People are constantly building upon language as they find new ways to express their feelings and opinions. As times change, the code of communication takes on various twists and nuances while distinct tones and accents remain somewhat constant. Thus, a Spanish person from the South does not speak like someone from the North, just like an American from New York has an accent that is very different from someone raised in Alabama, and also like the accent of a cordobés*(1) differs greatly from a porteño *(2) or a correntino *(3).  However, even though they may speak differently, they still speak the same Spanish or English.

Those different accents tend to reflect regional and social traditions of these peoples and, therefore, should be respected, disseminated and explained so that we can all communicate with authenticity and freedom. There was a time when those accents were used for identification and belonging and, to a greater or lesser degree, everybody knew them.  However, after the globalization process of the 80′s, a “neutral” impersonal “language” became more and more common (at least for Spanish-speaking peoples), creating hybrids without a true sense of grace or personality.  In fact, this trend had started much earlier, when in the dubbing of the TV series you could hear things like: ”aparca el carro” (4), “va a haber una balacera”(5) y “báñate en la alberca que yo abriré la nevera para saborear un mantecado”*(6).

But even so, Argentines learned and incorporated many of these idioms in the 60’s, just as in the 40′s all Latin America had accepted and enjoyed the tango slang heard in Argentine films at the time.  Those films that succeeded throughout the region, starred by legends from Gardel to Libertad Lamarque, Sandrini, the Legrand twins and Nini Marshall, were the messengers of our way of life and cultural pattern. But the 90′s brought a linguistic saturation that has limited many possibilities of pure exchange. Ironically, more communication and greater opportunities to travel all over the world has indirectly led to diminished knowledge of our respective languages, and a loss of that wonderful ability to recognize regional accents and features that make us different and unique.  It is not about making the world a chaotic Tower of Babel, but to preserve and promote our cultures so that by “painting our village,” our existence can be truly universal.

Today, globalizing desires have created an “idiomatic mash”, a mixture of salsa, a mambo and calé with some Mexican tacos, Chilean cueca and acrobatic tango for export, which is nothing more than nonsense.  But in reality, there is nothing more pleasant and enriching than to hear, enjoy, and share terminology and idiosyncrasies with one’s peers, and it is these shared external aspects that make our different cultures unique and unrepeatable.  We are all who we are, and this is what makes us all truly “international.”  And as Argentine people who have learned the meaning of a nevera, alberca, aparcar, carro, balacera, coge un taxi, tío, gilipollas, botija o mariachi, they (other Latin American Countries) should also learn our heladera, pileta, estacionar, auto, tiroteo, tomate un tacho, pibe, pelotudo, pendejo o tostado mixto.  Knowledge through language will continue to change, but one’s identity is the last thing one should resign as a result of adopting a “neutral” language.

•  (1) cordobés is somebody from the Argentine Province of Cordoba
• (2) porteño is somebody from the Buenos Aires City
• (3) Correntino is somebody from the Argentine Province of Corrientes
• (4) “aparca el carro” means “park the car”, and in “Argentine Spanish” would be “estaciona el auto”
• (5) “va a haber una balacera” means “there will be a shooting”, and in “Argentine Spanish” would be “va a haber una tiroteo”
• (6) “báñate en la alberca que yo abriré la nevera para saborear un mantecado“, means “have a bath at the pool, I will open the fridge and taste an ice-cream”, and in “Argentine Spanish” would be “bañate en la pileta que yo voy a abrir la heladera y voy a tomar un helado”
• Translated and adapted from a text written by the genius Argentine artist, Enrique Pinti.

Diego Olivera, Argentine actor, speaking “Neutro” at a Mexican soap opera:

Diego Olivera speaking naturally at an Argentine soap opera:

It is common for our students to ask us where they can store their luggage while they go travelling as many want to go backpacking in Patagonia, but not take all of their things.  Buenos Aires is a city that offers a million different activities and services, but unfortunately one of them is not luggage storage.  This means that travelers have limited options.

To help get this information out there, I have put together a (short) list of places to store luggage in Buenos Aires.  There always might be more options, so if you have a suggestion, let us know!

According to my online searches and Lonely Planet, both the international and domestic airports have luggage storage services that charge by the day.  Personally I have never heard of them nor seen signs at the airport, so I am hesitant to 100% endorse this.  From 2008 forums it looks like they charge 3 or 4 US dollars per day.  This is definitely differnet now due to inflation.

Retiro Train Station

Retiro, the train station, offers a luggage service in their lower level.  I have not heard the best reviews of this service, so again I do not recommend it.  It is always an option for those taking a bus and desperate not to haul all of their stuff along.

South American Explorers

South American Explorers (SAE) is an organization that offers independent information for travellers in South America.  They have club houses in multiple cities, including Buenos Aires.  They offer a luggage storage service to their members as well as other great services.  Definitely a good place to check out before you set out.

Your Hotel / Hostel

Any quality hotel or hostel will have a luggage storage service.  Some only offer it for part of a day (for check-in or check-out reasons), while at others you can store luggage for a longer period of time.  Definitely ask your accommodation option ahead of time to see what their specific policy is.

Expanish Office (kind of)

Although we do not officially offer luggage storage, many times students need a place to stash their stuff for an afternoon or while they are in class.  We are more than happy to accommodate and watch over your things in the back of our office.  We cannot, however, store things over night.

Luggage Storage Tips

It might seem obvious, but do not leave anything valuable in your luggage while it is being stored.

Make sure to clarify any luggage storage rules or conditions.  Many places have limits of how long you can store or certain pick-up / drop-off times, so they are good to know beforehand.

Always lock your luggage.  Anyone offering luggage storage will most likely not be responsibility for any missing items, so do not let that be a possibility and secure your stuff.

Just like when you fly, make sure your luggage is labeled with your name and contact details.

The Best Alfajor of Argentina: Alfajor tasting results

A passionate subject amongst those who have tried alfajores, we took the search for the best alfajor extremely seriously!  We started the search for the best alfajor with the Facebook community and asked for your favourite brand and type of alfajor. It did not take long before a heated discussion began and people started to express their love for alfajors on the Facebook Opinion Poll. The results of the Alfajor Facebook Opinion Poll can be seen below:

    

1. Cachafaz
2. Jorgito
3. Havanna (http://www.havanna.com.ar/)
4. Other
5. Abuela Goya
6. Milka
7. Aguila

Having looked at the results of the Facebook Opinion Poll, we wanted to take our research deeper into the tasty world of alfajores, so we decided to have a ‘regrettable’ alfajor tasting to measure if and  how much we were subjected to the marketing and the culture. We had a sweet Friday and made a blind tasting of the top brands of our poll: Havanna, Jorgito, Aguila, and Cachafaz with all the BsAs4U team as participants (we have to add that we have a multicultural team which makes our sample very diverse and less influenced by the culture).

The results of the blind alfajor tasting at BsAs4U were as follows:

1. Cachafaz
2. Jorgito
3. Aguila
4. Havanna (which surprisingly received 0 votes)

We have to say that besides being fun and sweet, it was a very interesting experience as we learned that our opinions were segmented and all of us had a change in thoughts and a change of our favourite alfajor brand after last Friday’s tasting.

Finally, as a conclusion, we are proud to declare the Cachafaz as the best alfajor in Buenos Aires and this is a non paid publicity.  But do you know what a Cachafaz is? Lets learn a new lunfardo word…cafachaz, is an adjective to define a crafty or cunning person, and it is even a tango myth, a person considered the  best tango dancer, teacher and actor of the late 20´s was known under the nick of El Cachafaz.

So Cachafaz is a word that represents the Argentineans, but how come Havanna became the most famous brand of Argentina? Well, it seems that Havanna Alfajores was the best or at least the best known and for many years identified Argentineans all over the world, but the company was sold. Urban legend says that the first owners of Havanna, after concluding their secrecy clause of the contract, began a new company under the brand of El Cachafaz using with the original recipe used in the traditional Havanna at its very beginning in Mar del Plata.  This might also explain why many speak about the similarity of tastes and packages.

For those who have advanced Spanish, here is a video (Spanish) with a deep analysis about the similarities between Havanna and El Cachafaz:

And here is BsAs4U’s alfajor tasting that proves that El Cachafaz was the winner in the 2012 poll and can also be compared with what was supposed to be the only kosher alfajor, a brand called Successo which, is also very similar to the other two in question.

So make sure you don´t fall in the marketing and branding of today’s world and make sure you try the different alfajores for yourself. Let us know which your favourite is and enjoy your own personal quest in search of your favourite alfajor

If you are looking for tours and activities in Buenos Aires during the Autumn, visit our official website

This past weekend the UC-EAP Argentina students travelled with Expanish to Uruguay to visit the historical city of Colonia del Sacramento.  Colonia is located a mere 45 kilometers from Buenos Aires, just across the Río de la Plata.  Colonia was actually founded in 1680 by the Portuguese, and switched hands between the Portuguese and the Spanish 7 times until it was conquered by Brazil in 1822, and then became a Uruguayan city in 1828 when Uruguay gained its independence.

The students all met early Saturday morning at the Buquebus boat terminal to take the boat ride across the river.  After a choppy ride, everyone arrived safe and sound (and happy to be on land) in Colonia del Sacramento.  Once we got off the boat, we were met by representatives from Buquebus who would serve as our tour guides as we discovered all that this charming city has to offer.  From the boat terminal in Colonia, everyone loaded on to busses for a tour of the city.  Our first stop was the Plaza de toros Real de San Carlos, which is a bull fighting ring that was built in 1910 and could hold up to 10,000 spectators.  Unfortunately, the bull ring was only in use for 2 years until the Uruguayan government outlawed the killing of animals for entertainment.  Despite its beautiful Moorish-style architecture, the ring is now quite decrepit and it is forbidden to enter.

Our next stop on the tour was one of Colonia´s beaches, where students could relax, appreciate the view, and even dip their feet in the river!

Next we loaded back on to the busses and drove to the edge of Colonia´s historic quarter, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We entered the historic quarter by passing through Colonia´s famous Portón de Campo, or the old city gate, which is complete with a drawbridge.  Colonia was initially a fortressed city, so the historic quarter is surrounded by a tall stone wall that has strategically-placed cannons.   There are no busses allowed in the historic quarter so students walked around Colonia’s 300-year-old cobblestone streets with their tour guides and learned about the history of some of the homes located in the old quarter (some of them date back to the 17^th century).  Students also learned to distinguish between the Spanish and Portuguese architectural styles, both of which can be seen in the city.

In the afternoon, the students had some free time to get lunch, and explore Colonia a bit more on their own.  Many students chose to dine on Uruguay´s signature dish, the Chivito.  Chivito is a thin steak that is topped with ham, cheese, bacon, and a fried egg, all served on a bed of French fries (with a small side salad).  While very delicious, it is definitely not diet friendly!  The students spent the rest of the day renting golf carts and driving around the city, walking on the beaches, and exploring Colonia’s other historical sites.  Several students went up to Colonia’s famous Lighthouse to get the best view of the sunset.  At 8 pm everyone returned to the boat terminal exhausted but happy to have experienced a bit of Uruguay.

That the Argentinians love their meat is a fact. Some of them can not even survive one single day without a juicy piece of steak. One of them is one of my porteño friends. He told me that he had the desire to travel to India, but that he couldn’t, because cows are holy there and he would never ever survive without meat. When I told him that he could stuff himself there with delicious chicken dishes, he looked at me highly insulted and said: Chicken is not meat…it’s chicken!

Let’s see where the roots of this crazy love for meat comes from. The first cows were introduced in Argentina in 1536 by Spanish Conquistadors. From then on beef has played an important role in the Argentinian culture. Gauchos (South American cowboys), who lived in estancias (ranches) on the pampas (outback) used to be the masters of the cattle. They turned the asado (barbeque) into an important national dish. Their knowledge about breeding quality meat and how to prepare it made gave Argentina the position of 2nd biggest consumer and 3rd biggest exporter of beef, after Australia and Brazil. However, from my experience I can give them witout doubts the first position of most delicious meat.

The only way to understand this love for meat, is simply to try it. And oh boy they have good steaks. The quality of the meat here is so good and tender, that it needs no nonsense sauces, just some salt. Sometimes you get some chimichurri, which is a simple mix of spices, which can also come as a salsa. But do not put to much frills on your steak, it is an insult when the meat can not be tasted anymore. The whole vaca (cow) is a part of the menu. If you don’t want to have an undefinable surprise on your plate, it can be usefull to learn some bodyparts by head before ordering in a restaurant. Parts which you can expect on the parilla are ofcourse different kinds of steak (of which lomo and bife de chorizo are excellent choices), sausages, chicken, and for the dare devils kidney, intestines and salivary glands.

Ready to indulge yourself in some Argentinian steak? Here is a list of excellent places in Buenos Aires where you can expect melt-in-your-mouth steaks:

- La Cabrera
- El Trapiche
- Don Julio
- Cabaña de las Lilas

Budget, but gooood!
- Las Cabras
-Chan Chan
- Manolo
- Plaza
- Asturias
- Sarkis
- Status

Linda