Masa Critica in Buenos Aires (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

After walking into a local police station this morning and confessing to injuring three people in last week’s Masa Crítica, the man attended court proceedings and was charged with driving with negligence. However, uncertainties remain due to discrepancies surrounding the car that he said he was driving at the time of the accident and the one already held by police in relation to the incident. Investigations are expected to continue into the week.

The incident occurred in the early hours of 28th March at the intersection of Av Figueroa Alcorta and Sarmiento, where a group of around 500 cyclists were participating in the Masa Crítica full moon cycle. Three people suffered minor injuries and were taken to the Fernández hospital, but were later released.

Masa Critica in Buenos Aires (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

The incident occurred on Av Figueroa Alcorta near the intersection with Av Sarmiento, where the cycling group Masa Crítica were taking their monthly full moon outing. After being held up by the group, the taxi driver accelerated through the middle of them, hitting several cyclists before driving away.

Three cyclists were taken to hospital but released a few hours later.

Fifteen-year-old Federico Morris was one of the injured, after being hit by the taxi and carried on the bonnet for several metres. “I fell on the bonnet,” Morris told local press this morning. “The driver was accelerating and braking so that I would fall”

Morris managed to hold on the windscreen and only suffered minor injuries. In a video taken by a fellow cyclist, the taxi is scene steering through the cyclists, leaving a trail of sparks after Morris’ bicycle was trapped under the vehicle.

“The crazy actions of this guy are unforgivable,” another Masa Critica cyclist told C5N.

José Ibarra, secretary general of the taxi driver’s union, sympathised with the victims, but also criticised the actions of the Masa Crítica group. “They have no respect for the rules of the road,” Ibarra said in an interview with Radio 10. “There are thousands of them, and they run through red lights. If they need this type of activity, there are much safer places to do it.”

Masa Crítica congregates hundreds of cyclists on the first Sunday and the first night of a full moon every month for a ride through the city under the slogan “bikes yes, cars no!”.

Buenos Aires is an exciting and fast-paced city, jam-packed with sizzling parrilla joints, fueled with the sensual twists and kicks of Tango, enlivened by a techno-blaring, dance-til-dawn nightlife, and coloured in an array of museums and European-flavoured architectural beauties.

For the tourist, Buenos Aires may have what seems like an endless supply of must-sees and must-dos. But for the Buenos Aires resident, the congested traffic and day-to-day routine may result in a bit of disenchantment with the city of good winds.

The same thing happened in Athens, Greece, provoking a “good karma” project intended to remind Athens residents what they loved about their city. The project came to be known as the Daily Secret, an insider’s guide to a city that sends e-mail subscribers a different secret about their city each day. From a hidden restaurant or art gallery, to an exclusive one-night only event, the Daily Secret reveals something new and exciting each day.

“It wasn’t too long before we realised that cities all over the world were starving for a daily dose of positive energy,” says Dolores Lussich, co-founder of the Buenos Aires Daily Secret.

And now, Daily Secret is located in 11 cities across the world, including San Francisco, Lima, and Shanghai. Launched last year by Lussich and co-founder Tomás Diaz, Buenos Aires Daily Secret has now revealed close to 200 secrets to the city’s porteños.

According to Lussich, the Daily Secret reaches about 250,000 people each day. In return for their hush-hush information, the Daily Secret asks readers that they only share the secret with their closest friends.

The secrets are written in Spanish, but soon the group will be launching a Buenos Aires Daily Secret English Edition, which will allow English readers access to the same Spanish secrets.

Along with Lussich and Diaz, the project is funneled secrets from a team of scouts who gather information on specific events and happenings around the city. Website viewers can find past secrets based on location — yes, you can find a secret in your very own neighbourhood— and interest, such as events, music, style and food.

Though some secrets may have already snuck up in local blogs or tour books, their peculiar covertness is nonetheless exciting. Take El Obrero for example. The underground eatery in La Boca has received a bit of buzz for its secret location and delicious cuisine, but memorabilia scattered around the restaurant and friendly owners (ask for Juan Carlos), make El Obrero worth the mention in Daily Secret.

Then there’s the secret wine kiosk, Sietespirits, in Palermo. Though we don’t want to give away the secret location (check on the Daily Secret website!), we can tell you that this unique kiosk offers wine from around the world, including South Africa, New Zealand and the United States. Talk to Diego, Sietespirits’ sommelier if you need some inspiration.

Lussich, a student at University of Buenos Aires, has her own favourite secret: Masa Critica. The mass bicycle riding event is te first Sunday of each month and brings hundreds of cyclists to 9 de Julio in the name of cyclists’ rights and ecological victory. The Critical Mass cyclist movement began in San Francisco in 1992, under the slogan: “We don’t block traffic, we are traffic.” Lussich, has ridden in the event and wrote the secret, said, “I love riding my bike with thousands of people through the biggest avenues of my favourite city.”

Critical Mass biking off into the sunset along the costanera. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

She also had the help of Queen’s ‘Bicycle Race’ blaring in her headphones to fuel the momentum.

Funded by advertising, Daily Secret is growing at a rate of one city each month, with the hopes of hitting 24 editions by the end of 2012. Current cities in the works include Panama City, Bangkok, Ankara and Thessaloniki.

Accessible on Facebook, Twitter and the project’s website, Buenos Aires Daily Secret has received great responses from readers, Lussich said. “Our members are people like us — city enthusiasts that take each day by storm.”

A project created for Buenos Aires residents, by Buenos Aires residents may be just what this city needs. A boost of magic and a surge of excitement; a daily reminder as to what makes Buenos Aires so great.

If you have a secret tip off, notify the group through the website, and they will do the rest.

On the first Sunday of every month, thousands of cyclists take over the streets to promote the use of cleaner and safer means of transport. Laura Mowat heads down to the obelisk to see what this movement, now in its third year in Buenos Aires, is all about.

Camera: Brian Funk
Editing: Valentina Pensa
VO Recording: Anna White-Nockleby