5 Things I Love About Buenos Aires

1.  The city is beautiful.

You want to walk everywhere just to admire the grand architecture and the eclectic mix of Italian, French, and modern influences.  The city has also incorporated lots of green space with trees lining the large avenues and carefully maintained parks dispersed throughout the barrios.

2.  The city has abundant, efficient, and cheap public transportation.

And even better, there are maps!  The Subte subway system is my favorite because it is so fast and accessible.  And if your destination doesn’t have a Subte stop nearby, buses fill the gaps.  It seems as if you can get almost anywhere by bus even at 4am.  Both options are easy to use thanks to the maps and fantastic signage.  Allow me to geek out here for a moment.  The coolest part about the transportation system is that the city maintains an excellent online interactive Buenos Aires map.  You can input where you are and where you want to go and by which means of transportation you would like to arrive.  Click Search, and you have perfect instructions and a map.

3. I can go running without people staring at me like I am crazy.

Throughout most of Central America, I got stares and unpleasant comments when I went running in the streets. I also had to be careful not to get run over by lunatic drivers.  In Buenos Aires, there are other people out running, rollerblading, and cycling alongside me.  Porteños are very active people, and they love being outdoors, just like me. The government of Buenos Aires encourages a healthy lifestyle by organizing a free program called Haciendo Deportes, and there are classes every day in the parks around the city.  You can choose from pilates, yoga, gymnastics, martial arts, and my more. My second week here, I joined Buenos Aires Corriendo (BAC), a running group sponsored by this program. We meet three mornings a week and have a running coach to instruct us and keep us motivated.

4.  There is always something going on in this city.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say there are always 100 things going on in this city.  And many of these activities are free or very affordable.  If you are interested in theater, music, art, dance, books, cooking, wine, tours, sports, festivals, dog shows (yep, there was one earlier this month, and everything in between, you will find something to do.  The most exciting part for me is the possibility of finding something I never even knew I was interested in. My first Saturday in Buenos Aires, the government sponsored La Noche en Vela (Sleepless Night).  From 7pm until 7am, there were over 100 free cultural events/ art displays in 60 different meeting points across the city.

5.  The food is incredible.

It seems that Buenos Aires has taken the best cuisine from Western Europe and made it better.  From the pastas caseras (homemade) and pizzas to the unending variety of facturas (pastries) and icecream, it is sometimes easy to forget you are in South America.  Then you go have a delicious bowl of locro (a hearty stew) or a choripán (chorizo smothered in chimichurri on crusty bread), and you are back in Argentina.  This country is also known for the high quality of its beef and wines.  I am hoping that the amount of red wine I drink will offset the increased risk of heart attack from all the steak I eat.

If you love this city too, post a comment and share what you love about Buenos Aires.

 More about travels here.

Argentina marks 'Night of the Pencils'

They were young idealistic high school students who were unaware of what horrors they were about to face: imprisonment, torture and, in some cases, death.

Thirty-five years ago, one of most notorious episodes of abuse committed during military rule in Argentina took place - the abduction of 10 students by security forces in the city of La Plata near Buenos Aires.

On 16 and 17 September 1976, masked men raided their homes under cover of darkness, taking them away to clandestine detention centres in what became known as the "Night of the Pencils".

Six were never seen again.

Emilce Moler was one of four who survived the ordeal.

"A group of armed men stormed into my house looking for me. When I came out of my bedroom, in my nightclothes, they seemed very surprised as I looked much younger than my 17 years," says Emilce.

Beaten senseless

Like most of the others, Emilce belonged to the students' union, which had links to an urban guerrilla group known as the Montoneros.

It is not clear what actually provoked their abduction. What is clear, however, is that in the repressive atmosphere of the time, the military regarded them as subversives.

"That night, when they saw my sister, who was older than me, they wanted to take her too. But fortunately there was no space in the car and they left her behind," Emilce says.

With a hood over her head, Emilce could not see what was happening nor where was she being taken. Only years later did she manage to reconstruct the events that began that night.

Continue reading the main story

“

Start Quote

I hardly have any of the friends I had when I was young - most of them were disappeared, or those who survived suffered torture or imprisonment”

Emilce Moler

"We were taken to a clandestine detention centre called Arana, in La Plata, where we were made to suffer the worst conditions a human being can bear.

"They tortured us with profound sadism. I remember being naked. I was just a fragile small girl of about 1.5m and weighed about 47kg, and I was beaten senseless by what I judged was a huge man," says Emilce.

"He didn't even ask me coherent questions."

She avoids going into specific details, but another student, Pablo Diaz, gave graphic testimony to an inquiry into military abuse and helped to bring their case to wider attention.

"In Arana, they gave me electric shocks in my mouth, my gums, and on my genitals. They tore out a toenail. It was very usual to spend several days without food," says Pablo, who was 18 at the time.

The other survivors were Gustavo Calotti, then 18, and 17-year-old Patricia Miranda, who unlike the others was not a political activist.

The murdered victims, aged 16 to 18, were Francisco Lopez, Horacio Ungaro, Maria Clara Ciocchini, Claudio de Acha, Daniel Racero and Maria Claudia Falcone, whose face became one of the best-known images to keep the students' memory alive.

The abuse the students suffered became one of the emblematic events of the dictatorship that ruled Argentina between 1976 to 1983.

Their story was told in a 1986 film directed by Hector Olivera, called The Night of the Pencils, regarded as a powerful depiction of events.

During military rule, an estimated 30,000 political dissidents were murdered by the security forces. It is believed some 250 people under 18 years of age were among them.

The Commission Against the Disappearance of Persons (Conadep), which in 1984 carried out an inquiry into crimes against humanity committed by the military government, found that some of the victims were as young as 13.

Unanswered questions

Emilce lost many of her friends from that time.

Emilce can still vividly recall the events of 1976.

"After about a week at our first detention centre, we were all taken to another place in a truck. At some point we stopped and some of my friends were taken out. Those are the ones that disappeared," she says.

Emilce was taken to two more clandestine jails until several weeks later she was formally declared a prisoner - a sign that she would be allowed to live - and imprisoned for two years.

The question that remains is not why she was allowed to live but why her teenage friends had to be murdered.

"I did not do anything to survive and they certainly did not do anything that meant they should die," Emilce says.

At a trial that began this week in Buenos Aires, 25 former police or military officers and one civilian were accused of committing crimes against humanity for the "Night of the Pencils" and hundreds of other cases.

Prosecutors say one of the policemen, Miguel Etchecolatz, now aged 82, tortured 90 prisoners. It will be his second trial, as he is already serving a life sentence for other crimes committed under military rule.

Emilce has rebuilt her life, thanks, she says, to the help of her then boyfriend and now husband who waited for her to be released. They have three children.

But memories from those times are still painful.

"I hardly have any of the friends I had when I was young. Most of them were disappeared, or those who survived suffered torture or imprisonment."

Article taken from here. 

Argentina's wine boom

Argentina is known for its love of tango, and fine food, and its stunning natural beauty.

But now it is earning a reputation as a top destination for wine makers and lovers, from around the world.

Lucia Newman travelled to the Mendoza region and spoke to wine-makers about their blend for success.

 

 Would you like a wine?

Living in Buenos Aires as a freelance translator

Buenos Aires charmed American expat Tina so much that what was only supposed to be a short vacation turned into a decision to live and work - and dance! - there...for the time being, at least. Tina shares what she enjoys about everyday life in Argentina's capital city and offers some tips on adjusting to the local culture.

-Where were you born?

Seattle, WA - USA

-In which country and city are you living now?

Buenos Aires, Argentina

-Are you living alone or with your family?

I came alone and I live with roommates.

-How long have you been living in Argentina?

I landed on Feb 2, 2008.

-What is your age?

31

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Argentina?

I originally came here to spend a one-month vacation (dancing tango and seeing friends). I knew by my second day that I was going to stay longer than a month. It's such an easy city to settle into and I didn't want this to just be a vacation. So I extended it to three months, which turned into six months, and then I decided to just stay put.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit? 

I'm here on a tourist visa like a lot of others who live here. Have to renew every three months.

-How do you make your living in Argentina? Do you have any type of income generated?

I am a freelance translator (from Italian to English) and I work online. I already had my work with me when I came (via my laptop) which is why I think it was so easy for me to stay. I knew I could be productive and be in a place that I love at the same time. You can't beat that!

-Do you speak Spanish and do you think it's important to speak the local language? 

Yes, now I do speak Spanish. Not perfectly but I speak it. I came here once before, in Feb 2007 and took some Spanish lessons, but this time around I just got out there and started speaking. I'm fluent in Italian, so it was easy to pick it up. I'm able to make friends, hold conversations comfortably, etc. Sometimes the accent here is baffling but for the most part, I get it.

I think it is so important to do your best to learn the local language no matter where you go. Speaking the language has opened so many doors for me, both here and in Italy. Armed with the local language, you get to have people in your life who you would not otherwise know. And it just feels so good to be able to do your errands and negotiate and get directions without doing too many charades (which, even with Spanish, I still tend to do. It must be the Italian in me.)

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?

This is my 3rd time living abroad and I can definitely say that yes, I miss Seattle (and Italy) and my family sometimes. I miss the salty sea air and Pike Place Market, my family, good olive oil, international wine selections... I danced Tango in both Seattle and Italy and even though I have the best Tango in the world at my fingertips here in Buenos Aires, it makes me miss my friends back home who came into my life through Tango.

-Do you have other plans for the future? 

I'd like to live in Italy again in the future. I am waiting for my Italian citizenship (I have lost track of how long) and once I have that, I will start thinking about it. I was supposed to go sooner (this September) but I just can't bring myself to leave Buenos Aires and I'd rather wait until I have citizenship so I can go as an Italian, instead of having to go through all the Visa stuff. It will be a while.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?

I am renting in a large apartment (in my opinion it's more like a house!) with 4 roommates. It's very spacious and I think only two people are home at any given time. I have managed to save money by sharing a place.

-What is the cost of living in Argentina?

It really depends on which barrio you live in and what your day to day needs are.

Also, sadly, due to constant hyperinflation, any figure I give you today will be obsolete in the near future.-What do you think about the Argentineans? I find people here to be genuine (instead of "fake nice"), hard working, welcoming, very straight forward, and very Italian.-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Argentina? Positives:The produce here is out of this world. The best grapefruit and oranges I've ever had. The leafy greens here are amazing - they have so much more substance and texture than the supermarket greens in the US. I can buy my produce from one of the many verdulerias (green grocers) and most of the time the vegetables still have their roots intact, dirt & all. It feels so real. The beef is wonderful too - not pumped full of steroids, and it's grass fed as it should be. The sweets here are gorgeous - anything with dulce de leche! The Tango is another huge positive here. It's the best dancing I've ever experienced. The cafe culture is very special to me - I admire the people's ability to just sit down and savor the experience of having coffee with a friend. You can sit for hours with just one cafe con leche and the waiters will not bother you. The public transportation is great, albeit a little tricky to use. There are always people out, walking on the sidewalks, in parks, sitting in cafes - it's a city that is very much alive.Negatives: Sharing sidewalks with the locals. I get so frustrated sometimes walking down the street. People don't get out of each other's way and there's a lot of people-dodging going on. Never count on being able to get somewhere fast if you're walking, because you'll most likely get stuck behind somebody who keeps getting in your way. Aah! There is a lot of harsh reality here, and you have to be a sensitive and grounded person to be able to deal with it. Yes it's a "fun" expat life where you can do just about anything but there are plenty of others who are not so fortunate. People have to work hard to keep up (just barely) with continuous hyperinflation. On the roof of a restaurant not too far from my apartment, is a small cluster of tin shacks that people live in. There are cartoneros at night who rummage through the garbage to take out recyclables which they turn in for a small stipend. There are a lot of abandoned buildings that I'm sure were once beautiful but now have fallen to decay. Argentina has been through a lot in the past century and there is evidence all around. I look at it as a reminder to not complain. The dog-doo on the sidewalks. I'm always looking down for fear that I'll step into something. The pressure on women to starve themselves and have plastic surgery.-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Argentina? Learn Spanish. Be sensitive to the fact that most people here do not have the luxury of dividing the prices by 3. Eat flan con dulce de leche for dessert and don't feel the least bit guilty. Be prepared to be overwhelmed. It is an intense city where a lot of things are going on at the same time. Just take it easy and try to soak it all up. When all else fails, eat helado. Keep up with the current events here - there is always something happening and it will affect your daily life.

Tango Festival and World Tango Championships in Buenos Aires

If you have even the slightest interest in tango, you should be attending this festival, the largest of its kind worldwide. Even if you don’t, you may want to consider that if you are in Buenos Aires, you are in the heart of the tango culture, and this is the best chance you’ll ever have to learn more about it.

The festival is essentially two events that happen at the same time. The first is a huge tango festival, which can be described as “everything relating to tango.” The highlight is all of the tango shows, ranging from traditional to electronic tango, and some of them by the best known tango groups in the world. You get to see loads of tango performances, and all of them for free!

Nonetheless, this festival is much more than just watching tango.  If you are interested in learning more about tango, as well as how to dance, there are free seminars and dance classes. These classes are put on by some of the finest teachers in the city, and are available for both beginners and advanced.

Some other highlights of the event:

• A Tango fair, which sells all sorts of products relating to tango – specifically clothes, music, and art.
• A selection of cinema about tango
• The presentation of books about tango
• Clinics for tango musicians, or anyone interested in tango music
• Conferences

To finish off the two weeks of tango is the World Tango Championships. The top tango dancers in the world compete to be named as the top dancers in the categories of Tango Salon and Tango Escenario.  If you are not familiar with tango, you probably do not know the difference between the two, and for most people, Tango Escenario is by far the more appealing to watch.  Here is a very basic definition:

Tango Salon:  tango dancers dance in couples on stage, at the same time as various other couples.

Tango Escenario: each couple dances alone on stage to their chosen song, using their choreographed routine.

Although all performances and events are free, you still have to pick up tickets.   Most of these have to be picked up within the first few days of the festival, and if you miss it, you won’t be able to get into most shows. For more information, visit the main site at http://www.mundialdetango.gob.ar/.

When: End of AugustWhere: Various locations throughout the capital

Why: You have even the slightest desire to see Tango or to learn more about it.

Peor Es Nada - Let's Go sketch- Juan Perez is a Hollywood star.

Another piece of beloved "Peor es nada" show. Those who were living in Argentina during 90s may recall it very well. An excellent and masterful couple, Horacio Fontova and
Jorge Guinzburg..