Wednesday, December 31, 2008

7th January. Spanish gathering at Culture Club.


Date for your diary- Wednesday, 7th January.

Dear Friend of the Society,

Wow - 46 people at yesterday's Get Together! Thank you so much to all
those who attended, especially those from Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and
Spain, who, of course, gave us so much support in our quest to practise
and improve our Spanish. Special thanks also, must go to A Mai, who
stepped in at the last minute to give an entertaining talk on Spanish
traditions at Christmas time. Tony had to go to Beijing and was unable to
give his talk.

As you see from the above, our next Get Together will take place on
January 7th. Please note this in your diary and endeavour
to come - everybody who has an interest in speaking Spanish is very
welcome to attend. Tony, from Hawaii, has said he will give an assisted
talk on that State.

In addition, there will be another opportunity to practise your Spanish in
congenial surroundings on December 27th. Please see http://espaniolenhongkong.blogspot.com for
details.

Finally, thanks to Lennon, the owner of CultureClub ( www.cultureclub.com.hk ), for
looking after us so well in our Get Togethers, and thank you to all those
of you who have supported our gatherings in 2008 and who have made it such a
successful year.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Chris Stubbs

Member of the Society.

31st January. Spanish gathering at Zona Rosa

Dear all:

Our monthly “Spanish gathering”( regularly the last Saturday of the month) will be this time 31st of January at Causeway bay (one block from SOGO, open until 3 am.) Zona Rosa 2f, 511 Lockhard Road, Causeway bay from 8 pm as always.

I'll see you there!

Marcela.

Feliz 2009/ Happy 2009

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Winnie's trip to Buenos Aires. Puerto Madero with friends





Winnie's trip to Buenos Aires. More Caminito pictures





Winnie's trip to Buenos Aires. Pictures with friends. Dancing!!





Winnie's trip to Buenos Aires. Las violetas






Here some picture of Winnie and friends in "Las violetas" a traditional Buenos Aires coffee shop.

History:Buenos Aires City, founded twice by the Rio de la Plata (Silver River), grew up truning its back to the river and suffered the same swings and changes as its politics. Some bouildings were pulled down and rebuilt at least three times. Such is the case of the Colon Opera House and the House of Government. Each time, buildings were submitted to different construction canons, first colonial, then Italian and finally French. French archicteture was dominant at the trun of the 20th century and French school architects--keen on the Ecole de Beaux Arts de Paris guidelines--,built the city big boulevards and buildings in that style.

Rivadavia Avenue was a carriage road and joinde Plaza de Mayo with the city Far West towards Flores. In 1870, the yellow fever epidemic spreaded and the wealthy families in Buenos Aires looked for shelter in the city highlands and moved to Flores, a summer country house neighborhood, and other areas. The western railways joined Flores with the city center. In 1876, the Compania Anglo Argentina (Anglo Argentine Corporation) built one of the first streetcars pulled by hourses to be seen on Rivadavia Avenue.

In 1880 economic prosperity boosted a big expansion fo the city and its suburbs. New buildings and shops bloomed. The "big village" was growing into a city.

Although the Medrano and Rivadavia Avenue intersection is only 4 km. (2.5miles) far from Plaza de Mayo, it was considered to be "at the back of the beyond."

Right on the corner of those streets, a coffee house with golden chandelliers and Italian marble was built. Its inauguration date was September 21st 1884 and even secretary Carlos Pellegrini, future Argentine President at the time, was present, arriving in a special streetcar and accompanied by many of his distinguished friends. Politicians, artists and writers of those times, like Roberto Arlt, would take it as their meeting point, they would seat round the tables of this coffee house. But it was not until the 1920's that the current building--with its windows, its curved glass doors, its French stained--glass windows, and its Italian marble floors--was made. The restored stained- glass windows were created to decorate and brighten the pleasant coffeehouse environment in those times, where people would spend their leisure time in a very select environment. In 1998, the building was declared "Buenos Aires CIty's Heritage Site" by the Buenos Aires Legislative Body. For several years, before the last restauration, the building was shut and almost abandoned. The restauration fo the building, its components and the stained-glass windows was started in January 2001 and finished in June.

Winnie's trip to Buenos Aires. Caminito






Here are some pictures that Winnie sent from "Caminito".

Caminito is an area of Buenos Aires which is the first free outdoor museum and it was opened in 1959. It is located in the neighborhood of La Boca, which is anything but a museum. La Boca is the oldest port in Buenos Aires and is rich in history and exotic tales.

Caminito is painted in many colors because the immigrants, mostly from Genoa Italy, worked on the shipyards there and used the pint from the ships to pint their small dwellings, called conventillos. The Caminito we see today is a life size replica of what it used to be like at the beginning of the 1900's when millions of European immigrants came to Buenos Aires seeking a better life.
The name Caminito is taken from a famous Tango song that depicts a small country road in Argentina. Which alludes to the Tango history found within this interesting neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The immigrants would socialize in the brothels and it was there that Tango found its feet.

27th December. Spanish gathering at Zona Rosa.

Dear all:

Our monthly “Spanish gathering”( regularly the last Saturday of the month) will be this time 27th of December at Causeway bay (one block from SOGO, open until 3 am.) Zona Rosa 2f, 511 Lockhard Road, Causeway bay from 8 pm as always.

I'll see you there!

Marcela.

17th. December. Spanish gathering at Culture Club.

Dear Friend of the Society,

Thank you to the 32 people who attended yesterday's Get Together, especially Sergio, who gave a lively and interesting talk on the origins of Mexican Culture. We had 4 Mexicans at the gathering, so that country was well represented. Thank you to all the first language Spanish speakers who came. You helped us to practise our Spanish in a productive manner - your attendance is always valued.

Our next Get Together will be held at CultureClub (www.cultureclub.com.hk), 15 Elgin Street, Soho District, Hong Kong on Wed., 17th December, starting at 7.00. Tony, also from Mexico, has said he would be delighted to talk, and lead a discussion on the different ways, people of different cultures celebrate Christmas - or something like that! Whatever happens we will have fun, as well as get valuable Spanish practice.

Some regulars will unfortunately be out of town, so please make a special effort to come along if you are available - the more the merrier. Remember that Lennon will provide drinks at Happy Hour prices (after the first) and some free snacks.


Saludos,

Chris Stubbs,

The Jones &Maruri, cello-guitar duo. Monday 8th December at Hong Kong Arts Centre.