Women expats and helpers who live in Buenos Aires have voluntarily given their time to put together ‘Hola, Buenos Aires!’ e-book for those wishing to relocate to Argentina’s capital city. The ladies are from all over the world and, after experiencing the city first-hand, decided to take an old, spiral-bound city guide that they had found in the University Women’s Club of Buenos Aires, update it and turn it into a modern manual for managing the metropolis.

The first edition of the book was published in 1989 with six or seven contributing women. It was then updated, with the last print edition publishing in 2003. The new e-book is a result of the efforts of 23 contributing ladies, including some who no longer live in Buenos Aires, but helped out with editing and proof-reading.

All proceeds from the US$14.99 cover price of the e-book will go to the Association of Sponsors of Rural Students and Schools (APAER), an Argentine NGO that promotes education in disadvantaged rural schools.

The book covers topics ranging from food, traffic, the ‘how-to’ of everyday life (like paying bills, when stores are open), to coping with culture-shock. The Argentina Independent had the chance to sit down with one of the project’s leaders, Michal Leon, who has been living in BA since October 2009. She is an entrepreneur as well as wife of the South African ambassador to Argentina. Although their time in Buenos Aires was up at the end of September, Michal felt it would be helpful to update the book for those choosing to move to Buenos Aires, helping them to have an easy and accessible guide to help them in the integration process. In a way, the digital version of ‘Hola, Buenos Aires!’ is her legacy in Buenos Aires.

“When you move to a country with someone from that culture, the shock is much softer, but for those who do not have that, this book will help them,” Michal explained.

When it comes to the basics, the book also helps out on letting sojourners know things to expect that you are not expecting, like food. The simpler things, like peanut butter, tomato juice, tomato and bean sauce, just do not exist. Hot sauce is also hard to come by, although some foreigners have taken on the challenge themselves.

There is a section on where to find a screwdriver or how to get your laundry done if you do not have a washing machine, as well as sections that have information for those who are bringing pets, or even legal matters that expand beyond the embassy. There is a chapter for those who are choosing to leave Argentina and how to prepare for that, too.

“The book is meant to prepare people who choose to live in Argentina for a month up to forever,” Michal added.

The book was released online on Monday and costs US$14.99. All proceeds go to APAER. To download the book, visit: www.uwcba.com.ar.

In celebration of the US Independence Day on 4th July, we bring you a photo essay from last Sunday’s Buenos Aires Chili Cookoff. This second annual event raised just over $12,000 for charity Send a Child to School – SACS which “helps an increasing number of children each year by providing the school supplies essential for a successful education. Each child receives a backpack containing notebooks, paper, pencils, erasers (as required by grade level), as well as shoes, socks and the regulation lab coat.” With 17 entrants bringing at least five litres of chili each, there was a lot of beans and meat on a grey winter’s day in Palermo. Johnny Deutsch from Magdalena’s Party won the coveted John Brister Chili trophy this year for his lamb and pork entry with a hint of chocolate and expresso. Photographers Anita Zaror, Beatrice Murch, Dan Perlman, Paige Nichols, San Telmo Loft, and Skye Lucking all share their photos of the spicy afternoon with our readers below. As an added bonus, you can see several full on 360˚ panoramic views of the event courtesy of Vamos360.

KitchenParty is a concept realised by a group of close friends living in Rome in 2011, and revolves around the idea of connecting people worldwide through shared dining experiences.

Aimed at anyone who enjoys sharing food with others, whether local, expat or traveller, the event makes for an evening that is inevitably diverse in terms of both people and activity.

Co-creator and Buenos Aires host, Michael Kaethler, explains that the idea was very much born out of a love of food, but also a love of its ability to bring people together and create communities.

The platform itself is a social networking site of sorts. Members create a profile and can then request friends, advertise their own events, or ask to attend someone else’s. But where other social networking sites fall down, KitchenParty excels by encouraging the creation of a real community, and not one that just exists online.

A non-profit organisation, KitchenParty asks no membership fee, with any participation costs dictated by an event’s host.

Getting started with KitchenParty party is very simple. Make an account for free on the website, filling in as much information as you feel comfortable with and from there you can search upcoming events by city. Ask to participate in the ones that catch your eye, and then just sit back to await confirmation from the host, which comes in the form of an automatic email.

Hosting is equally simple. First you enter the event’s information, made up of a name, theme, time and place, number of participants and participation fee (e.g. a bottle of wine). From there it is a case of accepting or declining participation requests and, as long as your minimum number is reached, the event goes ahead. Reassuringly, as host you have total control over who attends, with a peer review system allowing for greater security.

Some of the best things about KitchenParty are its versatility and lack of boundaries. With the website and the creators only there to facilitate a gathering, you can expect your event to be limited only by your own imagination. This leaves huge scope for members to experiment, and the opportunity to never eat the same meal twice.

The event visited last week was a gathering of around ten people at the home of our host, Michael. The atmosphere was instantly relaxed and friendly; like a group of friends getting together after spending time apart. But you only had to glance around the room for that to seem an unlikely reality. There was a huge mix of nationalities from all over Europe and the Americas, making the resulting range of conversation and experiences interesting to say the least.

Dinner itself was an intimate affair, with dimmed lights, candles and guests seated on the floor arranged around a centre spread. Good food, good wine and good conversation all made for a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

With a base of members spread across 80 cities all over the world, it certainly seems like the KitchenParty ethos is one people have already found easy to relate to. And why not? The service KitchenParty provides is simple in both idea and execution, and best of all it is free.

For 2012, they are launching their new “Wednesday Dinners” initiative, which, according to Michael, seeks to transform that boring midweek evening into a regular opportunity to enjoy a shared dinner experience.

By the end of the year, they hope to see regular “Wednesday Dinners” in 40 cities worldwide. The chance to enjoy a home-cooked meal anywhere in the world is an exciting prospect, and one that KitchenParty is already well on the way to making a reality.

Fed-up of facturas? Sick of steak? If you’ve had your fill of Argentine cuisine, sometimes what you crave most is good grub from home, exactly the way your Mum/Mom/Mamma/Maman makes it. In a city packed full of restaurants boasting every type of cuisine from Peruvian to Japanese, hungry customers really are spoilt for choice. To help you, we’ve focused on British, North American, Italian and French restaurants and come up with these five favourites.

1. Gibraltar, San Telmo

Highly regarded as the most authentic British pub in Buenos Aires, Gibraltar has been bringing a piece of the UK to Argentines and ex-pats alike since 2001. The bar’s longevity and proximity to hostels makes for a good mix of tourists and locals. Bosses lived in England for a number of years and were keen to bring the pub concept back to BA with them. Located in San Telmo and fronted by a traditional sign, the interior is attractive dark wood, tables and booths throughout several rooms, a pool table and a small beer garden.

Food reflects the multicultural British cuisine – traditional pies, fish and chips and beefburgers are joined by Thai Green Curry and pizza. The chicken strips with wide chips are highly recommended. Tasty puddings include brownie with ice cream, banoffee pie and lime cheesecake. What’s nice is that you queue and pay to order rather than waiting for service at your table. Happy hour is from 6-9pm, where you can sample the beer and many varieties of whiskey.

Open daily midday-5am. Mains around $40. For more information, click here.

2. The Office, Las Cañitas

As you’d expect from classic American grub, The Office specialises in burgers. There are six varieties and, if you can’t decide between them, you can order mini versions of three or five of them. My personal favourite is the tantalising Californiana, a burger accompanied by guacamole, cheddar, bacon and rocket. The Clásica contains caramelised onions, mozzarella and pickles; the BBQ Bacon is what it says on the tin – bacon, barbecue sauce and an onion ring. Aside from burgers, Yankees pining for home will go nuts for chicken wings, fried mozzarella cubes (definitely worth a try!), cheesy fries and ranch dressing (an irresistible combination of mayonnaise and garlic, for those not in the know). Desserts include New York cheesecake, apple crumble and the most authentic brownie this side of Texas.

Owner Alan Epstein moved to Buenos Aires from Las Vegas in 2007 and opened the restaurant in December 2010, having noticed a lack of good American food. Customers consist of ex-pats and Argentines and Epstein sometimes invites friends to hang out, which adds to the friendly, informal atmosphere. Downstairs has more of a diner feel whilst the roof terrace has old movies projected onto the wall and a classy bar with an impressive drinks menu (Mojitos, Bloody Marys, Caipirinhas).

Open nightly from 7pm. Mains around $30. For more information, click here.

3. California Burrito Company, various locations

US-born chain manager Alec Hart took on the business a while back and believes CBC is one of the city’s few providers of quality Mexican food. The first restaurant opened in Microcentro, which was followed by another twelve over sixteen months. Now CBC branches can be found in lands as far-flung as Uruguay, Chile, Colombia and Panamá.

Far from being an ex-pat hangout, meal times in the restaurant are crammed with Argentines. “Young professionals come here because they’re discerning and care about what they’re putting in their bodies,” explains Hart. “We don’t cut corners – our food doesn’t contain lard, MSG or excessive salt.” Nothing is frozen (in fact, the site doesn’t even have a freezer!) and only sweet corn is canned. Even the sour cream is made from scratch.

The range comprises tacos, quesadillas and burritos, filled with lomo, chicken breast or pork. Argentines need not fear – Hart is a strong believer in leaving condiment-adding to the customer so the food can be as spicy as you desire. Accompaniments include nachos, beans, salads and homemade salsas. They also sell beer, soft drinks and cookies for dessert.

Offers include Taco Tuesday (three tacos and a small drink for $30), Margaritas para Mujeres ($10 between 8pm and 10pm) and two-for-one beers on a Friday. The Microcentro restaurant is fitted with a bell that can be rung on exit to show appreciation. Throughout my visit, the bell rings frequently – a sure sign of satisfied customers.

Open 11am-11pm, Monday-Friday; 12 noon-midnight Saturday and 2-10pm Sunday. Mains $22-$36. For more information, click here.

4. Sette Bacco, Recoleta

If you haven’t yet made the pilgrimage down Agüero to this Italian restaurant, you’re in for a treat. The brick walls and ceiling softly lit by candle-shaped bulbs make for a cosy atmosphere, combined with the class of crisp white tablecloths and immaculate glassware. Background music manages to be both unobtrusive and funky and a bread basket of little cheese-topped buns is brought to your table as you wait.

Owner and chef Daniel Hansen, originally from Jujuy, trained in New York and fell in love with Italian food, which he describes as “the best in the world”, on his first visit to il bel paese. He has since devoted himself to an authentic learning of the cuisine. Sette Bacco has been open in the evening for the last eight years and as of two weeks ago, by popular demand, now opens its doors also at midday.

The lunch menu is simpler and lighter but you certainly won’t go hungry: for $65 you can have a soup or salad starter, a main (either pasta-based such as tortellini, gnocchi or spaghetti, or a chicken breast), a dessert (such as apple strudel, lemon sorbet or homemade ice cream) and a glass of wine or soft drink. The evening menu is extensive. Starters include pizza and aubergine topped with parmesan, whilst the mains menu flaunts numerous kinds of pasta (even five types of risotto), fish, meat and polenta. If you still have room for dessert, try the panna cotta, homemade dulce de leche mousse or tiramisú. The pièce de résistance, in my opinion, is the Trilogy, a semi-frozen dessert involving layers of biscuit, dulce de leche, chantilly and chocolate ice-cream. Delicious!

Open daily 12.30-3pm and from 8.30pm. Mains $40-60. For more information, click here.

5. Brasserie Pétanque, San Telmo

Located on a quiet corner of San Telmo on the beautiful cobbled street of Defensa, this French brasserie oozes charm and class. The interior is large and uniform with white pillars and cheer brought by yellow-mounted windows and doors. The bar is beautifully presented and boasts an impressive wine list. In addition to the inside chairs, you can opt to sit on a cushioned bench or outside.

With the lunch menu, for around $65 you can have a glass of wine, starter, main and dessert. The evening menu provides more choice, however. Starters include quiche lorraine, gazpacho, pâté, oysters and onion soup, which comes highly recommended by owner Pascal Meyer. Follow this with a main of meat, fish or pasta. There are traditional options such as rabbit with Dijon mustard, boeuf bourguignon and steak tartare, as well as some surprises: champagne-soaked salmon ravioli and trout with almonds. This mix of the traditional and new rolls over to the dessert menu where nestled among classics such as fondant, profiteroles and apple tart, you’ll find lemon mousse laced with vodka and orange crème brûlée.

Open Tues-Sun 12.30-3.30pm and 8.30pm- midnight. Mains $45-$75. For more information, click here.

“Life is too short to waste on the mundane or second-best.” Quintessentially makes it clear that their mission as a worldwide VIP concierge is to provide their clients with nothing short of the best luxury services available.

Quintessentially was founded in London in 2000 by Aaron Simpson and Ben Eliot as a global private membership club. Established in 60 cities around the world, their local experts provide 24/7/365 support and service to their clients. Benefits range from travel and accommodations to culture, food and drink as well as invitations to events not open to the general public. All of these are offered within an extensive network based on discretion and confidentiality, values of utmost importance to those in the Quintessentially community. The idea is to make adaptation to a new city or place seamless, stress-free and as comfortable as possible.

Argentina is a favourite spot for travellers and expats, and in recent years an emerging market has developed for exclusive upscale services. There are endless opportunities for the wealthy to enjoy an Argentina not all are privileged enough to know and Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan city with a thriving cultural scene and nightlife that’s nearly unmatched. This has led to a boom in fabulous hotels, chic restaurants and bars, and fashion-forward design boutiques. Within this niche has grown an impressive offering to those who want to enjoy the high life.

The Quintessentially Buenos Aires team works with around a thousand members – a mix of both locals and expats. Events are held to bring the two groups together and to integrate those from abroad into the local culture. Members possess “virtual keys” that open doors that otherwise remain shut to the uninitiated. They encourage their members to be more than just tourists, to really weave themselves into fabric of the local scene. Tips that go beyond guidebook recommendations are standard; it is the mission of the personal assistant to keep the member on the cutting edge, providing them with information that only a seasoned denizen would know. All team members in each city are locals, experts in their field and available 24/7. Confidentiality is a primary concern among members. Quintessentially takes extreme care to protect the sensitive information of its clients and ensures their identities will neither be compromised nor revealed at any cost.

There is no limit to what your membership will do for you. Whether it’s help finding an interior designer for your new pied à terre, personal security, tutors, interpreters, personal banking and other logistical details that are difficult to resolve, Quintessentially is there to coordinate it all. Personal shoppers and tips on the best places to find unique items or gifts are provided. Tickets to sold-out events, movie premieres, charity galas and fashion shows are arranged in a pinch. Exclusive social event invites are given to members, as is access to places like the Cohiba VIP lounge, the Oasis Collections Clubhouse, the Bace spa, and local hotspots L’Abeille, Bar Isabel, Jet and Tequila.

Common needs among the BA members are assistance with restaurant reservations and travel to the interior – whether it be plane tickets, transportation to accommodations or help finding the best hotel. Plans include expansion to the corporate level as well as connection between Buenos Aires with other cities in Argentina, given that they have noticed an increase in membership among business travelers visiting the capital.

Four levels of membership are available: Expat, General, Dedicated and Elite. “Expat” provides personalized, proactive service in the member’s current city of residence. An assistant selected according to the member’s needs is provided. At the “General” level members enjoy international service (in any of the 60 worldwide offices) but are not assigned a personal assistant. “Dedicated” membership provides “Expat” services worldwide: proactive, tailored attention in any of the Quintessentially locations. An “Elite” membership is invitation only and reserved for the “top movers and shakers.”

As would be expected, not just anyone is granted access to the club. An application form must be filled out and is then reviewed, followed by an interview to determine the member’s specific profile and needs. A one-time joining fee is required along with an annual payment.

A combination of wanderlust and creativity are the perfect match for a photographer and a travel writer, who are not just interested in travelling and seeing the world; they want to explore and be a part of the places they visit. These ingredients yielded the brilliant concept ‘For 91 Days’: exploring the world by moving to a new ‘random’ city every 91 days… And until May that place is Buenos Aires.

The brains and names behind this fascinating idea are Michael Powell from the Unites States and Jürgen Horn from Germany. These two self-employed men in their 30s met in Boston 11 years ago. They then moved together to Berlin where they lived for five years. Jürgen says: “But also in Berlin, we always had the itchy feeling to move on again. So, at a certain point we thought; we can keep on dreaming about leaving Berlin and seeing more of this world – like everyone else does – or we stop dreaming and just go!”

The latter happened: the couple replaced the big and artsy Berlin for a picturesque little fishing town on the west coast of Ireland. However, one and a half years of rain was more then enough, so the next place had to be sunny and warm. With this in mind and upon advice from some friends, they decided on Valencia, Spain, the place where their ‘master idea’ was born.

Enjoying the pleasure of a bottle of wine in a French restaurant in the Spanish coastal city the idea of For 91 Days was said aloud for the first time. Jürgen explains: “For a while we were thinking about a manner to not only travel, but also merge into the life of the local citizens. Moreover, we have to do it long-term since we both want to maintain our daily work. That is how we end up with these 91 days; a perfect time to make a city your own, explore it and get in touch with the local people. In a way you are really feeling at home!” Michael adds: “You can see it as a kind of ‘slow travelling’. And to be honest, we mainly chose for this exact 91 days for the simple reason that 365 days in year divided by four makes 91.”

After two and a half years of Valencia’s pleasant climate, they were still not done with Spain, so they decided that Oviedo would be their first place to start For 91 Days. Jürgen explains: “We thought Oviedo is quite original and seemed a good mix between a travel and local-oriented destination, since the place is a famous holiday destination for especially Spanish people. It is not that touristy and besides, a totally different kind of Spain than Valencia.”

When it came to choosing the second place the couple would spend their 91 days, it was more of a family affair, as Michael explains: “Since my brother [who lives in the US] was having a baby it was already sure that we would spend our next 91 days at least somewhere in the United States.” Since the climate remained an important factor for the two men, they created a list of approximately ten places in the States with a suitable climate and where they had both never been before. They narrowed it down to Savannah, Georgia; the second destination for their next 91 days.

A For 91 Days destination is based on a few key factors including climate, culture, originality, language and atmosphere. Also the men like a place is not yet that well known. “Taking this into account, our third for 91days’ destination of Buenos Aires is actually a bit strange. It is an exception to our ‘rules’; Buenos Aires is just a place that has always been fascinating the both of us. So it’s more a ‘just for us’ destination,” Michael says.

However, the slow travellers do not have a particular list of places or continents that they necessarily have to tick off. Michael illustrates: “Actually it all happens very spontaneously and naturally. For example when we read something about a place in a travel magazine and we get totally excited by that, we say to each other; ‘maybe a nice one for our next 91days’!”

Given that both men can work online to maintain their websites, the place where they spend 91 days can be purely random, as long as it has a proper internet connection. Although, a little bit of comfort and dog-friendliness will be appreciated too. “Because we do not only live but also work from home, we quite fancy a kind of comfortable home. Moreover, the place has to be dog-friendly, since our dog is travelling with us,” Jürgen says. “We are so lucky with our jobs; that we are able to live our lives in this manner; exploring different places of the world while we can still continue our work and earning our money.”

Due to the fact that they are earning a living from websites, a blog – where you can find everything about their For 91 Days’ destinations – was inevitable. On this blog, the perfect matchup of Jürgen and Michael bears fruits again: photographer Jürgen takes care of all the images on the site and travel writer Michael provides the stories. Michael: “Our For 91 Days blog is actually just a sort of expensive hobby!” They currently have roughly 900 people following the blog on a regular basis and 2000 people are following ‘for 91 days’ on twitter.

The blog contains the experiences of the two world citizens, but you can also find special features and reviews of things you can do and see in the concerning For 91 Days place. Recommendations of restaurants, clubs, museums, cafes and all things you can also find in a guidebook, you will discover on the website. However, in this case the difference is that these are written and suggested based on the real life experiences and opinions of two locally minded travellers.

Michael illustrated: “The first thing we do when we are arrive at our new destination is make a list of all that we want to see, do and explore in the city. The entire list, with more on top, has to be completed before we leave the city in question. That is a requisite and an immediate motivator to be busy the whole time.” Jürgen added: “The website makes us do things and gives us the feeling we have to do that. In here we attempt to be original too and not only cover the standard touristy things. The biggest compliment for us is when a local states he has not even been there (to a specific place/sightseeing).”

It is not only the daily life of the couple, but also the way they explore the world and decide their route contains a certain structure. Since both men are working and are travelling with their dog, they can not just stop any old hostel. “The first month of our 91 days we get used to the place. At the end of the first month we are already deciding on our next destination, in a way we can use the two other months to arrange and organise things concerning our stay there,” explained Jürgen. So the couple already know now that their next 91 days will be spent in Bolivia.

It is obvious that these men are not made to lead regular, ‘normal’ lives. They get triggered by seeing and experiencing new places all the time. Besides, they are used to moving around; they also spent their childhood in various places around the world. As Michael said: “We cannot just sit at home all day long or live a life that is all set out. It is like a disease or a sickness, that we can not stay in a certain place for too much time. Five years living in one place would simply drive us crazy.”

Any ex-pat living in Buenos Aires will know how it feels to go without a favourite item from home, whether it be Hershey’s Kisses, Vegemite or Branston Pickle. Knock-off versions disappoint, imports cost four times the retail price and loved ones simply don’t visit often enough to keep up with demand. Furthermore, attempts to send packages can lead to lengthy delays, heavy charges and security concerns. The Mule Pool could be the solution you’ve been waiting for.

The Mule Pool, billed as “eBay for schlepping” (a Yiddish term, meaning “to drag along heavily”) is described by its co-founder Dan Karlin as “a marketplace where people who travel often can connect with people who want stuff from other countries.” A buyer will request an item which is then bought on their behalf and brought to where they are based by a person known as a ‘mule’. The buyer gets exactly what they want, when they want it, with the guarantee of having it hand-delivered from afar. The mule makes a financial profit and is left with a heart-warming glow from having brightened someone’s day. Win-win.

Karlin, 32, is originally from Portland, Oregon and first came to Buenos Aires in 2004, the city being the first stop on what was to be a two-year backpacking trip. Thirty-six hours in, he went to a club and met his now wife, Argentine lawyer Lourdes. It was a done deal and Karlin has been based here ever since. An entrepreneur with three other businesses, he had the idea for The Mule Pool with his friend and colleague Morgan Friedman, another entrepreneur from the US who is married to an Argentine lawyer. The two would discuss products they missed from home – Karlin, being far taller than your average Argentine, cites “clothes that fit” as a personal example. They also became used to requests to bring back iPads and Kindles whenever they made trips back to the States.

Whilst the basic idea may have been thought of by others in the past, Karlin and Friedman went a step further and worked hard to whittle the concept into a business plan. Practically speaking, web users can view the list of desired products online but need to create an account to make or accept requests. The buyer lists the item they want and the date they need it by, taking care to specify details such as colour and make. When a mule accepts the job, the buyer’s money is put in escrow, (held by a third party, in this case The Mule Pool, while the transaction is pending). This serves as a security guarantee for both buyer and mule.

When the item has been bought and transported, buyer and mule can opt to meet for a private handover or attend a soon-to-be-regular Mule Pool Party at Sugar in Palermo. Finally, secret codes are entered on the website by both parties and the funds are released, covering the cost of the item and some profit for the mule. The Mule Pool also charges a percentage of the transaction.

The concept is genius and the great thing about a public wish list is that it spawns even more product requests, either by jogging the memory about a favourite item from home or by arousing curiosity to sample products from other places. Current requests range from the standard trainers, laptops and peanut butter to the more unusual cigars, water filters and hair wax. Though only in its third week, the website is attracting 10 to 15 new users a day, largely from Buenos Aires and the US. However, Karlin is also keen to expand to Brazil, South Africa and Russia. He believes that, although it’s early days, the website could be the next eBay. “Soon mules will realise that if they accept several buyers’ requests and carry in bulk, they could make enough profit to pay for the plane ticket over. People could turn this into a way to travel or even a career.”

For the latest edition of BA lives, The Argentina Independent spoke with Benjamin Kunkel. Originally from Colorado, the 37-year-old Harvard and Columbia graduate previously lived and worked in New York. It was there that he wrote for a number of publications, including ‘Dissent’ and ‘The New Yorker’,  and published his successful first novel ‘Indecision’ in 2006. In addition to co-founding the magazine ‘N+1′ in 2004, Benjamin has written a play, and is now in the process of writing his second novel.

How did you come to live Buenos Aires?

I happened to be asked a number of years ago to write a travel article about the city, and it was right when this novel I wrote was published, which meant that I was finally in a position to leave New York which was something I had been wanting to do for years. And so the first place I saw, in a sense, after I had become free, was Buenos Aires. There are lots of other foreign cities that I liked but I thought this one seemed more interesting and more dynamic than a place like Paris or Barcelona which I think have become museums in a sense, museums of themselves.

And how do you find being in Argentina?

I think it’s an interesting country if you’re an American because in some respects they’re very similar countries, in the sense of being societies of immigrants, these kind of promised lands, quite big and isolated. And yet, of course, they’re totally different.

One of the things I noticed is that there are extremely similar statues of Columbus in Columbus Circle in New York and outside the Casa Rosada here. Our Columbus in New York looks west, its as though he’s just arrived in this ‘New World’ and he’s looking forward. But Columbus here looks east, it’s as though he’s arrived in the Americas and is immediately looking back to where he’s come from.

And can you tell me about your magazine, N+1?

Anyone who reads the Argentina Independent should subscribe to N+1. It’s a great publication.

How did it come about?

There was a group of us who’d gone to school together and we didn’t know each other particularly well as graduates. We found that it was relatively easy to publish book reviews, but we wanted to write essays; we wanted to write crazy polemics; stories that were unpublishable because they were too essay-ish; we wanted to do all these things and there was no way to do these things without getting our own publication where we could publish what we ourselves wanted to write. We didn’t want to be merely political, or merely literary, or merely critical. [In N+1] there’s a mixture of politics, and more theoretical writing, fiction, a mixture of all that stuff that I think is relatively unique. Although to say it’s relatively unique is probably a contradiction in terms.

Who are the contributors to the magazine?

People we invite, people who solicit us, and the editors themselves. A pretty good mix. To a great extent we’ve been poached: we find great writers and people like The New Yorker poach them. Which is fine. Like the farm teams in major league baseball, we have located and developed a lot of the talent. We just don’t have the money to pay anybody, so we find these great writers, and then we publish them and then the people who can pay steal them. Which is okay because it means that everybody is happy in a way, they don’t write for us any more so we have to find new young writers. Meanwhile these people are being paid a decent amount.

Could you tell me a bit about your play?

It’s a play with a somewhat heavy, existentialist sounding premise which is namely that these people live in an apartment infested by flies. It takes place on the day after the exterminator has come. It’s got all this hopefully light physical comedy to it because they are swatting at flies all the time. It’s like a tragical farse: it ought to be really funny and really dreadful if it succeeds.

How was the transition from fiction to theatre?

The transition didn’t feel too hard, and in some senses was quite nice. One of the things you can’t do in theatre is to give access to the minds of the characters, they can only act and say things. And for me one of the difficulties of writing fiction is that it’s hard to stop talking about what’s going on in people’s heads. I think there’s just a lot more pressure on a play to be absolutely efficient, and not have any part of it be dead space. Most great novels have longeurs:  they’ve got problems, passages that are not so great, and the theatre is less tolerant of that.

What were the themes you were hoping to incorporate?

Certainly among other things it’s a play about global warming, a play about feeling like you’re in the midst of a declining, perhaps falling, civilisation. As I say, it’s not meant to be very heavy, it’s meant to be heavy and light at the same time: the unbearable lightness of civilisational collapse.

As a writer, how do you see the literary world in Argentina?

To tell you the truth I don’t have the clearest notion of the literary world in Argentina…I think it’s a country that I think has distinguished itself in literary terms  more than any of the other arts. If you think of really imposing, excellent Argentine writers, that’s a pretty long list.

If you look at the history of Argentine writing a lot of great writers after the Second World War ended up dying abroad, expatriating themselves for long periods. I think that’s not happening nearly so much now because the political condition of the country has improved so much, writers don’t need to be abroad in the same way. Some of the great writers, even Borges, who spent most of his life here, even he went abroad to die, partly for political reasons I think. Someone like César Aira, who I admire enormously, he’s sticking around, and I think there’s no reason not to.

One of the things that’s interesting that’s happened to Argentina since the crisis is that it has become a more inward looking country, which with a lot of countries might not be a good thing but for this country I think probably has been a pretty good thing. I think once upon a time Argentines who had a certain level of education looked abroad culturally too much, and wanted to live abroad. I think the problems with the exchange rate have meant that Argentines have had to come to know their own country better.

OK. So Buenos Aires is allegedly the city that never sleeps.

Well, not tonight it’s not! Its Census day tomorrow, so if you were planning on partying hard tonight, you’re screwed.

Tomorrow is the day that Argentina comes to a halt, with only public services operating between 8 am to 8 pm and everything else pretty much closed. There’s also a ban on alcohol sales after midnight so you might wanna stock up if you’re planning on getting drunk (I’m sure you most certainly are, since the entire population considers this to be some sort of a mid-week Friday).

So no night clubs, no restaurants, no bars. Nothing. It sucks, I know. But at least I can assure you that a large portion of the Argentine population is as upset as we are (although for different reasons).

Now, this is the boring part about politics. If you’re put off by that, you can stop reading now (I will think less of you for doing so, though).

The INDEC census bureau (usually called “INDEK” by detractors who replace the letter C by a K to suggest that it is being run by the Kirchner marriage) has been in the eye of a storm for several years now, especially after it was taken over by the government and its “goons,” who allegedly “retouch” inflation, poverty and unemployment rates in order to make it sound as if the country is doing great.

The head of the INDEC, Domestic Trade Secretary and Black Arts Overlord Guillermo Moreno has been compared to fictional villains such as Darth Vader, Freddy Krueger and Dick Cheney due to his unconventional “coercion stunts” that include entering a shareholders meeting while brandishing a handgun (not a joke) or putting on some box gloves in order to fight them (not a joke either).

So since a large percentage of the population is convinced that no matter what results, the census figures will be retouched in order to favor the government, many around the country have said they will refuse to disclose any information.

And here’s the funny thing: there’s a certain sign for the Census people that has been floating around the internet, which many have vowed to stick to the door of their homes in order to avoid answering any questions.

The sign, which you can see on the right, reads as follows:

“Dear census people:

Please do not bother ringing the bell. In this home, we are certain this survey is going to be “retouched” by our most excellent presidents (the Kirchners). Therefore, we ask you not to waste your time knocking on our door.

However, here’s some information that we are sure will be of interest to our “beloved” president:

1 – We are an average Argentine family.

2 – We have four cars, all bought in 2010 (and we’re already thinking of buying a new one before year’s end).

3 – Our floors are all wooden. Yes, even in the bathroom.

4 – We have a dog that only eats the best beef cuts.

5 – We have central air and central heating.

6 – Our fridge is filled with imported delicacies.

7 – We eat beef at least three of four times a week.

8 – We have a wireless internet connection at home and a Bluetooth connection in our molars.

9 – We only get our news from government-friendly newspapers such as Pagina 12 and the Telam government news agency.

10 – We are all blonde and have blue eyes.

We consider it useless for you to survey us since Mr. Moreno, the lord of the INDEK statistics agency already has the census results before hand. Please do not spend a whole day away from your family. Go home, have some mates with your wife of cook some pasta for your husband (if you have one).

Yours truly,

A family that tries to be in a good mood despite it all.

(And please don’t say this out loud or we might get taxed for it).”

Ha! I swear it wasn’t me who wrote this, although it may sound like it. You see? Politics can be fun, and when you call your parents via Skype tomorrow because you’re bored, now you know what to bitch about.

Have a happy stay-at-home Wednesday and enjoy some good old Argentine TV. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s has been pretty educational lately.

Enjoy Census Day (and thank God it only happens once every ten years)!