Archives for November 2012

Buenos Aires International Jazz Festival

The Buenos Aires jazz scene often gets overshadowed by the sounds of tango and rock ‘n’ roll, but for five days in spring jazz music fills the city during the annual International Buenos Aires Jazz Festival.

With sounds ranging from classic bebob, to gypsy jazz, klezmer, to swing and nuevo tango, the festival features concerts from Argentina’s top names in jazz as well as renowned international artists.

Taking place in November, the Buenos Aires Jazz Festival grows larger every year and now welcomes nearly 300 professional and up-and-coming musicians.

The event is a rare chance for Argentine jazz musicians who live and work overseas to return home for some gigs and gives international musicians, who don’t usually have Buenos Aires on their tour roster, an opportunity to perform here.

The city-sponsored festival has featured international artists such as Americans; Peter Washington performing on double bass; drummer Billy Drummond; guitarist Wayne Krantz; and singer Michelle Weir; and the Israeli duo of cellist and singer Maya Belsitzman and percussionist, Matan Ephrat.

Argentine musicians participating include fret-less bass player, Alfredo Remus; pianist and singer Ángel Sucheras playing New Orleans style jazz; double bassist Arturo Puertas ; a trio made up of members of the swing orchestra, Brazofuerte, drummer Hernán Avella, pianist Manuel Fraga and saxophonist and clarinetist Juan Klappenbachand; and a group billed as Afro-jazz, Ayelen Zuker & Timeless Soul Band.

Concerts & Special Events

Other event locations are; the Parque Centenario Amphitheater, where nightly jam sessions will take place; Almagro’s Café Vinilo and one of Buenos Aires’ best known jazz clubs, Thelonious, in Palermo.

Buenos Aires’ historic immigrant neighborhood, La Boca is also jumping on the jazz bandwagon again this year and will host headliners, including the festival’s opening show, the Peter Bernstein Quintet, at its newest auditorium, Usina del Arte.

Special free events will take place at the Colón Theater’s beautiful Salon Dorado.

Lauded every year are the end of concert jam sessions at Parque Centenario amphitheater, where musicians from different continents and sub-genres improvise together, bringing the crowd to their feet as they communicate only through music. This year they will be hosted once again by popular host and trumpet player, Gillespi every night at 10 pm.

For the fourth time this year, the AMIA Jewish Community Center will also host two nights of concerts in their concert hall during the festival. Due to security concerns at this venue, audience members must bring I.D. and are asked to arrive one hour before the performance.

Closing out the festival this year is a very special concert with Brandford Marsalis and his quartet, with drummer Justin Faulkner, pianist Samora Pinderhugues and double bass player Russell Hall at the Colón Theater. Tickets for that show are already sold out.

In an effort to foster the Buenos Aires jazz scene, the festival includes master classes, music clinics and workshops in singing, drums, stand-up bass, guitar and piano for aspiring musicians. Click the link below to see a day-by-day event calendar (when it’s published).

Buenos Aires Jazz Festival 2017 (day-by-day events)

November 15-20
Tel: 0-800-333-7848

Buenos Aires Jazz Festival Tickets:

Tickets for paid events can be purchased online via the website Tu Entrada or at their office.

Tu Entrada
Av. Corrientes 728
Mon-Sat 12 p.m.-8 p.m.
Sat: 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

—Free events, including the free concerts everyday of the festival, are first-come, first-serve.

Buenos Aires Jazz Festival Event Locations:

Teatro Colón
Libertad 611

Usina del Arte
Av. Pedro de Mendoza & Caffarena

Anfiteatro del Parque Centenario
Av. Ángel Gallardo & Leopoldo Marechal

AMIA
Pasteur 633

Café Vinilo
Gorriti 3780

Thelonious Club
Jerónimo Salguero 1884

Margen del Mundo
Concepción Arenal 4865

Foto of the Week: Plaza de Mayo Jacaranda in Full Bloom

A Blue Jaracanda tree in full bloom in Plaza de Mayo, facing the Cabildo building. The Jaracanda is native to sub-tropical regions of South America. The tree’s name comes from the Guarani language and means ‘fragrant.’

Medicinal uses of the Jacaranda include as an anti-septic, antiparasitic, antispasmodic and for use in the treatment of tumors.

The delicate tree is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) threatened species list.

Tigre Attractions & Things to Do

Tranquil, quaint and slow-paced, Buenos Aires’ favorite day-trip destination Tigre pulls in 80,000 tourists every weekend. Here are the main attractions in the town of Tigre:

Tigre Town Attractions

The Puerto de frutos (Fruit Port) is a large riverside market and attracts DIY fanatics from afar for its mix of handcrafted furniture, candlesticks and flowerpots.

Tourists looking for souvenirs rather than the local specialties cane, wicker and reed furniture can also purchase smaller artisan trinkets. The market is open all week, but there are more goods available on the weekend.

Anyone who’s been captivated by mate, national obsession and hot herby drink that Argentines love so much they carry it around with them, should take a tour of the charming El Museo del Mate (Mate Museum).

Guided tours offer insight into the history of the drink, reveal important artifacts like the smallest mate in the world and finish with a taste of the green stuff. As the museum proudly boasts, it is the only mate museum in the world and therefore an experience not to be replicated. Anyone who wants to try mate without learning everything about its history can skip the tour and head straight to the café.

Tigre’s art museum, Museo de Arte Tigre is housed in a magnificent Italian-French style mansion and is a pleasant stroll from town along the picturesque walking route Paseo Victoria.

Worth a trip just to marvel at the building, the resplendent rooms of this two-floored museum were previously used as a club for dancing, gambling and other upper-class amusements. The museum showcases 19^th and 20^th century Argentine figurative art and rotating exhibitions of more modern pieces.

The naval museum – El Museo Naval de la Nacion (National Naval Museum) holds a collection of objects related to Argentine Maritime history, as well as maritime history in general. Exhibits include model boats and arms. Not to be missed for Naval buffs but one to avoid if war ships don´t float your boat.

The Museo de la Reconquista has a well-maintained collection of objects related to the history of Tigre and Argentina, particularly related to their struggle for independence. It is located in a small white house opposite the spot where the military man Santiago de Liniers embarked to go conquer Buenos Aires from the English in 1806. The museum has five exhibition rooms plus a well-stocked library.

For a few thrills after soaking in Tigre’s history the Parque de la Costa is a theme park located close to the Puerto de Frutos. It´s not as modern and shiny as Disneyland, but has rollercoasters, a Ferris wheel and water rides. Bring a change of clothes for the latter, and expect to wait in lines for the rides on weekends and holidays.

Next to theme park, gambling junkies can enjoy the three-floored Trilenium Casino, where it is easy to while away hours on slot machines and card games. Non-gamblers can occupy themselves at the theatre or one of the seven restaurants.

To explore Tigre on two wheels, hire a bicycle from one of the companies near the train station and head along the Paseo Victoria, which is signposted from town.

• Puerto de Frutos
Sarmiento 100,
Tel: 4512 4493
Hours: Every day — 10 a.m.-7p.m.

• El Museo del Mate
Lavalle 289, 4506 9594,
Hours: Wednesday-Sunday and holidays. 11am-6pm (autumn/winter) 11am-7pm (spring/summer).
• Guided tours for groups on Tuesdays

• Museo de Arte Tigre
Paseo Victoria 972,
Tel: 4512 4528,
Hours: Wed-Fri 9a.m.-7p.m., Sat & Sun 12noon -7p.m.

•El Museo Naval de la Nación
Paseo Victoria 602
Tel: 4749 0608
Hours: Mon-Fri 8.30-5pm, Sat and Sun 10.30-6.30pm
• Guided tours in the afternoons

Museo de la Reconquista
Avenida Liniers 818, 4512 4496
Hours: Weds-Sun 10-6.30pm.

• Parque de la Costa
Vivanco 1509
Tel: 4002 6000,
Hours: Fridays-Sundays and holidays. 11am-8pm

• Trilenium Casino
Peru 1385
Tel: 4731 7001,
Hours: Mon-Weds 11a.m.-6p.m.
Thurs-Sun open 24 hours

Tigre Tourist office
Juncal 1600
Tel: 4512-4497 / 0800 888 84473

View Wander Argentina’s Map of Tigre Attractions on Land

Foto of the Week: Cacerolazo in Buenos Aires (Again)

Argentineans continue to protest government corruption, rising crime and soaring inflation in South America’s second largest democracy. Yesterday hundreds of thousands protested all over the country, including in the cities of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Rosario and Sante Fe.

Aside from a university student punching a reporter on live TV, the protests were peaceful. Smaller protests also took place outside Argentinean embassies in Spain, New York, Miami and other global cities.

Those who support the administration of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (about one third of the public according to polling firm, Management & Fitsay) say the protestors are being manipulated by right-wing factions and media companies such as Grupo Clarín, who have been given a December 7th deadline to conform to a media law that aims to limit monopolies.

La Noche de Los Museos: A City-Wide Art Walk

La Noche de Los Museos is a yearly Buenos Aires cultural extravaganza where it seems virtually every door in the city is swung open, inviting visitors to wander through to take in some art and culture.

Every year, tens of thousands take to the streets to visit museums, galleries and even government and private historic buildings to see exhibitions, live music, theater, spoken word and dance performances throughout the city.

What to See on Museum Night

While some plan their evening in advance, carefully selecting which events and museums they will visit, it is also enjoyable to have a whimsical night following the crowds to see what one finds.

Buenos Aires La Boca waterfront during La Noche de Los Museos — The La Boca waterfront during La Noche de Los Museos

A good starting point for those downtown is the stunning Casa de Cultura at Avenida de Mayo near Peru Street.

From there one can walk to the to the City Legislature, the Cabildo and the World Tango Museum, and the crazy-looking Bank of London/Banco Hipotecario building by Clorinda Testa at Reconquista 101. The Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes is also worth checking out early in the evening. All those centrally-located buildings and more have special events on Museum Night.

Down by the water in La Boca, visitors can visit Fundación Proa, see an exhibition put on by the city’s Fine Art Museum on El Caminito, visit the El Rincón de Lucia Tenement Museum and enjoy live entertainment on the waterfront and at the Teatro de La Ribera, among other offerings.

In Recoleta, the Centro Cultural Recoleta will be ground zero, with various events and exhibitions. Nearby, doors will be open at the Palais de Glace, the Architecture Museum and the University of Buenos Aires Law Department Archive.

When Museum Night began in 1995, the neighborhood of Puerto Madero was barely on the map. Today the neighborhood offers enough art and culture that one could spend the whole evening there. One gallery that starving artists won’t want to miss is the Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat. The entrance fee to view the private collection is normally one of the most expensive in the city. From there, museum goers can walk over to the old Munich Brewery, now the Humor Museum, or the Frigate President Sarmiento Museum and the Corbeta Uruguay Museum.

Free Bus Pass

For those who want to get around to various sites across the city, the major bus lines will allow museum goers to ride free as long as you have a copy of the La Noche de Los Museos bus pass. Even better, you can make it a two-wheeled adventure, using the free bikes available through the EcoBici program.

While some of the city’s largest and most popular museums such as MALBA, El Museo de Bella Artes and the Natural Science Museum participate, they typically attract big crowds and might be better left until after midnight or another day.

With over 240 museums and cultural spaces participating in every neighborhood of the city, it’s impossible to see it all. To search for specific events or to do a search by neighborhood, see the guide linked below.

The evening begins at 8 p.m. and ends at a rather tame 3 a.m. for nocturnal Buenos Aires.

La Noche de Los Museos Guide
Nov 4, 2017
Time 8 p.m. — 3 a.m.
-Across Buenos Aires