Argentine Novias, Pt. 2

As previously noted here, Argentine women possess a certain charm that has seduced even the most eligible of bachelors, many of them from the world of entertainment. Now add to the list two guys from opposite ends of the musical spectrum, but both of whom are are known around the globe.

First, Canadian crooner Michael Buble, who just announced his engagement to bubbly Argentine actress/model/former teen starlet/purveyor of products Luisana Lopilato, who he met during a tour stop in Buenos Aires, then picked to star in one of his videos, and then asked to be his wife. Apparently, neither of them speaks the other’s language very well (yet, at least) but I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Congrats.

The second in James Hetfield of Metallica, who I just found out is married to an Argentine women. (I’m surprised I didn’t know this earlier; it’s exactly the kind of useless information that I have a knack for retaining). Hetfield is married to Francesca, a former wardrobe designer for the band, whom he married in 1997 and is the mother of his three kids. Los Hetfield spent the holidays in Punta del Este, Uruguay in December before Metallica embarked on the first leg of their Latin American tour, which ended Sunday in Sao Paulo. Metallica played two shows here in Buenos Aires (I didn't attend, but I have seen Metallica live before) and in this clip you can hear Hetfield getting the crowd fired-up during “Seek and Destroy” with an impressive locals-only pronunciation of Buenos Aires ("Let's make some history Bwanoss Ayress!"); clearly he’s had plenty of practice.

Sex Sells (Duh)

As someone who reports on Latin America for international media outlets, I can attest to the fact that it is often a struggle to get people interested in the happenings of this region. Ask any of my colleagues and they’ll tell you the same. Thankfully, I think we succeed more than we fail in getting the good stories out there. However, I’m starting to get a bit f-ing tired of stupid stories from this region generating more headlines than ones of substance. This is a global news trend these days, as people seem to be getting stupider, and worse, reveling in their increased apathy. In my own experience, there have been several instances recently where important stories that I covered had to compete with more salacious ones for headlines.

The most recent example occurred last week when President Cristina Kirchner grossed out the world when she announced that “eating pork can make your sex life better.” I don’t really know what to say to that (and many others have already commented) but if Argentines often wonder why their country is not taken seriously in some circles, the fact that their head of state gushes publicly about bacon and boffing could be a possible explanation.

Anyway, in the same days that that pork story was making its way through the news cycle and blogosphere, there were at least two other important stories happening in Argentina that actually did have international relevance. First, the ongoing saga of the Argentine Central Bank and second, the plight of Argentine families trying to get their adopted Haitian children out of Haiti, without the assistance of the Argentine government. I reported on the latter for CNN. Did my story get good feedback and response? Yes. Did it help bring those orphans home? That remains to be seen. Did the Haiti story garner as many headlines as Cristina’s pork posturing? No, of course not. And therein lies the problem. Dumb and sex sells. And that really sucks.

The same thing happened back in December when two gay Argentine men were planning their wedding in Buenos Aires, which would have made them the first same-sex married couple in Latin America. Again, an important story. What happened? A 38-year-old former Miss Argentina, Solange Mognano (above), died from complications from ass-enhancement surgery the same week. Guess which one got more attention on Google News?

And then of course, there is South Carolina governor Mark Sanford and his tryst with Argentine Maria Belen Chapur. Yes, it was newsworthy because a state governor disappeared for several days and then admitted he was having an affair. But did it deserve the all-out media frenzy that it received (and is still receiving) in the U.S. and worldwide? Definitely not. I got more damn phone calls from American media outlets asking me to work for them on that story than any other story in years. Crazy. I did one day of work reporting on Ms. Chapur and then essentially made myself scarce as the stakeout for her continued. I’m not a paparazzi.

I think the real issue here is that many U.S. and European-centric media have a hard time distinguishing between the varied cultures and politics of Latin America, and therefore when a story breaks that eliminates the need to explain these differences (read:sex), then hey, let’s just cover that. I find it insulting and infuriating. And I’m sure it’s only gonna get worse.

Sandro has left the building....

Roberto Sanchez, better known as "Sandro" died on Jan. 4th from complications from heart and lung transplant surgery. He was one of Latin America's most beloved singers, known for his hip-shaking moves, black hair and love ballads, all of which earned him the title the "Elvis of Argentina."

Sandro's passing was big news in the region, and I'm happy to say that CNN deemed it worthy of international coverage. I reported live from outside the Argentine National Congress, where Sandro's body lay in repose the day after his death and where tens of thousands of people lined up to pay their final respects to him. It was a hot, chaotic day, made more challenging by technical difficulties with our equipment. During the first live shot, I had no audio, which means the anchor could hear me, but I couldn't hear the anchor. So after some scrambling and unsuccessful attempts at fixing the problem, we did it the old-fashioned way: a CNN en Espanol producer listened to the on-air audio over a cell phone and when the anchor "tossed" the story to me, he pointed his finger and I just started talking. Much to my surprise, it turned out well, with only a 1-second delay. You can watch that report here.

So as not to push my luck, I decided to retreat to the CNN bureau and do the second live shot from there, which went off without a hitch. Later, I wrote a tracked a package report about Sandro, using interviews we had conducted that day (including with some Sandro inpersonators) and archive footage. That report is here.

I'm definitely not a big fan of Sandro's music, but his impact on popular music in the Spanish-speaking world is undeniable, and by all accounts, he was a good guy too.

RIP, Sandro.

Exclusive: Interview with Ricardo Darin

I wrote an article for this week's Newsweek International about the fantastic Argentine film "El Secreto de sus Ojos" (The Secret in Their Eyes), one of the most successful Spanish-language films in recent memory. For the article, I interviewed director Juan Jose Campanella (above left) as well as actor Ricardo Darin (above right). Both men were endlessly gracious and generous with their time. I admire both of them tremendously. You can read the article here.

Scoring the interview with Darin took a long time. He is one of the most in-demand actors in Latin America. But it was well worth the wait. I was only able to use one quote from Darin in the Newsweek article, but I wanted to publish the whole interview here, because he is such a smart, honest and funny guy. So below is our chat almost in its entirety, translated from Spanish to English. Enjoy.

Why do you work with Juan Jose Campanella so often?

I work with him for two reasons: one, he always invited me to work with him on his projects and two, I always enjoy working with him. Every time he invites me I know I am guaranteed to have a good time, and express myself as an artist. Plus, it’s great to spend time with him. We are good friends, but we don’t get to see each other that often, normally just when we work.

Campanella told me he thinks you are the best actor to fill his roles, primarily because they are often reflections of himself. Do you agree?

He is very generous when he speaks about me, and in general. He seems to be more concentrated on my career than I am! I owe a lot of my career to the fact that he always thinks about me. And I try to return the favor when I work with him. He is a pleasure to work with always, because he enjoys the interaction with actors, which is not common. As an actor, this is the ideal situation to try and create a new character. When I work with Campanella it’s an easy process because, as he told you, he often thinks about me when he writes. If it is a writer always writing different characters, it would be different, but I know with Campanella his point of view will almost always be from someone who is a common Argentine citizen. In each story and each film, he tries to present a different point of view, but it will always be coming from his experiences and knowledge, which are similar to mine. But with other directors, like Fabian Bielinsky -- who was a great director and a dear friend with whom I worked with several times and who unfortunately died a few years ago -- I now realize since he is gone that the things he wanted me to do as an actor are completely different from the road that I take with Juan Campanella. Bielinsky always looked for my dark side. Campanella looks for my bright side. So working with these two great directors always forced me to look into different aspects of myself.

Why do you think “The Secret in Their Eyes” is such a big hit?

I think it is for a variety of reasons. It is an interesting story, well-written, with very good characters. The second is that it is well-directed and well-produced. Third, and this has to do with the audience, but I think there are social ideas and issues that the film deals with, both directly and indirectly, that are very important to all Argentines, and are a part of our social climate, and our recent past. So these factors have made it successful, and made all Argentines, myself included, proud that a movie of this quality could be made here in Argentina by Argentines.

Forgive my need to compare you to an American, but in many ways you remind me of Tom Hanks. What do you think of that comparison?

First, thank you for the comparison, because Tom Hanks is one of the actors that I most admire. In addition, I think your observation is very intelligent and I agree. But I don’t want to sound like a jerk when I say this, but I am just looking for a technical way to explain why I agree with you. For me, Hanks is an actor that I admire a lot for his sense of humor and intelligence. I have always liked his subtlety. He can do anything as an actor. He can do a drama or comedy just as much as an action film. There are good actors, and bad actors. And then there are comedians! They can do anything. Tom Hanks is one of those. You made my day with that compliment. Thank you, Brian.

What did you think of “Criminal,” the U.S. remake of “Nueve Reinas?”

I don’t have a good opinion of it. And I’ll tell you the reasons why. We were very anxious and excited to see the film. We really wanted to see how they interpreted our film. The first problem is where they choose to set the film. The story takes place in a chaotic urban city, and when they chose Los Angeles, I think they were wrong. It’s a urban story about people who get around on foot, who walk the streets, not who drive around in cars and, as we all know, Los Angeles is a car city. It would have been better in New York or Chicago. The two main characters are not the brightest guys, they are just street thieves. So this was the first error. The second is the casting. I admire John C. Reilly a lot and also Diego Luna. But in this particular case, my character needed to have more of a shady face, and the other character needed to have an angel face, and I don’t think with these actors they chose well. So there were complications. And we really had high hopes for this big American production.

Another thing that called my attention was that after Bielinsky sold the right to “Nueve Reinas” to make “Criminal” -- even though he didn’t gain hardly any money from it because he had already sold the rights to the producer -- he didn’t have any rights as the writer. But one detail that called my attention was that he wasn’t allowed to go visit the set in Los Angeles. He wanted to go and help collaborate with the crew. He spoke and wrote English very well, so he wanted to offer his help with the project. But the response he got from the producers was no. Not only did they not authorize him to visit the set, but they also told him not to even go near it! He couldn’t believe it! So I think after everything I just told you, you can understand why my opinion of the film isn’t very good.

Photos courtesy of 100 Bares.

The "Backstory" on Juan Pablo Escobar

I was interviewed by CNN anchor Michael Holmes this week for the show "Backstory" about my experience spending time with Juan Pablo Escobar, now known as Sebastian Marroquin, the son of the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. We spoke about the day I spent with Marroquin, watching the documentary about his life, and the article I wrote about it for Newsweek. You can read my Nov. 15th blog post about that day below.

It was an unusual position for me to be in; I am usually the one asking questions, not answering them. But I think the "Backstory" segment turned out very well. It was the lead story on Friday's show. You can watch it here.

Going Green: Sustainable Bamboo

My report for CNN's "Going Green" week about sustainable bamboo practices aired this week. I got to spend a lovely day in Tigre, Argentina filming the story. My on-air report as well as my "Reporter's Notebook" and a photo slideshow are available here.

And you can watch the "Backstory" (and watch me eat bamboo) here.

Photos by Brian Byrnes.

The Gay Marriage That Wasn't (yet)

It was the historic wedding that wasn’t. Jose Maria Di Bello (l) and Alex Freyre (r) were set to become Latin America’s first same-sex married couple on December 1st in Buenos Aires, but an 11th-hour ruling by a federal judge in Argentina halted the ceremony. That wasn’t going to stop them from a good fight, however. The couple -- decked out in black suits, matching silver ties and wearing bright red sashes over their shoulders -- showed up at the Civil Registry in Palermo on Tuesday intent on getting hitched. Hundreds of others were there as well: friends, family and scores of journalists, including myself. Argentina’s gay community was out in force, carrying banners, waving rainbow flags and chanting “Equality, Equality!”

A small group of police in riot gear were also on hand, but wisely stayed a half-block away. A friend told me the police had originally set-up right in front of the courthouse entrance, but a city official yelled at them to get the hell away. The way she saw it, there was no reason for them to be there; it would only cause problems. And there weren’t any problems, save for two young men that yelled “putos” (“homos”) at the crowd, and those two were quickly arrested.

Despite noisy protests and many, many, many speeches by supporters inside the sweltering lobby of the courthouse, Alex and Jose Maria were not permitted to marry. The city of Buenos Aires decided not to challenge the challenge to the earlier ruling, which brought jeers and boos for Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, despite the fact that he was the man who had essentially opened the door for the marriage (see below) in the first place. It’s scary how quickly a politician can go from hero to enemy, and on that day Macri was called every name in the book. I think the criticism was undeserved, though, because at that point it really was out of his hands, legally speaking.

On the morning of the planned ceremony, I did several live shots for CNN International talking about the issue, including this one with CNN anchor Natalie Allen.

In the week leading up to Tuesday’s scheduled ceremony, it seemed that every media in the world wanted to speak with Freyre, 39 and Di Bello, 41. They had to send phone calls straight to voicemail, ignore emails and leave texts unanswered. Such is the territory that comes with making history.

The proposed marriage came about because Freyre and Di Bello challenged Argentina’s constitutional ban on same-sex matrimony. When a Buenos Aires city court judge agreed with their claim last month, it allowed them to request a marriage license. Soon after, Macri decided not to appeal the decision, and the ceremony was quickly scheduled for December 1st -- World AIDS Day, a symbolic day for the two HIV-positive men to become husband and husband.

“This is very important for people in general, not only gay, lesbian and transgender people….it’s a human rights question,” Di Bello told me.

I had arranged for CNN to have the first interview with the couple on the day they spoke to media outlets from around the globe. When I was done, the Associated Press interviewed them, followed by media from Brazil, Germany, Spain and the U.K. Originally, I wanted to interview Alex and Jose Maria at their home, and we had arranged to do that, but after receiving literally dozens of international interview requests (in addition to non-stop appearances on local TV and radio programs) they thought it best to do them all in one place, at one time. I could hardly blame them. They chose the Axel Hotel Buenos Aires, the city’s first gay hotel, which also has locations in Barcelona and Berlin. The Axel Hotel markets itself as “hetero-friendly” but it caters almost exclusively to gay men. When we arrived at the hotel, their press handler tried to persuade us to do the interview in front of the Axel Hotel logo; I declined, I wasn’t looking to promote a hotel; I just wanted to interview them. You can see some “Backstory” material on that here.

Needless to say, the proposed gay marriage caused quite a stir, not only in Argentina, but throughout Latin America, where the Catholic Church is still highly influential. Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio criticized the development, and had especially harsh words for Macri, who he said “failed gravely at governing.” Macri had announced his decision not to appeal the verdict via a 1:45 video posted on YouTube, a move that angered many, even his staunchest supporters.

“We have to live together, accept this reality, and recognize that the world is moving in this direction,” Macri says in the video.

I spoke to one congressman from Macri’s conservative PRO party, who was furious that the mayor didn’t alert his party members about the decision.

“He took everyone by surprise with that one, and many our constituents are not happy,” he told me.

And indeed, despite Buenos Aires’ reputation as a progressive Latin American capitol – it was the first city in the region to legalize same-sex civil unions in 2002 – there are still many people here who are angered with this development. All across the city this past week, there have been bright yellow posters plastered on walls with an image of two men kissing and the words, “Did you vote for Macri for this?”

When the first gay civil-union took place in Buenos Aires in July 2003, I was there, covering it for various media outlets. In the days prior, I had filed several reports, including this one for NPR and this one for the Christian Science Monitor. On the day of the civil unions ceremony, scores of journalists were trying to cram into the small room in the downtown government building where it was taking place. When it was complete, the two men, Marcelo Suntheim and Cesar Cigliuitti, exited the building in a raucous hail of rice, confetti and music. I had my microphone and MiniDisc recorder and -- like every journalist there -- was trying to get some words from the men. In the chaos, a television cameraman from a local news station kept chopping me in the back and accusing me of getting in his shot. Truth is, the pandemonium was the problem, not me, but he chose to take his frustration out on an easy target: a young foreign journalist. After he smashed his lens into the back of my skull, I shoved him, and started cursing at him in Spanish with words that I didn’t even knew that I knew. I think this surprised him more than intimidated him, but he looked ready for a fight, and frankly, so was I. That was until two of his co-workers got in my face too and I realized that this was a losing battle. So I quickly peeled away from the scrum, and got some words from the couple from another angle. That’s the only physical altercation I’ve ever had as a journalist. At a huge street party surrounded by men in dresses. Go figure.

Thankfully, there was no violence this week. But the issue is still a raw one. There was a palpable sense of anger from the gay activists I met on Tuesday. I think the fact that they came so close to having the first gay marriage only to have it snatched away at the last minute really pissed them off. And I can understand why. Despite the legal limbo, I think the writing is on the wall. The Argentine Supreme Court is now examining the case, and I suspect they will rule in favor of it soon.

Photos by Brian Byrnes