Author: Sonja D'cruze
Sonja is a freelance journalist who studied at the London College of Communication. After working as a radio producer for the BBC, she got a ticket to carnival in Rio de Janeiro and then made her way on many a long bus to Buenos Aires. She stayed, lured by a love of porteño life and its Castellano speaking people. The city still surprises and she's not done with it yet, always on the hunt to uncover something creative, beautiful, tasty or just plain weird, behind one of BA's many unassuming doors. She writes, dabbles in tango, loves yoga and longs to be good at playing the trumpet.
Sonja is a freelance journalist who studied at the London College of Communication. After working as a radio producer for the BBC, she got a ticket to carnival in Rio de Janeiro and then made her way on many a long bus to Buenos Aires. She stayed, lured by a love of porteño life and its Castellano speaking people. The city still surprises and she's not done with it yet, always on the hunt to uncover something creative, beautiful, tasty or just plain weird, behind one of BA's many unassuming doors. She writes, dabbles in tango, loves yoga and longs to be good at playing the trumpet.
In the first of three music blogs, The Real Argentina’s guide to folclore…
Folclore embodies the wholesome earthy vibe rooted in la tierra, el campo and el corazón of Argentina’s gaucho culture. Romantic partner dances play out at peñas all night long with locals waving handkerchiefs in the air to songs, which mesh European and criollo indigenous influences. Although stalwarts of the genre still get airplay, there’s a whole new world of folclore beats banging on dance floors these days.
In his forthcoming exhibition, Ruta a Lago la Plata, Argentine photographer Florian von der Fecht shows why there’s something to shout about down South… The Landscape of a Life’s Work… Florian von der Fecht’s photos speak of the immenseness of Argentina, its vast, untamed and unpopulated regions. Becoming ambassadors in their own right, his photos…
The Real Argentina guide to tourism that gives a little back Travelling is a beautiful thing but all that backpack country hopping from one tick list to another, can start to blur the senses and feel an incy bit gluttonous. Venturing in countries with an acute poverty divide pulls on more than your purse strings…
Buenos Aires’ streets are about to get a whole lot tastier. The first ever gourmet gorge fest on wheels, aptly named, Luxury Food Truck Station, has hit the city. Hosted at the back of an outlet shopping centre overlooking the horse race track at Hipódromo de Palermo, at first glance you’d be mistaken for thinking there…
On the hectic tourist circuit Misiones province is often only talked about in terms of it’s northern border prize jewel, the spectacular Iguazú Falls. However, this lush region is home to no less than nine UNESCO world heritage sites that can keep you exploring that bit longer. Tucked up in the northeast corner of Argentina, snuggling between Brazil and Paraguay, you’ll find undulating virgin jungle, semi-precious stones and well preserved ruins from its namesake Jesuit missions. As the main producer of mate, Argentina’s ritual drink, plantations line the roadsides of this culturally diverse and abundant landscape where nature is the main attraction.
Buenos Aires is beautiful – Fact. But despite the city’s name meaning “good airs”, fresh air sometimes feels like it’s on ration in this juggernauting mammoth of almost 2.9 million people. So what do the gente do here to escape the chaos? Well, they hop, skip and jump onto the Tren de la Costa – a dinky railway that kisses the coastline of the Rio de la Plata from the Puente de Maipú (Maipú Bridge) in the northern suburb of Olivos, through 11 stations and 15.5km to the Porteño waterside playground of Tigre.
Look up Argentina in the dictionary and the definition says, ʻsynonym of meatʼ. Okay, thatʼs not true. But it should be, because this country is all about the carne. Give or take a few steaks, Argentineans eat about 55kg of beef each a year. Thatʼs almost double what North Americans put away.
In our own way we all have an idea of what tango is, even if that comes down to stockings, stilettos and men rocking enough hair gel to fill the Río de la Plata. But an independent revolution’s going on in Buenos Aires and the protagonists want to shout it from their barrio’s rooftops. Tango’s not a crop, it’s culture and it’s not just for export.
