Wayne Bernhardson - Moon Buenos Aires

aduana customs

aduana paralela parallel customs, corrupt customs officials

albergue juvenil youth hostel, though the English word hostel is now in common usage as well

albergue transitorio a by-the-hour-hotel, frequently used by young and not-so-young couples in search of privacy; also called a telo

anexo telephone extension

arrabales geographically and socially peripheral parts of the city, identified with immigrants and the rise of the tango

asambleas populares neighborhood assemblies of protestors and activists frustrated with Argentine institutions

avenida avenue

balneario bathing or beach resort

barrancas high ground on the original banks of the Ro de Plata, now far inland in San Telmo, Belgrano, and other parts of Buenos Aires because of continual landfill

barras bravas soccer hooligans, violent gangs affiliated with soccer teams

barrio neighborhood

boleadoras rounded stones tied together with a leather thong and used for hunting by indigenous people of La Pampa

bono bond, a provincial letter of credit serving as a parallel currency equivalent to the peso

bronca a singularly porteo combination of aggravation and frustration; there is no precise English equivalent; the closest meaning is wrath or, in Britain, aggro (the latter according to former Buenos Aires Herald editor Andrew Graham-Yooll)

cabildo colonial governing council

caipirinha a popular drink made with cachaa (Brazilian liquor made from distilled sugarcane juice), lime, and sugar

cajero automtico automatic teller machine (ATM)

camioneta pickup truck

candombe music and dance of Afro-Argentine porteos, of whom few remain

caracterstica telephone area code

carne beef; other kinds of meat are carne blanca (literally, white meat)

cartelera discount ticket agency

casa chorizo s ausage house, a narrow residence on a deep lot

casa de cambio money-exchange facility, often just cambio

casco big house of an estancia

casilla post office box

caudillo in early independence times, a provincial warlord, though the term is often used for any populist leader, such as Juan Domingo Pern

cerro hill

chamam accordion-based folk music of the northeastern Argentine littoral

chopp draft beer

ciruja literally surgeon, a scavenger who picks recyclables from the garbage on Buenos Aires streets; synonymous with cartonero

cobro revertido collect or reverse-charge telephone call

cocoliche pidgin blend of Italian and Spanish spoken by Mediterranean European immigrants

coima bribe

colectivo a city bus

comedor s imple eatery or dining room

confitera a restaurant/caf with a menu of minutas (short orders)

conventillo tenement, often an abandoned mansion taken over by squatters

corralito unpopular banking restriction imposed by the Argentine government during the 2001-2002 debt default and devaluation

costanera any road along a seashore, lake-shore, or riverside

criollo in colonial times, an Argentine-born Spaniard; in the present, normally a descriptive term meaning traditionally Argentine

desaparecido disappeared one, victim of the 1976-1983 military dictatorship

descamisados s hirtless ones, working-class followers of Juan and Evita Pern

dique deep-water basin dredged in Buenos Aires harbor

doble traccin four-wheel drive, also known as cuatro por cuatro (the latter written as 4X4)

edificio building

escrache public demonstration, originally identifying human-rights violators at their residences, but since extended to perceived corrupt officials and institutions

estancia cattle or sheep ranch controlling large expanses of land, often with an absentee owner, a dominant manager, and resident employees

estatuas vivas living statues, mimes in touristed areas of Buenos Aires

estero estuary

farmacia de turno pharmacy remaining open all night for emergencies, on a rotating basis

feria outdoor crafts or antiques fair; alternatively, an outdoor bookstall

fichas tokens, formerly used on the Buenos Aires subway

filete traditional art of porteo sign painters, in a calligraphic style

fileteador filete artist

gasoil diesel fuel

gauchesco adjective describing romantic art or literature about (not by) gauchos

golfo gulf

golpe de estado coup detat

hipdromo horse-race track

hospedaje family-run lodging

indgena indigenous person

indigenista adjective describing romantically pro-indigenous literature, music, and art

infraccin traffic violation

isla island

islote islet

istmo isthmus

IVA impuesto de valor agregado, or value-added tax (VAT)

lago lake

laguna lagoon

latifundio large landholding, usually an estancia

local numbered office or locale, at a given street address

locutorio telephone call center

lunfardo porteo street slang that developed in working-class immigrant barrios like La Boca but is now more widely used in Argentine Spanish, though not in formal situations

machista male chauvinist

malevo s treet bully

media pensin half board (rates include breakfast and either lunch or dinner) at a hotel or guesthouse

men menu; also, a fixed-price meal

mestizo individual of mixed indigenous and Spanish ancestry

milonga informal neighborhood dance club, which often includes tango as a participatory rather than spectator activity

minuta a short-order meal, such as pasta

mirador overlook or viewpoint

museo museum

oqui ghost employee, collecting a state salary despite performing little or no work; literally, gnocchi

palacete mansion

pampa broad, flat expanse in and around Buenos Aires