Last year's disturbances put an immovable wrinkle in the grand Bicentennial, but this year it was all systems go for the Argentine Embassy here in Jamaica, and with the city traffic snarling its way home 17 stories below, The Talk of the Town at the Jamaica Pegasus was the perfect spot to reflect on the country's achievements and also the relationship with Jamaica, at present largely confined - on a trade/cultural basis at least - to wines, music (they love reggae; tango has a cult following here) and football(soccer), where of course, the balance lies heavily in favour of the "River Plate" boys.
Greeting arrivals was Ambassador Mario Pino (shown at right), who was trying out his reggae singing skills before anyone arrived. Sadly, after a five-year tenure, Senor Pino is returning home directly to serve in the Foreign Ministry, a fact also rued by Jamaica's Foreign minister Ken Baugh, who also noted that Pino's Mexican counterpart, the effervescent Leonora Rueda is also departing as her tenure has come to an end.
Those announcements failed to dampen the spirits of the executives, colleague ambassadors and other well-wishers present, the conviviality enhanced by Argentinian-themed music, food and - of course - the legendary wines, the red-purple Malbec and the straw-gold Chardonnay.
The gnoshing and conversations continued well into the evening. maybe the impending FIFA U-17 World Cup Finals may change things, but certainly for the better.
