Posts Tagged ‘tv’

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to have a local tourism TV channel come along and film the tour in action. You can see all of their Argentina videos here, and most importantly, the first part of the programme they made is here:

I’ve never once been interviewed in English, and this is the 2nd time I’ve been interviewed in Spanish (first time was for a tourism piece for Colombian TV) – I must be more interesting in Spanish!

Had a fun day yesterday as Argentinian tourism channel Turismo Visión came along to film the tour! They’d been looking for alternative ways to see the capital and loved the way we do things on colectivos and the Subte. It was very exciting and I can’t wait to see the final result – which should be in 2 weeks or so. Obviously you’ll see it here first!

Interviewing the tourists, Plaza Italia

The gang, Plaza de los Dos Congresos

Filming the introduction, Plaza Italia

I’m not going to beat around the bush, and I’ve said it before but Argentinian TV is pretty much universally awful. I was in a supermarket the other day and the TV in the corner was tuned to an entertainment show which consisted of 2 young trendy dudes talking to (“Do you have a boyfriend?”) and physically assessing 5 scantily clad female dancers (give us a twirl close-ups on the boobs and arse type of thing). Then a man dressed up as a monkey came on and they asked the girls which one of them was single. The lucky girl stepped forward and gave the monkey a kiss on his monkey cheek whereby he collapsed in mock-ecstasy twitching on the floor.

I am however proud to reveal that there is one light in the darkness that is Argentinian TV and that is Diana Arroz. A play on the Spanish word for rice, this advert (for rice, obviously) made me laugh out loud the first few times I saw it, and I still haven’t got bored of it. The song (which can be heard being sung and hummed all over Buenos Aires) goes “Hoy hice arroz. Lo hice para vos. Yo soy Diana Arroz.” (Today I made rice. I made it for you. I am Diana Arroz.)

• Only men drink alcohol, except Tia Maria which is only drunk by women
• It’s not possible to like beer and not like football
• There are only 3 things important in a women’s life: washing clothes and talking about it, cooking food using packets of processed crap for their families and having men that drink beer and watch football whistle at them in the street
• A flooded street corner is “News”. It deserves a 20 minute live segment
• Commercials that take up half the screen and have sound are to be shown during a football match.
• By law, football commentary must mention Diego Maradona every 45 seconds
• In case they forget what they are watching, it’s advisable to run a trailer for the program you are showing during that very same program
• Argentina has already won the 2010 World Cup. It’s just that the rest of the world doesn’t know it yet
• Light entertainment shows kill your soul just a little bit each time you watch them
• To be a star on Argentinian TV it’s important that you don’t actually look real

Argentine Megastar 66-year old Susana Gimenez

Chocolate Heir and Reality TV Star Ricardo Fort

Just in case you think I’m being overly harsh on Argentinian TV, I give you this, from Senorita Gimenez herself, Argentina’s biggest TV star. This show is real, and it wins prizes.