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Saturday, July 31, 2010

Sugar & Spice by Manifesto

We have outsourced our store window display to Manifesto. They are a leader in decoration and design for companies as well as for individuals.

Some of the clients that they work with are Google, Sony, Motorola, and Techint just to name a few. Now, we can add Sugar & Spice to that list.

Come by and tell us what you think.


Friday, July 16, 2010

Welcome Café Martinez


We have another new client that has deposited their trust in us and has decided to be really nice to their customers by offering Argentina's yummiest cookies.

So if you are a fan of Cafe Martinez now you can have an authentic Chocolate Chip Cookie or a Pasion for Chocolate Cookie to go with that cup of joe. You could also ask for a bag of Café Mocha Biscotti as well.

With approximately 60 locations (plus Chile and Uruguay coming soon) you are bound to always be near a cup of coffee and a cookie or two.

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Bienvenidos a nuestro nuevo cliente Café Martinez! Con aproximadamente 60 locales siempre vas a estar cerca de tu favorito café y una cookie o dos.

Ahora vas a poder acompañar tu café con una deliciosa cookie de Choco Chip o Pasión por Chocolate.

Me contaron que están por abrir locales en Chile y en Uruguay también.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Can Girls Play Soccer?

The obvious answer to that question would be "Hell Yes!", but it's not so obvious an answer to some people.

In Argentina, and in particular the slums of Argentina, it is not such an easy question to answer.

I have been supporting Fundación Leer to help reach under-served children and promote a love of reading in them. One of our last events took place in Villa 31.

Recently another project aimed at helping young people in that community has come to my attention.

A fellow expat and her Argentine husband are filming a documentary about a group of girls who fight to play a sport they love, but is off limits to women in Argentina: Soccer.

This might sound crazy to most people, but in Argentina soccer is strictly a man's sport. I know this first hand, since I have tried to get my own kids interested in kicking the ball around only to be met by disinterest that has been soaked up by their surroundings.

When the filmakers started following the girls in 2008, only a dozen or so ventured onto the field. Now, there are more than 25!

The documentary shows how playing soccer has transformed their lives, as well as how difficult this transformation can be-girls have to battle parents and a society that see them only as future maids, criminals or teenage mothers.

For example, Chechu was one of the team's most promising players when she became pregnant at 15. However, her family was happy for her to become a mom, as in the Villa, it is considered a rite of passage for many girls.

She now lives outside of the slum with her boyfriend and his family, who do not approve of her playing soccer.

Will she make her own path, or end up becoming a statistic?

Will any of the other girls be able to fight the odds?

This documentary is not only about them, but by them as well. The experiences of these "slum soccer girls" will not only be documented by filmmakers, but the girls themselves will contribute through a video workshop where they will learn how to interview and do basic camera work.

You will get an uncensored view into their world and the girls will begin to take back the narrative of their own lives.

Below is a short 60 second clip on the movie.



So, can girls play soccer? Left to themselves they might not be able to. If you would like to help them click here.

Meanwhile, wouldn't it be nice if any of them could eventually end up being the next Mia Hamm? I mean, Pelé, Maradona, and Carlitos Tevez and quite a few others have come from slums....




Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July!



Video courtesy of David Willbanks.

Germany Dominates Argentina

Vier Cheers!

What can I say? The better team won.



Now I am going to cheer for Uruguay and I hope that no one else pops up promising to run naked if Uruguay wins.

The day before the game I had a conversation with my five year old:

me: Hey, do you know who plays tomorrow?

munchkin: no papi

me: Los Argentinos juegan con los Alemanes

munchkin: LOS ANIMALES?!?!?

How right she was, how right she was.
(I mean it in a positive sense of the word as in animals on the field)

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Argentian vs Germany Has Already Started



This is a commercial for a sports channel. When I first saw this one of the comments left by an Argentine went something along the lines of: "If you analyze this in detail we are great at soccer, but as a people, we are complete shit".

One piece of advice though; if you are in Argentina and you see kids playing with a rolled up sock, you better run because you are about to be robbed, mugged or raped.

Kidding aside, this should give you an idea as to just how much this game means to people.

When the national team plays, schools either start earlier, close earlier, or just show the game depending on the timing of the game.

While the team plays it's impossible to find a cab or any public transportation for that matter.

Many businesses have televisions at work so the employees can watch. We set one up at our business for example.

Here is another commercial and this one is from Quilmes. The subtitles are not so great, but you should still be able to get the gist of it.




And in this upcoming game you have the personal insults being traded back and forth.

This one is going to be personal for these players. There is no doubt about it, at all.

You had the infamous Paul the octopus predicting correctly all of Germany's games so far.

In fact, the injured ex-captain Micheal Ballack didn't want to play second fiddle to an octopus and gave a prediction of his own.

You had Germany insulting Argentine players, fans and coach with Schweinsteiger mentioning what "Argentines are like in general".

Since the coach happens to be Diego Maradona, a prompt response was delivered and a local celebrity chef was called to the task of showing what exactly we can do with an octopus...(see video immediately below)



But, it's not all arrows and clubs. The New York Times wrote a very nice apology letter to Diego, and the German coach is taking the high road as well.

It's a good thing since he is susceptible to an attack of the munchies during the game, and let's just say that his diet on the pitch has not exactly been high brow.

I don't know what the outcome will be on Saturday. I do know that I expect a fantastic game.

Germany has a very young and talented team. Both Germany and Argentina love to attack and I am sure we will be seeing plenty of that especially since they have started attacking each other before the game has even started.