37h Buenos Aires International Book Fair

The Buenos Aires International Book Fair is the largest of its kind in the Spanish speaking world. It is considered one of the most important cultural and editorial events in Latin America, and a meeting point for authors, editors, book sellers, distributors, teachers, librarians, scientists, and over 1,200,000 readers from around the world. The Fair will take place from April 20th to May 9th, 2011, occupying the "Azul", "Verde", "Amarillo", "Rojo", "Ocre", "Blanco", and Nº 9 pavilions of La Rural exhibition complex, and Palacio Frers.  As every year, it will feature 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.

This year the Fair has a special importance since Buenos Aires has been chosen as World's Book Capital of 2011.

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: Nobel prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa; Wilbur Smith; Carlos Páez Vilaró; François Dubet, Rosa Montero; Antonio Muñoz Molina, among others.

The special activities this year include: a Book Reading Marathon; the 6th International Poetry Festival; a Story-telling meeting; free courses and workshops; theater, dance, and music shows; kids and youth sectors.

On Saturday, April 23rd, the fair will join the celebrations of "The Day of the City", with shows, contests, special activities, games, raffles, book signings, and many surprises for visitors. On that day the Book Fair will remain open until 1 am, with free entrance after 9.00 pm.

Location: La Rural Exhibition Center, Ave. Santa Fe and Sarmiento, Palermo, Buenos Aires.
Dates: April 23rd through May 9th, 2011
Opening hours:
Wednesday, April 20th: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Sunday to Thursday: 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Friday and Saturday: 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Saturday April 23: 2:00 pm to 1:00 am
Entry fee:
Monday to Thursday: AR$ 15.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday: AR$ 20.
Children under 12, free
Saturday April 23, after 9 pm: free.

For further information, visit the 37th International Buenos Aires Book Fair official website (in Spanish only).

International Polo Series Nations Cup 2011


The Nations Cup 2011 - International Polo Series (Copa de las Naciones 2011 - Serie Internacional de Polo), organized by the Argentine Polo Association, will take place on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at the Campo Argentino de Polo in Palermo (Av. Libertador y Dorrego).

The events starts at 12:00pm, with the opening of the stadium, food stalls, and live shows. The match will kick off at 3:00 pm, followed by the traditional "after polo".

This year the participating teams are the national selections of Argentina and England, the greatests representatives of world polo, with a maximum handicap of 28 goals for each team. This unique tournament is an important new addition to the national and international polo calendar.

Teams:
Argentina: Tomás Garbarini Islas 2, Gonzalo Pieres Jr 10, Facundo Pieres 10, Valerio Zubiaurre Jr 5. Total: 27.
England: James Beim 7, Mark Tomlinson 7, Malcolm Borwick 6, Luke Tomlinson 8. Total: 28.

RESULT: ARGENTINA 13 - ENGLAND 8













Agassi and Sampras present an exhibition in Argentina

André Agassi and Pete Sampras, two of the world's best tennis players of all times, will offer an exhibition event in Argentina, on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011, in the suburb of Tigre, province of Buenos Aires.
Sampras, who has never come to Argentina, and Agassi, who played in Buenos Aires for the Davis Cup in 1988, will play in a stadium that has been specially built for the occasion, with capacity for 8500 spectators, with an outdoor hardcourt surface.
This event, called "The Agassi Sampras Tour en Argentina" is part of the farewell tour both tennis players have already offered in six countries in Latin America.
The program will consist of two matches, starting at 7pm, when Agassi will play Jim Courrier, former number 1 player in 1992, followed by Sampras against the American player Mardy Fish.
Tickets are on sale through www.tuentrada.com

BAFICI - 13th Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema

The tirteenth edition of the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (BAFICI) organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, will take place from April 6 to April 17, 2011, under the artistic direction of Sergio Wolf.

In this new edition 426 international films will be screened in the 22 venues of the City of Buenos Aires that are hosting the festival. Some of the titles that make up this year's program are:
"Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today" (USA, 1948) by Stuart Schulberg, presented by the director's daughter, Sandra Schulberg;
"Football is God" (2010), Danish movie about Boca Juniors;
3D projections: "Cave of Forgotten Dreams", by Werner Herzog; "Pequeñas voces", by Jairo Eduardo Carrillo; and "Crisis letal" by Spanish Santiago Segura.
"Ponette" (1996), "Le Petit Criminal" (1990) and "Le marriage a trois" (2010), by Jacques Doillon.
"A letter to Elia", the latest documentary by Martin Scorsese, co-directed with Kent Jones, about the movie maker Elia Kazan, with the presence of Frances Kazan, his widower.
"El Bulli: Cooking in Progress", by German director Gereon Wetzel.
To mention just a few of the hundreds of outstanding films that will be presented during the Festival.

The opening of the Festival will be held again at the Teatro 25 de Mayo with the  world premiere of the Argentinian film "Vaquero", by Juan Minujin.  The closing of the Festival will be with the film "Nader and Nisim, a Separation" (2011), by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, winner of the Golden Bear in the 2011 Berlin Festival.
In this edition, the Festival continues with the Baficito Section successfully inaugurated in 2009 with programming dedicated to kids, with the premiere in Argentina of some outstanding films, lke: The Great Bear, by Esben Toft Jacobsen (Denmakr, 2011), Allez raconte!, by Jean-Christophe Roger (France/Luxembourg/Belgium, 2010); among others.
The national cinema will be present at this edition with a total of 42 feature films and 48 shorts, two of which participate in the International Competition.
The Open Air Cinema section will offer free screenings at Pasaje Carlos Gardel and Plaza San Martín de Tours.
The Modern Classics section continues, where great films restored in new copies will projected, like the complete version in 35 mm of "El Gatopardo" by Visconti (Italy/France,1963); "En el balcón vacío"(México, 1931) by Jomi García Ascot premiered at the MOMA; "The Bowler and the Bunnet", directed by Sean Connery; the Bolivian super production "Wara Wara", silent movie from the 30s directed by José María Velasco Maidana; and the restored version of the classic by Fritz Lang, "Metropolis", that will be projected accompanied by live music by trío Marcelo Katz. All with free entrance.

Tickets may be purchased in advance via the website www.festivales.gob.ar, or in person from 10am to 8pm at Casa de la Cultura (Av. De Mayo 575 PB) and the Hoyts Abasto. Also, since 6 April, the remainder will be available online or in person at the box offices of all the sites affected by BAFICI.

Venues:
ALIANZA FRANCESA DE BUENOS AIRES: Av. Córdoba 946
ARTEPLEX BELGRANO: Av. Cabildo 2829
ATLAS SANTA FE: Av. Santa Fe 2015
COSMOS-UBA: Av. Corrientes 2046
HOYTS ABASTO DE BUENOS AIRES: Av. Corrientes 3247
MALBA CINE: Av. Figueroa Alcorta 3415
TGSM - SALA LEOPOLDO LUGONES: Av. Corrientes 1530 Piso 10º
TEATRO 25 DE MAYO: Av. Triunvirato 4436

Special Events:
PASAJE CARLOS GARDEL: Anchorena and Jean Jaurés (Open Air screenings)
PLAZA SAN MARTÍN DE TOURS: Schiaffino y Posadas (Open Air screenings)
FUNDACION PROA: Av. Pedro de Mendoza 1929

Tickets:
Online at www.festivales.gov.ar
Monday to Sunday, 10am to 8 pm: Casa de La Cultura: Av. De Mayo 575 (Closed April 2-5)
Hoyts Abasto: Av. Corrientes 3247
During the festival: at all the venues of the festival.
For more information, schedules and complete programs, visit BAFICI 2011 official website.