For the celebration of the International Museum Day, the Sub Secretary of Culture invites the public to visit the Museums of Buenos Aires, that will open their doors with free entrance on Monday, May 18, 2009, to enjoy the activities programmed to celebrate that day.

Museums and special activities:

MUSEO DE ARTE ESPAÑOL ENRIQUE LARRETA
Av. Juramento 2291 - 2.00 pm - 8.00 pm
Projection of the documentary “Las cajas españolas” by Alberto Porlan, on Sunday 17, 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm, and Monday 18 at 4.00 pm. About the committee created during the Spanish Civil War to rescue the works from Museo del Prado, libraries and churches, to avoid them from being destroyed.
The Museum also presents the temporary exhibition “Carlos Alonso. Ilustrador de novelas y romances”, a selection of illustrations by the Argentine artist, and the museum's permanent collection. The public will be also able to visit the Andalusian garden.

MUSEO DE ARTE HISPANOAMERICANO ISAAC FERNÁNDEZ BLANCO
Suipacha 1422 - 2.00 pm - 7.00 pm
The museum presents “El Cuarto Mundo”, the complete renovation of its permanent collection, that includes three new rooms with a collection of silverware, imagery and Ibero American furniture from the XVIth to XIXth centuries; documents, books, religious ornaments, engravings, ceramics, clothing and women's accessories. The exhibit “Donaciones 2008” will also be presented, where pieces donated during 2008 will be showed.

MUSEO DE ARTE POPULAR JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ
Av. del Libertador 2373 - 1.00 pm - 7.00 pm
The museum exhibits works from the Collection Suescun-Benard: “Mates de porcelana. Recuerdos del Centenario”, and the collective exhibition by Tierra Purpúrea, with works by craftsman Flavio Grinblat, winner of the I Biennial of Urban Crafts. The permanent collection includes colorful costumes from the Corrientes carnival, wood carves, tapestries, ceramics, musical instruments, religious images, daily use objects, made by renowned Argentine artisans, as well as traditional silver and textiles from the Mapuche women.

MUSEO DE ARTES PLÁSTICAS EDUARDO SÍVORI
Av. Infanta Isabel 555 - (Rosedal - Parque Tres de Febrero) 12.00 - 8.00 pm
Works by: Sívori; Malharro; Fader; Quinquela Martín; Facio Hecbequer; Bellocq; Pettoruti; Guttero; Gramajo Gutiérrez; Melé, Kosice y Lozza; Ary Brizzi; Manuel Álvarez; Testa; Martorell, Brizzi, Vidal; Píccoli, Quiroga, Sbernini, Bertani, among others. Also, the exhibition “Anhelo Hernández - Pinturas y grabados”, by the great Uruguayan painter, and the Sculpture Garden with fifteen works specially selected for blind or visually impaired people.

MUSEO DE ESCULTURAS LUIS PERLOTTI
Pujol 644 - 11.00 am - 7.00 pm
The Museum presents “Nuestros Ancestros” (Our ancestors), by artists Alba Campo, Norma D´Ippolito, Oscar De Bueno, Claudia Fernández, Alejandro Eduardo Fiadone, María Laura Galeotti, Pablo Madrid, Adriana Vanesa Mazzotta, Mabel Remeseiro, Pedro Tricarico and Daniel B. Verniers, about the aboriginal people. Guest artist: Alfredo Yacussi.

MUSEO DE LA CIUDAD
Defensa 219 / 223. Alsina 412 - 11.00 am - 7.00 pm
The Museum presents the exhibit “Cuando los porteños se daban aire”, that showcases hand held fans, with which the museum reopened its doors on March. The museum also presents the photographic exhibition “Ventanas de Buenos Aires” (Windows of Buenos Aires), by Lucía Pacenza and Luis Girotti, and the permanent collection of antique toys, furniture, musical instruments and victrolas.

MUSEO HISTÓRICO DE BUENOS AIRES CORNELIO DE SAAVEDRA
Crisólogo Larralde 6309 - 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
The Museum offers the opportunity to see objects from the daily life in Buenos Aires during the XIXth century, through documents, jewelry, clothes, furniture, decorative arts, etc.

MUSEO CASA CARLOS GARDEL
Jean Jaurés 735 - 11.00 am - 6.00 pm
At the house where Carlos Gardel lived with his mother, an exhibition about musician and composer Pedro Laurenz. At 1.00 pm the public can participate of a guided visit.

DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE MUSEOS
Av. de los Italianos 851, Puerto Madero - 10.00 am - 7.00 pm
The public can visit this building, built by Hungarian architect Andrés Kálnay and inaugurated in 1927 as Cervecería Munich. Guided visits from 10 am to 6 pm.

The city of Buenos Aires will join the celebrations for the 61st Anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel with an artistic and cultural event that will take place on Sunday, May 17, 2009, at the corner of Avenida de Mayo and Bolivar, facing the Buenos Aires City Governement Building.
This event is part of a program of festivities destined to pay homage to the different communities present in the city, that will be carried out throughout the year.
The event will start at 3.00 pm and last until 6.00 pm, on an open air stage where musical shows and Israeli dance groups will be presented, and visitors will also be able to enjoy exhibitions of Jewish gastronomy and crafts, among other activities.

The Buenos Aires International Book Fair is the largest of its kind in the Spanish speaking world. It is considered as one of the most important cultural and editorial events in Latin America, and as a meeting point for authors, editors, book sellers, distributors, teachers, librarians, scientists, and over 1,200,000 readers from around the world. Just as in last year's edition, the Fair will occupy the whole of the 45,000 sqm of La Rural exhibition complex, in its "Ocre", "Azul", "Verde", "Amarillo", "Rojo", "Blanco", and Nº 9 pavilions. The Fair features conferences, round-tables, talks with prestigious national and international intellectuals, book presentations, shows, activities for children and teenagers, events for specialists and publishing professionals, and book sales of literature in all languages.

The special activities this year include: a Book Reading Marathon; the 4th International Poetry Festival; the International Meeting "Thinking democracy"; a Story-telling meeting; free courses and workshops.

One of the outstanding features of the Fair is the participation of internationally renowned authors. Some of the intellectuals that have confirmed their presence this year are: Swedish writer Henning Mankell; Italian pedagogue Francesco Tonucci; Dominican writer Junot Díaz (winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2008); Argentine philosopher Néstor García Canclini; French writer Michel Lafon; Spaniard writer and journalist Juan José Millás, ansd American philosopher Judith Butler; among others.

There's a special sector for children between 4 and 12 years of age, with activities like story telling, a children's library, and a playground. For teenagers between 12 and 18, talks, conferences, courses and presentations, related this year to the "International Year of Astronomy"

On Thursday April 30th, the fair will stay open from 2 pm to 1 am, celebrating "The night of the city at the fair". On that date the entrance will be free after 8.30 pm.

Location: La Rural Exhibition Center, Ave. Santa Fe and Sarmiento, Palermo, Buenos Aires.
Dates: April 23th through May 11th, 2009
Opening hours:
Sunday to Thursday: 2 pm to 10 pm
Friday and Saturday: 2 pm to 11 pm
Thursday April 30th: 2 pm to 2 am
Entry fee:
Monday to Thursday: AR$ 10.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and May 1st (holiday): AR$ 13.
Children under 12, free (except May 1st).
Wednesday April 30th, after 9 pm: free.

For further information, visit the 35th International Buenos Aires Book Fair official website (in Spanish only).

The world famous Japanese artist and designer, Kenzo Takada, opened his art exhibition in Buenos Aires, the first one featuring his plastic work in Latin America, at the new art gallery Lordi Arte Contemporaneo, in San Telmo - Venezuela 617 - in a new turn of his artistic career.
This is his third art exhibition, composed of paintings, sculptures and collages, that have already been exhibited in Munich and Morocco.
His paintings, some of them in large dimensions, show in their majority women among pieces of cloth and stamps, colorful sculptures, figurines, an ode to the four seasons (four large paintings featuring different garments, according to every season), and even an homage to Buenos Aires with a painting featuring a couple dancing tango with the Obelisk in the background.
Kenzo's exhibition can be visited through July 10, 2009, Monday to Friday 11 am to 8 pm.

The Nations Cup 2009 - International Polo Series (Copa de las Naciones 2009 - Serie Internacional de Polo), organized by the Argentine Polo Association, will take place on April 18, 19, and 26, 2009 at the Campo Argentino de Polo in Palermo.

This unique tournament, with the participation of four high handicap international teams (Argentina, Brazil, England, and Rest of the World), is an important new addition to the national and international polo calendar.

Teams:

Argentina: Gustavo Usandizaga, 2; Hilario Ulloa, 8; Adolfo Cambiaso, 10, and Pablo Pieres (Jr), 7. Total, 27.

Rest of the World: Martín Zegers (Chile), 6; José Donoso (Chile), 7; Jaime García (Chile), 8, and Julio Gracida (México), 6. Total, 27.

Brazil: Jöao Paulo Ganon, 7; Luiz Carlos Mello, 6; Rodrigo Riberio Andrade, 8, and José Kalil, 5. Total: 26. (substitute: Wlliam Rodrigues, 6).

England: James Beim, 7; Mark Tomlinson, 7; Malcolm Borwick (Australia), 6, and Luke Tomlinson, 8. Total, 28.

Calendar of matches:

April 18
2 PM: England vs Brazil (1)
Result: Brazil 15 - England 14
4 PM: Argentina vs Rest of the World (2)
Result: Argentina 12 - Rest of the World 10

April 19
1.30 PM: Brazil vs Rest of the World
Result: Brazil 11 - Rest of the World 8
4.00 PM: Argentina vs England
Result: Argentina 12 - England 8

April 26
Final Nations Cup
1.00 PM: England vs Rest of the World
4.00 PM: Argentina vs Brazil
Result: Champion: Argentina 10 - Brazil 6

Tickets on sale at the Campo Argentino de Polo ticket offices only (Libertador & Dorrego):
Platea C (numbered seats) AR$ 50.-
Tribunes A and B (unnumbered seats) AR$ 25.-
Tribune Dorrego Central (unnumbered seats) AR$ 10.-

On Saturday April 25th, 2009, for the second time Buenos Aires will join the world wide Earth Day celebration, an international event celebrated annually since 1970, that gathers millions of people around the globe in a "Call for climate".

The artists that will participate this year in Buenos Aires are: Lisandro Aristimuño, Axel Krygier, Los Natas, Nairobi and Martín Buscaglia, among others.

Other programmed activities are: screenings, video art, sustainable design, organic food stands, "Save the planet", a 3D movie for children about the global warming, theater and yoga.

Date: Saturday April 25th, 2009. From 1 pm till dawn. The event is not suspended in case of rain.

Location: Ave Figueroa Alcorta and Austria. Plaza Naciones Unidas (The Flower).

Free entrance.

ArtFutura, the festival of Digital Culture and Creativity of reference in Spain since 1990, arrives for the first time in Buenos Aires. It will be held between April 23 and April 26, 2009, at MALBA.
ArtFutura has explored the most interesting projects and ideas that have come up on the international panorama of new media, interactive design, videogames and digital animation. Its activities include conferences, workshops, interactive installations, exhibitions and live performances.
On Friday 24, the Argentine animation film in 3D "Big Bang" will be presented. It received the Special Prize to Technological Innovation Applied to Audio Visual Art at the 3rd CineCien Festival 2008. It's about a journey through time and space aboard the space ship Sigma, that invites to discover the origin of the Universe, the formation of the galaxies and the solar system.
The audio visual program also includes a special documentary about the exhibition “MáquinasyAlmas” (Machines and Souls), presented at Museum Reina Sofia in Madrid; the new selections of ArtFutura Show; Full Motion Theater; Demos+Intros and 3D in Spain, retrospective on the French school Supinfocom and Japanese animator Satoshi Tomioka, and an impressive documentary: “The Net” by Lutz Dammbeck.


Dates: April 23-26, 2009
Location: Malba - Latin American Art Museum. Av. Figueroa Alcorta 3415
Free entrance. Limited Capacity
For more information and program, visit ArtFutura website.