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Patriotic Symbols of Argentina

Vamospanish — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:00:11 +0000

On every 25th May we commemorate the revolution that took place back in May 1810 in Buenos Aires, which by that time was the capital of Virreinato del Río de la Plata. The porteños were still dependent of Spain as a colony and governed by the local virrey (viceroy) Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. Fernando VII was in the throne during that time, until Napoleon Bonaparte started his expansion and assigned his brother José Bonaparte as the new king of Spain. Unhappy with their political situation, the citizens of the Virreinato del Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires were determined to act upon it. In the year of 1810, between 18th May to 25th May a number of meetings were held at Cabildo and Plaza de Mayo, where there would be discussions to democratically decide what to do next. They didn’t respect the figure of the Virrey, and they did it even less now that he wasn’t even responding to the rightful king of Spain. The citizens wanted Cisneros to abdicate so that they could take a chance on their own independence. They ended up developing the Junta, an association of people from different social classes who were to replace the virrey Cisneros.

We’ve marked the 25th May as the day of “Revolución de Mayo” (May Revolution) because it was that very day that had kickstarted all the very important chain events which eventually led us to our independence on 9th July, 1816.

Given today is the national holiday for 25th May, there is definitely a richer sense of patriotism in the air during this time of the year (and also around 9th July). You will probably see one of the following items being displayed around in city or small versions being sold at shops. Let me take this opportunity to tell you the meanings of the four major elements that represent Argentina.

Escarapela
An “escarapela” is a little piece of ribbon that one attaches to one’s clothes with a pin during national holidays.

Our escarapela was born on 25th May, 1810, when a couple of citizens, ordered by Domingo French and Juan Manuel Beruti, stood in Plaza de Mayo and gave out these blue/light blue and white and red ribbons to the rebels to wear in order to show unity and organization. In 1812, the escarapela was declared to be a national symbol and that these were to be bicolor, light blue and white; not red anymore because that was the color that represented Spain and the conservative party.

Nowadays, it is common to see people with one of these escarapelas pinned to their clothing during the Semana de Mayo (18th to the 25th of that month), our Independence Day on 9th July and our flag day on 20th June.

Flag
The current Argentine flag is based on the first design by Manuel Belgrano back in 1812. He chose light blue and white thinking of the escarapelas that had emerged for the first time two years before. It is believed that he was also thinking of the colors of the Virgin’s garments and the colors of the sky. The sun that is currently in the middle of the white streak (and in some one peso coins) is based on an Incan design that represents Inti, their god of the sun. The sun refers to “Sol de Mayo” (Sun of May) because it alludes to the start of the Independence Revolution of the countries that formed Virreinato del Río de la Plata.

National Crest
This crest was officially declared to be a national symbol in March 1813. It can be depicted by the meaning of the different elements that construct it, like the light blue and white background suggesting the national flag. The image of the two hands shaking symbolizes the union between the provinces to become one country. The red hat is called “gorro frigio” and it symbolizes liberty, equality and sacrifice. The reason the hands are holding it up is to represent that the people are committed to these values. The laurel branches at the sides stand for victory and glory, and lastly, the sun on top is a newborn sun, as a symbol of truth and prosperity.

National Anthem
Our national anthem was born in 1812 and was originally 20 minutes long but in 1924 it was cut down to around four minutes for practical reasons, as you can imagine. The lyrics were written by Vicente López y Planes (don’t let that “y” confuse you, it is one person, not two as it is commonly mistaken) and the music was by Blas Parera. You can listen and follow it here with the lyrics below. At the end is my English translation for it.

Oíd mortales, el grito sagrado:
“¡Libertad! ¡Libertad! ¡Libertad!”
¡Oíd el ruido de rotas cadenas,
ved del trono a la noble Igualdad!

Ya su trono dignísimo abrieron
las Provincias Unidas del Sud.
Y los libres del mundo responden
¡Al gran Pueblo Argentino salud!

(Coro)

Sean eternos los laureles
que supimos conseguir:
coronados de gloria vivamos
o juremos con gloria morir.

My non-official English translation for your reference:
Hear, mortals, the sacred cry:
“Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
Hear the sound of the broken chains,
see the noble Equality enthroned!

For the most honorable throne has been set by
The United Provinces of the South.
And the free ones of the world reply,
“To the great Argentine people, hail!”

(Chorus)

May the laurels be eternal,
Which we earned for ourselves
Let us live crowned with glory
Or else, die with gloriously!

Agus

Argentina’s Sweet Tooth Part I – The Chocolate Category

Vamospanish — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:02:14 +0000

You are here in Buenos Aires. You came to see the city, get to know the culture, dance a little tango and try new food, right? But by now you might have already tried the beef, the empanadas and the alfajores. What are you going to do now? Don’t fear, dear reader, for here I present you a list of the best local sweet treats so that you can continue discovering new munchies. There are still tons to explore for your taste buds!

In this first part, I’m going to introduce you to all those that have some kind of chocolate component in them:

Biznikke navado - A delicious marbled chocolate bar with a chocolate cookie center.

Bon o Bon - “Filled with emotions” is the popular slogan for these chocolate bonbons. But of course the filling is not emotions (duh) it’s actually peanut butter inside a round crunchy wafer.

There are different flavors available, like the original chocolate, white chocolate, mousse and dark chocolate. Random fact: In 1989, Arcor, Bon o Bon’s distributor, made the first week of July “la semana de la dulzura” (the Sweetness Week) as a marketing ploy. People were encouraged to trade a Bon o Bon for a kiss and the ‘tradition’ did catch on. To this day, we often buy a Bon o Bon for a friend or lover during that week.

Bocadito Cabsha - Traditional Argentine semi-sweet chocolate-covered bonbon made out of a wafer cup filled with dulce de leche. A perfect bite-size sweet treat!

Bananita Dolca - It’s a banana-shaped chocolate shell stuffed with banana-flavored filling. If you like bananas, you’d love it because it’s delicious! You might even find Bananita Dolca ice cream flavor in some heladerias (ice cream parlors).

Tita y Rhodesia - These are no doubt one of the most traditional and emblematic snacks at the Argentine kioskos (kiosks). You cannot not find them there. Titas are a chocolate-covered sandwich of two vanilla cookies with a soft, sweet lemon filling. Rhodesias are made out of three thin and crunchy wafers separated by two layers of a similar lemon paste to the one in Titas, and then, also chocolate covered.

Mantecol – This soft marbled peanut butter and cacao nougat is also another super traditional snack that it’s pretty much considered as the national snack. You can find them all year-round in every kiosko but Argentines consume it mostly at Christmas time. Christmas is not complete without it.

Marroc - The softest bonbon you’ll ever try. It’s a little square of chocolate and very light peanut butter.

Next time, I’ll continue with the non-chocolate sugary type.

Agus

Your Argentine TV Guide

Vamospanish — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:37:43 +0000

Hello, and welcome to this blogpost about Argentine Tv! Thanks for tuning in by the way.

Television is practically the biggest, most important means of communication in this country. This is partly because having a television is not longer a luxury these days; and also, because it is a source of information, culture but more importantly… entertainment.

To break it down: there are four canales de aire that are completely free in all of Argentina and these are: Canal 7, América, Telefe and El Trece. For all the other extra channels you’ll need to subscribe to cable TV to get them. Just so you know, there are two main TV providers: Cablevisión and DirectTV. The latter actually has a lot more channels than the former but you cannot count on it on rainy days…at all. So, it’s Cablevisión for me!

I’m going to introduce each of these popular local channels and what kind of content they are known for. Keep in mind that they change their channel numbers quite often so you’ll have to look for it when you watch Argentine TV.

First, there’s Canal 7. This is run by the government and it’s a public channel as oppose to the rest of the stations that are privately run. As you can expect, there’re newscasts, political shows and cultural content in general. As a media broadcaster owned by the government, some people, especially those who are not supporters of our President, are pretty skeptical about the information and the opinions that are broadcasted on this channel.

América TV has two news broadcasts: one at 11:30 am and the other at 7 pm. It also airs several shows like “Ponele la Firma” or “Animales Sueltos”, which are dedicated to talk exclusively about the Argentine showbiz and gossip. And of course, there’s got to be a talk show, right? “Los unos y los otros” is sort of like a Jerry Springer show. You can imagine its entertainment value is very high, although I think the audience sometimes take it a little too seriously. On the other hand, there’s this show called “Caiga Quien Caiga” (or “CQC” for short), which is basically the best thing that has happened to this channel. It’s hosted like a newscast, but in a much less serious way, with witty and clever interviews to celebrities, politicians and members of the government, including our current President. They also do secret investigations with hidden cameras to catch people off guard and get to the truth of the matter. The downside is that it is only aired once a week on Wednesdays at 10pm.

Telefe had been the leader in the ratings for ten years in a row just until two years ago, when El Trece stole its crown. Nevertheless, it’s still a very good channel all the same and it still has the highest ratings in its news broadcasts: four editions at 8am, 1pm, 8pm and at midnight.

This channel is also very well-known for its annual special broadcast of telenovelas (soap operas). “Graduados” and “Dulce Amor” are this year’s productions. Another high profile of this channel is Susana Giménez. She is the Argentine Oprah, only there aren’t any giveaways for the audience, just some contests for people at home. Sadly, it has been announced that this will be the closing year for the talk show she has been hosting in this channel for the last 25 years. “Susana Giménez” will air on Sundays but the starting date and the time has not been published yet. Another big thing in Telefe was Big Brother. Somehow, we’ve had 8 of those spread out over the years. It got boring pretty quickly though, until they tried to include social networks like Facebook and Twitter. What they did was set up an account for every contestant where they could post things but were not allowed to receive messages. It seemed like a good idea until one of the contestants, Cristian Urrizaga, figured out he was one of the audience’s favorites and then he just spent the rest of the show tweeting “I want you to vote for (insert name of the person he hated here) to leave the house”. And surprisingly, it worked: he won. I don’t think there would ever going to be another person to top that strategy.

El Trece is now the leader at prime time. This is basically because of one show called “Bailando por un Sueño”, which is our version of “Dancing With The Stars”. It is a competition where several couples made up of one professional dancer and a national or international celebrity (they’ve had Pamela Anderson and Mike Tyson last year) do choreographies from a wide range of genres as they represent a charity. The one who wins, gets to fulfill the charity’s needs. Although, at the end of the day, the dancing is not the focus of the show at all. People watch it mainly to see the drama between the stars, because there is a lot of drama, believe me (and you can imagine the “attention” the charity gets). And as if the live show wasn’t enough (it’s generally 3 hours, 4 days a week!), there’s “Este es el Show” and “La Cocina del Show”, where, of course, they talk and gossip about what happened the day before on “Bailando por un Sueño” and all the backstage drama you might have missed. This is not just it! Given its super popularity, the show has also given rise to another reality dancing show called “Soñando por bailar” where young dancers compete to get a place on “Bailando por un Sueño”!! It has gotten quite out of hand if you ask me. On a similar note but it’s all about singing, there is the “Soñando por Cantar” reality show to get into “Cantando por un Sueño”, but no one actually cares about this one.

So, now you have an idea of what to expect if you happen to come across one of these national channels. They are without a doubt a good resource to get a taste of the local pop culture, but if you just want something more straightforward, or easier to grasp, in Spanish on TV, there are dubbed Hollywood movies.

Agus

Skip The Lunfardo and Still Talk Like An Argentine

Vamospanish — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:31:47 +0000

If you have spent some time living and learning Spanish in Buenos Aires, you’d have no doubt come across lunfardo, which refers to the slangs that Argentine often use. There are some common ones, like “che“, “boludo“, which are easy to pick up, but generally, they are not for the faint-of-heart; it is not an easy skill to acquire in a short period of time and apply properly in everyday conversation without offending someone or causing a huge confusion. However, there is another simpler linguistic way to help you blend in and assimilate into the local Spanish speaking culture. This one is suitable for all levels!

In order to get to their point faster (on top of speaking reeally fast already), Argentine like to abbreviate words by shortening or combining them. For example, in terms of food, they will say ‘chori‘ for chorizo (beef sausage)/choripan (beef sausage with bread), or ‘chimi‘ for chimichurri (the famous sauce Argentine eat with their bbq meat). In terms of objects: ‘zapa‘ for zapatillas (sneakers/runners. Don’t confuse that with zapatos which mean shoes in general), ‘mochi‘ for mochila (backpack), ‘pelu‘ for peluquería (hair salon), ‘pile‘ for pileta (swimming pool)….the list goes on (see more below).

They don’t do this for every word though, that’d just sound too unnatural. To further demonstrate and with more examples of these abbreviated words, here is a very typical casual conversation between 2 friends:

(Dos amigos se cruzan en la calle. Pedro tiene 30 años y el Juan tiene 23)

PEDRO – ¡Ey! ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?
JUAN – Hola. Todo muy bien, ¿vos?
P- Bien. Este finde (fin de semana) me voy con mis hijos para Mardel (Mar del Plata) a descansar un poco pero sin el celu[lar], sin la compu[tadora]…
J- ¡Que bueno!
P- Sí, porque estamos cansados de tanta tecnología. A mi mujer y a mi nos pareció que estaría bueno si les mostramos a los chicos una vida más tranqui[la]. Unos días sin tanta tele[visión], ¡por Dios!
J- Claro, así ellos también van a poder descansar del cole[gio] (this refers to primary or secondary schools).
P- Si, porque en esta época del año los profes[ores] se ponen muy estrictos, ¿viste? ¡Pero contame vos como estás!
J- Bárbaro. Hoy voy a ir al cine a ver una peli[cula] con mi novia.
P- ¿Y la facu[ltad] (university)?
J- Bien, todo bien.
P- ¡Me alegra! Bueno, me tengo que ir porque tengo que pasar por el súper[mercado] para comprar carne así después hacernos un asado y comernos unos choris (choripanes) en casa.
J- Bueno. ¡Que tengas un buen viaje! Mandame un e-mail después contándome como te fue, porfa (por favor).
P- Okay. ¡Bueno, suerte! ¡Chau!
J- ¡Chau!

These shouldn’t be too hard to learn and remember right?! With just a few words in your pocket, you can easily talk and sound like a local!

Isabel

The Mysterious House In Front of The Obelisk

Vamospanish — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:51:25 +0000

Many who came to visit the famous Buenos Aires city landmark, The Obelisk, on Av. 9 de Julio, probably have never noticed there’s another, as captivating, historical landmark in front of it. If you look up and around, you’ll see a house on top of a building to the southwest of the Obelisk. For the record, that is not Dorothy’s house up on that building. No twister dropped that house up there and no Wicked Witches were killed there either. That is actually the dream of a man who was born at end of the 19th Century.

When he was 15 years old, Don Rafael Díaz worked all day at a craft store in Chacabuco street, where he used to spend the night. Very much surprised by his work ethics and determination, his boss once told him, “You are going to Heaven, Rafael, you definitely have a chalet waiting for you in Heaven”. Apparently, Díaz liked the idea and decided that would be his dream. Of course he never knew that it would actually come true!

More than a decade later in 1927, the 10-storey building, which is now Sarmiento 1113, was built and Rafael Díaz had set up his furniture business there. At the time, he lived in Banfield which was 15km away from his work. Since it was too far away for him to go home to have lunch, he decided to build a second home on top of the building: the little chalet he had earned by himself in Heaven. He would eat there, take care of his little garden, maybe take a short nap and then get back to work. He very much enjoyed the view of the city, and on clear days he could even make out Uruguay’s shore. And it was from those windows that he saw the inauguration of the Av. 9 de Julio and the construction of the city’s most famous icon, the Obelisco.

Don Rafael passed away in 1968 and left all his properties to his children. The building is now an office building and nobody lives at the little chalet anymore. It is still there though, waiting for someone to notice it and say, “what’s that? Who in his right mind would have his house up there?” Now that you know the story behind this mysterious house, next time when you go by there with friends, you can tell them to look up and impress them with this interesting piece of Buenos Aires history that you know!

Agus

Feria del Libro 2012 – The Super Book Fair in Buenos Aires

Vamospanish — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:41:05 +0000

Every year, during the month of April, La Fundación del Libro organizes a three week event called La Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires and this year is no different. This Thursday, April 19, is the inauguration day for the 38th Feria del Libro, one of the most important cultural events in Latin America. A meeting point for book lovers from all over the world. This year’s theme is “Para Un Futuro Con Libros” – A Future with Books.

Like every year, the fair is hosted in La Rural in Palermo. The fair covers over 45,000 m² of floor space with hundreds of participating expositors. Each stand belongs to the different publishers and there is also one stand per province where you can get flyers with information about the place. There is even a Children’s and Young Adult section. This year’s fair events go from conferences with famous authors like Sandra Cisneros and book presentations, to the Book Reading Marathon and the 7th International Poetry Festival.

On the 29th of April there will be “The Day of the City” celebrations with special shows, activities, games, contests, and book signings. This day, the entrance after 9pm will be free of charge and the fair will remain open until 1 am!

I would surely recommend you to find a free afternoon in your week’s schedule and go because even if you are not a bookworm, the size of the event will leave you speechless. You can walk around the stands and discover fantastic places and characters; stop to have something to eat at the food stands or restaurants inside the fair and continue with some more wandering around.

So, remember:

La Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires at La Rural (Av. Santa Fe and Sarmiento, Palermo) beginning April 19 to May 7. Regular opening hours are Sunday to Thursday 2pm – 10pm, Fridays and Saturdays 2pm – 11pm.

Opening Night: Thursday April 19 from 6pm to 10pm
Last Day: Monday April 30 from 2pm to 11pm

Entry fees differ depending on which day you are going:
Monday to Thursday: AR$ 20.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Holidays: AR$ 26.
Children under 12, Free
Saturday April 29, after 9 pm: Free!!

Agus

A Very Internet-Friendly Buenos Aires

Vamospanish — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:57:50 +0000

Massive internet arrived in 1992. That was the time of the old phone modem, Wi-Fi didn’t really exist yet and it was very limited and very expensive. Since then the internet has evolved all around the world and has become what it is now. As for Argentina, it has grown impressively and unstoppably during all those years.

Today Buenos Aires has to be one of the most connected cities in Latin America and the world, and it is also on its way to become the city with one of highest number of internet users. Argentine use social networks more than anybody else, according to recent statistics. It is because of all these demands, the Internet companies are vigorously competing to attract even more customers by lowering their prices and increasing the broadband. There are so many options now to get connected that everyone can find a plan that suits their needs. Cable is the most popular type of connection, nevertheless DSL and 4G are also a big part of the internet market.

A lot of our students that come to learn Spanish in Buenos Aires ask about how to get connected. They worry about having to pay for cellular roaming or internet roaming. The good news is that in 2009 the Argentine Federal Government declared that having Internet is a human right. That also means that for those who can’t afford internet and/or means of accessing it, they can get it for free. Since 2009, the Government has given out free notebooks to elementary and high school students and teachers. More than 2 million computers have been given out so far.

Although Internet access is a Federal policy, many provinces have their own local plans. The province of San Luis, for example, has free Wi-Fi not just at some spots but in the whole province! They have installed Wi-Fi routers in every corner of the province. That means if you are passing through there on a long distance bus, you can easily talk to your family using Skype while on board.

The city of Buenos Aires also has many projects. Some are already in effect and some are in progress. While the city is still on its way to be connected everywhere, you can actually get free Wifi at many public places already:

- On all the Subterranean lines A/B/C/D/E/H
- Some middle and long distance buses like bus 57 that goes to the suburb Pilar
- Most bars and restaurants (you can just have a small coffee, sit there for the whole afternoon and no one will bother you)
- Most of the big shopping malls
- Educational Institutions like us at Vamos Spanish
- 26 public plazas including but not only Plaza Houssay in Recoleta (Córdoba y Uriburu), Plaza Borrego in San Telmo (Humberto 1° y Defensa), Plaza Cortázar in Palermo Soho (Honduras y Serrano), Plaza Libertad (Paraguay y Libertad), Plaza Rodríguez Peña (Callao y Paraguay) etc.

Now you know where you can get free Wi-Fi in Buenos Aires, but what if you are moving to the city renting your own place and need to order your own Internet services? The top 3 most popular Internet companies are Fibertel (cable), Arnet (ADSL) and Speedy (ADSL). And here are some general info of their prices, contracts and details (as of April 2012):

1. Fibertel is by far the best option, since they don’t have any contract or minimum requirement. Foreign citizens can, without any complicated process, call and ask for the services by providing your name, passport number, and address in Argentina. They are also the one with the best broadband speed and prices.

You don’t even need a phone line because they use Cable technology and since they have upgraded their system with DOCSIS 3.0, they can provide the fastest speed on the market.

Plans:
- 3 Mbits download and 512 Mbits upload (unlimited data). Price AR$110 per month (~ US$25/mth)
- 6 Mbits download and 768 Mbits upload (unlimited data) Price AR$130 per month (~ US$29.50/mth)
- 30 Mbits download and 3 Mbits upload (unlimited data) Price AR$300 per month (~ US$68/mth)

2. Arnet uses ADSL, you will need to have a phone line to set up this service. They have a minimum contract of 1 year, but it can be canceled with a penalty fee. They have many complicated plans and their upload is not very good. Plans start from AR$90 per month.

3. Speedy uses ADSL, so you will also need a phone line to get this set up. Like Arnet, they require a minimum contract of 1 year, and charge a fee for early cancellation. Plans start from AR$120 per month,

At Vamos Spanish Academy, we know how important it is for our students to be connected and no doubt our free Wi-Fi service is always on high demand; therefore, we chose to subscribe the best service we could get in town, which is the 30 Mbits connection with Fibertel. It’s definitely more than enough for all the students to get connected at the same time and everyone can surf happy!

Ale

BAFICI 2012 – Buenos Aires Annual Indie Film Festival

Vamospanish — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:37:49 +0000

12 days. 450 films, of which 111 are Argentine.

Starting from Wednesday April 11, there will be many different independent films of all genres from all around the world showing in 11 different locations in the city.

On the BAFICI official site you can view the whole schedule and search by day, location, film, director and genre. This way, you can choose the ones you would like to watch that suit your schedule. Tickets are AR $15 (AR $13 if you are a student or a retired person by presenting the required document) To purchase the tickets, you can buy them online here, or you can get them at the box offices of most of the venues. At the venue Parque Centenario Amphitheatre, there will also be outdoor movie screenings for free! You can check out the schedule here.

Among the many films available at this festival, one of the most anticipated ones is no doubt Jafar Panahi’s This is Not a Film, an Iran citizen who was condemned to six years in prison and prohibited to film for twenty more years because of his politic views. Nevertheless, Panahi was brave enough to film his testimony and smuggle it out of the country to produce this film with so much cultural value.

Moreover, if you want to take advantage of being in Argentina and watch local independent films, this is definitely your chance to do it. We have as many as 111 Argentine movies to choose from this year. Not only that, there’s at least one Argentine film taking part in pretty much every category of the official competition. All of the films have more than 1 scheduled screening, so you’ll have quite a lot of opportunity to catch them. Here are some that are worth checking out: Alejandro Fadel’s Los Salvajes, Maximiliano Schonfeld’s Germania, Gabriel Medina’s La Araña Vampiro, Gustavo Fontán’s La Casa, Ivo Aichenbaum’s La Parte Automática, Jonathan Perel’s 17 Monumentos, Diego Prado’s Al Cielo, Emiliano Jelicié and Pablo Klappenbach’s Ante La Ley, Inés de Oliveira Cézar’s Cassandra, José Luis García’s La Chica del Sur, Gonzalo Castro’s Dioramas, Luis Ortega’s Dromómanos, Nadir Medina’s El Espacio Entre Los Dos, Diego and Pablo Levy’s Masterplan, Juanma Brignole’s Mis Sucios 3 Tonos, Gastón Solnicki’s Papirosen, Mariano Luque’s Salsipuedes, Fernando Gatti’s Igual Si Llueve, and Gonzalo Tobal’s Villegas.

And to end this on a sweet note, I recommend that if you have children or need to babysit, you can take them to their own little movie festival, the BAFICITO with movies like Hirakawa’s Light of the River and Peter Dodd’s Freddy Frogface.

So sit back and enjoy because “Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theater.” (quote by Roman Polanski).

Agus

The Little Known Street Culture In Buenos Aires

Vamospanish — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:56:24 +0000

What is a “pasacalle”? Good question. If you have been in Buenos Aires for a while and have been to different barrios (neighborhoods), you might have already seen one of these ‘banners’, but you were probably also confused by it. Well, I’m a local, so I’m used to seeing them all around the city, but it never occurred to me that they might seem a bit out of the ordinary for a visitor.

A pasacalle is a banner sign made out of burlap that is hung up from post to post or trees across a street so that cars can read it as they drive by or under them. Know what I’m talking about now?

Due to “visual contamination”, the Argentine law says that it is illegal to hang any type of non-official sign or banner on the streets without a proper permission. Still, some pasacalles make it to the streets of barrios like La Boca, Flores, Almagro (pretty much all the neighborhoods except Puerto Madero, Recoleta, Palermo, Belgrano and maybe Retiro).

Publicity agencies and smaller printing businesses are the ones who can make these kinds of signs upon request. Some of the messages featured are of commercial or political purposes, some are publicized by individuals who want to express their love for someone special and for celebration. It could be “Happy 15th birthday Jane Doe!” or “Honey, happy anniversary! I love you.”

Here’s a picture of a typical pasacalle:

It says, “Dear Silvi, we congratulate you for your well deserved lawyer title that you won with effort, aptitude and dedication. We love you! Mom, dad, Caro, Gime, Pablo and the rest of the family.”

Those of positive content are the most common ones but you can also come across some that are pretty hilarious for anyone who is not the person the pasacalle is addressed to, like this one:

It says, “Jorge, you are a loser. Everyone makes progress in life, except you. Dad”

Poor Jorge.

Agus

Che, Wanna Grab Some Brunch In Buenos Aires?

Vamospanish — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:11:30 +0000

Among many new customs that foreigners have brought to Buenos Aires, the concept of brunch and its type of food is definitely one of the imports that has successfully (yet slowly over a few years) took its shape in the city. As much as I love medialunas, a savoring brunch with eggs, bacon and pancakes with coffee really makes a weekend weekend. Mixing sweet and salty all at once or eating the ‘wrong’ food at the ‘wrong’ time is usually not a local preference. Since there was a lack of such meal options in restaurants that I have really perfected my french toast with home-made fruit syrup and the ability to whip up an All-American breakfast in no time (yes, that includes fluffy pancakes!).

During those days when I didn’t want to lift a finger to cook, I’ve tried a few places that served a bit more elaborated breakfast food items for lunch consumption, but they were just not greasy/buttery/sweet or generally ‘substantial’ enough to satisfy my cravings. However, by now, I can gladly announce that the age of sort-of brunch food has moved onto the real deal, as more and more restaurants/cafés have opened up that truly understand what and how brunch should be. This ‘evolution’ was no doubt originally influenced by all the ever-growing demand from the foreign clientele, but the locals have also started to discover the beauty of it. That leads to the phenomenon of even finding brunch foods in neighborhoods outside of the tourist-beloved Palermo and Recoleta areas!

Here are some places that are known to serve brunch or have a brunch menu (that’s huge!). The list is a mix of expats’ favorites, guidebook mentions, luxurious indulgence, and low-key local joints. Keep in mind though that you might not necessary find pancakes, sausage links at every one of these places, some are more internationalized than the others and some do put a twist to local sweet and salty favorites to create an All-Argentine brunch.

Artemisia – Gorriti 5996, Palermo

Café Crespin – Vera 699, Villa Crespo

La Cafetería De Villa Ocampo – Elortondo 1837, Beccar

Felicidad – Migueletes 887, La Imprenta

Gibraltar – Perú 895, San Telmo

Gringa – Costa Rica 6094, Palermo

Hierbabuena – Caseros 454, Barracas

Home Hotel – Honduras 5860, Palermo

Magdalena’s Party – Thames 1795, Palermo

Malvon – Serrano 789, Villa Crespo

La Mansión, Four Seasons Hotel – Posadas 1086/88, Recoleta

Nucha – Various locations in Palermo, Recoleta and Belgrano

~~The Office – Arévalo 3031, Las Cañitas~~ (Closed doors, edited on April 23, 2012)

Olsen – Gorriti 5870, Palermo

L’Orangerie, Alvear Palace Hotel – Alvear 1891, Recoleta

Oui Oui – 6068 & 6099 Nicaragua, Palermo

Pani – Nicaragua 6044, Palermo

Postdata – Azcuénaga 1739, Recoleta

~~Randall’s – Malabia 1530, Palermo~~ (Closed doors, edited on April 23, 2012)

Sirop Folie – Vicente López 1661, Recoleta

Isabel