The bottom part of this photo is Argentina. The top left is Paraguay. The top right is Brazil. I spent the first 660 million seconds of my life (and then some) entirely in one country – Australia – so to see three countries in one second was a bit of a thrill, even if the…
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Jun
You walk upstairs to this … … then into this: It’s La Catedral Club, a tango milonga in Buenos Aires. It would not be totally untrue to say that I have danced professionally. People did pay to see the first preview of my show The Sound of a Social Climbing Nun, where I bootscooted to…
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May
I’ve previously told you that President Franklin D Roosevelt once said: ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ And how he clearly hadn’t been in as many Buenos Aires taxis as I have. At traffic lights, for some taxi drivers, this means go fast: This means go faster: This means slow down, have…
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May
Some of you may remember this image from the show My Argentina: Learning Spanish and Loving Thatcher: But you may not know the unbelievable sacrifice I made to get that. Every September, New York City has the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction. Different musicals have their own table, where they sell memorabilia, not necessarily…
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May
The Casa Rosada, which literally means ‘Pink House’, is where Argentine presidents have their office, though they live elsewhere. It’s at Plaza de Mayo (May Square), which I walked through in 2011 during a riot when they burnt down a giant Christmas tree. And I was there at the start of the 2005 Pride march,…
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May
I saw this at MALBA – the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires … … in their gift shop. The designer is VACAVALIENTE – or ‘Brave Cow’. Don’t be put off by the price. $375 here meant 375 pesos. In 2001, one US dollar could buy one Argentine peso. When I visited MALBA last year,…
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Apr
If I’m ever asked, ‘Where’s Virginia Beach?’ I answer, ‘It’s in Virginia, and it’s at the beach.’ I’ve been there three times, to visit JJ’s family. While there, I’ve been to the International Sandsculpting Championship … … and I’ve swum in the North Atlantic Ocean … my fourth ocean, or perhaps only my third, depending…
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Apr
When I’m in Argentina, I often try to immerse myself in the Spanish language. I succeed up to a point, but it’s very difficult to escape from English. To demonstrate this, last year I chose a short block on one of Buenos Aires’ main avenues, away from the tourist areas. I looked in the shop…
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Apr
