Optica Festival brings some of the world's best video art to Buenos Aires from October 28-31

Founded in  Spain, Optica Festival is one of the first contemporary art events of its kind: an initiative that promotes public interaction with visual experimentation.

More than 200 artists and 20 galleries from around the world participate in the annual video art exhibition. Organized by the Asociacion Cultural Colectivo Interferencias, Optica Festival offers a forum for interchange and promotion that encourages an encounter with visual experimentation at an international level.

The philosophy of the festival is the defense of the idea of “intergenerational inclusion,” a practice that focuses on crossing generations as well as breaking down the barriers that exist between different art circles and disseminating new talent.

The goals of Optica Festival are to to promote the creative expression and motivate reflection about the environment; to create a space for education, innovation and creativity; and to encourage the exchange of ideas, debate and discussion.

This year, Optica Festival will take place in various cities in Spain, as well as in Buenos Aires, La Paz, Paris and New York. The event takes place in Buenos Aires from October 28-30 at the Casa de la Lectura and Club Cultural Matienzo in Belgrano.

Ramírez, Senra, Valenzuela, and La Dolfina designer Betsy Burnham at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

On September 17, the designs of Mari­a Pryor, Pablo Rami­rez, Marcelo Senra, Laura Valenzuela, Evangelina Bomparola and La Dolfina took center stage at Lincoln Park in Manhattan during the Argentine Group Show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Pryor showed constructed white dresses with intricate seams and tucking, while Rami­rez showcased his craftsmanship with tuck-waisted jackets and dramatic gowns.

Senra, fresh off his standout show at Buenos Aires Fashion Week, sent colorful tribal-print dresses and chic silk shorts down the runway. Bomparola utilized a black and cream palette for her chic, feminine silk ensembles and Valenzuela showed flowing, bohemian dresses in earth tones. La Dolfina epitomized traditional Argentine polo wear with clean, sleek lines and, of course, plenty of leather.

The show highlighted just a small portion of the talent coming out of Argentina and signals their arrival in one of the fashion capitals of the world.

For more news and information about Buenos Aires arts, design and luxury living visit our archives and download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

Marcelo Senra

Marcelo Senra and five other local designers will debut collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC.

On Thursday, September 16, the Argentina Group Show will take place at Lincoln Center in New York as part of the 2011 Spring/Summer Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, one of the premier fashion events in the world.

Mari­a Pryor, Pablo Rami­rez, Marcelo Senra, Laura Valenzuela, Evangelina Bomparola and La Dolfina will each present seven looks during the runway show, giving them the opportunity to show their design aesthetic on fashion’s biggest stage.

Pryor has shown at Buenos Aires and Miami Fashion Weeks, winning numerous awards along the way and becoming a favorite of celebrities. Rami­rez studied fashion design in Buenos Aires before honing his craft in Paris. Since returning to Buenos Aires, his chic, austere designs have won adulation from some of fashion’s biggest names. Marcelo Senra, fresh off his acclaimed showing at Buenos Aires Fashion Week, is bring his exotic, ethereal style to New York.

Valenzuela, who, like her peers, has been the recipient of many awards, will present her intricate, feminine designs for the first time at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week having being chosen by the Argentina Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Evangelina Bomparola‘s simple, bold and wearable pieces are defined by the quality, elegance, and exclusivity that serve as the cornerstone of her collections. Polo legend Adolfo Cambiaso and his wife, model Maria Vazquez, are behind the line La Dolfina, a brand “motivated by the most authentic elements of the Argentine polo.” With classic, well-made basics, La Dolfina will provide a glimpse of true Argentine polo style.

For more on the best of Buenos Aires fashion, design and luxury living, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

Nestled deep on a quiet residential block of Palermo Hollywood sits a cozy house of decor inspired by New York in the 40′s and 50′s. Founders Marti­n Vadillo and Fernando Barbe opened Wathemala in July 2008 with the goal of creating a space where clients could enter, shop and enjoy good music.

The elegant little shop is stacked to the rafters with classic furniture, English teapots, black-and-white photos, assorted housewares and an original fragrance dubbed “The Wathemala Potion.” In addition to a wide variety of home merchandise, Wathemala offers interior design consulting, wedding registry and Wathemala Rental, a unique on-set design service for BA movie, television, and theater productions.

Wathemala is located at Guatemala 6090.

Punta del Este Beachside Home
An American recently bought this beachside home in idyllic Punta del Este, Uruguay for US$160,000.

It’s another triple-digit loss day on the Dow so, depending on your degree of diversification, your retirement savings may be taking a similar hit. Appropriate then that we turn to an article on net worth and how to stretch your hard-earned savings post-retirementThe New York Times says Latin American destinations like Buenos Aires, Punta del Este and even Medelli­n are starting to factor into the equation for Americans seeking an affordable retirement destination with a high standard of living and affordable health care.

“Now that air travel and communications have grown easier, adventurous seniors are retiring to more far-flung destinations, lured by lower costs, better climates and growing colonies of like-minded retirees,” writes Shelley Emling. Argentina and Uruguay are both mentioned in the article which features one American who bought a Montevideo condo for $58,000 and a beachside Punta del Este home for $160,000. Two homes in Uruguay for the price of a two-room co-op in New York? No wonder the Times is looking to the Southern Hemisphere with a sense of longing.

It’s good to see more mainstream news sources picking up on what InvestBA and other specialty publications like International Living and Shelter Offshore have known for some time. As one of the North Americans interviewed sums it up, “I don’t know of anyone who has decided to move back full-time after having had a taste of living abroad.”

For more information on retirement opportunities in Argentina and Uruguay, contact us and download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

 

Bariloche

Mendoza

Uruguay

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