New Argentine play on the Malvinas / Falklands portrays Thatcher as devil, the British as pirates

In the play “Malvinas, islas de la memoria” about the Malvinas / Falklands war, currently running at the Cervantes National theatre in Buenos Aires, writer / director Julio Cardoso and his team make it clear that parody is the only possible way to look back and laugh.

By Mariana Marcaletti | Arts, Notebook, iPolitics | Wednesday, 30 May 2012 at 2:00 am

‘Videocracy’ and ‘Videology’: Argentina’s latest Falkland Islands / Malvinas stunt

An Argentine government video that shows an Argentine athlete training on the Falklands Islands / Malvinas and claims them for that country has created furore. But Mariana Marcaletti says that this isn’t the usual sabre rattling: it’s the start of a different kind of politics for the Argentinian government.

By Mariana Marcaletti | Film, Notebook | Wednesday, 16 May 2012 at 3:57 am

William Hague must get post-colonial on Latin America. Fast

During a recent Foreign Office ceremony our ever inclusive Foreign Secretary invited questions from the floor. Without hesitation a distinguished, redheaded woman offered enquiry. No academic or think tank boffin alas, this piper-upper was none other than the (relatively) new Argentinian ambassador to London, HE Alicia Castro.

By Mark Donne | Notebook | Sunday, 6 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Dictatorship and war: Issues surrounding the Falklands/Malvinas questioned by “Las islas”

Reality isn’t black and white, let alone arguable situations like battles, human greediness or evilness.

Director Alejandro Tantanián’s version of writer Carlos Gamerro’s Las islas – which premiered last year in state-run San Martín theatre in Buenos Aires – sheds some light on the “grey” zones of war, on why winners and defeated parties have more than a thing in common and why we should still be debating the current consequences of our recent past.

By Mariana Marcaletti | Arts | Friday, 4 May 2012 at 4:00 am

In sports and in politics, only passion matters

There is no doubt that the Malvinas/Falklands issue provokes the same kind of emotions than are often perceived in popular games in Argentina. In my country, we often say that football is “the passion of the crowd”. And it makes no difference whether people are supporting a team or backing a social cause, they tend [...]

By Mariana Marcaletti | Notebook, Opinion | Thursday, 19 April 2012 at 4:00 am

Declassified Argentine document on Falklands displays a tough exercise of self-criticism

A few weeks ago, the Argentine government, led by president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, declassified a report written in December, 1982 by a specially commissioned military committee headed by lieutenant general Benjamín Rattenbach, who lends his name to the document.

By Mariana Marcaletti | Notebook | Friday, 13 April 2012 at 4:00 am

The Falklands/Malvinas: From history to a modern day story

Since 2006, 2 April has been a national holiday in Argentina to mark the beginning of the war with Great Britain over the Malvinas/Falklands islands. All over the country, we yesterday remembered a series of events that happened 30 years ago, and we cannot prevent our memories from being tinted with new versions of the past. Like Michel Foucault used to say, we cannot help reading old facts from our current perspective.

By Mariana Marcaletti | Notebook, Opinion | Tuesday, 3 April 2012 at 4:35 pm

The Falklands: A view from Argentina

Like the old saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. Talking to journalists from Argentina and the UK, they seem to think that the coverage of the Malvinas/Falkland issue is richer on the other country. Why? Colleagues from Buenos Aires often tell me that information is less biased in England; whereas their British counterparts believe that, as we are closer to the islands, we have better chances of collecting useful data.

By Mariana Marcaletti | Notebook, Opinion | Tuesday, 27 March 2012 at 12:00 am