In Buenos Aires, the 9th edition of the Expotrastiendas art gallery fair is presenting works of the artists of more than 70 art galleries along an open zig-zagging course that takes paintings, sculptures, installations and audiovisuals out of the cubicle stalls typical of such exhibitions and puts them into a network in which all are be seen by all visitors. The objective of this art fair, organized by the Argentine Association of Art Galleries, is to exhibit works of all styles and tendencies by artists of all ages for the benefit of collectors and buyers as well as the general public. During the five days that the show will be on (Oct. 16-20 this year) at the Centro Municipal de Exposiciones (City Exhibitions Center) at Figueroa Alcorta and Pueyrredón, there will also be seminars, book presentations and lectures by people from the art and cultural scene. Information: http://www.expotrastiendas.com.ar/.
PHOTO CREDITS (from top to bottom): "Argentine Art in the 1920s," a retrospective exhibition in the 2009 Expotrastiendas’ Institutional Presentation sector; Paintings by Berta Goldwaser, from the Norma Duek art gallery; and Paintings and sculptures from Renata Schussheim’s "Epiphany" show, all by Marcelo Imbellone.
Buying is allowed, but the object of the get-together is to barter, be it in Spanish or Quechua. There is plenty of regional food, music and dancing. The fair lasts several days, until all the goods are exchanged.
Cross the bridge from La Quiaca to the Bolivian city of Villazón to see what a market looks like in the bordering country.
Among the 44 species of water birds that live in or stop at the enormous saline lagoon of the reserve, there are three species of flamingoes, which are native to the Puna.
Taken from the “gigantes y cabezudos” (giants and big-heads) procession tradition that originated in Spain in the Middle Ages and later spread to the rest of Europe, the “cabezudos” of Villa Gesell are the gigantes used in Europe, as they are hollow figures several meters tall comprising a head with flailing arms. Beneath the long skirt of each gigante is a strong man who is fitted with a harness that bears the supports of the structure, and makes the figure “dance” to the music of a marching band. In Europe the gigantes represent village archetypes, while in Villa Gesell they symbolize the different communities. The Spanish cabezudos are large head masks held in hand by disguised revelers. For the full Columbus Day festival (Fiesta Nacional de la Raza en el Mar) program, visit 
You have to go out in a boat in the Samborombón Bay, or in front of other towns further south. But the town’s traditional fishing tournament still takes place under the name of this drum fish, even though the fishing done during it is for any species that can be hooked from the pier or beach. The biggest fish wins.
Proof of the marine incursion that covered the region 65 million years ago is the large number of fossil beds in the dry gulfs, capes and bays that can be made out atop Somuncurá and the neighboring Central Plateau. 
Somuncurá has very few inhabitants and several endemic plant and animal species. Most people are small sheep ranchers, and some also raise guanacos and rheas.
Some Meseta Infinita members are Mapuches, members of the major indigenous ethnic group whose ancestors came to live in this area at the end of the 19th century. Today their women are willing to give visitors a hands-on seminar on washing and dying wool and weaving rugs on traditional looms.
The group offers all-inclusive packages of three or four days that begin in Los Menucos, a town of 3,000 inhabitants at the foot of the Somuncurá Plateau halfway between San Antonio Oeste on the coast and Bariloche at the foot of the Andes in the province of Río Negro. You can get there by bus from Bariloche (360 km) or Viedma (500 km). Activities can be arranged in accordance with the visitor’s interests: sheep farm activities including droving and shearing; the ins and outs of rhea and guanaco raising; slate mining; traditional Mapuche weaving techniques; fossil deposits, and rock art sites that are more than 10,000 years old. Accommodation may be in ranch houses, outposts, or tents if excursions range very far afield on the Somuncurá Plateau. Travelers eat with ranch families.
I haven’t done this yet, but it sounds good and I am passing on the information. For more details, see 
Every year, the town’s feast day in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary takes place on the first Sunday of October. Hundreds of people from the Puna come to take part in the processions and exchange their products in a fair that harks back to pre-Columbian times. This is when baptisms and marriages take place, and it is a time to enjoy religious processions whose protagonists are “cachis,” a group of disguised people with masks that are used only in this festival and kept in the church the rest of the year. The group, comprised of 10 people who for the most part are pilgrims from Iruya itself, symbolize a family who with their possessions and livestock entreat the Virgin for her protection against the temptations of a black man who also acts as a buffoon, but is really the group leader. The characters they play are the young and old members of the family, a bull and two horses. They dance in front of the Virgin whose image advances with the procession through the streets to the accompaniment of musicians who play traditional instruments such as the erke and the sikus.
This year, the festivities will take place on October 3 and 4. There will be processions at noon and in the evening on Saturday, and at noon on Sunday.
Its beacon, whose 300,000 candle-power beam was visible as far away as Colonia in Uruguay, was used to announce matters of importance to the population, of which the most famous was the result of the Dempsey-Firpo prize fight that took place in New York shortly after the inauguration. Porteños knew that a green light would mean a victory of the Argentine favorite, and red defeat. That night began with jubilation inspired a green light, but ended with bitterness when the color unexpectedly changed to red.The beacon was repaired thanks to a campaign by the City Hall’s Doors to the Bicentennial Program, which obtained contributions from the owners of the 240 offices in the building, the Italian Embassy, and private companies. From now on, the Barolo’s beacon will be turned on for a half hour on the night of the 25th of every month to commemorate the revolution of May 25, 1810.
People who want to see wildlife anywhere in the world should check the Internet for the breeding seasons in the different locations before setting out. For Magellanic penguins in Chubut, the best time is never at the beginning or end of the season, but rather from November, when the chicks hatch, to January, when they are walking around and the rookery teems with birds. In February they begin to molt and look scruffy.
When booking the Todo Glaciares cruise in El Calafate, try to make sure that on the day of your trip passengers will be able to disembark in Onelli Bay (the place where the Upsala branch of Lake Argentino is separated from Lake Onelli by a spit of land). For many, this landing – the only one during the full-day cruise – is the biggest attraction of the excursion, as it involves following a path through a lovely beech forest and coming out on Lake Onelli full of little icebergs from three glaciers. At times the bay is so full of icebergs that the boat can’t get to the wharf. And if the Onelli Bay restaurant is closed, as it usually is during the low season, you will have to eat a box lunch (made by you or brought from your hotel) elbow-to-elbow with 300 other passengers on the catamaran. (Many people think it is best to bring the box lunch anyway, so as to be able to dedicate the little time allotted to this stop, to looking at Lake Onelli instead of waiting for a place in the restaurant.)
In Pampa Linda, a unique hiking and horseback riding center at the foot of Mount Tronador outside Bariloche, you can ride in the lower valley in the spring. However, experienced riders who want to see the top of the Andes should consider that the snow on the upper reaches of the surrounding mountains takes a long time to melt, so the center’s all-day horseback rides to really interesting lookout points can’t be done until December or January.
The deadline for sending prints or 300 dpi digital images in 30cmx40cm format is Oct. 1. The photos must show how the mate sipping habit has overcome economic and cultural barriers in Argentina. For more information, contact him at (03757) 423-099 or 
The club is 50 km from Buenos Aires – a 40-minute drive in a car or minibus, or 15 minutes by helicopter. Visitors are picked up at their hotels at 11am and are taken back at 4pm, or later if they want to see all the chukkers played by club members during the rest of the afternoon. Upon arrival they are treated to empanadas and a glass of fine wine, and during the following tour of the premises they are told about the history and rules of the game; the selection and training of horses; and riding tack and gear. They watch club members play two chukkers, and later sit down with some of them to a sumptuous barbecue lunch beside the playing field. The game continues while they eat. Afterwards there are two options: expert riders can learn how to do a bit of stick-and-balling (US$50 extra), and those who know little or nothing about horses can ride some tame retired polo ponies around the property beside the Luján River (included in the rate). The polo day costs US$140 per person, including minibus or car transport. Minimum group: two. For more information, visit 
The parades are led by the “Black Monk” (in reality a pretty blonde woman who sports a gigantic pretzel pendant on a black cowl robe), followed by kids dressed like sausages, adults dressed like German peasants, and the dance delegations. This year, the Beer Festival queen will be chosen and crowned on the night of October 3. According to the program, the keg will be tapped on five different days, and there will be six parades. Get the details at 
Montecarlo and seven other small towns along a 90-km stretch of National Route 12 heading north from Posadas stand out for their plant nurseries, bathing beaches, and farms that receive and/or lodge tourists.
All other activities are free. Inscription for workshops led by artists from Argentina and abroad will be open until September 25 at 
On Saturday Oct. 3 at 7pm, a parade of floats bearing Flower Show queen candidates; horse-drawn carriages, and vintage cars will begin to wind its way through the streets of Escobar. On Sunday Oct. 4, the Flower Queen will be chosen and crowned. If it rains, these events will be postponed until the following weekend.
Those who feel like seeing more of the Delta can return to Buenos Aires from Isla Margarita via Tigre with the Delta boat company (4749-0537), and the train from the Tigre terminal. The trip through the Delta takes nearly two hours. Information: 4728-2495 or 
The return cruise from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia on October 13 lasts four nights and calls at Ainsworth Bay, Tucker’s Islet, the Pía glacier, Glacier Alley, Cape Horn and Wulaia Bay. The cost varies according to the cabin and whether the season is promotional, low, high or special (Christmas and New Years). Hence the least expensive cabin can cost from US$840 to US$1,930 and the most expensive one from US$1,359 to US$2,500 for three nights, and US$1,120 to US$2,590 and US$1,800 to US$3,340, respectively, for four nights. The first Australis fjords cruise of the season leaves Punta Arenas on September 19 and the last one departs from Ushuaia on April 14, 2010.
The 17 suites reflect the spaciousness of the scenery with a décor set by the hues and textures of the surrounding land and the colors of the seasons. The smallest is 38 m2, the largest 60 m2. They and the shared areas (including a heated indoor swimming pool that guests tend to use only if the weather turns inclement) surround a grassy inner compound, protecting it from the wind. The simple architectural style of Eolo suggests a Patagonian ranch house like the ones that were brought over from Europe in a kit at the beginning of the last century. It’s bigger and better, but the comfortable ranch house feeling has been kept intact. The dining room menus are gourmet versions of Patagonian home cooking.
On Friday Sept. 18 the show will be open for travel agents from 10am to 9pm in the Ocher Pavilion of the Rural Society grounds in Palermo and on September 19 and 20 it will be open to the general public from 2pm to 9pm. General admission is 12 pesos. For more details, see 
They are fried in lard, or baked in a mud oven that is so hot that a paper put inside bursts into flame. There is a bit of rivalry between the province of Salta, where the filling includes potato, and Tucuman, where it does not. But for the past 40 years the National Empanada Festival has been held in Tucumán – in Famaillá, a town 35 km from the provincial capital. Here, in the Luis Sandrini auditorium, a jury of folk singers and chefs decides who will be the winning empanada cook of the year, and the fairgoers are free to try the output of all the contestants to see if they agree with the verdict. Tucumán empanadas are famous for being especially juicy. This is achieved by hand-mincing the meat very finely, adding a bit of boiled egg to the mixture to help retain the juice, not completely precooking the filling so it can finish cooking inside the crust, and taking the empanadas out of the pot or oven at the right moment. A typical Tucumán empanada is filled with minced beef, hen or chicken meat, or tripe, as well as green onion, cayenne pepper and cumin.
They also compete in music, singing, dance, art, crafts, photography and graphic design.
In addition to the famous ski center on Mount Catedral 20 km out of town, this Río Negro city of more than 100,000 inhabitants has recreation centers on three mountains that also offer other snow activities, in particular walks on snowshoes. All are in Nahuel Huapi National Park, but they have different concessionaires and vary with regard to landscapes, accesses and clientele.
Mount López (2,075 m)
Here, tourists who come in the winter participate in guided walks with or without snowshoes (according to snow conditions), and can also go cross-country skiing if they are proficient in the sport.
This mountain area, which lies within a strict park reserve, occupies an interesting transition zone between the humid Andean forest and the Patagonian steppe. During excursions through the woods, the guides explain the different means of transport on snow, or regional geography, according to the interests of the group. A half-day hike leads to a frozen lagoon, which in the summer is home to an endemic frog species. Day hikes in winter and summer include an ascent of Mount Challhuaco for a view of three surrounding mountains. Moonlight walks end with a three-course Patagonian dinner. The hiking and cross-country skiing programs include meals and lodging in the refuge. Those who book a full-day backcountry skiing excursion must be in good physical shape and know how to use the special “randonnée” skis that allow one to walk uphill cross-country style, and descend Alpine style.
Mount Otto (1,405 m)
Before sitting down to eat, visitors can contemplate the reproductions of statues by Michelangelo in the complex’s art gallery, and the restaurant’s photo-museum dedicated to Bariloche’s pioneers.
Then a priest heard the voice of God: they had to take the image of Christ off the humble spot they had assigned it and carry it through the streets if they wanted an end to the aftershocks. They did so and the earth stopped trembling. Nevertheless, the feminine image was the one that was immediately assigned her Our Lady of the Miracle title; the masculine one had to wait until 1760 to become Our Lord of the Miracle. At any rate, the two of them have presided over processions every September since 1692, and are credited with having saved the city from severe damage from two other quakes in 1844 and 1948. Every year, the first novena is said on September 6, and in the afternoon of September 15 more than 250,000 pilgrims from all Argentina and neighboring countries come to join the big procession through the streets of the city. The images are taken from the Cathedral to the intersection of Paseo Güemes with Avenida Irigoyen, where the townspeople renew their oath of fealty to the figures that they represent. When they return to their places in the Cathedral, a shower of white, pink and red carnation petals falls from the belfry of the Cathedral.
the performances of the different dance groups, and a light and sound show that moves from house to house in the Park of Nations. General admission is free the first night, and ranges from 5 to 35 pesos, according to the program (but never exceeds 5 pesos for retirees).