President Cristina Kirchner met with leaders of the Argentine pork industry, where she offered a glimpse into the intimate life of the country’s most powerful couple, admitting that eating the meat improves sexual activity.

Argentines are the world’s biggest consumers of beef per capita, but the government has sought to promote pork as an alternative in recent years, due to rising steak prices and as a way to diversify the meat industry.

In a bid to convince the public of the merits of this alternative, President Kirchner announced at the meeting: “I’ve just been told something I didn’t know: that eating pork improves your sex life … I’d say it’s a lot nicer to eat a bit of barbecued piglet than take Viagra.”

She went on to admit that she and her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, had already tested the theory, saying that on a recent trip to Patagonia, they had eaten pork and spent a very satisfying weekend: “The crusty skin of the piglet was excellent; then things went very well that weekend, so it could be true.”

In the televised speech, President Kirchner approved subsidies for the pork industry, in order to keep the price of the meat low, despite inflation. Her government has also recently subsidised red meat producers after beef supplies sharply declined in Argentina.  

President Kirchner’s borderline-risqué comments won prominent play on television and radio stations, prompting discussions on whether Argentines should add more pork to their diet. The head of the association of pork producers, Juan Luis Uccelli, supported the presidential remarks, saying that Denmark and Japan have a much more “harmonious” sexual life then the Argentines because they eat a lot of pig meat.

However, the speech also provoked some sceptical responses, including that of Amado Bechara, a specialist in sexual dis-function, who told La Nacion: “There is no study showing that pork meat significantly improves sexual activity.” Nonetheless, President Kirchner made a very valid comment, suggesting, “trying it doesn’t cost anything, so let’s give it a go.”

“So much of our highly valued culture was acquired via sexuality.” Sigmund Freud

“One cannot understand the essence of a country or society without understanding the web of sexual relations of those that built it. Responsible for the birth, the splendour, the decadence, and the fall of the greatest civilizations, nobody can ignore the profound impact of sexuality on the visual art and stories of nations.” This is the creed which prompted Argentine author, Federico Andahazi, to write ‘Pecar Como Dios Manda’, the sexual history of Argentina.

Photo by Carlos “mUla” Muller

A strutting stripper at an erotic film festival held in Buenos Aires.

It is therefore unsurprising that he appeared alongside ‘sexologists’, film directors, artists, models and shop owners in September 2009, at Buenos Aires’ first ‘Festival de Cultura Erotica’. The festival provided a glimpse into a lesser known facet of the city’s cultural offerings. Conceived of the sexual and characterised by the sensual, Buenos Aires’ mundo erotico is a pulsing hub of art, literature and performance. It is a world which, according to Andahazi, is alien to many porteños, yet inexorably linked to their heritage and identity.

Erotica versus Pornography

‘Erotica’ is a portrayal of human anatomy and sexuality with high-art aspirations. Strictly speaking, a notion of erotica in Buenos Aires should not be pegged to its red light district, telos (pay-per-hour hotels), or sex shops and strip clubs. A distinction is often also made between erotica and pornography, which serves solely as sexual entertainment. The ‘Festival de Cultura Erotica’ therefore bore its name in the loosest possible sense, hosting big names in the Argentine pornographic industry.

However, artists have wrestled with the line between the two for decades, and one person’s pornography is another’s erotica. It was clear that the festival intended to encompass a multitude of expectations, satisfying both artistic curiosity and a more libidinous agenda. Torn between subtly titillating, creative finesse and brash, concupiscent entertainment, Buenos Aires’ cultura erotica was presented as a mixed bag.

Erratic erotica: ‘Festival de Cultura Erotica’

The three levels of the Palacio Alsina showcased everything from nude figure paintings and photography to heavy-duty sex toys; from provocative lingerie to conferences on ‘Erogenous Psychology’ and ‘Making a Porno’. Live performances oscillated from the thrusts of oiled strippers to a complex balletic duet involving melted wax and bare torsos. The festival’s headline act was Sonia Baby, Spain’s most celebrated vaginal acrobat.

Amongst such entertainments was an array of oddities. The hedonistic atmosphere conjured by the champagne bar was diluted somewhat by the kebab stand. Bikini-clad models posed suggestively for photos, but also gave out pens advertising good nutrition. The guests were a selection of old and young; couples and groups; those with an interest in the artistry, and those who became publicly amorous around 10pm. The festival seemed confused; as though obstinate that erotica held an important position in Argentine culture, though unsure of its exact location.

Photo by Beatrice Murch

Above, Paola Kullock and below, a selection of the sextoys she champions.

The art of the act: Paola Kullock

One of the most interesting additions was psychologist, erotic masseuse and general ‘sexpert’: Paola Kullock. The charismatic speaker presented an excerpt from her weekly stand-up show. Taking to the stage at her regular Friday evening gig, Kullock teaches “the professional techniques and secrets of great sex”. Through audience participation and pop-aided borderline-risqué demonstrations, she presents the sexual act as an art-form which can be mastered.

“The problem with a lot of women here is that they feel it’s unimportant to make time for their own pleasure,” she explains. “Argentine women are practical and often busy with their kids, husband or home. I do this because I want to help them find time for themselves through sexual enjoyment, whether with a partner or alone. To me, this is the art of erotica: the art of exploring and understanding your carnal and emotional desires.”

A whole new world

Kullock gives personal classes at her ‘Escuela de sexo’, which – like her show – are well attended, primarily by women in their late 30s. However, she admits: “People in Buenos Aires are still bewildered by erotica. What I do is less taboo than when I started, three years ago; and nobody would bat an eyelid at sex-shops or pornography. But although they are considered normal, they are not commonly used. There is a huge erotic scene in his city, but a lot of porteños don’t know what to do with it.”

Federico Andahazi agrees. He was struck by those at the ‘Festival de Cultura Erotica’ who seemed, “totally alien to the world of erotica”. He asserts that guests were astounded by the wealth of artistry: “It was so new to them. I’m sure these people watch porn, and that’s what they were expecting of an erotic expo. I actually think there is a false dichotomy between eroticism and pornography. There are good and bad versions of both, as was exhibited at the festival!”

Sexual ‘Appetite’: Erotic art in Buenos Aires

With reference to the pornographic yet highly wrought literature of Georges Bataille, Andahazi concludes that whether erotic or otherwise, people always appreciate creative skill. Acknowledged as one of history’s earliest artistic expressions, depictions of carnal pleasure abound in primal cultural production. At a recent exhibition, it was clear that such traditions are not facing extinction in contemporary Argentine art.

Photo by Ellen Knuti

The scene at Appetite gallery’s ‘Sex and Violence’, where the call for artists’ submissions drew nearly ten times as many pieces as where ultimately included in the show.

‘Sex and Violence’ was held at San Telmo’s Appetite gallery. The space was crammed with photography, sketches, paintings and sculptures, featuring scenes of nudity, sex, masturbation and sado-masochism. The pieces were experimental, combining a range of materials with a kaleidoscopic palette. Around 100 young artists were exhibited, selected by Appetite director, Daniela Luna. The sheer volume of guests at the inauguration verified the profound interest aroused by such work in Buenos Aires.

Many pieces were permeated with evident references to Argentine culture. A naked female figure was superimposed with the comic-strip character, Mafalda; and graphic flyers for Constitución prostitutes hung from meat hooks, alluding to Argentine beef. Lucía Harari, one of the exhibited artists, states: “This art is part of our identity. Through exploring eroticism alongside our heritage, we truly discover who we are.”

The sexual identity, history and politics of a nation

Argentina’s cultural and historical identity pervades Federico Andahazi’s sexual philosophy. He claims that ‘Pecar Como Dios Manda’ was an accidental conception, stumbled upon while researching the country’s colonial history. “Argentines habitually question the impact on our identities of where we are from. I was tracing Argentina’s origins, and realised then that there was no written chronicle of our sexual history: the crux of our origin, the creating force.”

Photo Courtesy of Federico Andahazi

Argentine author Federico Andahazi

Andahazi charts the sexual relations of key Argentine figures, from the country’s colonial origins to the May Revolution. He encountered some negative reactions from extreme political groups, enraged at suggestions of their heroes’ foul practice. “In Argentina, sex provokes varied reactions, whereas politics provoke stronger reactions. When you deal with both, then it gets complicated!” Yet Andahazi maintains that he cannot separate them. Sex is the organising paradigm of humanity and of Argentina’s heritage. Although still foreign to many, Buenos Aires’ mundo erotico is a rich artistic scene, embedded in its culture.

For more information on Paola Kullock, and to reserve a space at her show, visit www.pkescueladesexo.com.ar.

For more information on the work of Federico Andahazi, visit www.andahazi.com

Admission to Appetite Gallery is free, and it is situated on Chacabuco 551.

Photo by Emily Anne Epstein

“I was 25 the first time I went.” says Esteban. “I didn’t want to have sex while my parents were at home, so I went to a telo with my girlfriend. It was fun, a good experience!”

Albergues transitorios or ‘telos’ as they are more commonly known, are a type of hotel where a person pays by the hour instead of the whole night. They are used by couples as a place to go to spend ‘intimate’ time together in a discreet and private manner. In other words, they have beds – but not much sleeping gets done.

“I remember a long time ago I decided to stay in a telo the whole night with a girl but I couldn’t sleep because I could hear so many people in the surrounding rooms,” says Marco from Buenos Aires. “Plus I kept hearing the sound of women’s high heels clicking along the hallway.”

The concept often raises a few eyebrows among foreigners when they first hear about telos, with some even damning them as ‘seedy’ or ‘shameful’. But for Argentines, they are just as normal as your local convenience store or bank. They exist, and are legal and most people seem to like it that way.

“It’s a business like anything else here. The same as a supermarket,” says José, a 70-year-old employee of a telo in Constitución in Argentina’s capital. “It’s not shameful. We’re providing a service which people obviously want.” He has worked there for almost 35 years and really likes his job. “Of course I do, why would I still be working here after all this time?”

When asked more probing questions about interesting anecdotes of clients, he was very direct. “No no, I don’t know anything. The aim of a telo is privacy, for our customers. We allow them to be anonymous. They simply pay for the room then leave after their time is up, nothing more. I don’t know what goes on in there, well, apart from the obvious!”

Photo by Emily Anne Epstein

Who uses them and why?

According to the official governmental chamber (CAPRAL) which represents albergues transitorios, there are 176 establishments in the capital alone. So who goes there and why?

“I was 18 the first time I went and the main reason was because we couldn’t go to our parent’s house,” says Alejandra from Tucumán. “He had a car and also we wanted to see what a telo was like.”

For many young people in Argentina it is difficult to find somewhere to spend time with a partner. “In Europe young people move out of their parent’s house when they’re much younger,” says Juan Ignacio from Mar del Plata. “Here it is more common to live with your parents until you have a job that pays well enough or you get married.”

But another main source of clients is the older generation. “The majority of people who come here are middle aged, maybe 60% of them,” says José. He estimates that about 90% of the older generation coming with a partner are not with their spouse. He quotes the age old cliché of people sleeping with the secretary.

“Oh yes, you can see it all the time in the office,” proclaims Juan Ignacio. “These couples think we don’t know but it’s obvious. They say they’re going to get some lunch together and they come back from a telo and hour later with that expression on their face. It’s so blatant!”

“Affairs happen at work because you spend more time there than with your partner at home, so it’s bound to happen. And so at midday, telos are full of people going in and out in their suits,” adds Esteban.

Photo by Emily Anne Epstein

Culture clash

Although there are equivalent hotels in Germany and Holland, they aren’t so common in Europe. While in the US, motels are famous for the unwritten rule of why people go there. But the definition of a motel is ‘a motor hotel’ and they are not specifically designed for sex. They are so cheap so it doesn’t matter if you spend the entire night or simply a few hours.

“We are more sexually liberal here in Argentina,” argues Esteban. “In Europe these places are less common because Europeans don’t like to talk about sex or acknowledge it.”

Anna Wortman, a sociologist at the University of Buenos Aires, has her own view on Argentine society. “I think now people are becoming more liberal here and aren’t as ashamed of their sexuality, especially since the introduction of democracy. “However in Argentina we live by double moral standards. We’ll happily talk about telo experiences freely, but not who we go with!”

She argues that among the middle class families, parents still refuse to accept their children are sexually active; therefore they need to go to telos instead. For many, sex in the parental home is still a touchy subject.

“No I don’t feel comfortable having sex in my parent’s house if they are in, would you?” says Esteban. “Ok maybe in Europe or the US the parents acknowledge it and accept it more, but this has nothing to do with the existence of telos.

“The fact that your government says they’re illegal signals that something is wrong. That your society believes this kind of place is immoral, but to us this is not the case. We do not think there is anything wrong with telos. It’s not connected to what the parents think.”

Photo by Emily Anne Epstein

Different experience

Maybe he’s right? Maybe we need telos, so that people for whatever reason they want, can go to one and not feel embarrassed or ashamed of any sexual activity. Some of the oldest, most established ones on the outskirts of the city have lavish, luxurious suites where couples can enjoy the spa, jacuzzi and any other treats that might be included in the price. They even have themed hotels where you can hire costumes or enter rooms from a different time or place. [See below]

Imagine taking some guy or gal where you can be either Tarzan or Jane? Cleopatra or Marc-Anthony? Whether it be ancient Rome or Egypt, these places have everything you can imagine.

However the majority of those found in the city centre of Buenos Aires seem to blur the lines been romantic and seedy. Upon entering one of these establishments the same question arises. Are plastic flowers, dimmed red lights and multi-coloured carpets romantic? The waiting rooms alone seem to misinterpret good taste with tackiness. But like any service, you pay for what you get. The price range and quality of surroundings varies dramatically, so choosing a particular telo should be a careful process. However for the majority, it’s not about the surroundings.

“Last week I went to a telo with a girl and it was too busy. I had to wait one hour for a room in the waiting area, one hour! And there were other people in the queue,” fumes Marcos, explaining his recent experience.

Most people are very open to talking about their telo experiences.

“And a friend of mine once saw his friend’s girlfriend coming out of one with another guy which was very funny. What are you supposed to say in this situation?” giggles Juan Ignacio.

“About six months ago I went to a telo and I ran into my ex-girlfriend leaving as I was arriving. It was so awkward but funny,” laughs Marcos as he tells me another of his numerous stories.

So what does the future hold for this apparently thriving business? Everyone agrees that they will continue to exist. “It’s a tradition, a custom in Argentina. So until we change our customs, it will remain the same,” affirms José, who has spent half of his life in one.

Photo by Emily Anne Epstein

Big business

What is clear though is that albergues transitorios are evolving, like any other business. And what’s the secret to any successful business in our consumer driven society? Give the customers what they want!

“There are telos now which have suites only available for orgies. You can’t get in without at least five people. It’s true!” assures Alejandra.

“In Mar Del Plata, many of the telos turn into seasonal, family hotels in the summer to deal with rising demands from tourists,” says Juan Ignacio. “My friend turned up to one one night with a girl and the receptionist had to kindly explain to him that ‘it’s not that kind of place right now mate’.”

No matter how much you pay or where you go, every telo offers the same service – privacy. However the general décor and design of these establishments would suggest secrecy rather than privacy. The smaller, cheaper ones are discretely signposted and the larger, more luxurious places are located outside of the city. So why do these places have to be hidden from society when society acknowledges them as part of Argentine life? Is there an underlying factor of shame?

To Argentines, this is not the case as they believe that telos are important and relevant to society and have no problem discussing them. The bottom line is, they are quite happy with the plethora of amenities available to them 24 hours a day.

Telos with a Theme

Some telos are worth of more than just a one-hour visit, and recently the hotels have been going out of their way to come up with more and more extravagant themes and ideas to keep the clients coming again and again. Here’s our pick of five of the best.

Jardines de Babilonia

The Gardens of Babylon is an Egyptian-themed telo offering rooms fit for Pharaohs, from ‘The Emperor’s Key’ to the pricier and plusher ‘Ishtar’s Temple’. Each room is different but many boast a hot tub and erotic wall murals to stimulate… your imagination! If you’re after a truly five star experience, then the ‘Imperial Suite’ will appeal to you. It has two very large hot tubs, one in the conservatory and the other indoors under rather more flattering lighting! www.hoteljardines.com.ar

O’tello

If you’re a theatrical type then O’tello is definitely for you. It has the greatest variety of themes. Some of the more bizarre include ‘Train Compartment’ with fake windows and platform scenes and ‘The Bat Cave’, the most striking feature of which is the huge bat-shaped headboard: not one for the faint hearted! www.otello.com.ar

Horoscopo

As the name suggests, Horoscope has rooms themed by each sign of the zodiac. The Taurus room is particularly atmospheric, horns hang over the bed and six bullheads carved out of the wooden headboard are lit up in red from behind. www.horoscopohotel.com.ar

Del Bosque

Despite being located just five minutes from the microcentro Of The Wood hotel allows customers to get in touch with nature, without the practical challenges confronted when rolling around in a bush! Hidden from the street by trees, here you can share a blissfully toasty night under the stars if you opt for one of the rooms with a sky view. www.delbosquehotel.com.ar

Las Brujas

The Witches Hotel in Rosario is at the forefront of telo technology. Many rooms are equipped with a touchscreen, which the guests can use to control everything including music, lighting, air conditioning and room service. Some rooms also have Scottish showers, a particularly powerful shower with purported health benefits. You can rent a camera to capture your special experience or, if photographic evidence is not enough, the motel sells bats and ceramic witches fit for public display – their full meaning known only to you and your partner! www.lasbrujas.com

 

Photo courtesy of Golden

OMG! Oh my god! I’m having one of those moments when I’m really not sure that what I am seeing is real. There’s a man on stage in front of me, taking a shower, fully nude, and erect. I’m surrounded by a hundred or so screaming Argentine women.

The dude is pretty hot: tall, brunette with sexy bangs over his forehead and certainly not lacking in any department physically. We can all be absolutely sure of that. He’s been lathering himself up around the abdominal groin regions, using something like shaving cream, and now the suds are coming off, sliding down his legs as we all shout and laugh and clap, fuelled by sparking rosé. All class.

This was something I definitely hadn’t anticipated, even though I’d already been to male strip shows both in New Zealand and in Brazil. In Rio, the dancers clearly physically enjoyed the attention they received and some of the women in the audience got their jollies groping the bailarines, but there was no full-scale nudity like here in Argentina’s capital.

I’d seen the ad for the club, Golden, in a small listings type pamphlet in the San Telmo hostel where I was staying. The show is exclusively for women, though men enter later in the evening when the venue becomes a regular disco. Now I could see why they insisted that you were over 18 – and it had nothing to do with beverages.

Like most strip shows for women, most of the ladies in the audience were there with packs of friends, either on hen night expeditions or conversely celebrating their divorces. We were treated to costumes of all different perversions.

 

Photo courtesy of Golden

There was a group of salseros (though frankly their Carmen Miranda-style frilly shirts didn’t do much for me), staunch navy/Top-Gun themed guys, the Middle Eastern men with Laurence of Arabia type headscarves, the SWAT team, some Godfather mafia dude, and a kind of Jean-Claude Van Damme character.

Apparently Argentine women like it rough. By that stage I’d seen all the ‘pistols’ I could handle.

Being in Buenos Aires, tango wasn’t neglected and a group of dancers took me though a routine that was way, way raunchier than anything I would ever see in any nearby milonga.

I was perplexed by the erection thing and the practicalities behind it. Was it viagra? Porn videos on a loop backstage? While I was desperate to take photos and post them on facebook, that wasn’t to be. Burly security guards strictly enforced the ‘no photography’ rule.

It didn’t matter in the end – I didn’t need pixels to jog my memory. My night at Golden won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Golden: a strip show exclusively for women. Esmeralda 1040, tel 11 4313 4323 or 11 4313 8643. Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm. www.golden.com.ar. Entrance ranges from $45 to $65 depending on seat location.