Otra vez sopa

After Security Minister Patricia Bullrich announced a contentious new anti-protest protocol, we interviewed the head of a police watchdog who said “When we heard the news […] we thought, otra vez sopa.” Soup again?

This was in fact a reference to Argentina’s beloved Mafalda — a cartoon about an inquisitive little girl who, among other things, absolutely loathes soup. The comic strips showed her bickering with her mother about her penchant for potages, wailing otra vez sopa, and it became a metaphor for authoritarianism over the years. The author of Mafalda, Quino, was an anti-fascist who had to flee Argentina when the last military dictatorship came to power — as she would say, puaj. 

The phrase can be used as a catch-all complaint, something like “more of the same.” But given that Mafalda described a policeman’s baton as a “little ideology-bashing stick,” the response otra vez sopa this week was particularly apt. Having to set all that aside and simply put “not this again” made me feel like I owed her an apology.

You may also be interested in: My love for Mafalda: An Argentine classic turns 59

Cara chica, cara grande

This week Facundo wrote an article about the film Cambio, Cambio which explores Argentinas’ obsession with dollars by following an arbolito, or a person who sells dollars at illegal parallel exchange rates. 

Among the many idiosyncrasies of the underground dollar market is that because Argentines have been squirreling dollars away for years, sometimes decades, there is a hierarchy between the older dollar bills and newer ones. The difference? The size of the portrait in the middle of the banknote. So you have dollars that are worth less, cara chica (“small-portrait” bills, issued between 1928 and 1995) and the more coveted cara grande dollars (“large-portrait” bills, issued from 1996 onwards). Literally, small-face and big-face.

The reason? None that Facundo nor the film director, Lautaro García Candela, could make out.

“It’s a completely fetishistic issue,” García Candela said. “Argentines want the banknote and [think that] the newer bill is worth more than the older one, even though the United States accepts both.”

You may also be interested in: ‘Cambio cambio’: the film exploring Argentina’s underground dollar market

Machete

This came up in the newsroom — we were chatting about all the incoming officials of the new administration and Amy’s expression turned to horror as we suggested using a machete to remember them all. I hurriedly relieved her by explaining that we meant a “cheat sheet.” 
Allaying her concerns made me wonder why we use the name of a decidedly noticeable weapon to specifically refer to a piece of paper furtively used by students during tests. Perhaps because it’s a way to clear the path? But as usual, finding the origins was difficult and brought up some truly bizarre theories on forums. Maybe our readers have suggestions — on why we say machete, not for cheating in tests.

Share your thoughts and translation hang-ups with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!