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For an ostensibly Catholic country, Argentina - well, Buenos Aires at least - takes a remarkably liberal attitude towards matters of a sexual nature. Aside from the piles of soft porn on display at every kiosko on the street, you will find whole chapters of street-press and ‘what’s-on’ guides dedicated to gay-friendly events, venues and businesses.What’s really surprising though is the abundance and conspicuousness of “transitorios”, or “telos” as the slang term for them goes. Now, I’ve always thought of ‘love hotels’ - the usual euphemism for any establishment that charges rooms out by the hour - as seedy places where people pay for more than just a bed, if you know what I mean.
But here, killing a few hours between the sheets with a loved (or at least lusted-after) one is as socially acceptable as meeting for coffee with friends. In fact, rather than being seen as scourges of society telos are generally considered to be providing a much-needed public service: safe, clean, comfortable places for young couples - who often live at home with their parents well into their 20s - to dance the horizontal tango in private.
Options range from basic bedrooms (always with a private bathroom) to luxury suites to themed extravaganzas (for those who suffer ‘Jungle Fever’ or like to bump-uglies ‘Under the Sea’). If you need inspiration, you can arrange for a television with films to get you in the mood or ask for a water-bed with ceiling mirrors. A courtesy call 10 minutes before your time is up gives you a chance to extend your stay if you’re not quite done yet, and rooms are completely ‘refreshed’ in between tenants to ensure it’s all good clean fun.
The whole exercise is generally considered romantic rather than tacky, and it’s so mundane that even married couples with their own homes are known to use telos for a change of scenery. Viva la diferencia, huh?
World Youth Day 2008 officially begins (as a week) tomorrow. Up until now the majority of people talking about the event are grumpy businessmen who need to get to work on time and excited pilgrims embarking on a religious journey. If you want to hear what our generation think about unspoken and spoken issues during WYD '08, head to the PROJECTeye website. SBS is the main media partner for PROJECTeye and they want to make sure they get right in there and report what is going on, and what is being spoken about in our crowd. The idea is grainy, raw news coming from upcoming creative contemporaries specialising in a range of media and using their skills to get into the nitty gritty of World Youth Day. The website will officially begin its news coverage tomorrow.
French band Cocoon took a fair risk when they decided to sing in English, the official pop-and-rock mother tongue, two years ago. Was France ready for such a betrayal of their oh-so protected Gallic words? Lately, more and more French bands have decided to assume out-loud their attraction for Shakespeare’s language. Marc and Morgane, 22 and 19, spread their melodic soft songs with ukulele sprinkling and poetic twists –or maybe is it a very personal and sassy use of the foresaid English language, the very language at the heart of this very hot issue- « I feel like a pop-corn » is whispering among others whimsical lyrics all-charmingly-cheeky Marc while an all-blonde-fringed Morgane is hitting a gentle piano note. Cocoon has released their first album All my friends died in plane crash in Australia last January. More here.
Last week I stepped out of my apartment building and into a scene from Francis Ford Coppola’s next film “Tetro” (a quasi-autobiographical black & white epic about an immigrant family, set in Buenos Aires).
This week it was a film clip, starring a lemon-yellow 1953 BMW Isetta being driven by a very tall African-American man in a gold spacesuit, with a sharply dressed Devito-esque passenger and two midgets on Vespa scooters riding alongside...
Known as one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, The 2008 Brisbane Festival kicks of on July 18. A bienniall event, this year's festival looks better than ever; placing emphasis on creating new work, accessibility and facilitating exchanges between local, national and international artists by creating a programme bursting with a world class selection of music, art, opera, lectures and much more. The 2008 Brisbane Festival will run from july 18 - August six, with events taking place throughout the city.
They've played the sweatiest clubs and the flashiest fashion shin-digs and this Saturday night Sydney's favourite all-girl party gang, Hoops, is bringing the shake, pop and shine to Melbourne. Nina Las Vegas, Bad Ezzy and DJ Anna Lunoe will be playing at Seven nightclub, 52 Albert Rd in South Melbs with doors opening at ten. for a taste of what to expect, click here for a free and damn fine Hoops mixtape.
It seems like just yesterday that Bloc Party released A
Weekend in the City and I was busting out some moves at their '07 tour, yet the four piece indie rock band from
The Ace Norton directed video is best described as Planet of
the Apes meets Operation meets Frankenstein, with a dose of anti-Republican
sentiment, demonstrated by a stubborn bull running the White House whilst the
lyrics “My mercury’s in retrograde” (astrologer jargon for when things go to shit) repeat. Many ‘wtfs’ ensured.
