Entering the IMPA factory, I realise why it is particularly appreciated by directors and photographers. There is something magic about the place. It is not just the rays of light coming through the windows, but the dozens of machines, originally used to transform aluminium, that occupy all three floors of the factory. They seem to have a story to tell. It is also curious how such a large surface is only occupied by 60 workers.

Tourists have long felt the pull of Argentina’s stunning landscapes, vibrant culture and sumptuous gastronomy. However, as demand soars for a low cost tummy tuck or affordable fertility treatment, a new attraction is drawing scores of international visitors to the country: the surgeon’s knife. Reports show that the number of patients from the US flying to Argentina for medical procedures has increased by 75% in the last 12 months.

The urban conurbation of Gran Buenos Aires is home to a third of Argentina’s population, with some 13 million citizens living in the sprawling metropolis. A significant proportion of these currently have limited or no access to formal housing. They live either on the streets of Buenos Aires or in informal shanty towns, known as villas miserias. There are over 1,000 villas in the conurbation, housing nearly 700,000 citizens according to recent estimates.

“Crime is like fashion. It experiences trends which catch on quickly and which move faster than the police, the government or the state. Secuestros virtuales (fake kidnappings) are the ‘hottest new craze’ on the Argentine crime scene.” Ex-Chief Inspector of the Buenos Aires Police, Luis Vicat, describes the rapid rate at which this criminal phenomenon is sweeping the city.

On 9th October, Pablo Martín Gómez was stopped at traffic lights on the way to his girlfriend’s house in Rosario. A motorcycle pulled up alongside his vehicle and, without saying a word, one of the riders shot the driver four times. Before falling into a coma from which he would never wake up, Gomez managed to call a friend saying: “They found me. They shot me.” Though the incident occurred away from any stadium, investigators suspect that Gomez is yet another victim of the unrelenting violence that plagues Argentine football. In a country where the beautiful game is sacrosanct, the action on the pitch is all-too-frequently overshadowed by the brutal antics of the barra bravas.

Seemingly overnight the Buenos Aires government’s signature yellow posters sprung up throughout the city ominously asking passersby: ‘do you know where you’re going out tonight?’ The grainy accompanying image featured a menacing-looking portal with the words ‘dark basement bar’ scrawled on it in white chalk, while the text invited the curious to visit www.saliseguro.gob.ar.

Have you ever wondered what this centuries-old secret society is all about? A month ago the sequel for ‘The Da Vinci Code’, one of the best-selling novels of all time, was published, and even though a tight lid was kept the plot, it became quickly known that the book would deal with Freemasonry and its little known role in the creation of the United States. Such coverage has led to a renewed interest in the ancient brotherhood as people wonder what exactly is Freemasonry. A religion, a gentlemen’s club… a shadow government?

In the early hours of the morning on 12th August a violent eviction took place. Police closed off the road and surrounded the Almagro Cultural Centre, Medrano 743, brandishing riot gear, firing tear gas, and shooting people with rubber bullets. The public fought back, throwing stones at their aggressors.

In Argentina, some 80% of adoptions take place through a direct exchange, through a private agreement between the biological mother and those wishing to adopt. While the practice is legal and done under the supervision of a judge, it is vulnerable to numerous abuses that jeopardise the legality and ethics of the process. Still, it is widespread. Why do so many people choose direct adoption over adopting through the state?

“One of the things that foreign visitors to any major city in Argentina find most surprising is the enormous presence of psychoanalysis in the urban culture. Anyone who questions the existence of the unconscious or of the Oedipus complex at a social gathering is made to feel as if he or she were denying the virginity of Mary before a synod of Catholic bishops.”