The 2009 Dakar will take place in Argentina and Chile from the 3rd to the 18th of January, in an amazing course of 9000 km including 6000 of specials between Buenos Aires, Valparaiso and Buenos Aires.
The Dakar rally, the legendary event of the off-road rally discipline, will for the first time go to South America in 2009. During the last thirty years, the race has forged itself a legendary reputation on the African territory that helped it grow and become one of the major events of the international calendar. A first choice sporting competition that mixes great champions and amateurs, the event has become extremely international throughout the years, uniting up to 52 different nationalities.
The Dakar will cross over the Atlantic Ocean for its 2009 edition. On the morning of January 3rd, 530 teams will take off from Buenos Aires, start and finish place of the race: 230 motos, 30 quads, 188 cars and 82 trucks, representing 49 nationalities.
By first of all heading south towards the landscapes of Patagonia, the drivers and riders will then have to cross the Andes Mountains before enjoying a rest day at Valparaiso on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The return trip will then take them to the Atacama Desert and notably to the Argentinean provinces of Catamarca, of Rioja and of Cordoba.

Schedule of events:

December 31st, 2008 - January 1st, 2009: second phase of technical and administrative scrutineering at “La Rural” Exhibition Center, Plaza Italia, Buenos Aires. Dakar Village.

* December 31, 2008 from 10 AM to 7 PM
* January 1 and 2, 2009 from 10 AM to 10 PM

Entry Fee: $ 8 Argentine pesos

January 2nd, 2009: Presentation of the vehicles Podium, located at the South of the Obelisk, Avenue of 9 de Julio. Tour of vehicles around the city of Buenos Aires, from 4 PM to 12 AM, departing from La Rural, passing through the Obelisk at Plaza de la Republica. Map.

January 3rd, 2009: start of the first stage from Buenos Aires, La Rural.

January 10th, 2009: rest day at Valparaiso

January 17th, 2009: Arrival of vehicles in Buenos Aires, from 1:30 pm, through Dorrego Avenue towards Libertador up to the Dakar Village in La Rural.

January 18th, 2009: finish in Buenos Aires. Tour of vehicles along Libertador Avenue, between Sarmiento and Godoy Cruz, and coronation of champions.

The Argentine provinces travelled through:
Buenos Aires – Federal Capital
Buenos Aires province
La Pampa
Río Negro
Chubut
Neuquén
Mendoza
Catamarca
La Rioja
Córdoba
Santa Fe

For more information, route maps and news, visit Dakar 2009 Rally official website.

Teatro Argentino de La Plata presents the classical ballet "The Nutcracker", with music by Piotr I. Tchaikovsky and choreography by Iñaki Urlezaga, with the participation of the ballet directed by Cristina Delmagro and the Orchestra of Teatro Argentino, conducted by Esteban Gantzer.

"The Nutcracker" is a Christmas tale for the whole family, with music composed in 1890 by Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, and with original choreography by Lev Ivanov. The libretto, by Marcus Petipa, comes from the adaptation of a tale of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann by Alejandro Dumas. The ballet, opened in December 5, 1892 at Saint Petersburg´s Mariinsky Theater, became the most represented piece for the Christmas season.
The argument tells the story about the Christmas eve and the party that the family Stahlbaum is preparing. The kids, Clara and Fritz, await anxiously for the guests and the Christmas gifts. Most of all, they await for their beloved godfather, Drosselmeyer, who, among other things, gives little Clara a Nutcracker with the shape of a soldier. This toy will become a main character of the story, thanks to the imagination of the kids, taking part in their wonderful adventures.

Dates and hours:
Friday 19: 8:30 PM
Saturday 20: 8:30 PM
Sunday 21: 6:30 PM
Tuesday 23: 8:30 PM

Location: Teatro Argentino de La Plata. La Plata, Province of Buenos Aires.
Tickets: Ticketek Argentina.
From Buenos Aires, there will be a bus service departing from Casa de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Callao 237, two and a half hours previous to the time of the performance. The cost of the round bus ticket is $ 20 pesos per person, and they must be purchased by Ticketek Argentina website.

The vehicles and pilots that will be participating in the Dakar Rally Argentina-Chile 2009 will be presented in the city of Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, next Monday, December 29th, in a mega-event at the parking lot of Tigre´s Train Station, with the presence of the Argentine competitors. The official vehicles of the race, including cars, motorcycles, trucks and quads will be exhibited.
The event will start at 4 PM with a show by "El Choque Urbano". Then, after the official start of the race, the Argentine cars will offer a demonstration in a circuit specially set up for this event, where the drivers will go through ramps representing each one of the Argentine provinces that make up the rally´s route.
As closing of the event, jet propulsion Mirage airplanes from the Argentine Air Force will cross the sky with the flags of Argentina and France, and artist Zeta Bozio, DJ and former member of Soda Stereo, will offer a show with the best music in a fascinating setting.

The "Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat" houses one of the most outstanding art collections in Buenos Aires, and should be added to the must-see list of any person visiting Buenos Aires.

It originated from the private collection of Mrs. Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, one of the wealthiest women in Argentina, and an avid collector of artworks from different periods by national and international authors.

The collection is made up of over two hundred artworks and objects, organized into two main cores, according to their provenance: the first presents a visit through Argentinean art, and the second, great masters of international art.

Some of the most outstanding works in the Argentinian Art exhibition area are: "Apartando en el corral" (Sorting in the Corral) and "Los Capataces" (The Overseers), by Prilidiano Pueyrredón; "La resistencia" (Resistance) and "El indeciso" (The Indecisive One) by Emilio Pettoruti; "El almuerzo" (The Lunch) by Antonio Berni. The rest of the collection features outstanding works by many great Argentinian painters, like Carlos Alonso, Libero Badii, Juan Battle Planas, Fernando Fader, Xul Solar, Leopoldo Presas, Guillermo Roux, among others.

There's also a section exclusively dedicated to international art, with works by great masters from different periods, among them: Peter Brueghel II, with his piece "El censo en Belén" (The Census in Bethlehem); Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema; Marc Chagall; Salvador Dali; Jean-Baptiste Greuze; Auguste Rodin; Andy Warhol and his portrait of Mrs Fortabat; and Joseph Mallord William Turner, with "Juliet and her Nurse", the most outstanding piece in the collection and one of the highlights of the visit.

The building that houses the Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat was especially designed Architect Rafael Viñoly. Its exhibition spaces and public, private and service areas are distributed on six rectangular floors, and the entire complex is oriented parallel to the Dock. The ground floor is divided into two sectors, with a large entrance hall, an auditorium for lectures, and the cafe. The first and second floors are visible from outside the building and are crowned by a curved arch of glass and steel fitted with enormous aluminum sunshades, movable panels that allow the interior illumination of the upper floors to be controlled by way of an automatic aperture mechanism. The floors below ground level extend further and have been constructed on a monumental scale.

Address: Olga Cossettini 141. Puerto Madero

Opening hours: Thursday through Sunday: 12 noon to 8 pm

Admission:
General: AR$17,000.-

Residents: AR$9,000.-

Free for children under 12, and people with disabilities with 1 companion.

Thursdays: free for senior citizens, students and educators with ID.

Website: www.coleccionfortabat.org.ar