Navidad

Here in Argentina they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Traditionally, you have lunch and/or dinner with all of your family members, including extended family, until about 2 or 4 in the morning, and then you go out clubbing or partying with all of your friends. Clubs, bars, and restaurants are all open. The same goes for Christmas day. It's great.

My friend Omar is down in Argentina filming a movie, so he invited me to spend Christmas with him at the estanzia, the ranch, where he and the rest of the cast and crew are staying. They are filming about 200 km outside of Buenos Aires, near a town called Veronica. It was a lovely time. They served champagne from practically the moment we arrived til the moment I went to bed. For lunch, there was an incredible asado, with lamb, beef, pork, chorizo,and blood sausage (yum!). Actually, I got a little sick, to tell you the truth. I don't know what happened, but my stomach hasn't been the same for the past three days. Maybe it's like what they say about not mixing wine with hard liquor! Don't mix your pig with your red meats? In any case, it was outrageously hot, so after lunch, we all went for a dip and lounged about in the sun. Here's me and Omar, pre-dip:




(The more I look at this picture, the more I think we look a bit like brother and sister, no?)

The two days I spent there were very lazy. We ate, swam, lay in the sun, ate more, lay in hammocks, sat, smoked, talked, drank. There were so many different kinds of trees at the estanzia, along with an amazing array of wild birds. With the hammocks and the long walks, the slow pace of the conversation (which was a mix of philosophy and gossip), the "main" house and the "old" house, the sit-down meals at designated hours, the whole atmostphere was, as one actress put it, very Chekhovian. It's true, it was sort of what I've imagined Uncle Vanya's estate to look like - trees, expanse, and beautiful old houses with high ceilings and creaky floors.

I was also quite impressed with how down-to-earth and friendly the cast and crew were. They were gracious, welcoming, and as it turned out, quite chatty. I did have to peel the arms of a slimy producer off my shoulder, but hey - what's a film without one of those, right?

Happy Holidays to everyone. Besos.