbird trying to fly into the flames and, very concerned, told him to stop, and not to return to his house because the fire could not be put out. The little hummingbird told the jaguar that he was not trying to get to his house, but that on each trip to the Paran\u00e1 River, he brought all the water he could carry and threw it onto the fire. The jaguar told him, \u201cBut no! You cannot extinguish it!\u201d The hummingbird replied, \u201cMaybe I can&#8217;t extinguish it, but I&#8217;m doing my part to take care of my home.\u201d After hearing this, all the animals began to do the same and fought for their home until they could tame the fire.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alejandro Sommer, an advocate for dark skies in Misiones, Argentina, works to protect the province&#039;s night environment and indigenous cultural heritage through astrotourism and storytelling. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":26112,"template":"","categories":[1287,633],"tags":[903,905,351,910,913,772,908,909,906,11,904,681,911,914,912,907],"advocacy_type":[123,285],"events_terms":[],"locations_terms":[],"admin_issue":[],"class_list":["post-17217","darksky_news","type-darksky_news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-monthly-star","category-news","tag-alejandro-sommer","tag-argentina","tag-astrotourism","tag-buenaventura-suarez","tag-covid-19","tag-cultural-heritage","tag-galileo-teacher","tag-guarani-sky","tag-indigenous-culture","tag-light-pollution","tag-misiones","tag-monthly-star","tag-nocturnal-conservation","tag-paraguay","tag-ruta-de-las-estrellas","tag-salto-encantado-provincial-park","advocacy_type-advocacy","advocacy_type-monthly-star"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/darksky_news\/17217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/darksky_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/darksky_news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17217"},{"taxonomy":"advocacy_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advocacy_type?post=17217"},{"taxonomy":"events_terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events_terms?post=17217"},{"taxonomy":"locations_terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/locations_terms?post=17217"},{"taxonomy":"admin_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darksky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_issue?post=17217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}