The origin of the word «tango». Tango music is a feeling and historic testimony of Buenos Aires' citizen's culture. Tango, that often heard and yet mysterious word. Tango's voice can be found in African, Hispanic, and colonial cultures.
Much has been studied about its origin, and although historians and investigators have researched and have entered in heated discussions, the mystery of its origin remains unrevealed.
The word TANGO 's etymological definition has contradictions, some say it comes from African dialects, for example, "Tang" would mean "touch, get close to..", among the Bantus, there are two dialects, one "Tanga" and the other "Tangui". In Spanish, the word Tango is similar to the African "Tang" in its definition of the old Spanish word "Tangir" ot "Tañir", and in Latin "Tangere", meaning "Touch".
The slaves brought it to the River Plate from the "black" continent called their percussion instruments "Tangó", accenting the last syllable.
The word Tango appears in the River Plate (Rio de la Plata) in the mid XVIIIth century, and was the name given to a House and Place of Tango, located on a lot belonging to the Concepción (neighborhood) Parish.
I flew Andes Air during the July vacation period when I had family in town. We flew from Buenos Aires to Salta during the high-season and paid around 800 pesos round trip which was a significant savings from other airlines. (FYI: Taking the 22 hour bus was about 650 pesos round trip.)
Andes serves the Northwest Region, Iguazú and Puerto Madryn. I was initially pretty nervous to fly an airline that I had never heard of before, but after talking to a travel agent friend they assured me that it is a legit company.
Although their website is pretty terrible and they sometimes don´t answer their phone (oh Argentina!) I am satisfied with the service. The plane was much bigger than expected -- 3 seats on each side of plane!
Even better is that they did not charge a different price for foreigners, it was all the same fare! If you travel in low season they had some excellent promotions as well.
Created by linguists, teachers and students from a half-dozen countries, General Linguistics developed Bueno, entonces… to incorporate all the best elements of the software and audiobook language learning methods like Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone that have been around for decades.
We mixed the comprehensive learning material of the audiobook courses with the addictive, fun and universally beloved format of a television show to create the Bueno, entonces… series. Each of the 30classes is 30-40 minutes long, proven as the perfect length for a language course - long enough to cover vocabulary and grammar topics but short enough to keep you interested the whole time. The challenging fast pace and edgy, entertaining style of Bueno, entonces… will keep you coming back for more.
Learning Spanish doesn’t have to be boring and monotonous. Bueno, entonces… infuses a witty, engaging storyline into the learning process - and by following along you absorb more Spanish, morequickly than you ever thought possible. By the end of the 5-week, 30-class series, you will be speaking and understanding native conversational Spanish!
Bueno, entonces… incorporates the following 5 principles to make learning Spanish fun, painless and effective:
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If you are not engaged, you are not going to learn or remember anything. Learning doesn’t have to be boring — remember your favorite teachers? Well, wait until you meet David & Jimena…
2. See The Words On The Screen.
Some people are audio learners, some people are video learners - most people are both, and learn different things in one way or the other. With Bueno, entonces… every word in Spanish is written on the screen so you can see how it is spelled while you hear it being pronounced. Old-fashioned audiobooks only get your half-way there.
3. Color-Coding.
Everything on the screen is color-coded in Spanish and English to help you understand word usage and sentence structure. You’ll start to quickly see and understand which words in Spanish correspond with similar words in English, and how those words are used in a sentence.
4. Symbols & Illustrations.
The symbols will help you learn and remember verb tenses and grammar concepts. The illustrations will burn iconic images into your brain so you remember vocabulary easily and instantly.
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Any teacher will tell you that, and it’s one of the big problems with traditional audiobooks and software programs - they are mind-numbingly boring. Bueno, entonces… is engaging and fast-paced and fun. You can use these classes over and over and get something new every time.
BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--The Argentine government will try to settle its roughly $6.5 billion debt with members of the Paris Club by offering to issue a new bond, the Economy Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Economy Minister Amado Boudou will pitch the idea to club members at a G20 meeting in Scotland later this week.
Before leaving for the trip, Boudou shared the idea with officials from the French Embassy in Buenos Aires. He said the plan entails issuing a new bond whose value would be equivalent to the debt owed to club members.
While in Scotland, Boudou will try to convince other Paris Club members that they ought to accept the proposal instead of a typical repayment plan, the statement said.
The bond would reportedly have the same payment structure as the loans owed to the Paris Club.
Argentine officials had previously given few details of how they planned to reschedule the debts owed to the Paris Club, which have been in default since Argentina's financial meltdown in 2001-02.
Around 14 months ago, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez announced a plan to settle the debt by making a lump sum payment.
But that bold plan fell apart within weeks as the global financial crisis clobbered world markets and crimped credit.
News of the new proposal comes a day after Argentina's House of Representatives passed a bill reopening a debt swap for the holders of about $20 billion in defaulted bonds.
The Senate has yet to debate the bill authorizing the offer, which requires congressional approval because a 2005 law expressly blocked a new swap.
The country is preparing a proposal to end the conflict with the holdouts who refused to accept terms of the 2005 swap. That swap involved a 65% discount, and any new offer will be on terms "more advantageous to Argentina," Boudou has said repeatedly.
Spanish continues to be one of the most popular foreign languages for Americans, and every year thousands of students of all ages travel abroad to Spanish-speaking countries to study the language. Argentina ranks high on the list of great destinations for Spanish classes for a number of reasons. Despite a weakening dollar Argentina continues to be a very affordable destination for language students from the U.S., and the country offers great cultural diversity, outstanding natural beauty, and a welcoming people. Argentina is also a well-developed country with a high standard of living, and foreign students will find all the amenities they are used to from home.
Córdoba, located in central Argentina about 500 miles inland from Buenos Aires, stands out as one of Argentina’s best locations for foreign Spanish students. Córdoba is smaller and more intimate than Buenos Aires, and Spanish study provides a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture, make friends with the locals, and learn the language. The cost of living is also lower in Córdoba than in Buenos Aires, and so are the course fees. The city has a large student population, which gives it a very dynamic cultural and social life. The city center, where the university is located, is alive with coffee houses, bookstores, bars and restaurants, as well as pleasant pedestrian malls, a busy shopping district, and large tree-lined squares. Language students will be able to enjoy movies, art exhibits, tango, as well as folkloric performances and a contemporary music scene all close to the city center.
Although Córdoba is today a large modern urban center with 1.2 million inhabitants, it retains much of its historic heritage, among them the rich Jesuit history with its university, as well as churches and other colonial buildings. The Jesuit block in Córdoba and several historic Jesuit farming estates in nearby towns are today part of UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage. Outdoor enthusiasts will also find plenty to do in the vicinity of the city. The Quebrada del Condorito National Park, located in the Sierra de Córdoba mountains, is the easternmost range of the majestic Andean condor, and visiting the mountains for a hike or birdviewing trip is a great weekend getaway.
Spanish Schools in Cordoba
Able Spanish
Independiencia 233 - Centro, Córdoba, Argentina, Tel: +54-351-423-3300; ablespanish@hotmail.com; www.ablespanish.com. $30 registration fee. Offers group courses (20 hrs/wk; $120), intensive courses (30 hrs/wk; $200) and private classes ($12/hr). Refers lodging at student residences ($60-$100/wk), homestays ($75-$110/wk), hostels and hotels.
A.I.E. Argentina Idioma Español
Otto Meiling 357, 8400 Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina. info@patagoniaspanish.com, www.patagoniaspanish.com. $60 registration fee. Offers year-round classes in Córdoba, Buenos Aires, and Bariloche for several skill levels. It is possible to combine different locations. Offers group courses (20 hrs/wk, $210, max. 6 students), intensive courses (group & private instruction, $380/wk), and private classes ($18/hr). Homestays are available for $150/wk, including two meals/day; offers excursions and cultural activities.
CaserosSpanishSchool
Caseros 873—5000 Cordoba, Argentina; Tel: +54-351-4247877; cordoba@hya.com.ar; www.cordoba-spanish.com.ar. $45 registration fee; offers group instruction (20 hrs/wk, $125), intensive courses (additional 10 classes of private instruction, $225/wk, with extra cultural immersion activities: $350), and private classes ($12/hr).
Espanex
Av. Rafael Nuñez 5675 – Córdoba, Argentina; info@espanex.org, www.espanex.org. $40 registration fee. Offers group courses with up to 5 students/class (20 hrs/wk, $125), intensive courses (20 group & 10 private classes $220/wk), and private classes ($12/hr). Provides homestays ($60-$130/wk) and student apartments ($70-$110); offers excursions.
Argentina I.L.E.E.
Av. Callao 339, 3rd fl., 1022 Buenos Aires, Argentina; Tel: +54-11-47827173; info@argentinailee.com, www.argentinailee.com. Offers Spanish classes in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Bariloche, and Ushuaia. It is possible to combine different locations. $60 registration fee. Offers group courses (20 hrs/wk, $210), intensive courses (20 group &10 private classes, $380/wk), and private classes ($20/hr). Additional five tango classes/wk for $70. Students have to complete one week in Buenos Aires before continuing in Córdoba. Homestays are available for $150/wk (with breakfast/dinner); offers excursions and cultural activities.
Bueno, entonces... is the best selling language-learning program for the iPhone, now available on DVD and instant download! Featured by Apple as New & Noteworthy, tens of thousands are already learning Spanish with Bueno, entonces…
Taking the most effective elements from traditional audio books and software programs, Bueno, entonces... has revamped language-learning by incorporating those features into a 1-on-1 Spanish lesson format, where you sit in on private classes with fresh audio/visual teaching tools, a huge improvement over programs currently available on the market.
Bueno, entonces... takes you inside 30 private Spanish lessons with Jimena, a gorgeous Spanish instructor, and David, her jackass student from London as he learns Spanish in beautiful Buenos Aires. Like learn-Spanish reality TV, but without the guilt of getting addicted, because in just 5 weeks you'll be speaking Spanish conversationally.
Developed by world-class linguists and seasoned comedy writers, Bueno, entonces... is the most entertaining, effective language program available. Instead of your Spanish lessons being torture, you’ll look forward to every class and want to watch them over and over again!
Bueno, entonces… is the only learn-Spanish program offering true Spanish language immersion. We relocated personnel from 6 countries to produce on-location in Latin America so students get a taste of authentic language and cultural immersion.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Is Argentina ready to become Latin America's first nation to legalize gay marriage?
Gay and lesbian activists think so — and they have a growing number of supporters in Congress, which opened debate Thursday on whether to change dozens of laws that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
"We can't expect social equality if the state is legitimizing inequality," said Maria Rachid, president of the Argentine Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Federation. "We now have the social and political context necessary to change the law."
It remains to be seen whether activists have enough votes to overcome opposition from religious groups. The Roman Catholic Church remains a driving force in Argentina, where presidents were required to be both married and Catholic until a 1994 reform.
Some Catholic and evangelical Christian groups have accused the government of trying to subvert the natural order of life, promote perversions and destroy the family as an institution.
"This should not be understood as the denial of anyone's rights," said Archbishop Jose Maria Arancedo of Santa Fe, who took a gentler tone in a recent radio address. "It's possible both to be progressive and to defend the family, founded on the institution of marriage."
Argentina's capital established its gay-friendly reputation in 2002 by becoming the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex civil unions. Four other Argentine cities later did the same, and such unions also now are recognized in Mexico City and some Mexican and Brazilian states. Uruguay alone has legalized civil unions nationwide.
Maradona's celebration of the Argentine national soccer team's win over Peru has become so popular, that Tierra Santa, a religious theme park in Buenos Aires, is considering building a water slide to honor it.
The proposal is for a giant water slide with a statue of Maradona at the top with arms outstretched. But there are a few minor considerations, the first is that the slide would not be in keeping with the major theme of the park, Christ's Crucifuxion.
"We are in negotiations now," says a spokesperson for the park. "We are thinking we might have a separate area dedicated to the slide. But it still depends largely on the performance of the national team. If they win the world cup, it would indeed be a miracle."
Study Argentina is a blog dedicated to providing assistance to foreigners who want to study in Argentina. Whether you are interested in taking University classes, getting a graduate degree, or just want to learn Spanish, we will provide resources and news of particular interest to students in Argentina.
Also covered is information to help students learn Spanish with self-study methods, including online resources, dictionaries, translation sites, schools, services, products and classes. There will be information on Rosetta Stone, General linguistics "Bueno, entonces..." and others, including well researched comparisons and reviews.
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