Oh what joy!!
We found a real nail salon here in BA. In our street too! Now we won't feel so deprived of life's little monthly luxuries :)
It's only pocket-sized & recently opened by an Argentinian woman who's been living & working in Los Angeles for many years, who seized the opportunity to start such a business here. For a culture that is so focused on their bodies, it's odd that this boutique business has not reached here sooner. She's doing very well & is looking for a 2nd premises already.
I had my Christmas mani-pedi there on Xmas Eve - long overdue after 3 months of neglect - & am very pleased to report it was 'top drawer'. There are no custom-built soaking chairs available in Argentina yet apparently so it's a little old-fashioned with soaking your feet in a shallow pail of soapy water but it works just as well. Of course, that means no inbuilt massage machine in the chairs either.
Hooray for Queenies!!
Monday, 3 January 2011
What? No Christmas Spirit!
Oh my goodness, there is no Christmas Spirit here in BA. Or so little of it that it's like the occurence of a rainbow, very obvious when you notice it.
No Christmas cards - none are sent by my company. None received either. This means of course no cards displayed on strings across the walls :(
No Christmas decorations - none! Not a wreath in sight. No tinsel, no stars.
There are some public decorations - visable at night - the outline of a christmas tree, made from strings of golden lights - in the public parks. I saw 2 of those from the cab. But that was it.
Perhaps it is a private only activity, in homes where there are children? What a shame though.
No Christmas cards - none are sent by my company. None received either. This means of course no cards displayed on strings across the walls :(
No Christmas decorations - none! Not a wreath in sight. No tinsel, no stars.
There are some public decorations - visable at night - the outline of a christmas tree, made from strings of golden lights - in the public parks. I saw 2 of those from the cab. But that was it.
Perhaps it is a private only activity, in homes where there are children? What a shame though.
Meat handlers = 'butchers'
It's alarming to see what is displayed here for sale in the average butcher shop. The manner in which it is 'prepared' is very rough. Huge chunks of meat that look almost like they've been cut by chainsaw. This is so common that we surmise this is the general standard of butchery here? I am told that due to the daily consumption of meat here, that the turnover is so high there is no need to make a big fuss about the butchering. (Really?)
There are a handful of 'gourmet' butchers in the city but the difference in price for their goods make it cost prohibitive for the average Porteno to shop at those vendors. The gourmet butchers trim their produce well (ie remove most of the fat) & kryovac seal it too, as we are used to.
The marked difference here is in the manner the beasts are prepared for slaughter & handled post-slaughter. There is no practise of 'hanging' meat here at all. The beasts are brought into the slaughteryards a few days prior to slaughter, then played music I'm told & fed well so they are relaxed when 'the axe falls'. This is to ensure they are not tense, so the meat will be tender. Once slaughtered, the same carcass is already butchered & for sale in the city's butcher shops within a day. So everything you buy is 'fresh' meat.
Also, due to the (famous) Argentine bar-b-que method, the meat is cooked over a long period of time - on average 3-5 hours - so that requires that the fat be left on the raw meat pieces. The fat gives much flavour to the meat as it's cooking. Once served, each diner removes the fat from their meat as they desire.
1 other thing I've noticed, most people at these asado's (Bar-b-Que) take way more meat from the grill than they eat, leaving platters of cooked meat leftover - for the dogs?There must be so much wastage, daily!
It seems to me that because the meat is so plentiful here that the locals take it for granted & don't value it much. The africans would be livid if they knew! Makes me wonder how long it will take for the locals to realise that food is a valuable commodity, not to be wasted enmasse like this? They've had it so good for so long that it must be unthinkable for the Argentines to conceive of a limited source of meat.
There are a handful of 'gourmet' butchers in the city but the difference in price for their goods make it cost prohibitive for the average Porteno to shop at those vendors. The gourmet butchers trim their produce well (ie remove most of the fat) & kryovac seal it too, as we are used to.
The marked difference here is in the manner the beasts are prepared for slaughter & handled post-slaughter. There is no practise of 'hanging' meat here at all. The beasts are brought into the slaughteryards a few days prior to slaughter, then played music I'm told & fed well so they are relaxed when 'the axe falls'. This is to ensure they are not tense, so the meat will be tender. Once slaughtered, the same carcass is already butchered & for sale in the city's butcher shops within a day. So everything you buy is 'fresh' meat.
Also, due to the (famous) Argentine bar-b-que method, the meat is cooked over a long period of time - on average 3-5 hours - so that requires that the fat be left on the raw meat pieces. The fat gives much flavour to the meat as it's cooking. Once served, each diner removes the fat from their meat as they desire.
1 other thing I've noticed, most people at these asado's (Bar-b-Que) take way more meat from the grill than they eat, leaving platters of cooked meat leftover - for the dogs?There must be so much wastage, daily!
It seems to me that because the meat is so plentiful here that the locals take it for granted & don't value it much. The africans would be livid if they knew! Makes me wonder how long it will take for the locals to realise that food is a valuable commodity, not to be wasted enmasse like this? They've had it so good for so long that it must be unthinkable for the Argentines to conceive of a limited source of meat.
Nestor 'the beater'
Nestor Kirchner was the President of Argentina for the maximum 2 consecutive terms, followed by his wife Kristina who then ran for the same office & won 2+ years ago. Nestor recently died of a heart attack, aged 60.
At dinner with friends the Kirschners came up in conversation & I was startled - no, shocked! - to learn that it was public knowledge that Nestor was an habitual wife basher. Yes, he used to beat up Kristina. Even after she became President too! And the whole country knew about it! Apparently, when she lost a major negotiation with the rural sector representatives, he was so angry that he beat her so badly that she 'disappeared' from public view for a month!!
No wonder she's a fan of plastic surgery? She obviously needed it!
I'm glad he's gone. What a weak man. Good riddance is my response!
At dinner with friends the Kirschners came up in conversation & I was startled - no, shocked! - to learn that it was public knowledge that Nestor was an habitual wife basher. Yes, he used to beat up Kristina. Even after she became President too! And the whole country knew about it! Apparently, when she lost a major negotiation with the rural sector representatives, he was so angry that he beat her so badly that she 'disappeared' from public view for a month!!
No wonder she's a fan of plastic surgery? She obviously needed it!
I'm glad he's gone. What a weak man. Good riddance is my response!
What an irreligous lot!!
And we thought the Australians were casual toward religeon?
These Roman Catholics here are the slackest type of practicing Christians I've ever come across! In general, it appears the Argentinians are extremely tolerant of religeous belief. One assumes because of their Spanish & Italian heritage that they're all of the RC faith but you'd never know it!
There's an absence of churches, which means the melodious sound of a churchbell is rarer still!
This only became noticeable because of the approach of Christmas. Not a Nativity Scene in sight. Not anywhere! Provoked, I asked my work colleagues about who'd be attending Midnight Mass for Christmas? Not a single person, nor did they even consider it a custom. They muttered something about the main church in the centre of the downtown area might have such a service but nobody seemed certain of it ... ?
This attitude to religeon certainly agrees with me!! I did miss the bells on Christmas day though.
These Roman Catholics here are the slackest type of practicing Christians I've ever come across! In general, it appears the Argentinians are extremely tolerant of religeous belief. One assumes because of their Spanish & Italian heritage that they're all of the RC faith but you'd never know it!
There's an absence of churches, which means the melodious sound of a churchbell is rarer still!
This only became noticeable because of the approach of Christmas. Not a Nativity Scene in sight. Not anywhere! Provoked, I asked my work colleagues about who'd be attending Midnight Mass for Christmas? Not a single person, nor did they even consider it a custom. They muttered something about the main church in the centre of the downtown area might have such a service but nobody seemed certain of it ... ?
This attitude to religeon certainly agrees with me!! I did miss the bells on Christmas day though.
Taxi practise by Portenos
There's something that doesn't quite add up here with the taxi business.
ALL locals will make a point of telling you that you must only use Radio Taxi services, not the gypsy cabs that are available everywhere around the city. For a Radio taxi you must call 1 of the many Radio taxi companies to book a cab (which inherently requires fluent Spanish) & wait for that specific cab. This implies you have access to a hotel Concierge, an office receptionist or a bilingual friend able to call 1 for you. If not, you are in trouble & best take your chances out on the street by hailing 1 down.
There is only a subtle visual difference between the Radio Taxi cabs & the gypsy cabs. They're painted the same black & yellow colours, with their similar logos in the same positions, so visitors will not pick the difference. The Radio Taxis by law must have their cab licence number painted on both their passenger-side front door & their boot/trunk door. Gypsy cabs often also paint their cab licence number on the passenger front-door (to mimic the 'authentic' look of the competition?) but rarely on the boot door .... are you following this? The 1 big difference is whether or not the cab has a rooftop sign ... & if so, exactly what it says! If it says RADIO TAXI then, by law, it can only be an authentic Radio Taxi. The gypsy cabs that invest in this aspect of mimicry can only say TAXI on their rooftop signage. And all this you have to observe as the vehicle is approaching you, usually at a fair speed!
Now that I feel more confident with my "travellers' Spanish" after 4 weeks of catching taxis daily, I have hailed a few of these gypsy cabs (admittedly, only in the daylight & only the one's driven by older, harmless-looking men) & cannot understand what the anxiety is about?
I can only surmise that 'during the troubles' (as the period around the 2001 currency crisis here is referred to) when there was a very real desperation that led to a dramatic spike in the city's crime rate that many incidents of muggings must have gone down in taxis? Or in association with catching taxis? And the locals have not gotten over it yet, clearly.
*Note to self: don't get too bold about ignoring local practices until you really speak the lingo & have been here at least a year - 'where there's smoke, there's fire'?
ALL locals will make a point of telling you that you must only use Radio Taxi services, not the gypsy cabs that are available everywhere around the city. For a Radio taxi you must call 1 of the many Radio taxi companies to book a cab (which inherently requires fluent Spanish) & wait for that specific cab. This implies you have access to a hotel Concierge, an office receptionist or a bilingual friend able to call 1 for you. If not, you are in trouble & best take your chances out on the street by hailing 1 down.
There is only a subtle visual difference between the Radio Taxi cabs & the gypsy cabs. They're painted the same black & yellow colours, with their similar logos in the same positions, so visitors will not pick the difference. The Radio Taxis by law must have their cab licence number painted on both their passenger-side front door & their boot/trunk door. Gypsy cabs often also paint their cab licence number on the passenger front-door (to mimic the 'authentic' look of the competition?) but rarely on the boot door .... are you following this? The 1 big difference is whether or not the cab has a rooftop sign ... & if so, exactly what it says! If it says RADIO TAXI then, by law, it can only be an authentic Radio Taxi. The gypsy cabs that invest in this aspect of mimicry can only say TAXI on their rooftop signage. And all this you have to observe as the vehicle is approaching you, usually at a fair speed!
Now that I feel more confident with my "travellers' Spanish" after 4 weeks of catching taxis daily, I have hailed a few of these gypsy cabs (admittedly, only in the daylight & only the one's driven by older, harmless-looking men) & cannot understand what the anxiety is about?
I can only surmise that 'during the troubles' (as the period around the 2001 currency crisis here is referred to) when there was a very real desperation that led to a dramatic spike in the city's crime rate that many incidents of muggings must have gone down in taxis? Or in association with catching taxis? And the locals have not gotten over it yet, clearly.
*Note to self: don't get too bold about ignoring local practices until you really speak the lingo & have been here at least a year - 'where there's smoke, there's fire'?
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Inaugural Ciclope Festival
In early December I attended the inaugural Ciclope Festival which was held here in BA, on a large, luxury motorboat moored inside 1 of the lochs at the newly redeveloped barrio of Puerto Madero.
It was an interesting hybrid of part Cannes/part AICP but was marketed directly to the production community. The attendees were appreciative of the input from & content shared by the visiting speakers, most of whom were also members of the larger jury.
There was a gala ceremony held on the upper deck of the boat on the 2nd night, where the Ciclope trophies were presented to the winners of each craft category. There was a good mix of LatAm winners amongst the international winners, particularly in the animation & original music categories. Not all LatAm finalists were Argentinian either, many were from Brazil & some outstanding submissions from Colombia.
The revelatory insight for me was how loathe the Argentine producers were to support this festival. The reason given to me was ... "it's only the 1st year for this Ciclope, so we'll wait & see if it's a success before we decide if we'll support it or not". Well, tell me then: how do expect to see a Ciclope next year if you don't support it at all?? The general response to my question was a shrug of the shoulders, a smirk & something about 'This is Argentina. This is how we are. You will learn this.'
There were more Brazilian attendees than Argentinians. That's a disgrace. Also producers came from other LatAm countries - Mexico, Colombia, Chile, even Venezuela! The Producers World Summit was alone well worth coming to the entire event for - the heads of the 3 big international producers' assosciations were present (APA, AICP, CFP-E) as they are in Cannes for this same event & moderated the open discussion. The absent Argentinian producers would have learned a lot had they the sense to come!
However, I must add that the Argentinian producers who did attend proved to be an open-minded, positive group of fun people! Several of them had 1 common trait, they'd lived & worked in other foreign markets, which is why they appreciated the opportunity Ciclope presented to meet their fellow LatAm production community. I'm sure we initial Ciclope attendees are going to become the basis for a local film production community here, despite the general apathy & widespread resistance to such a notion! Ha!
It was an interesting hybrid of part Cannes/part AICP but was marketed directly to the production community. The attendees were appreciative of the input from & content shared by the visiting speakers, most of whom were also members of the larger jury.
There was a gala ceremony held on the upper deck of the boat on the 2nd night, where the Ciclope trophies were presented to the winners of each craft category. There was a good mix of LatAm winners amongst the international winners, particularly in the animation & original music categories. Not all LatAm finalists were Argentinian either, many were from Brazil & some outstanding submissions from Colombia.
The revelatory insight for me was how loathe the Argentine producers were to support this festival. The reason given to me was ... "it's only the 1st year for this Ciclope, so we'll wait & see if it's a success before we decide if we'll support it or not". Well, tell me then: how do expect to see a Ciclope next year if you don't support it at all?? The general response to my question was a shrug of the shoulders, a smirk & something about 'This is Argentina. This is how we are. You will learn this.'
There were more Brazilian attendees than Argentinians. That's a disgrace. Also producers came from other LatAm countries - Mexico, Colombia, Chile, even Venezuela! The Producers World Summit was alone well worth coming to the entire event for - the heads of the 3 big international producers' assosciations were present (APA, AICP, CFP-E) as they are in Cannes for this same event & moderated the open discussion. The absent Argentinian producers would have learned a lot had they the sense to come!
However, I must add that the Argentinian producers who did attend proved to be an open-minded, positive group of fun people! Several of them had 1 common trait, they'd lived & worked in other foreign markets, which is why they appreciated the opportunity Ciclope presented to meet their fellow LatAm production community. I'm sure we initial Ciclope attendees are going to become the basis for a local film production community here, despite the general apathy & widespread resistance to such a notion! Ha!
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