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32 posts about news from Discover Buenos Aires.
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32 posts
There’s a good amount of well-deserved negative press regarding Argentina’s failed economic policies and its world standing after defaulting on its debt obligations in 2001. In fact, most people in Argentina are just waiting for the next financial meltdown to happen here. (Argentines say to expect one at least every 10 years, so this one … Read more
Yesterday, an American tourist was shot during a robbery attempt on Florida Street in Buenos Aires. Florida Street is well known as one of the major pedestrian thoroughfares in the city, and is also famous for the many “cuevas” (caves) – one of the few places to change dollars for pesos and vice-versa after the government’s restriction … Read more
After selling out their London concert in 15 minutes, New Order just announced three South American dates for their reunion tour, including a December 1 stop in Buenos Aires. The band will play a 9pm show at Estadio Obras on Libertador and tickets are on sale now at LivePass and various ticket outlets. Prices for … Read more
Here’s some of our favorite Buenos Aires blog posts, news and updates from the last week: Argentina Approves Nationwide Smoking Ban [The Argentine Post] Argentina passed a law on Wednesday that bans smoking in indoor work spaces, schools, hospitals, museums, clubs and public transportation systems. It also places strict limits on the sale, advertising and … Read more
Gay marriage is now legal in Buenos Aires after President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed the bill into law last week. Perhaps the best headline I saw about this was, “Argentina approves gay divorce.” 🙂 Here’s what else is making news over the past week: Argentine Peso Gets Lift From Record Soy Harvest as Volatility … Read more
The biggest news by far in the past week is that Argentina has approved gay marriage, making it the first country in Latin America to do so. The bill was passed by the senate after much debate and opposition by the Catholic church in the country. It is expected to be signed into law shortly. … Read more
Argentina winning its group in the World Cup and advancing to the Round of 16 has been the biggest local news this week. And of course Landon Donovan’s amazing goal for the USA which put them into the final sixteen as well, but hey, this is a Buenos Aires blog. (Still, this game was amazing!) … Read more
As one may expect, there was a lot of World Cup related news this week. However, there was also a lot of other interesting Buenos Aires news, so I have quite a list today. And remember, you can follow Buenos Aires Life on Twitter to get instant access to BA-related news and happenings. Argentina nabs … Read more
I’ve decided to bring back the Buenos Aires News postings that I had previously been doing. I know it’s been awhile since Edition 8, but look for them to come more regularly now. If you want up-to-the-minute Buenos Aires updates, follow the Buenos Aires Life Twitter account. Can Argentina’s Diego Maradona work his magic? [Miami Herald] … Read more
While the east coast of the United States is having record snowfall, Buenos Aires has broken the record for February rainfall and come close to an all-time monthly record. All this rainfall has brought some horrible flooding in the capital as well with many homes and shops flooding. The video below shows a great shot … Read more
After last Friday’s warning from the US Embassy in Argentina about an outbreak of Dengue fever in Argentina which mostly affected the northern provinces, MercoPress is reporting today that two new confirmed cases had been detected in Quilmes to the south of Buenos Aires. Here is the text of the original US Embassy alert: DENGUE … Read more
Sorry for the delay in posting, but we’ve been travelling a lot recently. We’ll be trying to get back to some more regular postings soon! For now, here’s some news… Tourism Declines Again In November [The Argentine Post] The Argentine Post is reporting that the number of people visiting Argentina declined for the second consecutive … Read more
25% Increase in Subway, Bus and Train Fares (english) [La Nacion] Bus and subway fares will rise from $0.90 to $1.10 and train fares will rise by about 25% across the board. The governemt is hoping to save $800 million on subsidies that it provides. Fares may be increased as soon as this Saturday. Honda … Read more
20% Of Kids Say It’s Ok To Pay Bribes [Argentine Post] The Argentine Post has an interesting summary of a survey by the Argentine education ministry conducted on public school students aged 11-15. 20% of the students surveyed say it’s sometimes or always ok to pay a bribe while 30% say it’s ok to avoid … Read more
The U.S. Embassy today released a special email about possible upcoming transportation strikes in Buenos Aires. The details are as follows: Possible Transportation Strikes Americans residing or traveling in Argentina should be aware that the following transportation-related groups have announced plans to strike nationwide in the coming days. The parties are seeking increased salaries to … Read more
Fires Burn Over 1,200 Acres In Argentina [LAHT] A state of emergency has been declared in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province, where more than 500 hectares (1,234 acres) of forest have been scorched by several fires, forcing the evacuation of dozens of people, officials said Sunday. Argentine automakers to sell at cost, protect jobs [Reuters] … Read more
Seems like our new Buenos Aires News idea was popular enough to be “borrowed” on another site, so I guess we’re doing something right. (Though some credit would have been nice.) Argentina Playboy Bunny Campaigns for Whales in Chile [Merco Press] Argentine top model Vanesa Carbone cat-walked topless in front of the Japanese embassy in Santiago … Read more
More interesting news from around Buenos Aires and the rest of Argentina. Blackouts Back As Heat Wave Hits Argentina [The Argentine Post] It’s blackout season again in Argentina. Traffic lights stop working, stores and kiosks have to close their doors and discard spoiled food, and thousands of people have to take the stairs instead of … Read more
Madonna has arrived in Buenos Aires for her series of near sold-out concerts at the River Plate Stadium on December 3, 4, 6, and 7. The shows were originally all sold out, which caused scalper’s prices to jump, but additional tickets to all shows were released (dashing many people’s thoughts of making a quick profit). … Read more
Damn! I was all excited to check out Madonna’s first show tonight in Buenos Aires. We had scored some VIP tickets, I’ve been listening to Madonna all day, and we had planned out how to go to class, grab dinner and get out to the show in time… Plus, it was her first show and … Read more
More interesting news from Buenos Aires this week: Argentine court intervenes in Aerolineas Argentinas [Reuters] An Argentine court agreed to oversee the day-to-day running of the country’s main airline on Friday amid signs the government is moving to expropriate the carrier from its Spanish owners. Airline Grab Gains Ground in Argentina [The Wall Street Journal] … Read more
Welcome to the first of a weekly series highlighting some of what I consider to be the more interesting news from Buenos Aires and Argentina. I find many new things every week and often want to blog about them, but realize that I don’t always have the time to get to them. Hopefully, with these … Read more
As of Monday, November 17, 2008, that big blank space on the photo at the right should be a bit more filled in like our neighbors in Brazil. That’s right, after a long wait, Google Maps is finally coming to Argentina. When I was back in NYC, I pretty much used Google Maps on a weekly … Read more
We reported that the Argentine peso was expected to fall to $3.80 against the dollar, and it continues to head that way – even with the government spending nearly $1 billion today to prevent it. The peso fell to 3.44 per dollar at one point today before finally closing at 3.39 to the dollar. This … Read more
Bloomberg is reporting that Argentina may ease its defense of the peso, and take a one time devaluation to $3.80 per dollar from $3.208 today. (It’s already slid 5 percent since August 1.) They had originally predicted that the government may simply let it fall through gradual depreciation, but the new measure may come up as a … Read more
They certainly do things their own way in Argentina. We just wrote about the upcoming time change. (Argentina began observing Daylight Savings Time last year for the first time since 2000 and did it on only 4 days notice.) And now the government, after just declaring the entire country would be on the same time … Read more
With the recent turmoil in the financial markets including the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the federal bailout of AIG, will more wealthy New Yorkers look to move out of the city and head to Buenos Aires where the dollar is stronger? While this may not happen (we certainly hope not), this week has certainly … Read more
Merco Press reported yesterday that Buenos Aires is more expensive than last year, due to inflation estimated at between 10 to 20 percent and to the drop in the dollar’s value. Luckily, it still ranks among the cheapest cities in the world for foreigners, though it may not be the value that it once was. The Argentine … Read more
It seems that the Buenos Aires government is making strides on quality of life and environmental issues. This process has picked up a lot of steam recently. New Recycling and ‘Zero Waste’ Law In July, the city government announced a new garbage management plan which involves cartoneros (Página 12: es | en). This new plan … Read more
The Associated Press is reporting that Argentine senators passed a bill yesterday which now allows obesity and other eating disorders to be treated as diseases covered by public and private health care programs. This will help to fight obesity, bulimia and anorexia in the country. The law also requires that high calorie foods carry a … Read more
The Argentine Post has an interesting story discussing The Economist’s Big Mac Index which compares prices on McDonald’s Big Mac across the world as a way to measure purchasing power. As they explain: …The average cost of a Big Mac in Argentina now totals U.S. $3.64, compared with $3.57 in the U.S., according to the … Read more
It seems that a lot of the news these days is focused on the ongoing farmer’s strike in Buenos Aires and it’s effect on consumer confidence. Guardian.co.uk is reporting on Argentines putting the brakes on spending due to rising inflation, the continued dispute with farmers and lack of confidence in the president. Many sources dispute the government’s numbers … Read more