Top reasons to visit Cordoba… Or not?

If you had considered going on holiday to Cordoba, the second largest province in Argentina, then maybe you shouldn’t. Or then again maybe you should.

Good or bad, Cordoba Province’s tourist board must be delighted with all the recent publicity the province has received following the Presidential run-off last Sunday, 22 November. As one of the country’s oldest settlements, it is not short of attractions, not least the beautiful Sierras.

Even before our move to Buenos Aires, we had already planned a trip to the surrounding countryside of La Cumbre as our first holiday outside the metropolis. Yet, in the past few days the province has become the centre of a political battleground for reasons other than travel. 

This is after Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s ruling party, Front for Victory (FPV), lost power to Mauricio Macri, leader of opposition party Cambiemos (Let’s Change).   

Militant Kirchneristas were so affronted by their heaviest defeat in Cordoba Province - 71.51% votes for Macri, compared with 28.49% for FPV’s Daniel Scioli - that they launched a campaign urging people NOT to travel to Cordoba. 

Unbelievable. Not surprisingly, a counter-campaign was quick off the mark to promote the benefits of the province, notably as “the first province free of kirchneristas”.

Despite all the propaganda, hype and blatant incidents of fraud, while both in and soon-to-be out of power, what CFK has shown is that being a semi dictator does not work. Either be a dictator (which I do not advocate, just to clarify) or be a democracy – thankfully just over half of the electorate voted for the latter.

In just under 10 months, Argentina’s political landscape looks very different to when we first arrived in February 2015. And in fewer than 10 days times, Macri will assume power. What a great moment for Argentina, and most likely for Cordoba too.

Argentina’s elections 2015: The beginning of the end?

Sunday, 25 October 2015, was a decisive moment in Argentina. The Pumas, Argentina’s national rugby team, lost in the semis of the 2015 World Cup. Yet, at the voting stations and ballot boxes, something far greater was taking place. Argentines were voting for a new President. The results between the first and second forerunner were so unpredictably close that for the first time in Argentina’s history, voting has gone to a second-round run-off, or balotaje.

This has been one of the most fiercely contested presidential races in a country where politics have become so polarised. The country has become divided by the leftist Peronist movement, Front for Victory (FPV), with incumbent Cristina de Fernández Kirchner at the helm, and the opposition. What Peronism actually is and represents may be a subject for another post.  

Presidential elections Argentina 2015

The opposition

The opposition is most commonly represented by Mauricio Macri, a businessman, and leader of Republican Proposal, PRO. In other words, Macri's party would be the equivalent of the UK Conservative party. Sergio Massa, a former FPV member, formed his own party, Renewal Front, and came a respectable third but is out of the run-off. He would be most like the Liberals in the UK.       

So what's at stake? In a nutshell, from what I understand from friends and what we've seen and heard in the media, several people are desperate for change. After 12 years in power, life under the Kirchners has become hard for ordinary, middle-class people. 

- Inflation is high and estimated to reach about 25% this year (unofficially), although down from unofficial estimates of 40% in 2014 

- Only people who earn above a certain amount are able to convert a certain proportion of their salary into dollars, although they are charged a 20% tax for the privilege

- High export taxes on commodities like soya, one of Argentina's most successful products

- 35% tax on international purchases - we've been stung by this as we soon discovered when we bought an international flight on an Argentine credit card  

I speak as someone who has been in the country for only nine months, so I am no gospel on the matter. Yet, my husband and I have been just as caught up in the ensuing drama as Argentines. 

To win in the first round, the front-runner needed to gain 45% of the vote outright or by 40% and to beat the second-place candidate by at least 10%. In the August primaries, Scioli gained 38.4%, with Macri in second place with just over 30%. Therefore, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Scioli would win outright on Sunday. 

So close

Although many had hoped, few had expected that the results would have been so close, let alone going to a run-off. And this was not just between Scioli and Macri. FPV suffered heavy losses in key provincial posts, especially in Buenos Aires province. To many people's surprise and joy, PRO's María Eugenia Vidal, currently Deputy Mayor of Buenos Aires City, was announced governor. 

Shock, jubilation, tears - the whole spectrum of emotions were felt when it became clear that there would indeed be a run-off. Of course, a run-off seemed so inconceivable that it was scheduled during the bank holiday weekend on Sunday 22 November. So in true Argentine fashion, the current bank holiday has been cancelled, with less than a month's notice, and moved to the following weekend.      

While I have no say in the final outcome, I'm delighted for my friends and for the country overall as change is on its way, irrespective of who wins. The people have spoken and may they do so again on 22 November - with conviction, courage and do what’s right for the country.   

Tango BA: I stand converted

The annual Tango BA and Festival and Dance World Cup is back in Buenos Aires for the seventh year running. Love it or hate it, it’s certainly an expressive, if not impressive dance form. In my six months in BA, I had yet to step foot in a milonga, a place or event where tango is danced, so what better time or place.

Tango BA at Usina del Arte

Amazingly, most, if not all, of the events in the designated venues are free. The Festival started last Friday, 14^th August, and will culminate in the Dance-Floor Tango and Stage Tango Finals on 26^th and 27^th August respectively.

After watching some impromptu tango in San Telmo's ubiquitous Plaza Dorrego, we headed to Usina del Arte (The Arts Factory), in La Boca. The Usina makes a befitting venue, standing proudly on the side of the motorway, beyond the villas, as you approach from Quilmes to Capital.

Modern and cool 

From the inside, the Usina is a modern, cool building that is worth a visit in itself. It was built to mark the area’s industrial strength. This “Palace of Light” was designed by an Italian architect, Giovanni Chiogna, with Neo-Renaissance and Florentine influences. 

Construction started in 1914 and it was inaugurated in 1916. The Usina was home to Ítalo Argentina de Electricidad until 1980, when the company sold the factory to the state. It was finally liquidated in 1997 because of the oversupply of electricity and high maintenance costs. The building was abandoned and left to deteriorate. With the help of various Governors of the city of Buenos Aires, including the incumbent Mauricio Macri, the Usina has been turned into one of the city’s main arts centres.

Coming back to tango, we managed to get tickets for an orchestral performance by tango guitar legend Juanjo Domínguez Cuarteto. I had never heard of him before, and ok it was not quite the tango dancing I had imagined. But he was a cool, old dude who had certainly strummed some guitars in his time.

La Milonga del Dique 0

Right next to the Usina, a temporary milonga, La Milong del Dique 0, nestled under the motorway where you could practice your moves and register for free classes. I was even asked to dance but had to politely decline the offer. Of course I didn’t want to show up everyone else… If only that had been the case.

Tango en vive at la Milonga del Dique 0

For someone who admires tango but was not crazy about it (up until now that it is), this was a good but gentle initiation into this other world. It often seems like such a cliché, but it was actually good fun. From older, sophisticated crooners to some young hipsters strutting their moves, it was hard to tear myself away from the fancy footwork... and more.

Passionate, intense and downright seductive, tango contains all the elements a dance needs. And it doesn’t have to be cheesy. I can see the beginnings of an enduring but also turbulent love affair.