The streets of Buenos Aires were aflood with Boca fans on Tuesday to celebrate the Junior’s win over Tigre in the Apertura Championship.  In the three-way play-off, Boca skirted  by with a score of 1, 0 for Tigre and -1 for San Lorenzo.  The play-off was held after the 3 teams tied after the regular championship.  Tigre scored the only goal in the 68th minute when goalie Javier Hernan Garcia allowed Leandro Lazzaro an easy header into the net.  Boca held on and prevailed.

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Six former navy officers accused of participating in the torturing and killing of dissidents during the time known as “The Dirty War” will be released on bail, per the order of an Argentine court.  The freedom of two of the most notorious suspects, Alfredo Astiz and Jorge Acosta, has sparked outrage among human rights activists.  Astiz was known as “The Angel of Death,” and is accused in the disappearance of the founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.  The court released them on the grounds that they have been held too long without trial, 2 years beyond the 3 year legal limit for detention. During the time of the dictatorship, 1976-1983, human rights groups estimate more than 30,000 people disappeared.

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Scientists have discovered a new species of raptor that lived 70 million years ago in Argentina.  The Austroraptor cabazai is 16.5- 21 feet long, said Fernando Novas, the head researcher of the team behind the discovery.  In incomplete skeleton was found in the rocks of Patagonia.  Researchers were able to virtually reconstruct the rest of the skeleton, using the dinosaur’s closest relatives as references.  The new raptor belongs to the South American group known as the unenlagiines, which are much larger than those found in the Northern Hemisphere.  The find has turned the evolutionary track of the raptor upside down, as no other raptor of comparable size has ever been found.

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Argentine soccer player Gaston Aguirre killed a pigeon with his right foot.  The San Lorenzo defender hit the bird during a three team round robin against Tigre.  Surrounded by opponents, he shot the ball toward the goal and in the direction of a group of pigeons at the corner.  Feathers flew as the ball swooped through the birds, but one bird did not make it in time.  Aguirre was quoted as saying, “I kicked the ball and, poor pigeon.  Now I will be remembered as the pigeon killer.”

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The year’s almost over and you forgot to get your great uncle’s nephew’s sister a present…and you’re in Argentina.  Don’t fret, my pet, there are plenty of shops in which to spend your weekend and whatever’s still left in your wallet.  After this spree, the only thing left to will be finding the space in your suitcase.

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The year’s almost over and you forgot to get your great uncle’s nephew’s sister a present…and you’re in Argentina.  Don’t fret, my pet, there are plenty of shops in which to spend your weekend and whatever’s still left in your wallet.  After this spree, the only thing left to will be finding the space in your suitcase.

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Disgruntled journalist Pablo Silva’s team was losing 1-0 when he won a free kick in the last few minutes of the game.  He took the kick, but the wall was 3 meters away and the referee didn’t mind.  They lost and Silva vowed to invent something to prevent horror from being repeated; which turned out to be a kind of spray paint.  It vanishes in less than a minute and is now being utilized for the upcoming season of the Argentine Football Association.  The addition to the game has been tested the past six months and finally earned approval.  Henceforth, when a free kick is to be taken, a referee will step off 10 yards and mark the distance with Silva’s remedy.

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Food writer Layne Mosler hops into a taxi every week and asks the taxista to drop her off at the best restaurant in town.  Luckily, she also chronicles her adventures on her blog, Go Where the Taxista Takes You.  In the spirit of the New Year, she’s put together a top ten list of her favorite suprises. This week’s post was entries 10-6 and featured eateries in Belgrano, Flores and Balvanera.  Check it out if you’re hungry for 5 different dishes of steak, as that seems to be the most popular flavor.

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Teatro Argentino de La Plata will present “The Nutcracker” as directed by Cristina Delmargo and performed by the Orchestra of Teatro Argentino beginning this Friday, the 19th.  The classic Christmas ballet dates back to the late 19th century with music composed by Tchalkovsky and choreography by Lev Ivanov.  The story follows two siblings, Clara and Fritz, through one Christmas Eve in which they receive a nutcracker in the shape of a soldier as a gift.  Their imagination takes over as the soldier comes to life and the adventure begins.

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Argentina’s national rugby team, Los Pumas, made it to 2007 World Cup, but no one was really paying attention.  Despite being close to 100 years old, rugby has suffered in comparison to other white and blue bearing sports, like soccer, for example.  The team has no regular competition and thus no regular funding, making it hard to maintain the expenses of the the Argentine Rugby Union.  In order to alleviate this pressure, the ARU is in talks to have a “home game” in England.  The rules would be the same, the home team would take revenue earned from the stadium, only the team would be Argentine and the stadium would be English.  Francis Baron of the English Rugby Football Union reacted positively, saying that he was “keen to assist rugby development in the regions.”

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