136  safeguards in Buenos Aires

Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 11:59:06 -0300
From: SMC Administracion <adm@SMCAR.COM.AR>
Subject: safeguards in Buenos Aires

Dear members of Tango List

Janis "Pichi" Kenyon post some useful comments for visitors to Buenos Aires,
concerning safeguard
measures to prevent stealing of wallets and/or handbags . This is part of
the everyday life of Buenos
Aires, which is becoming little by little a bit more uncertain concerning
this matters.

There are a few more things to comment

1) local currency notes (Peso ) of 20, 50, and 100 are being changed by a
new format, due to a high
quantity of fake notes. The new notes are similar to the old ones, but they
had a line of bright dots overprinted
(the kind of dots that are used for blind people to identify the amount of
the currency with their fingers).
There was a deadline date of July 31st , to change all the old notes , but
time was not enough, so the deadline
has been postponed.
As a general rule, ATM machines will provide you with the new notes. But you
may receive the old notes as
change for your purchases , so it will be better for you , to kindly refuse
this old notes and require only new ones.
Old notes will be acepted for change only at the Banco de la Nacion
branches, within some time (we are in
august now , so this changes are taking place now ).
If you dont want to discuss about change, then it will be better to use
notes of argentine pesos, value 2 , 5 and 10,
which are still without change ( although some 10 pesos notes are also fake,
but not in an alarming rate such as
20,50,100 that motivate the change of new formats with security marks )

2) If you go in a group to a milonga, try to know beforehand not only if you
will have a table, but also how much is
the cost of entrance, making clear how many men and women are going in your
group. Some milonga venues (Sunderland)
charges different fees for men and women. If you know beforehand , how much
will be the cost of the entrance for all
your group, then you can give the monies of your fees to one member of your
group , and have them pay at the entrance,
thus avoiding unnecesary exbihit of wallets and monies.

3) It is not good to take a taxi cab at random at the streets of Buenos
Aires. Check with your patron at your boarding
place, for a reliable radio taxi service , or a remise cab service. There
are plenty of reliable remises services, and you
can arrange with them to take you to the milonga venue you want to go, and
arrange also at what time you want to be
taken back from the milonga to your hotel/tangohouse.
However , if you need to take a taxi cab at the streets , for your personal
reasons , check for the taki cabs yellow
and black, in good shape and condition , that have a sign "IRA" in the front
windshield .Sometimes is difficult to see
this sign , because the taxi can front shield is full of signs, licenses,
marks , required by local authorities. But you
can wait for the red light , and make your check .The IRA sign is a small
white square . IRA does not mean
Irish Republican Army, do no worry, but it could be a good mnemonic for you
to remember. IRA is a special system
of radio control, that gives you extra security.
By no means acept to take a taxi cab yellow and black that it is not in good
shape, even if the driver offers you
bargain prices to take you wherever you want. This are called "ghost taxis"
because they are not regular, and the
bargain could be a headache for you .

If you take a good taxi cab( a new model, with the IRA sing ), you will see
maybe that the driver will lock the doors with his driver lock. Do not worry
, this is a security measure for you, to prevent someone to enter into the
taxi cab at a red light , and grab your belongings.



Warm regards
Alberto Gesualdi
Buenos Aires

Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 12:21:58 EDT
From: Sherrie Pallotta <SherPal@AOL.COM>
Subject: safeguards

hearing all this stuff about money, i am wondering if US dollars are still
accepted for purchases and payments. Please advise as I am travelling in
September to BSAS. sherrie

Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 09:49:30 +1200
From: Alex White <amwtango@PARADISE.NET.NZ>
Subject: Re: safeguards in Buenos Aires

> However , if you need to take a taxi cab at the streets , for your

personal

> reasons , check for the taki cabs yellow
> and black, in good shape and condition , that have a sign "IRA" in the

front

> windshield .Sometimes

Hi there,

well I guess IRA is good in some countries then - personally I wouldn't get
into a "taxi" with IRA written on it anywhere in Great Britain . - could end
up being a bit dangerous.


Chau

Alex White