Kosher Restaurant in Once neighborhood

Dani Klein from http://yeahthatskosher.com checks out kosher restaurants for Jewish Travel TV.

Al Galope is a kosher Argentine steakhouse in the Once neighborhood. The steaks are huge and juicy. Come check it out.

Let's Go my pampa friends!! Horacio Fontova and Jorge Guinzburg.

For those who were kids during the beginnings of the 90s, this one is one of our most beloved memories. Do not you agree?  Horacio "El negro" Fontova and Jorge Guinzburg were  such an excellent and intelligent couple.

Recalling "Peor es nada" program...



Tango Buenos Aires Festival

Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Cup 2011 will be officially launched this coming Wednesday, August 10, at 5 p.m. at Madero Tango (Alicia Moreau de Justo and Brasil), Dique 1 of the city neighborhood of Puerto Madero. There, Minister of Culture Hernán Lombardi and Artistic Director of Tango Buenos Aires Gustavo Mozzi will announce the central themes of the present edition, and also provide details of the program of what is considered to be the world’s greatest tango event, to be held from August 16 to 30 at the City’s Centro de Exposiciones. After the announcement, the official website of Tango Buenos Aires will be available with the full schedule of events and other useful information for the fans, the interested and the newcomers to the music that is part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Thousands of dancers from Argentina and twenty other countries are taking part in the World Tango championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 8th Tango Buenos Aires Dance World Cup is part of the 12th edition of The World Tango Festival which takes place in Buenos Aires from the 13th to the 31st of August. The rich programme of the artistic and cultural events organised by the Ministry of Culture, includes workshops, conferences, exhibitions, film screenings and concerts all celebrating the culture of tango.

The importance of this Argentine born dance was recognised officially In December 2009 when UNESCO officially inscribed the form of dance onto the ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.’
The eighteen day fiesta brings together 500 artists representing the various trends and expressions now live on the scene. Great figures such as Leopoldo Federico, Juan Carlos Copes, Susana Rinaldi, Néstor Marconi, Elena Roger, Iñaki Urlezaga, Chico Novarro, Rodolfo Mederos, Miguel Angel Zotto, Mora Godoy, Soledad Villamil and Virginia Luque, are just some of the tango luminaries taking part in this years’ festival.
Among the productions is the debut of the Festival Orchestra Tipica El Porvenir; composed of sixty boys Priority Action Program arranged by Poppi Spatocco, Juan Carlos and Pablo Agri Cuacci.
This years’ festival coincides with the 75th anniversary of the death of Carlos Gardel, considered by many as perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango.
The final of Salon Tango competitions will be held on the 30th August whereas the Dance World Cup final event in the Stage Tango will be held on Monday 31st after a week of preliminary rounds.
The Jury will choose a winning couple in each category. In addition, the jury may grant awards and special mentions for the second and third place, and will be entitled to award other special mentions if considered necessary.
The prize for the first place in each category will be TWENTY THOUSAND pesos ($20,000). The second and third places will also have prizes and special mentions. All contestants will obtain a Dance World Cup participation certificate.
Although the hosts dominate proceedings, they are far from monopolizing the event - dancers from across Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia take part, and the reigning champions are Japanese.

Buenos Aires celebrates Greece

The Government of the City of Buenos Aires entertained the Greek community that celebrated 190 years since the declaration of independence at a meeting held at 500 Avenida de Mayo street, in front of the "Casa de la Cultura".

Greeks in Argentina

The Greek community in Argentina numbers between 35,000 and 60,000 people. The first immigrants arrived at the end of the 18th century, while the bulk of immigration occurred during the first half of the 20th century.

History

Stephanos Roditis, an explorer, is recorded to be the first Greek to arrive in what today is Buenos Aires with Pedro de Mendoza's unfortunate expedition in 1536.

Rear Admiral Giorgos "Jorge" Kolmaniatis, who arrived to the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1811, strongly contributed in the Argentine War of Independence by leading and training the newly formed fleet. A fellow naval officer from Hydra, Samuel Spiro, scuttled his ship in the Uruguay River rather than surrender it to the Spanish Armada. Both men's names were honored with Argentine Navy ships christened after them in 1937.

But the first true wave of mass immigration started in the late 1880s, when Argentina's governments encouraged European immigration policies under the presidency of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. The scope was to establish a strong concentration of population in the huge extents of land where demographic vacuum was the common. These Greeks, who arrived with Ottoman Empire passports, were either from Constantinople or Asia Minor, and included Phanariotes from Romania. Some were wealthy and prepared people who easily made their way in businesses such as tobacco importation, jewellery and maritime trade.

The second wave of Greeks arriving to Argentina, happened in the 20th. century, mainly after the Asia Minor Campaign and disaster in 1922, with the end of the Megali Idea. Again huge masses of refugees who were sent to Greece by the population exchanges ordered by Kemal Ataturk, came towards these latitudes seeking for a change to re-start their lives from zero. Most of them were from Smyrna, Ayvalik and other Ionian cities. They settled in what is today known as the capital of foreign immigration in Argentina, the city of Berisso, near La Plata.

The third wave, taking part in the early 30's instead was the first one with a strong concentration of immigrants coming form the mainland, mostly villagers and peasants from Arcadia, Laconia and Messenia in the Peloponnese. The choosing of Argentina as a destination was due the temporary denial for immigration in the United States, making South America and Argentina in particular the new Eldorado.

The fourth and major wave occurred after the Second World War and the Greek Civil War left Greece in a very impoverished condition. This time, Hellenes from all over the country, but mainly Macedonians and Pontians, Cretans and other islanders settled down far south.

The majority chose Buenos Aires as their place to stay, but others instead made their way far in the interior such as Cordoba and Mendoza. Port cities like Rosario and Necochea are -of course- also places where Hellenic immigrants established.

The main contribution that Greeks made to Argentina's every day life is the installing of the kiosk, very similar to those in Athens, Piraeusand Istanbul. The kiosk came to be for the porteño the place where he could buy cigarettes, or the newspaper and even play his chance in the local lottery games. During the 50's and 60's nearly all the kiosks in the Buenos Aires downtown were owned by Greeks. Besides, candy majorist distribution came to be one of the main jobs performed by Greek-Argentinians.

As long as the Greek community was getting bigger, their everyday life became more concentrated around two main institutions: The Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek Community Centers, known in Spanish as "Colectividad Helénica" or "koinotita" in Greek. The necessity of teaching the Greek language developed in an informal "Greek School" that was held in the afternoons, from Monday to Fridays. Each Greek or Greek-Argentinian child would go to the official Argentinian school in the morning and to the "unofficial" Greek school in the afternoon.

With the advent of the 60's and 70's the official Greek School in Buenos Aires was established but an informal "Saturday School" still took place in the koinotites. During this time, many teachers from motherland Greece arrived with the sponsorship of the Greek government and the embassy. During this period the first graduations of Greek blooded professionals -mainly doctors, lawyers and business accountants- took place in the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina's main national university.

Ethnically, the Greeks of Argentina are a very "endogamic" society, maybe the most after the Jewish, although intermarriage between people from different European descent is the common throughout the country.

In terms of cultural background, the lack of using the Greek language is making third and fourth generation Greek-Argentinians to start losing it. Instead, the knowledge of Greek folk dances and music in Greek-Argentinians is extremely remarkable, being this highlighted by the Greek Government itself during the Annual Cultural Exchange Trips for Greeks Abroad, known as "Programa Filoxenias tou Apodimou Ellinismou", where Hellenic-Argentinian boys and girls show greater skills and performances than every other diaspora Greeks -and even better than those from motherland Greece.

In the least expected of places, a little aloha

A cultural delegation presents Aloha Day, an immersion into Hawaii’s rich culture.

On August 13th, the US Embassy and binational centre ICANA (Instituto Cultural Argentino Norteamericano) hosted Aloha Day, a five-hour exposition designed to bring the spirit of Hawaiian culture to Argentina.

At the beginning of the event, presenters elaborated on the word aloha, one that takes on a variety of meanings, including simple greetings such as “hello” and “good-bye,” as well as more abstract characteristics, such as those of kindness and generosity. The presenters stressed that, when uttered, the word must “come from the heart.” The inauguration was conducted by Chad Baybayan, cultural ambassador from Hawaii and a special guest of honour.

Aloha Day consisted of a series of workshops, performances, and, last but not least, a special culinary tasting. After all, according to Mr. Baybayan, one of the ways in which one can manifest the kindness and generosity implied by aloha is in “the way they treat their stomach.” The tasting was organized by Chef Mun, of the Buenos Aires restaurant Casa Mun, and consisted of typical Hawaiian dishes such as Kalua Pig and Haupia, a pudding made of coconut milk. During the tasting, entertainment was provided by UKU!, a local band that specializes in performing Hawaiian music. An exhibition of traditional Hawaiian canoes was also on display.

Next was a presentation of hula dancing, the well-known dance form that originated in Hawaii. As described to the audience, the dance is performed mainly as a form of entertainment and as a tribute to nature and the local deities. The dance was performed to the tune of Pua Hone, a classic Hawaiian song.

Following the performance, the crowd was able to choose the manner in which they wished to conclude their Aloha experience. Workshops on the making of lei (floral necklaces) and hula dancing were provided, as well as a lecture delivered by master navigator Baybayan.

What struck me most about those organizing the event was their desire to share the culture of Hawaii with the Argentine public. Neal Murata, Cultural Attaché for the United States Embassy, said that while the embassy “constantly organizes cultural events of this nature, each focusing on a specific minority group of the United States,” Aloha Day was special since it represented “the first time we bring to Argentina the culture of Hawaii.” He added that “the embassy is trying to emphasize and strengthen the historic link that exists between Hawaii and Argentina.”

Another case in point is Mariano Larghi. Mr. Larghi lived in Hawaii for ten years, and for seven of those years paddled with local club Manu o Ke Kai. When he and his wife decided to come back to their native Argentina, Mr. Larghi, driven by his passion, sought to find a way to bring the sport of Hawaiian canoeing to Argentina. The fruit of his efforts is nothing short of extraordinary. After receiving a licence to reproduce canoes from a US designer, he founded a club named in honour of his former one and began to construct canoes. Following suit were three more clubs Ohana O Ke Kai, Nalu Kai Makani, and Mauna Kea Canoe Club Bariloche, all established in Argentina. He currently manufactures canoes for all four of the clubs.

Chef Mun noted that while there are many cultures that define the various communities that comprise the United States, these cultures are usually thought of as one, uniform “American” culture. As a result, Hawaii’s culture is often misinterpreted, and events such as Aloha Day are opportunities to demystify and show “the true nature of Hawaiian culture.” Mr. Baybayan added that “events like these are important for communities to understand the much larger context of the world they live in.”

Giving added significance to the event, however, is the strong (and largely unknown) historic link that exists between the US state of Hawaii and the nation of Argentina. In 1818, the Franco-Argentine corsair Hipólito de Bouchard came to Hawaii aboard La Argentina. The locals that approached him in their canoes told Bouchard and his crew that another ship, once Spanish but now in the possession of King Kalameha I, was anchored at harbour. He soon found out that the ship happened to be nothing less than the Argentine ship Santa Rosa, whose crew, in an act of mutiny, had left Chile and arrived in Hawaii, where they sold the ship to the Hawaiian king and sought refuge in the paradisiacal islands. In order to reclaim property belonging to his homeland, he bought the ship back from Kamehana and signed a treaty with him that made Hawaii (then a kingdom) the first non-Latin American country to recognize the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata (Argentina’s predecessor) as an independent nation. Only in 1821 did Portugal follow suit, and later Brazil, the United States, and Great Britain.

The event was received warmly by the audience. Francisco, 24, said that he was mainly attracted to the musical aspect of the event, since one of his main hobbies is playing the ukulele. “It was great to hear the band and the musical performances, especially because of my hobby. But the quality of everything, on the whole, was superb: the food and the dancing – it was all great.”

Hopefully the spirit of aloha will continue to live and grow in Argentina!

Article taken from here.

José de San Martín, the anniversary of his death.

About Anniversary of General Jose de San Martin's death

The Jose de San Martín was the Argentine general and the prime leader. He was born in 1778 February 25th. In South America's he was successful struggle for independence from Spain. In 1817, he crossed the Andes from Mendoza to Chile, and prevailed over the Spanish forces after the Battle of Chacabuco and Battle of Maipú (1818), liberating Chile. He is participating in several battles such as the Battle of Bailen and Battle of Albuera, San Martín started making contact with South American supporters of independence. And he was died in August 17th 1850. So today the country people celebrate the Anniversary of General Jose de San Martín's death. He is the national hero of the country.

CFK trashes rivals in Primary win

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner swept out all clouds and doubts as the official reports indicate the HEad of State had 50.06 percent of votes in the nationwide primary elections with 96.78percent of votes counted. UCR candidate Ricardo Alfonsín came second with a 12.17 percent, while Eduardo Duhalde trailed third with 12.16 percent. Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo announced a turnout of 76 percent of the registered voters.

Thus, Fernández de Kirchner looks set to win a second term in October and deepen her interventionist policies after thrashing rivals in a primary election with 38 points ahead of the closest contender, centrist opposition congressman Alfonsín. 

Socialist Party's hopeful and Santa Fe Governor, Hérmes Binner, obtained 10.26 percent of the votes, while San Luis Governor, Alberto Rodríguez Saá took 8.17 percent of the vote. In a fourth batch came Elisa Carrió, who went from being the opposition's leader in 2007 presidentials (23.04%) to yesterday's poor 3.24 percent.

At last, left-wing front's representative, Jorge Altamira, got enough votes to access October's race after obtaining 2.48 percent of the votes.        

The results showed Fernández has no real competitor in the October 23 election and is on track for a first round win.

Fernández de Kirchner's two main opponents, Alfonsín and former care-taker President Eduardo Duhalde, fared worse than expected. Plus, the law prohibits them from forming an alliance for next October presidentials.   

The President won strong support in urban and rural areas -including farming centers despite the 2008 mayhem triggered by farmers and grain exporters with corn and wheat export curbs- and has a wide lead in opinion polls. 

Kirchnerites celebrated to the sound of drumming outside the president's campaign headquarters at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown BA City. 

Cheering supporters waved flags and images of her late husband and presidential predecessor, Nástor Kirchner along with aloft images of revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna.

"I call on everyone to think about the big picture, to be united. The world is in difficulty but if we manage to get over our differences we can learn to make fewer mistakes," Fernández told supporters, extending an olive branch to her rivals.

She also paid tribute to Kirchner, who died last year, and has vowed to push on with and deepen his policies that foster import substitution and pro-poor subsidies. 

Sunday's primary appeared as a nationwide opinion poll since parties had already chosen their candidates and voters could cast ballots for any party's candidate.

Fernández needs to win 45 percent of the vote in October to win outright and can avoid a run-off with 40 percent plus a 10-point lead over the runner-up.

The primaries were celebrated as 28,840,339 electors voted to choose candidacies for public office, locally and nationally, which will enable parties and coalitions to run on October’s 23rd general elections.

Voters casted their votes to elect President and Vice President (across the country), governors (in four provinces, including crucial Buenos Aires province), 24 senators (Buenos Aires, Formosa, Jujuy, La Rioja, Misiones, San Juan, San Luis and Santa Cruz provinces), 130 lawmakers (City and all provinces), mayors and councilmen.

Elections were held simultaneously in 24 provinces, open to all potential candidates regardless of party affiliation. In order to be approved for October’s elections, candidates must obtain a minimal of 1.5 percent of the valid votes.

Citizens search their names in the electoral register before voting at a polling station in downtown Buenos Aires city, on August 14, 2011.

 

Presidential candidate Hermes Binner (L) after casting his vote in a polling station in Santa Fe, some 500 km north of Buenos Aires on August 14, 2011, during the primaries before the presidential elections to be held on October 23.

 

Presidential candidate Ricardo Alfonsin, casting his vote in a poling station in Chascomus, some 120 km southwest of Buenos Aires on August 14, 2011, during primary elections.

Article taken from here.

Night of the Pencils

Night of the Pencils (Spanish: La noche de los lápices) (1986) is an Argentine drama film directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Olivera and Daniel Kon. It is based on the non-fiction book by María Seoane and Héctor Ruiz Núñez.

This motion picture, based on the actual events recorded in history as Night of the pencils (La noche de los lápices), tells the story of seven teenagers, five boys and two girls, who, during a time of economic and political unrest in Argentina in the mid-1970s, protest for lower bus fares in La Plata.

The event takes place as Argentina's notorious Dirty War begins.

Plot

The kids wanted reduced student bus fares so they take to the streets and protest. At first, under Isabel Martínez de Perón's government they succeed, but their protests draw hostile attention from the military regime, led by Emilio Eduardo Massera. The "leftist agitators" are not tolerated by the new government.

The ensuing crackdown on the student social activities is demonstrated in the film when police break up a school dance wielding swords and on horseback.

Later, six students are kidnapped in the middle of the night, and the police claim ignorance about their whereabouts.

Pablo (Alejo García Pintos), a seventh member of the group is later arrested by the police. He learns that his friends have been brutally tortured by governmental authorities and he's not spared. The police give him electric shocks while radio music masks his cries.

He was fortunate to survive and tell their horrific story. His classmates were never found and became part of the thousands of desaparecidos students who were kidnapped and never seen again by their families or friends.

Cast

• Alejo García Pintos as Pablo Díaz
• Vita Escardó as Claudia Falcone
• Leonardo Sbaraglia as Daniel
• José María Monje as Panchito
• Pablo Machado as Claudio
• Adriana Salonia as María Clara
• Tina Serrano as Mrs. Falcone
• Héctor Bidonde as Mr. Falcone
• Alfonso De Grazia as priest impersonator
• Lorenzo Quinteros as Raúl

Background

Basis of film

The motion picture was based on the non-fiction book, La noche de los lápices, written by María Seoane and Héctor Ruiz Núñez. The book profiles seven high school student activists from La Plata, Argentina, including lone survivor Pablo Díaz, who gives the authors his testimony. The students were kidnapped by the government after protesting for cheaper bus fare.

Pablo Díaz was incarcerated for four years. The other six students became a part of the 236 Argentine teenagers who were kidnapped and disappeared during the military dictatorship.

Filming locations

The film was shot entirely in the city of La Plata

Distribution

Night of the Pencils first opened in Argentina on September 4, 1986. It has been featured at various film festivals including: the New York New Directors/New Films Festival, the Moscow Film Festival, where it was nominated for the "Golden Prize," and the Toronto Film Festival.

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In March 2003 the film was included in a slate of films shown at the 1st International Film Festival on Human Rights, held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Critical reception

Critic Manavendra K. Thakur was appreciative of the direction of the film and wrote, "Olivera seems to have kept his integrity mostly intact. He does not shy away from disturbing realities, and he draws a surprisingly complex portrait of the students, their captors, and the students' parents. The film's accomplishment in this regard is considerable and therefore worthy of serious attention...[and] this is especially true of the film's second half."

Caryn James, film critic for The New York Times, also liked Olivera's work, and wrote, "Mr. Olivera builds his film on irony and contrast, so the visual beauty of the early scenes - the deep blue night in which cars and lights glisten - calls attention to the ominous unseen political dangers. In daylight, the once-beautiful, now crumbling buildings, including the high school itself, become emblems of a country falling apart, not knowing what to preserve from its past."

Award nomination

• Moscow International Film Festival: Golden Prize, Héctor Olivera; 1987.

I'm really sorry but I did not find this movie subtitled in english or dubbed.

Buenos Aires Subway

The Buenos Aires Subway (locally known as Subte - from "subterráneo" - underground or subterranean) is a mass transit system that serves the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

The first station of this network was inaugurated in 1913, being the first of its kind in Latin America and within the entire Southern Hemisphere. The network expanded rapidly during the early decades of the 20th century, but the pace of expansion fell sharply after the years following the Second World War. In the late 1990s there began a new expanding process, with the planning of four new lines. However, the rate of this expansion is largely excedeed by the actual transportation needs of the city and once again the network has become obsolete to this respect.

Music in the Buenos Aires subway Line D

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Top Ten Reasons I Love Living in Buenos Aires

(Article taken from Expat Argentina)

I got a question today from a reader asking why I like Buenos Aires so much. Long-time readers of this blog will, of course, know a few of my reasons already, but I'll go ahead and summarize them here in one easy-to-read post.

Reader's Question

What do you like about living in Buenos Aires? What does the city and culture offer you that you could not find in [the United States]? I’d love to read your comments.

Top Ten Reasons I Love Argentina & Buenos Aires

Well, here is my list, in no particular order:

1. The (low) cost of living.
   I have a job that allows me to live anywhere on this planet. Give me a laptop and an internet connection and I can work from anywhere. Given that my income doesn't change no matter where I'm living, it only makes sense to live in a place where things cost less. Argentina is one of those places.
2. The opportunity to go carless.
   Going without a car just isn't possible in the western United States. Here in Buenos Aires, taxis are cheap, busses are everywhere, and the subway isn't half bad. You don't need to own a car if you don't want to. I always hated driving, rush hour, and the expense that goes hand-in-hand with car ownership.
3. The big city lifestyle.
   Now this one is purely subjective. Living out west, I knew a lot of people who moved there to escape the big city, so it can go both ways. I love the fact that I can go downstairs and find a grocery store, movie rental place, electronics store, shopping mall, 20+ restaurants, plus a whole host of other services within a 5 block radius of my apartment. Where I grew up, everything was always at least a 5-15 minute drive away. Forget about walking anywhere. Now everything is a 5 minute walk away.
4. The superior gene pool.
   As a newly-single guy, I have to confess that all these beautiful porteña women are certainly easy on the eyes. Everywhere you go there are 9s and 10s running around.
5. Learning a new language.
   While everyone back in the U.S. (and especially the southwest, where I lived) is screaming and hollering about English-only schools and how they shouldn't be forced to learn a new language, I say humbug! ¡Viva español! Since moving here, I've improved my Spanish quite a bit -- to the point I can speak with someone 1-on-1 now about pretty much anything, so long as they have some patience and are willing to explain unknown words to me. I'd call it pre-conversational. No way would I be learning this fast if I was back stateside.
6. The nightlife.
   Now, I'm not a huge party animal, but Buenos Aires is the place to be if you are. The fact is, if you want to go out and do something at night, places will be open all night long -- until the sun rises. You can't really run out of things to do here.
7. The business opportunities.
   Any business-savvy person who comes here will recognize there are business opportunities everywhere. It seems like everywhere I go, I'm always thinking to myself how I could do a lot better than that person or provide a much better service than that guy. The problem isn't with a lack of opportunities here, its with the fact that there are too many. You have to convince yourself to slow down and not try to do everything. Everywhere I turn there are independent American businesspeople starting successful companies here -- real estate, internet, language schools, import/export, and the list goes on and on.
8. The people.
   In general, I like the people I've met here. Most people are interesting, have a good attitude about life, and can carry a conversation about almost anything. Even the Americans you meet here are more interesting. It seems everyone has their own story to tell and I like to hear them.
9. The country's natural beauty.
   I've been to much of the southern party of the country plus Igauzu falls in the extreme north. There's no denying that Argentina is a beautiful place. With affordable domestic airfares for residents, you can hop a plane and get out of the city whenever you need a touch of nature.
10. The food.
    I've traveled to quite a few places, including some places with truly strange food. The fact is, Argentine food is very easy for the American palate because it is very similar to what we eat. If I had to live in China, India, or any of these other far-east countries, I'd probably die of starvation. You can handle their food for a week or two, but after that it just gets old. There is no shortage of great restaurants of Buenos Aires and there's always something good on the menu.

Well, there's the list. The fact is, I limited myself to 10 things because otherwise this post would literally go on forever. There's quite a few things I'm leaving out, but what you read above was a good summary. I'd love to hear from other readers as well. What do you love about Buenos Aires?