Introduction

Back in the 80s I had a roommate in grad school who had family from Argentina. He´d describe how very different it was from Mexico (which at the time was the main South of the Border reference point I had. I´d heard how s - sounds were sshushed and that there were was a (relatively) large Jewish community in Buenos Aires. More recently I`d heard that Buenos Aires had become a major center for film and visual arts. It was definitely on my short-list of places to go... And then when American Airlines offered me a huge number of extra miles for signing up for a business credit card, it became a done deal. (My flight from LA to Buenos Aires cost me all of $5.) Part of me figured I could do a super-cheap trip and the rest of me knows better than that.