:: Buenos Aires Weekly ::

The city’s portal came up with this cute article about Florida street. Originally in Spanish, I tried to come up with a decent translation. Text and photos are from Estrella Herrera.

Although it is known for its vertiginous atmosphere:

Florida street has a secret:

Behind the accelerated motion of thousands of passers-by:

Another Florida is hiding:

It’s not about the “pedestrian street” that waves of enthusiastic tourists trample on:

Nor the workers who filled the street during their morning journey to the office:

It’s when the passers-by are taken away leaving only the shadow of their passing:

Then Florida can rest:

Like when someone closes his eyes to let go into a deep dream:

Florida lets down one blind after the other and rests:

To discover this other facet of our Florida is necessary to take her by surprise:

And get up very early and discover while it’s still dawn:

Even when Florida is calm and quiet, the street’s never completely alone: a flower shop goes along with her:

And allows that anyone in love gets a bunch of colorful flowers any time of the day:

Slowly the passers-by are arriving:

The first in opening their doors are the newspapers stands, offering the latest news:

Among those who come and go, someone stops in front of a window:

Which until a few minutes ago was hiding their mannequins:

Among the passers-by, an accordionist adds music in the Buenos Aires morning:

When hours before silence prevailed:

The other Florida, contrasts of a street we all know:

But that has still a lot to show us and surprise us with:

** One boutique hotel opens every month in Buenos Aires** - from Lanacion. That’s a lot! But it seems to be working pretty well.

Currently there are 34 boutique hotels in the city, located mainly in the districts of Palermo and San Telmo. For the next two years, eight more are projected and under construction. An estimate figure of 2 millions dollars is invested in each boutique hotel in the city. Personalized service, attention to details, simplicity, warmth and extremely well-arranged/decorated environment are what most foreigners are looking for. Boutique hotels receive lots of Europeans, among them come English, French, Spaniards, Italians, German and Dutch. Also lots of Americans.

Here’s the Boutique hotels list that Lanacion put together for whoever may be interested :=)

1) my ba buenos aires, Belgrano, Zabala 1925, http://www.mybahotel.com/

2) 248 Finisterra, Las Cañitas, Báez 248, http://www.248finisterra.com

3) Tailor Made Hotel, Las Cañitas, Arce 385

4) Rooney´s hotel Boutique, Microcentro, Sarmiento 1775 Piso 3, http://www.rooneysboutiquehotel.com/

5) La Cayetana hotel, Monserrat, México 1330, http://www.lacayetanahotel.com.ar/

6) Baucis, Palermo, Carranza 1608, http://www.baucishotel.com/

7) Krista hotel , Palermo, Bonpland 1665, http://www.kristahotel.com.ar/

8 ) Home Buenos Aires, Palermo, Honduras 5860, http://www.homebuenosaires.com/home/

9) Hotel Vitrum, Palermo, Gorriti 5641, http://www.vitrumhotel.com/

10) Five Buenos Aires, Palermo, Honduras 4742, http://www.fivebuenosaires.com/

11) Puro Baires, Palermo, Niceto Vega 4788, http://www.purobaires.com.ar/

12) Legado Mítico, Palermo, Gurruchaga 1848, http://www.legadomitico.com/

13) Hotel Babel, San Telmo, Balcarce 946

14) Soho, Palermo, Honduras 4762, http://www.sohoallsuites.com.ar/

15) Dumont Hotel, Palermo, Ravignani 1596, http://www.dumont-hotel.com/

16) Mine Hotel Boutique, Palermo, Gorriti 4770, http://www.minehotel.com/

17) Mira Vida Soho, Palermo, Darragueyra 2050, http://www.miravidasoho.com

18) Hotel 1551, Palermo, Acuña de Figueroa 1551, http://www.1551palermo.com/

19) Costa Petit, Palermo, Costa Rica 5141, http://www.costapetithotel.com/

20) Hotel Bobo, Palermo, Guatemala 4882, http://www.bobohotel.com/

21) Vain Hotel Boutique, Palermo, Thames 2226, http://www.vainuniverse.com/

22) Malabia House, Palermo, Malabia 1555, http://www.malabiahouse.com.ar/

23) Lynss Hotel Boutique, Palermo, Costa Rica 4752, http://www.lynns.com.ar/

24) Craft HIP hotel, Palermo, Nicaragua 4583, http://www.crafthotel.com/

25) Casa Sur Art Hotel, Recoleta, Azcuénaga 1268, http://www.casasurhotel.com/

26) Moreno Buenos Aires, San Telmo, Moreno 376, http://www.morenobuenosaires.com/

27) Ribera Sur, San Telmo, Paseo Colón 1145, http://www.riberasurhotel.com.ar/

28) Telmho Hotel, San Telmo, Defensa 1086, http://telmho-hotel.com.ar/

29) The Cocker, San Telmo, Av. Garay 458, http://www.thecocker.com/

30) 1890 Hotel Boutique, San Telmo, Salta 1074, http://www.1890hotel.com.ar/

31) Casa Las Cañitas, Las Cañitas, Huergo 283 http://www.casalascanitas.com/

32) Mansion Vitraux (sin inaugurar), San Telmo, Carlos Calvo 369, http://www.mansionvitraux.com/

33) Casa Calma (por abrir)

34) La Defensa (por abrir)

35) Hotel Ultra (por abrir), Palermo, Gorriti 4929, http://www.hotelultra.com/

Above: Home Buenos Aires, in Palermo Soho, is the most popular one among tourists.

Above: Legado Mitico, in Palermo, has a broad library and each room has a theme.

Photos from Lanacion.

As soon as you step inside El Gato Negro, it smells really good. The smell of spices hangs in the air mixed with smell of coffee. Traditional tea-spice-coffee place in Buenos Aires, it almost feels like you’re in another time/era. Rachel & Patrick from Buenos Aires Argentina Guide wrote an interesting posting about this place: El Gato Negro. Down below is the info provided by the city’s tourism portal.

During many years, El Gato Negro was the best house of spices in the city. It was founded in 1926, under the name of “La Martinica”, in an adjoining shop. In 1927, the bar was moved to the present place and was renamed in honour to the menu of a dining car of the Orient Express. More than 400 spices can be found in this store. At the end of the XX century, the café and the dining room were opened on the first floor. Tea and coffee from every part of the world are the speciality of the house.

I don’t think I ever introduced the blog of Jeff Barry, an american who lives in Buenos Aires, and writes about the city in his blog: Buenos Aires, City of Faded Elegance. A while back, Jeff released a free 57-page E-Book about the Argentine capital. Much of the material is based on reformatted and edited archives from his blog. Click on the image to download the pdf.

He also published a posting about 30 things to do when visiting Buenos Aires. Click the link to read about it. It gathers all the main things BA has to offer, and an extra plus: Jeff introduces us to the Xul Solar Museum, which I never heard about before reading about it in Jeff’s blog.

Yesterday I got myself this book: Buenos Aires bizarro from the author Daniel Riera. Because I own the San Francisco bizarro edition, I had to buy the Buenos Aires book. This book brings you to places, makes you discover, learn about facts, that even porteños may not even know they exist. -Bizarre, bizarro, weird- things/places, are the things we always tend to look for to take us away from normality. I started reading only a few pages, and already my list is long of new places, stores, restaurants I wanna go to. I recommend the book, even if I read only a chapter, to anyone who wants to discover the none-touristic, strange side of Buenos Aires. Here’s the website: Buenos Aires bizarro.

Too good not to mention it: BA ranks 2nd in the 2008 World’s Best Cities.

As Travelling Buenos Aires wrote: “If we account for tourist attractions, cultural life, food, prices and the inhabitants style, what is the best city for travellers… One of the reasons that make the capital of Argentina a travellers’ favourite is the high quality (of hotels, of clothes, of food) and the low prices. In a list of the most expensive cities of the world, made by the consultant firm Mercer, Buenos Aires took the 138th position, being only 16% more expensive than the cheapest one, Asunción.”

The invasion of smoke resulting from the burning of land [started by farmers clearing land for cattle grazing] a few kilometers from Buenos Aires, had the city disappeared under a thick acrid cloud. Here’s a video from an Argentinian regrouping various pictures taken for the most part yesterday, Friday the 18th, considered to be the worst day for Porteños since the burning started.

After almost 3 years that I now live in Buenos Aires - yes this coming June, it’d be 3 years I’ve been enjoying my time in Argentina, yuhuu(!!) - I still can’t believe and or understand, how fast the streets of BA can get flooded when there’s a torrential rain. Like today for example. I swear, it was pouring rain in the barrio of Palermo, where I work, for about 2 good hours, tops 3 hours, with heavy rain pouring down. When we look from the office’s window down the street, we witnessed the exact same scene (without the cop though ;=))

I mean come on now, it’s not the first time that happens, and it’s not like all the barrios in the city are affected, only a few are damaged by heavy rains. And my question is why isn’t the city doing anything to fix this? BA laying over the river ok that’s one thing and sure does not help, but have the drainage systems revised, fixed, clean! I live in Belgrano, and such a flooding never occured since I moved here 3 years ago, as I was told they fixed the d. systems. So why don’t they do the same in the neighborhoods that really need it!? Today, the rain fell non-stop since early morning until about midday. During this time, almost 60 millimeters of water has been registered.

Following are picture taken from the newspaper LaNacion:

And the funniest one ;=)

Boedo is one of those neighborhoods where tourists don’t tend to go because somehow the tourist guides forget to mention it. Nonetheless, the barrio experience a cultural rebirth, hopefully bringing more people and tourists visiting this part of Buenos Aires.

Iant Mount from GoodAirs wrote an interesting article, that I’m including here:

Rebirth of a Bohemian Barrio
By IAN MOUNT
THE Boedo section of Buenos Aires was an artistic hotbed in the early 20th century, home to Argentine cultural giants like the writer Roberto Arlt and the tango lyricist Homero Manzi. But it drifted into anonymity after World War II, a low-slung, middle-class neighborhood whose famous soccer stadium was razed and turned into a Carrefour supermarket.

In the last few years, however, Boedo has experienced a cultural rebirth. As other bohemian neighborhoods like San Telmo and Palermo have been gentrified, independent theaters, underground restaurants and trendy bars have sprung up amid the skinny, century-old “chorizo” cottages that still define Boedo. The city has installed semi-figurative sculptures on many sidewalks, and tattooed artists now mingle with longtime residents who were teenagers during Boedo’s last boom.

Much of the resurgence can be attributed to the arts-minded Marín family, who moved to Buenos Aires from the Argentine city of Mendoza and opened several restaurants and cultural centers.
Boedo’s theatrical wings are on display at the Timbre 4, a 50-seat playhouse started by the playwright Claudio Tolcachir. Since 2004, it has been home to Mr. Tolcachir’s award-winning comedy “La Omisión de la Familia Coleman,” attracting celebrities like Francis Ford Coppola.

The barrio’s bohemian past has been discovered. Across the street from Pan y Arte is Cafe Margot , an old French-style cafe, replete with bow-tied waiters, black-and-white floor tiles and old cigarette signs, that draws a new generation of artists and writers.

And at the Monte de Piedad Museum (Boedo 870, 2nd floor; 54-11-4931-1605), visitors can see a recreation of the Cafe Biarritz, a famed leftist hangout that was located one floor below. The museum also traces the history of the Banco Ciudad from pawnshop to modern bank, with fascinating artifacts like a set of brass banisters that was bashed by angry customers in the aftermath of Argentina’s 2001 economic crisis.

The neighborhood’s boom is not restricted to Avenida Boedo. On nearby Avenida Carlos Calvo.

Boedo lacks interesting shopping, but there are a few exceptions. In a mall at the intersection made famous in the tango “Sur” is Almacén Porteño a tiny record store with an extensive collection of tango CDs (15 to 24 pesos), photos and sheet music. The tango-obsessed owner, Juan Carlos Bellini, also sells old tango LPs online (from $8).

The city’s current fad over puertas cerradas — restaurants in private homes — has also reached Boedo. Held at the home of a local chef, Máximo Cabrera, Kensho serves ambitious organic vegetarian dishes like ceviche made from tofu and oyster mushrooms.

After the meal, Mr. Cabrera and his wife, Guillermina Días, perform songs that sound like Sade with a techno edge — a fitting soundtrack for an old bohemian quarter finding a new voice.

Corner of Osvaldo Pugliese, Boedo y Carlos Calvo:

Another link worth reading is the one of Cherie from tangocherie, a Californian lady, whom I had the pleasure to meet, and who live happily in the barrio Boedo, wrote this posting: BARRIO MIO — BOHEMIAN BOEDO

Library Miguel Cané, Carlos Calvo 4300:

Café Margot, Pasaje San Ignacio and Av. Boedo:

Esquina Osvaldo Pugliese:

Pasaje San Ignacio:

Graffitis on the streets of Buenos Aires are everywhere. It will be no surprise to see that many on the streets, buildings and even on the city’s monuments. These stencils are used to create spray-paint symbols and messages. The following paragraphs are from Amanda Hopkins, who dedicated an article to the stencils art in Buenos Aires: “Those graffitis are not the work of a handful of disgruntled punks, but rather part of a trend utilized by anyone from artists to activists to make a statement. The stencils can be artistic designs without a clear message, or politically motivated and satirical. For example, I’ve seen stencils portraying Argentine President Nestor Kirchner inserted into the logo for “Hello Kitty” with the words “Hello Kirchner” and another showing U.S. President George W. Bush wearing Mickey Mouse ears.

Some stencils are simply meant to cause a stir, such as one I saw that said “Material Girl” beneath a picture of The Madonna. Others are more serious: one stencil featured the famous McDonald’s Golden Arches inverted to make a ‘W’ with the words “War Dollars” beneath.

I learned the back-story of the stencil graffiti from Armando Cabrera, a Buenos Aires-based artist who has been creating graffiti using stencils since 2001. He began designing them on his own, intending to use them in his legitimate art projects when he noticed the technique showing up around the city.

The exact origins of the stencil trend are difficult to pinpoint because it began with individuals like Cabrera who saw their artistic ideas reflected back at them and decided to make their own contributions.

What is known is that the stencils first started to show up in the neighbourhoods surrounding the University of Buenos Aires and eventually spread out over the city and later the country as a popular graffiti method.

Andres Iglecias, a sociology student who created his own stencil after being recruited by other artists involved in the trend, traces the origin of the stencils back to The Crisis of 2001. He argues that the tense economic situation of that period gave birth to the graffiti technique as a means of voicing dissent.

Of course, there are many people who would argue that the stencil graffiti is neither an art form nor an outlet for political statements, but an eyesore and a criminal act. And to be sure, marking the streets with graffiti is illegal in Argentina, which is why the stencils are often painted at night under cover of darkness. Another popular time for graffiti painting is during the many political protests and demonstrations that commonly take over the streets of Buenos Aires.

City officials and business owners are constantly investing time and money to paint over the stencils. In fact, this March the national government shelled out big bucks to cover the Congress Building in a new technology of anti-graffiti paint. Previously a popular target for graffiti of all kinds, the Congress is now graffiti free.

But while some see graffiti as a nuisance, others see it differently. In her book No Logo, Canadian author Naomi Klein champions graffiti as a method of public discourse that is accessible to everyone, not simply those who can afford to buy advertising space.

Cabrera, who has designed some stencils in support of gay rights and others to promote safe sex, agrees, saying “I think it is important as an individual, I have a public way to express myself that is free.”

The stenciling trend has provided a creative outlet for making social comment that is open to anyone with the skills to make a stencil and wield a can of spray paint.

The high watermark of the trend came in February 2005 with the release of the book Hasta la Victoria, Stencil! Published by La Marca Editora, the book features photographs of the stencils on the streets of Buenos Aires. On its website, the publishing house calls the stencil graffiti “one of the most interesting forms of urban intervention and actually the most popular and creative in the city of Buenos Aires.”

To launch the book, La Marca Editora held a party in a downtown parking lot during which artists were invited to mark their stencils on the wall of a neighbouring building. A recreation of what was created that day became the focal point of an exhibit in the Cultural Centre of Recoleta.

The book and the exhibit are legitimate forms of the illegal street art, but neither is a replacement for the graffiti itself because of their permanent nature. The stencils on the street, on the other hand, are constantly changing as old stencils are painted over and new stencils take their place. With any political developments or national event comes a series of stencils in response.

This constant state of flux is what keeps the trend alive; every new coat of paint creates space for the next round of stencils and their unique brand of social commentary.

Visit the following website for more on Stencils:
Bs.As Stncl
Stencil Graffiti. Blek the pioneer