The Gay Community in Buenos Aires

In response to the prior post on attitudes toward gays in Argentina, I would say that certainly Buenos Aires is a gay friendly destination. Besides having one of the only two "gay hotels" in the world (the Axel--which jokingly calls itself "hetero-friendly"), there are many gay clubs, gay and lesbian activities and events, not to mention the fact that Argentina hosted the Gay World Cup (of soccer) in 2008. There is even a gay wine store in Buenos Aires with its own Gay Wine label. Obviously many gay friendly activities, organizations and businesses exist here. Negative attitudes toward gays and derrogatory language, however, are quite common as well. Calling someone a "puto" or "maricon" can be heard at any sporting event, just like in the US. I would say that the two cultures are very similar in this respect. In the provinces also, much like in rural America, attitudes are much more oppresive. This is probably what leads many gays to flock to bigger, more gay friendly cities in general around the world. With a larger community that is socially more liberal and accepting, life is easier.

The Problem with Monedas (Change/Coins)

This is really really annoying. To the point that I have to actually ask the question: is a single peso coin worth more than a two peso note? The answer is quite clearly yes! Several situations, the most recently of which just happened right now, as I sit here in this fair coffee shop, have popped up in the last week. Ok, so everyone knows that change is hard to come by in Argentina, that breaking 100 peso notes is hard, and that the buses only take coins, but it seems as if no one really understands the gravity of this problem. Here are a few situations: 1. Cab driver gives me a two peso note as change when I paid with a 20 for a fare that was 19.12. He would rather give the two peso note and LOSE MONEY than give up his coins. 2. Coffee shop last friday. Bill is 9 pesos. I pay with a 10 peso note. No change is given. I asked for the coin. Then they asked me for a coin so they could give me a two peso note. Why should I even have to ask for my change? I said I would leave an extra two peso note as tip if they gave me the coin. They said NO!!! (and they even laughed about it) 3. Coffee shop just now. Bill is 14. I pay with a 5 and 10. 1 peso change is due. No change is offered. Same situation as 2 (but a different location). 4. (And here is the kicker...) I go to the bank to get change. I walk to the front of the line to change a 5 into 5 coins. They say that they will only give 3. That their policy has changed. 5 is too much now. Oh, and also, I have to wait in the line of 40 people to do a transaction that will take all of 30 seconds. So the bank is putting up barriers (lowering/taking away incentives) to actually have correct change. Don't people realize that they are paralyzing their own economy when they do this? That when the people at the supermarket, or kiosk, or corner store refuse to make sales because they do not want to lose coins that there are dead weight losses? Everywhere down here there are signs posted (subway, train, stores, etc) that say "No hay monedas" or "Colaboren con monedas", and this does not help the problem. People are so afraid of giving away coins that they hoard them. I have seen many many kiosks that refuse to sell me a 10 centavo item for a 2 peso note because they know that I just want the change. So then I offer to buy something worth 1 peso, so I can still get the 1 peso moneda, and ride the bus--and they still refuse! This amounts to economic insanity. When the value of a one peso coin clearly outweighs the value of 2 pesos printed on paper, something is drastically wrong with the system. There are only 2 things that I see as possibilities: 1. People need the coins to take the bus. This is really the only thing in the whole of Argentina that operates only on coins. The bus system is also extremely extensive and is probably the main mode of transportation (although I don't have exact figures and the subway could be more) and as such, requires a huge influx of coins to operate. So the only logical explanation is that this huge influx of coins is not balanced by an equal outflow (i.e. the bus companies don't go to the bank and deposit these coins in their accounts thus giving the banks enough coins to give unlimited quantities as they do in the U.S. and other developed countries). But why would the bus companies do this? The only explanation I can come up with here is that they don't trust the banks and therefore hoard coins. Yikes. Anyone else have a thought on this? 2. There actually aren't enough coins in circulation. Supply and demand. Under supply and high demand. Again, the only place where there is a real high demand and no counterbalance is the bus system. Would it be possible to solve both problems (because they are not mutually exclusive) with a card system? As in people buy 10 peso or 20 peso bus cards that can be punched or scanned and avoid this change issue. I think that's wishful thinking.

Malbec in Argentina and Buenos Aires: Fad or Forever

Malbec has been long known as the signature grape of Argentina, but only recently has it achieved the fame and notoriety it deserves. My business Anuva Vinos, deals directly with this fine product of Argentina, and many of the tourists and expats who know a lot, or know very little, of its existence. As far as I know, though (and I do quite a bit of research on the subject), Anuva is the only company that provides wine tastings for tourists who are visiting Buenos Aires. This seems very ironic since the wine is becoming so popular in the U.S. and other countries. Why would it be so hard to find a good wine tasting in Buenos Aires? First of all, only since 2004 has the Malbec "boom" been taking place. It was then that critics like Robert Parker and wine experts like Michel Rolland declared Malbec, and Argentine wines in general to be worthy of world-class wine status. As many of you know, things in Argentina happen slowly, and thus, the creation of venues for tourists to taste these fine wines has gone by the wayside. Second, it is very hard in Argentina to sell wine tastings to the Argentine public. The tourist market does demand and increasingly demands fine Argentine wines, access to local wines and wine tourism, but the locals do not. Argentines themselves tend to consume a lot more table wine than fine wine, as a) very few of them can afford it and b) their culture is more one of mixing wine with soda water or coke than drinking nice wine from a crystal glass. Third, and mainly and extension of point 2, the Argentine wineries that produce the higher quality wines are looking outward for expansion. First to the U.S., then the U.K., Europe, Canada, Brazil and now China and Russia as well for growth. Per capita consumption of wine in Argentina is down from its all time high in the 1960s (when they consumed and ungodly 80 liters per capita!) and people are moving more toward beers and liquors for their spirited beverage choices. But Malbec and Argentine wine in the U.S. and elsewhere outside Argentina is booming. Exports are up 300% since 2004 and there is no end in sight. But more importantly than that, Argentine wines and Malbec especially have several things working in their favor: 1. Their price/quality relationship is unbeatable. With the lowest land costs and labor costs out of all the major wine making regions in the world, Argentina simply cannot be beat in this arena. 2. Malbec can take on many forms. From the ever popular fruit forward and smooth varietals without oak that fall in the less than 20 USD category, to the ultra-premium grand reserve Malbecs, this grape is very versital. That means something for everyone at many different price points. I highly doubt that this phenomenon will go away anytime soon, and insider information tells me that certain wine bars will be popping up in certain cities that may rhyme with the words "Cainos Haires" quite soon.

Smoke on the Horizon in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires Ahumado

As I’m sure many of you faithful readers already know, Buenos Aires has been enshrouded in smoke for the last week making breathing easy over the weekend all but a fantasy. Visibility just yesterday was about 200 meters from my balcony and we did everything we could do to keep the smoke out and avoid going outside. We even avoided doing laundry as long as possible as we knew that hanging the clothes out to dry would only make them absorb more smoke—great if you want some salmon ahumado or panceta ahumada (smoked salmon and smoked bacon), but not if you want to breathe. Yesterday, I was even suffering preliminary respiratory symptoms caused by smoke inhalation and exposure like burning eyes, nose and throat, congestion and coughing.

I had heard a lot on the news about how the farmers to the north of Buenos Aires had decided to burn their fields all at the same time (as opposed to their normal sequential burnings) as a sign of protest to the government’s proposed hike on beef exports. Then I heard the fires were out of control and that the firefighting teams had been prevented from doing their jobs by some sort of government bureaucracy. Then I heard that the government was simply outlawing field burning and that the farmers wanted to get in under the wire so that they could avoid buying expensive (cough, cough) land tillers to keep their soil healthy. Then I heard that the government may turn to criminal prosecution of these farmers. Then I heard some fellow expats talking about their disgust with the BBC’s Argentine correspondent for having gotten the story wrong….

So who knows the reality of the why… All I know is that I have never actually been in a city where I could imagine a scenario for massive rioting in the street. Today looks clear, and I don’t imagine we will get to that point. But only last night, a few blocks from my house, I could see massive explosions and fireworks being launched in protest. I have never looked out the window of my home to see what I had only before ever seen as footage of the abominable pollution of Beijing or some sort of post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. It was disgusting, appalling, stomach-churning. Even INSIDE my own apartment, looking at my fiancée, sitting there at her desk, only about 5 meters from where I was standing, the haze was apparent.

So what are we supposed to make of all this? With no clear sign as to who is taking what action for what reason me pongo nervioso (I get uneasy). And I do not get uneasy very easily. I have been imagining airports overrun with people trying to flee the country. Am I crazy? Quite possibly. In my defense, however, all the bus terminals and most of the major roads in and out of Buenos Aires were shut down because people were dying in traffic accidents due to the low visibility. What is next if this is to continue?

Trust in Argentina

Business and Trust in the Argentinean Community

One of the things I have learned about running a business in Argentina is the necessity of community involvement and building trust. For myself, an expat entrepreneur who exports wine from Argentina, I must involve myself with local media and businesses, tourism, and the expat community on a regular basis to build relationships. Unfortunately, Argentina is an extremely distrustful society and because of this, more attention must has to be paid to forming relationships.

My company, Anuva Vinos, makes continuous contact with wine shops, wineries, customs brokers and publicity agencies in order to outreach directly to the local business community. We obviously buy wine from the wineries, help the wine shops send wine to foreigners, use customs brokers to get those wines out of the country, and do interviews, attend events and generally promote the wine club and tastings that we do here in Buenos Aires with publicity and the media. It struck me about a month ago, that ramping up the frequency of these activities can only help. But one must know how to speak about one’s product to these different entities. For wineries I am a customer. For wine shops, I am a partner. For the media, I am a source of information and news, and they are a source of publicity for me.

It almost always comes down to hand-shakes and smiles. These two things build trust. Trust, in Argentina is hard to come by. I was first exposed to “gente de confianza” (trustworthy people) when I started my first business here in student exchange. Argentineans were and are obsessed with this phrase, mostly because no one here trusts one another. Ice cream shops make you pay first, hold your receipt, turn in your receipt to the ice cream server and get it stamped to prove the sale was made and the ice cream served. Bars routinely have one line where people pay for drinks and receive a ticket which they then turn in for their beverage. This is because no one trusts one another with money. Thus meeting people in person is very important here.

I practice this belief with the tourism industry. I routinely visit, in person, 15-20 hotels per week where I speak with the concierges and managers about the wine tastings that Anuva Vinos offers. They would never have thought to call me if I had just sent and email or made a phone call. On the contrary, in the U.S., our dealings have been virtually 100% phone and email based. I only met my logistics and website people for the first time 9 months after we set up. There was an unspoken trust between us that does not exist in Argentina. This type of trust is quite evident among the expat community here in Argentina.

Going to events sponsored by Expat-Connection and other expat groups is really good for networking. Many Europeans, Americans, Canadians and Australians come to these gatherings to socialize, learn about procedures in Argentina (like buying property and bringing in money), and experience Argentine culture with other foreigners living here (like polo). Many of these people have a wide range of experiences in business, living abroad and language which makes them great resources and many of them have great connections that they willingly will share because of the trust among this group. This trust comes from an almost instantaneous bond between one another because they are all English speaking foreigners who decided to leave their home countries for a new country where they find themselves in the minority. I have found great connections by going to these types of events and doing these types of activities and I will continue to do so with more frequency as the power of an abundance of trustworthy relationships cannot be underestimated.

US Democrats in Argentina to Organize

Here is a note we got this week from a fellow Expat in Argentina, Yanqui Mike, its an invitation to be part of Expat history in Argentina! If you are a Democrat in Argentina, you will not want to miss this event.

'Democrats Abroad' are planning to establish a chapter in Argentina for the first time in their 40 year history.

We are throwing a big shebang Wednesday the 21st at 8:00pm at Thames 2334 in Palermo Viejo with free beer and good fellowship for all.

Every eligible US citizen there will become a founding member.

Folks can find out more about this really terrific organization and the good work it has done for US citizens living abroad by going to www.democratsabroad.org and can RSVP via a link at yanquimike.com.ar.

It's a chance to make a little history and leave something lasting behind here in Argentina when we leave.

The Argentina Asado Experience

Editor's Note:  This post is a guest post of our new friend Daniel K, a North American living in Buenos Aires. This is an awesome article on the meat eating spectacle you will find at an Argentine Asado. Daniel does a great job of translating many of the cuts of beef here too, which will help any English speaking traveler in Argentina since even a translated English menu in Buenos Aires will still usually just say "Bife de Lomo" and not filet mignon.  We welcome you to write on this blog too if you are ever interested in contributing!  If you are an Expat living in Argentina, or if you are in the planning stages of your move, and you want to write about your experience, then send me an email or post a comment to the blog, be sure to include your contact info!

Diplomacy Through Beef Consumption

If you look up the translation of the word ASADO to English, you get barbeque. But anyone who is multilingual will tell you that translations are almost never perfect. Yes, asado is the Argentine version of a barbeque, but seldom will you find a hotdog or hamburger on the grill. Instead you will find the most amazingly flavorful and different (from America, at least) cuts of meat ever.

These cuts will normally include:

• Asado, which in addition to meaning “grill” or “barbeque,” indicates the rib meat cut across the bones to make a long string of 2-inch cut ribs hooked together.
• Vacio, which is flank steak, but you’ve never tasted anything like it.
• Bife de chorizo, the same as a porterhouse cut, but it’s Argentine beef.
• Bife de lomo, filet mignon.
• Colita de cuadril, literally “calf-tail, ” another cut from the rear of a young cow.
• And many others that would take me pages to list.

And this is just the more common cow meat! They will also grill lamb, pork (costilla de cerdo, which are pork ribs… amazing!), goat (cavro or cavrito), chicken and my favorite, achuras.
Achuras are the parts of the animals that Americans do not eat (at least not normally). They consist of chorizo, morcilla, chinchulines, molleja, riñon, and tripa gorda. These would be, in order:

• Sausage, pork or beef—you have to ask to figure out which—that is always very tasty.
• Blood sausage, also black pudding or blood pudding, which is better cold in my opinion.
• Intestine, um… did they clean out the inside of this cow’s gut before cooking it?
• Thymus or pancreas gland, sweetbreads—wondrous if cooked right!
• Kidney, which I never got used to eating. 
• Tripe, yikes. (What is tripe? Usually the first of the 3 stomach chambers of the cow.)

Besides the food at the asado, the process itself is half the fun. One can easily spend 12 hours on the whole process by going to a country (same word, but pronounced with an Argentine accent—flip the “r”) or quinta, both of which refer to a house outside of the city where one would typically find expansive, flat green land lined with beautiful trees and perhaps a swimming pool. This day could consist of the following: up at 10am; shopping for food/drink until 11; figuring out rides and transportation until noon; arrival; glass of wine (Argentine wine is spectacular, check out  www.anuvavinos.com) or Fernet with Coke; start the fire around 2, the asador (grillman) minds the fire and cooks while everyone chills out in the pool, kicks the soccer ball or chit-chats. At around 4, depending on the size of the group, the meat should be done. Starting with the achuras first, you begin your feast and attempt to pace yourself, which almost never works. With the salad and potatoes that the women prepared, (yes, it is a traditional, Latin, and somewhat chauvinistic culture) you will find yourself full after the first course. The asador will then bring out different cuts of meat on a wooden cutting board, which you cannot resist. If you are the foreigner in the mix, everyone will be asking you, “Probaste la carne Argentina? Te gusta la carne?” And if you want to be funny and cause a ruckus you could say that you had the best asado of your life in Uruguay the week before. Argentines will surely love this commentary. 

The meal will end around 5 or so, after which the drinking really begins. Wine and Fernet are usually the favorites, but it depends on the group and the temperature as beer (usually Quilmes) is also a favorite. As is common in other parts of the world, the party will last for a few hours or until the supplies run out. Be sure not to play Truco (traditional Argentine card game based on deception and lying—very typically Argentine) for money under these conditions. You are sure to lose.

Later in the night, as people start to crave something sweet, the delivery ice cream service will be called. Yes, that’s right: DELIVERY ICE CREAM. I purposefully discard the telephone numbers (is this true???—asks my cousin after reading this blog) for these places from my home as frequent visits from one, Angie O’Plasty, would certainly follow my constant ordering of ice cream. In fact, the true secret of Argentina, besides the wine, is the ice cream. You can order kilos of extremely high quality ice cream in all sorts of flavors for delivery. After eating the ice cream, you will find it hard to function because of the abuse you just put on your digestive system. People will not start leaving until 10pm or so and, of course, there are asados that start later and end later, until the wee hours of the morning depending on the crowd. Just be sure that for any asado you attend, after everyone has sat down, started to eat the meat—the key is that they must have tried the meat—and begins to yell “Aplausa para el asador,” you clap loudly because this is to show your appreciation for the work that the grillman has done for you.

Diplomacy through beef consumption!

10 Questions for Daniel K. in Buenos Aires

EDITORS NOTE: This is another post in our series of Expat Interviews. Let us know if you know someone who would be a good person to interview and we will try to do it. Daniel is from California (US) and currently lives full time in Buenos Aires with his Argentine fiance, he is an entrepreneur.

1. Where were you born, where else have you lived, and where are you living now? Born in Sacramento, California and grew up in Portland, OR. Lived in Los Angeles for 7 years from 1997-2004. Since then have lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2. Who did you move to Argentina with? When? I moved to Argentina by myself on an exploratory level in 2004 and permanently in 2005.

3. What made you pick Argentina? I already spoke Spanish and I wanted to experience Latin America having already traveled through all of Europe and most of Asia. I also wanted to go far away from the US so that left basically 2 options: Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires. I did a bunch of research and everything said that Buenos Aires was the most fun, had the best food, had the most beautiful women (I met my fiancée here) and had a European sensibility. So I picked here and it turned out to be the right decision.

4. What is the best part about living in Argentina? The worst? The best part is the financial freedom for people coming from countries that operate in dollars or euros. You simply cannot start your own business in the US or Europe with very litte money. Here you can. The worst part is the cultural attitude here which is very defeatist. After many terrible governments the people of Argentina have lost faith in their own system and turned quite pessimistic. Coming from a country where the prevailing ideology is "if I work hard, I can do it" it is hard to get used to the frequent comment "es así" in Argentina which means "that's just how it is."

5. How do you make your living? I started a wine club called Anuva Vinos that exports high quality, undiscovered Argentine wine to the US and Europe.

6. What is a typical day like for you? Up at 830, commute 5 meters to my living room to start work. Much emails and phone calling to bodegas (wineries), vendors and logistics suppliers, research on new marketing channels like restaurants and tourism agencies, meetings with those same agencies, tasting wines to see if we should put them in the club. Weekends include lots of asados (Argentine bbq) time with friends, movies and leisure.

7. How has living in Argentina changed your life? Living in the US is like living in a gated community, you never are exposed to how most of the rest of the world lives. I never thought I would pay so much attention to exchange rates, the price of oil, the GDP of Argentina, the housing market in the US, etc. I feel much more attached to the rest of the world out of necessity because I know that it will directly affect my life. I also have a new appreciation for what it means to be patient, appreciate slow cooked beef, well made wine, and great coffee in very small cups.

8. How does living in Argentina differ most from living in your home country? Many little things: subway strikes, massive lines at the movie theater on weekends, not having to use a car EVER (which is great), higher quality dairy and meat, the price of the tomato (read the news in Argentina 2-4 weeks ago for this), and having no direct flight to the west coast of the US.

9. What are your future plans in Argentina? When are you planning on leaving? We are planning on living here for the immediate future and have no plans of leaving anytime soon.

10. What one tip would you pass on to a future expat moving to Argentina? Besides the obvious one which is learn Spanish, be ready to deal with many different ways of doing things that take much longer and are more cumbersome.

Time to Cry for Argentina... Starbucks is Coming!

Not to worry, Buenos Aires will be safe. Although Starbucks is coming to Argentina it should be mentioned to people who have not yet seen BA that US brands are not as ubiquitous in Argentina as in Europe for example. Unless Starbucks is willing to sell coffee for less than 1 USD per cup they can only grow so much, domestic competition should keep them honest and with a small footprint in the country. You can guess where the stores will be... major US hotels, large office buildings, airports, Recoleta, and other places where large amounts of gringos congregate.

We can only hope that young people in Argentina will stay away from the scourge we call Starbucks. *kidding* It seems every conversation I ever hear about saving for retirement that is directed to thirty-somethings always includes the obligatory advice to lay off $4 drinks everyday and invest that in a mutual fund. If only it were so easy!

Have you heard of the Escape Artist website?

Escape Artist is a really cool site about living or traveling around the world. They have newsletters or magazines that are free to subscribe to, the June 2007 issue included this great article on Buenos Aires by Virgina Brumby.

Although the article makes the familiar and unoriginal comparison that Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America, it does cover several interesting topics too. Brumby starts out with an interesting history of Buenos Aires before telling us about her time in San Telmo, Palermo's parks, and Palermo.

Now Hiring Expats in BA!

Hello everyone! There are open positions for native English speakers at my company in Buenos Aires. I thought I'd share the news with everyone here just in case you're in BA and you're looking for work:

About Us

GeoDesign is an Internet and technology consultancy headquartered in the USA with offices in Buenos Aires. Candidates are needed for a new English-language contact center which will be operated for one of our US-based clients in the financial services industry.

All successful candidates will receive extensive training and no prior experience in the financial services industry is needed. We are looking for native English speakers for this position. GeoDesign is an equal opportunity employer.

Primary Responsibilities

• Answering mortgage-seekers telephone inquiries regarding their mortgage application.
• Completing mortgage applications over the phone with mortgage-seekers.
• Contacting mortgage-seekers to correct incorrect/missing information from their mortgage applications.

Requirements

• Native English speaker
• High school diploma
• PC proficiency
• Excellent comprehension, listening, negotiating and basic mathematical abilities
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

We Offer

• Competitive salary & benefits
• Visa assistance for expats
• Comfortable low-stress working environment

Please send your resume/CV to jobs@geo-design.com along with your contact information. This position is located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Only candidates currently living in Buenos Aires will be considered.

Free Wi-Fi in Buenos Aires

One reader was asking about where to find places that had Wi-Fi, so perhaps we can all name a few places we know to help her out.

Reader's Question

I am here in Buenos Aires finalmente! I am curious if you know of any good places/cafes that offer free wireless internet? In San Francisco they are everywhere, but I haven't found one here yet. Thanks so much!

LA NACION Master List

Check this link for a PDF file you can print out. This is a list put together by LA NACION that has a few Wi-Fi locations. Of course, nothing compares to San Francisco, so just forget about that. You've been spoiled by all the free Wi-Fi they have there in San Francisco, so its time to come back to reality for a minute. Besides, if you're in need of an internet fix, there are locutorios everywhere.

Thanksgiving in Buenos Aires

Last Thursday I celebrated my first Thanksgiving in Buenos Aires with my Argentine friends and with 1 reader of this blog. It was an interesting experience to share a piece of Americana with Argentines and explain to them the significance of Thanksgiving. I also found that it was a good opportunity to give thanks to all my friends here who've made me feel so welcome and helped me integrate into the society.

Get Your Turkey Early

After celebrating my first Thanksgiving here, I can offer some advice to others... a few lessons learned. First off, its not so easy to find a turkey unless you go EARLY. I remember seeing two huge tubs filled with frozen turkeys at the Jumbo supermarket in Palermo. There were probably 100 turkeys total. What I didn't know is that after they sold those 100 turkeys, there were no more! I returned to Jumbo two days before Thanksgiving and low and behold, nada.

I had just invited 10 people to celebrate Thanksgiving with me and there I was... the Tuesday before with no turkey. I felt pretty rotten at this point. One of my friends in particular told me he was very excited about coming because it would be the first time in his life that he ate turkey. So, it wouldn't go over too well if I switched out the turkey for a chicken or something.

I didn't give up, though. I proceeded to start calling all the Jumbos in Buenos Aires. The Abasto Jumbo had 9 turkeys left and after I bought the biggest 10 pounder, they were down to 8. I doubt anyone who waited until the day before was able to find one. So, make sure you get your turkeys ahead of time.

Buenos Aires - Now Smoke Free!

Buenos Aires just earned another point in my book and simultaneously rid itself of one of the biggest complaints I've heard from US expats and tourists -- the smoke filled restaurants and bars. Those expats who are here from Europe, of course, may not be so thrilled, but if you're among the 80% of US expats who don't smoke, you're probably feeling a little less congested after walking out of a restaurant in Buenos Aires.

This weekend I remember leaving AcaBar, a restaurant / bar in Palermo, with some friends and I realized how much different the experience was from just 5 months ago when I went there with this same group of friends. The last time, the place was so smoke-filled that you could hardly see across from one end to the other. I remembered that after I got home, I had to strip off all my clothes and take a shower just to get the smell of smoke out of my hair.

Since the bar provides free table games for everyone to play, in the past it was full with groups of people chatting away and smoking up enough cigarettes to supply an army. Now its possible to enjoy a board game with friends there without having to take an antihistamine and an aspirin beforehand.

Kudos to Buenos Aires! If I could vote, I'd reelect whoever decided to do a little something to improve public health. Now all they need to do is start fining the dog owners who let their dogs crap everywhere and pick up the garbage more frequently and the city would earn another 2 points.

My First Argentina Protest

Yesterday I went to Plaza de Mayo to listen to Juan Carlos Blumberg speak about crime and security in Argentina. It was my first time at a protest here and, for me, it was a very interesting experience. According to media outlets and unofficial police estimates, there were between 40 and 60 thousand people in attendance.

Blumberg has called for Argentina to toughen its laws against criminals. The government, however, has refused to do so, harking back to the tough approach to crime and punishment that was used during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, in which thousands of people were made to disappear. In fact, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo have denounced Blumberg and compared him, quite unjustifiably in my opinion, with the military dictators that ruled the country back in the 70s and 80s.

If you don't know the story of Blumberg, a little background is in order. Blumberg was a textile engineer whose son was killed by kidnappers. Although Blumberg paid the ransom in the designated drop-off point, a corrupt cop with knowledge of the operation informed a different criminal gang, who stole the money. When the kidnappers were not paid, they killed Blumberg's son. Since his son's death in 2004, Blumberg has been an anti-crime crusader.

The government dislikes Blumberg so much that they staged a pathetic counter-protest at the obelisk, which gathered only about 5,000 people. In fact, there would have been more people at the Blumberg march, but many people were scared away by the rantings of the leader of the counter-protest, Luis D'Elía, who spoke of marching his counter-protest to the Plaza de Mayo to cause trouble.

Unlike most protests, which are filled with the unemployed, the Blumberg march was filled with middle-class taxpaying families, who were asking their government to fulfill one of its most basic duties - the protection of its citizens. While the piqueteros, the poor, and the leftists here are protesting every other day, it isn't easy to get a middle-class person who has a good job and a family to go and join a protest march. Usually middle-class people are content. Whenever a government starts to see its middle-class rise up and protest, they should pay attention.

The newspapers today were filled with articles at how the government had made a major miscalculation by staging a counter-protest and dismissing Blumberg as an extremist or a right-wing politician. In fact, he made no political statements at the march last night (some expected him to launch a candidacy for governor of Buenos Aires province) - he only called on the present government to improve the security situation.

Unless Kirchner is content to lose middle-class votes, I expect him to address Blumberg's concerns or he just may turn Blumberg into a political foe. We'll see what happens in the coming months.

The World Cup Effect

After more than a month, the blog continues with another post on the World Cup. If you're in Argentina right now, you already know about this, but if not, you may be a little surprised about just how intense the effect of the World Cup is on this country.

If you wanted to plan a bank robbery here in Buenos Aires, the best time to do it would certainly be during a World Cup match. When you left the bank, your getaway car would be easily able to speed away because the streets are totally empty. During a World Cup match, the entire country is indoors next to whatever television they can find. You could literally run naked down the streets during the World Cup and nobody would notice or care.

Work comes to a halt as well. This goes for people in my office as well. Everyone made it clear to me that they would be watching the World Cup rather than working. During the latest match between Argentina and Holland, everyone gathered around our office TV and work stopped for 90 minutes while we all watched the game.

I was even told by a friend yesterday that women's clothing stores are offering a 20-30% discount on clothes purchased during Argentina's World Cup matches. She explained to me that if the stores didn't offer those discounts, their sales would be dead during that period.

Today, Argentina goes up against Mexico. It isn't a work day, but the city will stop nevertheless. ¡Buena suerte Argentina!

The "Nice Areas" Of Buenos Aires

There was an interesting comment from a reader, responding to another comment about how rents are going up in the "nice areas" of Buenos Aires. I thought I'd respond and hopefully get a discussion going about some of the different neighborhoods of Buenos Aires.

Reader's Comments

All this talk about "nice areas", what makes an area nice exactly? Selfserving opinions? Or has the citycouncil perhaps rated the Buenos Aires neighborhoods and put them into the five catagories "Very nice" "Nice" "Okay" "Not nice" and "Not nice at all" ???

Fact of the matter is that different people like different things and what one person thinks is nice the next person may rate as inadequate.

As far as I am concerned saying that Buenos Aires has three nice neighborhoods and that those neighborhoos are Palermo, Recoleta and Belgrano is just spreading disinformation and misleading readers.

I aint seen all of this city but pretty much everything I have seen has been pretty and I encourage those who are coming to Buenos Aires to see the following neighborhoods for themselfs Flores, Villa Crespo, Villa Urquiza, San Telmo, Caballito and Parque Chacabuco.

Living and Working in Buenos Aires' Neighborhoods

Over the last 3+ years, I've either lived in or had offices in the following neighborhoods: Villa Crespo, Caballito, Balvanera (Congreso), Recoleta, and Palermo. When you consider that Buenos Aires has 48 different barrios, you realize just how large this city is and how it is impossible to really know it all. In fact, there are entire sections of the city that I've never seen. For example, I almost never find myself going south of Rivadavia Avenue. It seems like everywhere I want to go is north of Rivadavia. I've asked friends about this and they tell me the same -- they hardly ever find themselves that far south.

Villa Crespo

When I made my first hire more than 3 years ago in 2003, the country was still recovering from the economic crisis, unemployment was at 20%+, and I rented an office in Villa Crespo for less than $50 USD per month. It was in an ugly Soviet-style building filled with small offices with metal doors. Many people in the building were textile workers. When you walked in, cell phones immediately stopped working. It felt like a bunker. It was really a terrible place. I have two employees who are working with me today who worked back when we had that office. Today we make jokes about how awful that place was.

You'll find similar places all throughout Villa Crespo. Back in the late 1800s, Villa Crespo was host to a large shoe factory. Today it still has lots textile workers and you'll find lots of auto parts shops, etc. You won't find many parks, squares, or green spaces in Villa Crespo. It really could use more.

I wouldn't recommend Villa Crespo for anyone, foreigner or local. Although Villa Crespo is a middle-class neighborhood (or perhaps lower middle-class), there are other nicer middle-class places for people to live and work. In fact, once my employees saw that our Buenos Aires office was profitable, they immediately approached me and asked for permission to move our office to Caballito. The rent was higher, but not much higher. The neighborhood and the office was much better, however.

Villa Crespo served its purpose. It was the first office I was opening 100% on my own, without money from a partner or financial backer, so it allowed me to operate on a shoestring budget and get a foothold in Argentina. Once we started making some money, however, we were out of there.

Caballito

Caballito is a centrally-located middle-class neighborhood with plenty of shopping, residential, and commercial locations. It has parks, squares, green spaces, libraries, museums, and culture centers. Now, it has nowhere near as many as you'd find in places like Palermo or Recoleta, but it does have them.

Caballito has good and bad areas as well. I could take you in a taxi, drop you off in specific areas and you'd say Caballito was dirty, noisy, ugly and you'd have a very bad impression of it. I could also take you to an area that would make you think you were in a nice part of Palermo, with small residential streets that are quiet and clean.

We kept our office in Caballito for two years and everyone liked it. At that time, most of our employees lived in Caballito and it was easy to get to via bus or subway. Caballito also has easy access to downtown via the A-line subway that goes down Rivadavia Avenue. I have good memories of Caballito. It was a comfortable place to work, a very normal place.

Balvanera

Balvanera is more commonly referred to by its three zones: Congreso, Once, and Abasto. In fact, I've never heard anyone say that they live or work in Balvanera. They would always say either Congreso, Once, or Abasto. Our office is currently located in Congreso (just a few blocks from Congress) and is an ideal location that is close to downtown without actually being in downtown. For me, that's important, since traffic is always a nightmare downtown. The traffic in Congreso is much, much better.

Balvanera has several important sites, such as Plaza Miserere, the National Congress, the Abasto shopping mall, and the University of Buenos Aires. Balvanera is also a little infamous because near the Once train station, many of the old warehouses have been converted into offices, dance halls, or residential lofts. In late 2004, República Cromagnon, one of those dance halls, went up in flames and 194 people were killed.

Balvanera is a better neighborhood for working rather than living. Most of the zoning is commercial, in fact, and the residential spaces that do exist almost always have a shop or business on the first floor. If you need to be downtown often, but not too often, Congreso is a good place to have your office. In fact, when I used to live in Recoleta, I would walk the 10 blocks from my apartment in Recoleta to my office in Congreso each morning.

Recoleta

Recoleta is probably Buenos Aires' best-known neighborhood and most of the tourists who come here end up staying either in Recoleta or nearby. I lived in Recoleta for more or less 9 months when I moved to Buenos Aires. It is the neighborhood I'm most familiar with. There are plenty of things to like about Recoleta: Nice squares, parks, plenty of museums and culture, french-style buildings with impressive facades, lots of restaurants and shopping, and one of the safest spots in Buenos Aires, even at night.

I own an apartment in Recoleta that I'm currently renting out as a tourist rental and, for tourists and newcomers to Buenos Aires, it is a great and very comfortable place to be. My two favorite things in Recoleta are The Village, which houses the best movie theater in Buenos Aires (I'm a nut for the cinema) and the Recoleta Cultural Center, which is a constantly-changing exhibition of art from both established and new artists. I like to hit the Cultural Center at least bimonthly.

Palermo (Hollywood, SOHO, Chico, Viejo, etc)

Palermo is the largest barrio of Buenos Aires and is subdivided further into various smaller Palermo neighborhoods. This is where I live now and, if you're under 40 and single (or married and still like to go out), Palermo is the place to be. Block after block of restaurants, bars, and clubs line the streets.

Palermo is lower density than Recoleta and Caballito and this means that many times you'll walk more living in Palermo than other neighborhoods that have things closer. In Palermo you'll find lots of 1-3 story buildings. There are residential buildings which are called "PH", which are long horizontal buildings that have a long hallway entrance leading to the various apartments. Most of the times there's no doorman or security with these buildings, so living in Palermo is somewhat less safe than Recoleta.

Palermo is also home to an enormous amount of green and open spaces (the most inside the capital) -- the parks on Libertador, the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden, the Buenos Aires Zoo, etc. You'll also find the race track, polo fields, and La Rural (an outdoors exhibition and convention area).

My own opinion is that Palermo is also home to the best and most varied restaurants in the city, especially if you like ethnic food. You can find food from France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Asia, North & Central America, etc. You could go out for a month and just eat at restaurants in Palermo and not miss out on anything.

Now that I'm here, I really couldn't see myself living anywhere else.

"Nice Areas"

Now, back to the reader's comment. You are right that while I may consider some areas "nice" and other areas "not nice", we are all entitled to our own opinions. In fact, although this reader was responding to a comment made by another reader and not to me, I generally agree with what was said. I don't think it is self-serving to recommend to people to live in Recoleta, Palermo or Belgrano. It is just one person giving advice to another.

The fact is, Recoleta, Palermo, and Belgrano are some of the most expensive areas of the city and if you are a foreigner and you're coming here with dollars to spend, you can probably afford to stay there. But by no means should you avoid the other neighborhoods of the city. You might find something you like much better. The best thing is to rent a place for a month in each of the different neighborhoods you think you might want to try out. Pretty soon you'll figure out what you like and what you don't.

New Home Buyers Beware

This post is just a warning for all expats out there that are buying new apartments in Buenos Aires... your experience will be dramatically different than what you're used to back in the U.S. Unlike U.S. builders, the Argentine builders don't even hook-up the electricity before they finish. You have to hire an electrician to come out yourself. The light fixtures are not installed either and your closets won't be installed. The apartment is generally left in an unlivable state without additional work.

At first I thought this just happened to me, but from what I've heard from other buyers, it happens the same with everyone. The builders don't exactly finish the job.

Top Ten Reasons I Love Living in Buenos Aires

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?

Attending Rock Concerts in Buenos Aires

On Tuesday the scene outside the River stadium was complete chaos as ticket holders rushed to enter the stadium. At 9:45 PM, when the Rolling Stones started playing, the line to enter the stadium was still 10 blocks long. Many of the people waiting to get in were foreigners who had bought their tickets from scalpers, on Mercadolibre, etc.

The news showed despondent Chileans, who traveled all the way from Chile (since the Rolling Stones will not make a stop in Santiago) to hear the Stones perform in Buenos Aires, who said they'd paid $500 USD for their tickets and now had no way to enter the stadium. Most Argentines had shown up to the stadium at 5:00 or 6:00 PM, aware that they would need several hours just to get inside and find their seat.

The concert promoter decided not to hire the River stadium security apparatus and instead chose a private security firm to handle things. Clearly they couldn't handle the sold-out show.

Message to expat concert-goers: Just because you can walk-in to a concert 30 minutes before the show in your own country, don't assume anything in Argentina will be conducted with that level of efficiency. Argentina is the queue capital of the world and they will find a way to make you wait.