about a horse

I'm sure many of you have seen Secretariat? it's a film about an incredible, American race horse who won the Triple Crown and his owner, Penny Chenery Tweedy.

Aside from the fact that the film is entertaining, and that I absolutely adore that horse, there are other things that it made me think about:

Dynamics, chemistry, connection, synergy are some words that come to my mind. Sure, the horse had the genes, but it was the combination of that and the love of Penny that made him be the most he could be and her as well. It's so magical when that profound connection takes place between people (ok, in the film it's a horse) but you know what I mean. In Spanish there is a word - "cómplice" it's about the other person being with you, it's about collaboration. The English translation is "accomplice".

Preparation. Some people wonder why some things do not turn out the way they want. Well, a few questions that may help in understanding why are: are we prepared? have we done all that we can to learn as much as we can on a certain matter? have we practiced as much as possible and surrounded ourselves with people who know about our specific field/s of interest, in order to learn from them?

Believe in yourself and trust your instincts. Seems obvious, BUT do we always trust ourselves? Throughout the film we see Penny (the owner of the horse) face difficult situations with no support from family or friends cause they do not believe that she can do what she wants to do. Do what you want to do. You can listen to others, but do what makes you feel good. Often, it is those close to us that tell us that what we want is not possible to achieve. Be true to yourself and to your passions. There is a quote from Penny which I loved: "This is not about going back. This is about life being ahead of you and you run at it! Because you never know how far you can run unless you run".

Someone once said to me "if you do really well, people will not like you. If you do really, really well, people will be inspired by you". Secretariat is a story of love and extraordinary courage. That's inspiring. The horse and the owner both did really, really well. Against all odds.

A good team is crucial. Penny managed to put together a team of great people - the horse trainer, her father's secretary, jockey, stable hand, to name a few of the people that worked with her. They not only loved the horse, believed in him and her, but also worked relentlessly towards the same goal, giving Secretariat all the stamina to win the triple crown.

I hope you saw the film so that you can share with us the things that you loved or did not like about it.

xx

words on love

I've been away on a little trip and I've had time to think and time to listen. I've come across some interesting people and read some great articles on love and relationships that I want to share with you.

Freud said that when we fall in love, we fall for a reflection of ourselves. We love, in the other person, those aspects that are very similar to ours. Love, for Freud, is illusory and based on narcissism. Of course that kind of love only lasts for a while but, how do we continue to love our partner once we are past that stage? Love, as we know, has to evolve, to mature. Jacques Lacan said that love is giving our partner what we don't have. Which means: to love is to recognize your lack and give it to the other, place it in the other. It’s not giving what you possess, goods and presents, it’s giving something else that you don’t possess, which goes beyond you. Our own flaws are involved and that is how we love, with our flaws. He also stated that we love someone who really isn't who we think he is, reminding us to be aware that a lot of narcissism goes into love.

Nick Paumgaiten wrote in "Looking for Someone" in The New Yorker Magazine, an article referred to contemporary love and the ways people use the internet in search of a companion. He comments on the work of Gian Gónzaga who runs a site called eHarmony. It seems that this site, which is used to pair people up, was born after many years of interviewing couples. By watching the way they interact, they can predict wether the relationship is going to work out or not. They look for specific traits: How do you treat your partner? How are your comments? Are they positive? Are they negative? Are they assuring? Do you underestimate your partner? Do you use humor in order to bring up issues that trouble you? Can you use humor in a positive way? Can you create constructive solutions to your issues? Do you have problems solving skills? Who has them? One? or both?
They say that sometimes, you mate with someone you think is right for you but in reality he or she is not. All goes well until some kind of incompatibility arises: "Incompatibility can often be unperceivable until a couple is subjected to some kind of difficulty of the world's devising: problems involving health, money, children or work". They blame stress for it, of course, but I see it with a different light: situations start becoming more real, narcissism fades away with time. What now? I think it is at this point where a lot of couples split up. They trick themselves into thinking they will be better off alone or with someone that will provide another narcissistic high for them.

Dan Savage, expresses his view in July 3rd, New York Times Sunday Magazine article "Infidelity Keeps us Together". He argues that in his relationship what has kept him bound to his partner was his and her honesty and allowing each other to have sex encounters with other people from time to time.

Dan Savage writes a column for Seattle's The Stranger, called "Savage Love", very contemporary indeed but my thinking is more along the line of Lisa Appignanesi's, author of "All about Love". In an interview in this month's issue of Elle Magazine by Ben Dickinson, she says: "Marriage is interesting now because we want so much out of it, and it's strains are therefore telling, so we develop huge resources of invention and patience and durability to make it work ... You don't want to just say 'Nothing is good if it doesn't have a positive ending or it's only good if it's easy and smooth and always happy'".

In this space, we are always looking out for people that we consider that stand out in their personal fulfillment, we have mainly written about artists. We think that we, as human beings, are the only ones in command of the relationships we seek, we build, we nourish, we surround ourselves with. Once we find the right match, it is up to us to drive the relationship to its best state and because the skills it requires, anyone that believes to be constantly contributing in that sense, we consider an achiever (no need to be famous, just proud). Cheers to you then.



Post: Vale Mendez Cañas
Photo: Mich

Cosmópolis

Photo: Horacio Coppola

You've probably heard of Borges

Perhaps you've read some of his works and liked what you read. Maybe you've been to Buenos Aires before, and while you were here, you were curious to learn more about the author. Maybe you sat at the cafés he frequented (Tortoni, La Biela, etc), visited the National Library he once directed, went to Plaza San Martin where he took long walks or walked through Palermo, the neighborhood where he grew up. Maybe you did all of this without even knowing about Borges and how this all relates to him. To my surprise, I've had two or three clients very interested in Borges, his work and his life in Buenos Aires. It is thanks to one of these clients (a couple actually) that a few years ago, I had the pleasure of following the author's "footsteps" - this time consciously * and in the company of someone from AD who actually knows a respectable bit about the author and his life, unlike me.

This year, in the frame of Buenos Aires as Book Capital of the World, there have been many interesting events which I've been sharing with you. Today, it's about a new exhibition organized by the Ministry of Culture of the city of Buenos Aires.

“Cosmópolis, Borges y Buenos Aires” is an audiovisual exhibition, that explores the connection between the Argentinian writer and the city of Buenos Aires.

Created by Juan Insúa, “Cosmópolis" is an adaptation of the same exhibition that was presented at the Contemporary Cultural Center of Barcelona in 2002. This new version explores in a more profound manner this particular bond between Jorge Luis Borges and the city of Buenos Aires.

Through images and audiovisual material, “Cosmópolis, Borges y Buenos Aires” invites us to explore the evolution of Borges' literature with special attention to the way the author passes from a precise stage (Buenos Aires) to a universal city.

The exhibition is divided into seven sections that follow the work of the author in chronological order as well as a thematic manner:

-FUNDACIÓN MÍTICA (Mythic Foundation)
-FERVOR DE BUENOS AIRES (Passion of Buenos Aires)
-EL SUR METAFÍSICO (Metaphysic South)
-LA CIUDAD TRANSFIGURADA (Transfigured city)
-LA BIBLIOTECA INFINITA (Infinite library)
-EL HERESIARCA CANONIZADO
-COSMÓPOLIS


About 150 photos from photographers such as Horacio Coppola, Grete Stern, Humberto Rivas, Pepe Fernández y Facundo Zuviría help us situate ourselves in the city of Buenos Aires in different time periods, along with seven audiovisual pieces including “Fundación mítica de Buenos Aires” - corresponding to a poem that traces the poetic process of the foundation of Buenos Aires; “Fervor de Buenos Aires” which explores the Buenos Aires of the 1920's through moving images of that time period, allowing us to feel the city at the start of the century; and “El Tango” which elaborates a reflection on the origins and evolution of Tango, among others.


Where? Casa de la Cultura del Gobierno Porteño: Avenida de Mayo 575, Buenos Aires.
When? Tuesdays to Sundays from 14:00 to a 20:00hs. Til December 2011.

*meaning that this time I was doing it in order to understand a little more about Borges and not by coincidence.

Mirage

A photography exhibition at Centro Cultural Recoleta really caught my eye today. It is Marino Santa Maria's, "Mirage: Permanence vs. Ephemeral".

Santa Maria plays with images and mirrors. His pictures employ mirrors to show you an image that is different than the one that should be reflected in the mirror. He is a good analyst of what we call reality. He plays with meaning and has a special ability to turn complex thoughts into something tangible and beautiful. I feel that throughout his work, he is saying "I know what you expect to see, but instead, I'll show you something else", what effect does that have on you? He distorts your perception and wakes up your curiosity.

I hope that you can see this exhibition. Take some time to view the pictures and take the title of the exhibition into consideration as well. Santa Maria's concepts of permanence and change are a nice metaphor for life. Mirrors can show you still images or movement. As in life, some things are always the same while others change very rapidly.

Some of the questions that rise are: How do we react to change? what is permanent and what is ephemeral? how do we react to things and events when they are different than we expect?



















Have a nice weekend! xx

Current Exhibition

When we were writing this post I remembered that I had a book I got at Zurbarán's Art Hotel, with all the great Argentinian Artists, so I looked for it, and there it was. Here are two images where you can see a little of Figari's work. Of course, one has to stand in front of the work of art but sadly I don't own one of his paintings.


Pedro Figari's work is on exhibition at Zurbarán Art Gallery (Av. Alvear 1658, Buenos Aires) until June 30. That's tomorrow! His name is very representative of South American art.
He was a Uruguayan lawyer and legislator that reinvented himself and became an artist. He also loved writing, journalism and philosophy.
It took him a year to start making a living out of his art work. He was 60 years old. He moved to Buenos Aires to pursue his passion, chose the best art gallery of the time to show his work and also made himself well liked in Paris. In fact, his first painting was purchased by a Parisian man who was doing business here at the time.
It was the end of the 1920's. Argentina was a very rich and powerful country back then. The Argentinian elite liked to purchase art from Europe mainly but the works of Fernando Fader, Cesáreo Bernaldo de Quiros and Pedro Figari were also favorites.
Figari's work shows the tradition, simplicity and roots of Uruguay by depicting candombes (a black slaves' dance), images of old Montevideo, Ombu trees and peasants.
We are firm believers that a clear objective, a strong will and enjoying what you do will get you were you want to be and think that Figari is a good example of that.

Gold Rush

Argentinian model, Milagros Schmoll for ELLE Germany.
Photo by Jonas Bresnan

Ballet Gala

Natalia Osipova, and David Hallberg perform in "Romeo and Juliet" at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.


The First International Ballet Gala in Buenos Aires will take place on August 11 and 12, 2011, at the Teatro Coliseo. Some of the best ballet dancers from the most prestigious companies in the world - Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Paris National Opera, New York City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, Bejart Ballet Loussane, Staatts Ballet Berlin, the National Contemporary Dance Company and Ballet of Argentina's Teatro Colon, will gather on stage.

The program will include four choreographic premieres in Argentina, two from the French genius Maurice Béjart and two from Ben van Cauwenbergh and Jose Martinez; two neo-classical choreographies by George Balanchine, and a selection of classics like "Le Corsaire", "Don Quixote" "Flames of Paris", "Sleeping Beauty" and "La Esmeralda", among others.

If you are familiar with Ballet, Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, must ring a few bells. Also, Mathilde Froustey and Mathias Heymann - who at 22 years old won the title of "danseur etoile" (the highest title of the Ballet of the Opera National de Paris), will be part of this event. Other prominent figures that will delight us with their art on stage are: Daniil Simkin and Joseph Phillips of the American Ballet Theatre ; Ana Sophia Scheller, only Argentine member of the New York City Ballet, Yana Salenko, prima ballerina of Staatts Berlin Ballet; Pablo Fermani, member of the National Contemporary Dance Company of Argentina; Kateryna Shalkina and Oscar Chacon, Loussane Béjart Ballet soloists; as well as dancers from the Teatro Colón ballet, Natalia Pelayo and Federico Fernandez.


Enjoy!

Image by the American Ballet Theatre.

Multitango

Vitraux on first the first floor of Complejo Cultural de Mayo.
Carlos Gardel and Agustín Magaldi among others showed their art here in the 30’s.


Tango culture takes a while to understand. It has too many codes.
There is one basic step consisting of eight steps but it can be varied to
seven or to six. Somewhere between those steps, come the variations, which
make tango interesting to see. The twists, turns, and figures. Tango is
not meant for feminist women! because it is a dance where men are the
ones that lead. You can add a little something here and there, but
its minimum so basically, you have to follow your lead.

In the dance floor, you dance "rounds", each "round" consists of three
songs. If you go by yourself and someone invites you to dance, you
dance a "round", if you don't want to dance with that person any more
or the person with you, you say "thank you" and return to your table and wait
to be asked out to dance again. It is very rude to not complete a round.
After a round, there is a pause, the music stops - giving people a
chance to get on or off the dance floor. If you continue dancing
with your partner, that interval, is your chance to talk. It can be
very uncomfortable sometimes. You try it and tell me what you feel. It's strange,
you are there with a stranger, you have no clue who he is
and you have a few minutes to talk! The funny part is everyone is so
different and comes from such different backgrounds it's unbelievable.
Quite a mix.

What is interesting, if you have a chance to understand, are the life
stories of the regulars. They really make a big deal out of tango.
You will understand why once you start to manage to dance. You may
dance to waltz rounds and to milonga rounds. Waltz rounds are
slower, the rhythm of milonga is fast, and your partner has to be very
good at it in order to lead you if you are beginning, otherwise don't
attempt it in the dance floor, wait until you are a little more
familiar with it.

Generally, Milongas are simple, the lighting is bad, the music, if
played by a DJ, OK, but it is all of it's ingredients put together
that, once you get a taste of it, make you not want to stop dancing.

If you want to see a Milonga or may be dare to dance, prepare your
clothing and grab your dance shoes because on Jun 29 at 8:30pm you
can hear, see and dance to tango music during 3 hours, in 3 different
dance floors and 3 different DJ's.
The event is called Multimilonga, at will take place in Complejo Cultural de Mayo, Villa Urquiza. It will be a nice chance for you to get immersed in the culture of tango.

Remember also that the Buenos Aires Tango Festival and Dance Championship
begins on August 19, you may not make it this year but... it's always a
good time to start dancing!

post by: Vale Mendez Cañas

free your books

Me, somewhere in Tulum, Mexico.

Book: Anna Karnenina- Tolstoy

Buenos Aires, the city of books has a new movement: The Free Book. The idea is that after reading a book you release it in a public space such as a park, café, public transportation and other similar places for other people to pick up and read.

Anyone can be part of Free Book by simply releasing it and writing a few words in the first page indicating that this book has not been lost or forgotten, it is part of the Free Book movement. The person who finds it should free the book again for someone else to enjoy.

The Free Book movement suggests that by releasing a book we are achieving one of life's most rewarding experiences which is to share. 

Of course we all have books that we love, books that we want to keep and that we like to go back to, but other books may be part of us already, they have left their message in our souls and we know them by heart. These are the ones we are invited to release.

Happy Wednesday! xo

Tigre

This little house in Tigre, now protected by a crystal box, belonged to Sarmiento, Argentina's seventh president.

Happy father's day!

We think it's so nice that there is a day to honor our fathers and since we often write about extraordinary people, we wanted to include our fathers in our list. Talk a little about fatherhood.

When we were Psychology students in college, we were emphatically lectured about the father figure. What a father is, what he does, what his role is, what is expected of him, so much was said to us that we can recite those lectures by heart. To your fortune, we wont' do that today.

Today, we want to play "tribute" to our fathers, and to all the fathers out there. Maybe you also want to take a minute to think about your father and what he represents to you?

Vale: We have shared a lot of time and experiences with my father. He has been warm, fun, understanding, firm. He has been our role model, our adviser in various topics. He has suffered with us and helped us get over different issues, he has driven us everywhere and waited hundreds of hours for us in his car, he has looked after our horses in cold winter mornings even when we were the ones supposed to do it, he has been with us in every stage of our development, shared his passions, told us stories, given us books, taught us things, laughed with us, shared his experiences.

Mich: My father was the coolest person I have ever met. I remember him with so much love and I feel so lucky and thankful to have had him as a father.
He was loving, generous, intuitive, understanding, fearless, bright and funny. I admired him deeply. The love he put into everything he did, his passion for helping people, his zest for life, how humorous and extraordinary he was. An inspiring and adventurous man. I often remember the adventures he took us on, mountain climbing in remote places, hanging out with natives in the Amazon jungle, walking for four hours come snow, wind or rain, to get to one of his properties in Patagonia cause he refused to make a road; taking like three planes, two boats and I don't know what else to get to a place, so many fun experiences all over the world. He was the happiest when he was traveling.

My father had an amazing ability to look at things in a completely different way than most people. He once told me that it was not only being at the top of the mountain that he loved, but also getting there. I often think about that. There were no limits to what he thought he could achieve and he always enjoyed the ride, more even if it was a challenge. He was a free man with an open mind and a big heart. If I could say just one word to my father, that would be thanks.

Cheers to you. You filled our lives with warmth, support and affection and we'll be forever thankful. Happy Father's Day!

Ludmila Plagiero

Photo by Raul Bolivar Seguel, Chilean photographer based in Paris.


Argentinian ballet dancer, Ludmila Plagiero is an example of a dream
well achieved.

If you are stuck in Buenos Aires like thousands of other people, unable
to get on a plane and fly cause the airports are a mess due to volcanic
ash activity, we suggest you get someone to drive you down to La Plata's
National Theater to see Ludmila star in the ballet "Sleeping Beauty".

Like many well known Argentinian ballet stars, Ludmila studied ballet
at the Institute of Arts of the Colon Theater. She had only taken six
months of ballet classes when she auditioned. She says luck had a
lot to do with her success, but we think she underestimates her
talent. When she finished her studies at the Institute of Arts, she
moved to Santiago de Chile to continue with Ballet there.

From Chile she started making choices. She won a contest that was the
ticket to an audition in the American Ballet Theater, where she was hired
for a year, but her true dream was to work in Europe. A friend of hers called
to invite her to audition in L'Ópera de Paris which generally gives starring
roles to ballerinas that have attended their school since childhood and have
dealt with it's bureaucracy . Many people told Ludmila that chances were little
of her making it in Paris, and that she should stick to the more "realistic"
options.

Ludmila figured she had nothing to loose, nobody new her in Paris and she already had a job. She figured she just had to keep calm while she was auditioning and give the best she had to give. Ludmila broke her own expectations and became a principal figure in L'Ópera de Paris. She knew her choice was risky (or so everyone told her) but it didn't matter to her because she was following her dream. Ludmila says all of her decisions "came from her heart" and that her key is "to work hard and to never stop dreaming".

We hope you can make it to Sleeping Beauty! we are sure you will be delighted by her performance tonight or on Friday. Enjoy! 

To Give

Why not take this idea of helping - even if it's through a small act, word or smile - into consideration, we all have the possibility of starting somewhere. 

Borges

As most Argentinian icons - Evita Perón, El Che, Perón himself, Gardel, Maradona, etc., Borges is also a controversial icon. Today, 25 years have passed since he died. Admired and loved by some people in Argentina and not so much by others, there is no question that international renown Borges was the greatest Argentinian writer in history.

“Si pudiéramos comprender una sola flor sabríamos quiénes somos y qué es el mundo”

"If we could understand one single flower, we would know who we are and what the world is"

- Jorge Luis Borges


Photo: emol

Zuccardi, Alma 4 cosecha 2010.


Argentinian Sparkling Wines

The Argentinian wine market has grown a lot in the past decade, making the choice of sparkling wines a bit difficult these days. But, no worries, we have taken the time to taste several and pick out a few bottles that we think you'll enjoy:

1) Rosel Boher Grand Cuvee Millenime: Made through Champenoise method using pinot and chardonnay grapes. Very similar to classic French champagne, it has a very complex and well developed bouquet that leaves a deep creamy taste in your palate.

2) Baron B Unique: It has a complex bouquet, fruits and toasted nuts, mainly. It delivers personality and freshness. It's fine bubbles leave a creamy taste in your palate. Not an easy sparkling wine to find, specially the 2000 version. Made with the same grapes and method of Rosel Boher.

3) Chandon: One could say a classic Argentinian, for all occasions, specially in it's Extra Brut version. Made of pinot, chardonnay and semillion grapes, under the Charmat method. It tastes fresh and fruity and has very well achieved bubbles.

4) Alma 4: The label translates as "4 Souls", it is made by four friends, actually by their four souls, we like to believe. We appreciate innovative people like them, you know? They got together to re think sparkling wines, broke a few rules of wine making and came up with a new sparkling wine. Instead of getting the grapes for the different labels from the same place, they get them from very different and geographically spread apart places and use a very interesting technique for producing it. Taste for your self and let us know if you liked it!

home sweet home

Like many people, I have two homes in Buenos Aires and I love them both. I spend much time looking at interior design and architecture magazines, always in search of new trends in decor, furniture, wallpaper, textiles for walls, textiles for curtains, room decor for children, etc. I like giving my homes a "refresh" every now and then. Moving things around, hanging something new on my wall.

Often, when I flip through the pages of magazines, there is something that distracts my attention from the content that I'm interested in and that is how some pictures portray people's homes in such incredible order. Everything is always in it's place, everything looks so perfect, I sometimes wonder how they do it.

Quite frequently I visit people that live in houses like the ones portrayed in magazines. I think mine looked like that at some point, but that changed once I had kids. Lately, what I see in magazines, I see in real life: order and perfection. These magazine- like, family houses are so immaculate. One has to celebrate the ability some people have to have fun and keep such order.

I relate the word home to warmth and a little chaos, be it because you are single and your house is a cozy place where you rest or hang out with friends after a long day of work, because you have just moved in with someone you are learning about and developing close ties to, because you are raising a family and your house is full of children and noise, or because your children have grown up and left your house which now holds a lot of memories. For others, clean and neat better describe the idea of a cool, stylish home. Whichever way, the important thing is that you enjoy and live your house fully! no?

What about you? is your house orderly? a bit messy? in between? do you spend much time in your house? which is your favorite place in the house?




Post by Valeria Mendez Cañas
Photos: Mich

Horacio Lavandera

Argentinian pianist, Horacio Lavandera is performing with the Chamber Orchestra of Chile, tomorrow at 8:30 pm at Teatro Colon. Although the event has not had a lot of press, tickets are almost sold out. They will playing Beethoven's Overture "Prometheus", Emperor Concerto,"Eroica" Symphony.

If you have a chance, go, it's the type of experience one never forgets.

Horacio Lavandera is pure talent and he has put a lot of work into developing it. He was taught music by his father in early childhood. At the age of seven, he started taking piano lessons. He is currently 27 years old. He was a prodigy while growing up, has won innumerable prizes and has performed all over the world.

Many traits make Horacio Lavandera unique, starting from his passion and the enthusiasm he puts into his work as well as his ability to dominate any technically difficult score and to handle the piano keyboard with such detail that he can achieve any dynamic expression written in the score brilliantly.

The biggest difference between Horacio Lavandera and other pianists, we believe, is that when he plays, he really shows you his work, he chooses works that are long and complex and displays the dedication he has put into every piece. Others, perhaps leave you feeling they should have played more.

Again, if you can, go to the performance with an open heart. Horacio Lavandera, will get to your soul.

If this is too short of a notice for you, on June 23rd, you can see him at Teatro Coliseo. If you can't make either performance, do yourself a favor and buy one of his records.

Hope to see you there tomorrow!



Photo: revista Ñ

happy weekend!

“Baiser de l’Hotel de Ville” from 1950.

An exhibition of 137 original pictures by the French photographer Robert Doisneau is taking place at Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, curated by Agnès de Gouvion Saint-Cyr.

The exhibition, called "Simply Doisneau" is simply fantastic!

If you're around this weekend, this is a good plan.

Enjoy! xx

Mate

You can find this modern version of mates at 5800 Gorriti St. , Palermo


As some of you may know, mate is a traditional Argentinian drink. It was drank by the Indians in the Northern region of Argentina back in the 17th Century. The plant from which it's made, yerba mate, commonly grows there. The drink was later produced, consumed and sold massively by the missionaries. Slowly, mate made it's way into all of Argentina and to Buenos Aires in particular.

Mate is very popular because having it is considered a ceremony, and as in any ceremony, it has it's rituals. Having mate on your own or with friends, co-workers, relatives, etc., is a way to share good conversations and be in good company. Even if you are alone, you are in company of a "mate".

There are many types of mates nowadays but originally it was drank inside of a small pumpkin that was emptied and dried out. Yerba mate (or processed mate leaves) would go into the mate along with a straw and hot, not boiling, water (otherwise yerba mate gets burnt). As the bottom of the pumpkin was rounded, leather, silver, metal, and glass bases were created in order to allow for it to stand still. Historically, it's design has evolved many times, but not the way we drink it.

You need a mate set if you are interested in drinking mate. The set is made up of a container or mate, of course; a "bombilla" or metal straw (such as the one seen in the photos above) which has a strainer at it's end to keep yerba mate leaves from getting to your mouth; a "yerbera" that consists of two containers joined in the middle by a handle that is used to move it around. In one container you place, yerba, in the other, sugar; a kettle, with hot water.

If you are buying a traditional mate made out of pumpkin, ask in the store how you need to prepare it before having your first mate. There is a technique that assures your mate's taste will remain soft. No preparation is required if your mate is made out of metal, glass or any other material.

There are tricks to making good mate: fill up your mate with yerba, put it in hot water, wait for yerba to swell, insert the straw with out moving it sideways or in circles, and have the first drink or "fool's mate". It is called that way because first mate tastes very bitter and strong.

If you were the one who prepared the mate, then you are the person in charge of filling it up with water and sugar or honey (if you choose to add sugar or honey, although the custom varies from place to place) and, you're also the one that has to re- fill the mate's yerba when it's taste starts to fade. This makes you the "cebador". The mate ritual stops once you get tired of pouring mates for everyone, after mate has gone around a few rounds, and no one is supposed to take your place. If you are in the round and want to stop drinking, you can just say "thank you" and it will be interpreted as that. Otherwise, if mate is passed on to you, you take it and drink it and give it back to the person that is filling it who will do this and pass it on to person beside you.

Mate has its virtues. It stimulates circulatory, muscular systems a well as the central nervous system; it regulates digestion, works well as a diuretic and keeps you awake but, unlike coffee, mate does not accelerate your heart beat.

You can get yerba mate in any supermarket in Argentina as well as in some cities around the world such as London, NYC and Miami.

Enjoy your mate!

Current Exhibition

Emilio Pettoruti, Harlequin Portrait, oil on canvas.


Emilio Pettoriti is one of my favorite Argentinian artists. I first came in contact with his work at a friend's house who had started collecting some of his paintings. The painting I set my eyes on was one of his famous "Harlequins", it was very small, yet captivating. I came across another "Harlequin" at an auction house a few years back, and again, I was astounded.

What makes Pettoruti's work so unique? You should see for yourself. The Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA) is holding an exhibition of his work dating from 1914 to 1949. The curatorial work done by Patricia M. Artundo is excellent, she keeps you wondering and also answers questions regarding his work.

As it happens with some great artists, what has made Pettoruti stand out was his ability to research and experiment the technique of the Italian masters from an active point of view, extracting what he considered valuable and applying it to his work in his own way instead of being a passive student.

The curator says, and I agree, that Pettoruti's work is of such great level because he used compostion, light, color, intensity, shade, tone and definition of tonal keys to respond to different problems or subject matters while introducing other variables that created ambiguitity, something he loved to play with. He saw ambiguity in surface vs. deph, movement vs. static; stability vs. instability.

If you're around, don't miss the exhibition! and tell us if you liked it!

Note: I've always been curious about art. I studied art with Cristina Santander, toured a lot of art galleries and exhibitions with her and Marta Belmes and I've been lucky to meet a lot of local artisits and gallerists and continue to learn abour art, something I love!
-Vale