Félicitations à Moira et Trish de Montréal, qui ont reçu et ont déclaré avoir reçu leurs tour 10 carte postale, avant tout le monde, le dernier jour de 2009.
Il est si agréable d'avoir un gagnant de l'Est du Canada. Nous allons être à la recherche du marché à Punta del Diablo (une belle plage sur la côte orientale de l'Uruguay) pour quelque chose de particulier pour vous deux. Way to go Gals! et les employés des services postaux, de Montréal, Québec.
The Postcard Race Round #10
December in Buenos Aires
“Portenos” (people who live in Buenos Aires) are Spanish-speaking Italians, educated by the British who want to be French”.
“The Falklands thing was a fight between two bald men over a comb”
“Any time something is written against me, I not only share the sentiment but feel I could do the job far better myself. Perhaps I should advise would-be enemies to send me their grievances beforehand, with full assurance that they will receive my every aid and support. I have even secretly longed to write, under a pen name, a merciless tirade against myself”
Jorge Luis Borges - Argentine writer
Avenida 9 de Julio, wandering through the center of the Microcentre ( downtown ) is the widest street in the world at an imposing sixteen lanes.
In Buenos Aires there are over 180 city bus lines called Colectivos, each one managed by an individual company. These compete with each other, and attract exceptionally high use with virtually no public financial support. Buses cover a far wider area than the underground system. Colectivos in Buenos Aires are painted distinctly and beautifully. With very cheap tickets and extensive routes, the colectivo is the most popular mode of transport around the city. The routes map/guide is a challenge.
Tango music was born in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, notably in the brothels of the Junín y Lavalle district and in the arrabales (poorer suburbs). Its sensual dance moves were not seen as respectable until adopted by the Parisian high society in the 1920s, and then accepted all over the world.
Madres de la Plaza de Mayo are Argentine mothers whose children "disappeared" during the “Dirty War”, the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. They have protested every Thursday for 30 years. As perpetrators of the crimes have come to trial, The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo formed, this human rights organization aims to find the babies stolen during the dictatorship. Every Thursday at 3:30 they can be seen in the plaza wearing their distinctive white headscarves.
Extensive use of the Argentine interjection "che", which is used the same way as "hey" or "pal"was the nickname famously given to Ernesto Guevara as the sole Argentine on the Granma, an old, leaky cabin cruiser the first step in Castro's revolutionary plan; an assault on Cuba from Mexico.
Alfonsina Storni 1892–-1938, is considered one of the most prominent Latin-American women poets of the 20th century. Inspired by her own experiences, Storni courageously wrote about the struggles of woman in modern urban society, advocating equality for women and bemoaning the inadequacies of romantic relationships in a male-dominated society. Her subject matter focuses on themes of love and death. The development of her work during her career changed from traditional rhyme and meter to experimental forms of free verse.
The bandoneón is a type of concertina popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It plays an essential role in the tango orchestra. Originally intended as an instrument for religious music, to replace the organ; immigrants to Argentina brought the instrument with them in the late 19th century and incorporated it into the local music.
Bandoneons are now near extinction. The economic crisis pushed prices up benefiting stronger markets. More bandoneons are being stolen from musicians to support the export market outside Argentina.The best instruments were built over 60 years ago, and there are no local builders making the instruments today.
Astor Piazzolla (1921 –1992) was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His work revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music.
“I was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, raised in New York, found my way while in París, but every time I get on the stage, people know I’m going to play the music of Buenos Aires.” “I think the sadness present in Argentine music is very oriental. Why is tango oriental music? Because Brazilian music, has its roots in Africa, represented by percussion, by drums, by rhythm. In Argentina, in tango music, there is no percussion, there is no rhythm, it cannot be found. The Brazilian is extroverted, while Argentina is introverted, that is why he suffers not the Brazilian.”
Tourists are flocking to Buenos Aires combining sightseeing and tango lessons with a session under the plastic surgeon's knife. Facelifts, boob jobs, nose jobs, fat reduction and penis enlargement - the capital's numerous 'boutique' clinics provide all these at prices way below the US and Europe. While most return home delighted with their new bodies, there is growing concern in Argentina about the pressure on women, the young especially, to conform to the culture epitomized by supermodels and movie stars. The government responded to the rising incidence of anorexia (only Japan has a higher rate) by introducing a law forcing clothes designers and retailers in Buenos Aires to cater for larger sizes and fining those who don't comply.
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the 2nd wife and political partner of President Juan Perón. An important political figure in her own right, she was known for her campaign for female suffrage, her support of organized labor groups, and her organization of a vast social welfare program that benefited and gained the support of the lower classes. In all of Latin America, only one other woman has aroused an emotion, devotion and faith comparable to those awakened by Evita; the Virgin of Guadalupe. In many homes, the image of Evita is on the wall next to the Virgin.
Jorge Luis Borges 1899-1986; Argentine poet, essayist, and short-story writer, whose tales of fantasy and dream worlds are classics of the 20th-century literature. European culture, English literature, and thinkers, who argued that there is no material substance, profoundly influenced Borges; the sensible world consists only of ideas, which exist for so long as they are perceived. Most of Borges's tales embrace universal themes - the often-recurring circular labyrinth a metaphor of life or a riddle which theme is time.
