A better understanding of Argentina


I think if you want to TRY to understand a place, and having been here many years I still do not, you have to read many different things from many different perspectives, good and bad.

The idea that a person who writes negatively about Buenos Aires or Argentina is unhappy is judgmental and closed minded in and of itself. I have traveled many places around the world and loved all of them, opening myself to the unique beauty and wonder of each place, each culture, each people encountered on my travels. I dislike Argentina and Buenos Aires and I am a very happy and fulfilled person, even though I live somewhere I'd rather not be. It's interesting, it's educational, it's endlessly amusing and because of these things, the way people here think and live, I am reminded daily how fortunate I am and how wonderful my life truly is.

I would, if I were trying to learn about Argentina, read all the above, and a lot of Borges, and watch the movies, and Open Veins of South America, and all with a grain of salt and an open mind. Then I would talk and talk and talk to people, also with a grain of salt, and just take it in to ponder for years. You'll still never really get a complete picture, but hey, you'll know more than you did...


Amargo said:
"Breve historia de los Argentinos", by Felix Luna. It is an excellent book, which will help anyone understand the present of the country.
Felix Luna is considered by most Argentines the best ever historian.
Romero wrote that one I think...:confused::confused:


MizzMarr said:
There is a good movie called "The Official Story"/"La Historia Oficial" that tells the tale of a woman tracking down the origins of her adopted daughter and finding out that she was one of the babies "disappeared" from the liberals and "rehoused" during the Dirty War. Fascinating story. Really good!
La Historia Oficial was excellent. I also recommend another Norma Aleandro movie called Cama Adentro (Live-In Maid), which is about the lives of a formerly-wealthy Recoleta socialite and her maid of 30 years in the aftermath of the economic crash. Lovely and nuanced portrayal of the Argentine class system, porteno life, and recent national history.


Cautiva is another good movie about the aftermath of the Dirty War:

An Argentinean teen's (Bárbara Lombardo) life turns upside down when a judge reveals that her real parents had "disappeared" for political reasons years ago. Suddenly, she's ordered to leave the couple who raised her and move in with a grandmother (Susana Campos) she's never known. But understanding the long-hidden truth about her origins isn't easy. First-time filmmaker Gaston Biraben directs this poignant, award-winning drama.


Here ya go....several good flicks here....complete with trailers....


Another movie about the Dirty War---Cronica de una Fuga

The Secret in their Eyes is a good example of the quality of film making in Argentina.



Bad Times is an excellent book. I don't agree with everything the author says but I believe most of it to be very insightful. The Official Story is quite an interesting film. 9 Queens will give you a sense of the Argentine environment in which anything can happen and one must be on guard all the time. I would also suggest that you dig up the essays written about Argentina by Nobel Prize winner VS Naipaul. They say a lot.


Here 200 years of Argie history can be summed up: EXPLOITACION.
that is who has to work their asses off, pay taxes,etc; and who will live like kings from the sweat of the rest of the population!!(no different from the good old USA, though).