El rincón cultural – Who ya gonna call?

The telephone has to be one of the greatest inventions ever. The ability to be able to communicate by voice, which has changed markedly in the last century, is something we all now depend on and take for granted. With the increase in availability, decline of cost and use of computers, cell phones, etc. voice communication has advanced amazingly in just the past 15 years.  I remember living in Spain and Italy 18-20 years ago (wow, has it really been that long?) and always trying to come up with creative ways to contact my parents back home.  Calling was always super expensive and a nightmare to have to try to do!  This, of course, was just before the advent of the internet and definitely 5-10 years before cell phones began to become commonplace. Here in Argentina, while cell phones are as popular as ever (see tomorrow’s post for more info on this) there are special locales found all over BA that combine all of these communication devices to function as a working store: the locutorio.

My local locutorio

Locutorios really have no true translation into English.  They may exist in other Spanish-speaking countries but I find them really unique here in Argentina. While once upon a time they may have been known as “call centers” or something of that ilk, nowadays they are surely much more. Locutorios are places that combine the idea of a call center where you can make national and international calls at more affordable rates, an internet center where you can use the internet, print out things, etc. as well as being a place where you can add minutes (una recarga virtual) to your cell phone (this is how I use it, more than anything else). They may also sell some small food snack items or drinks, phone supplies, cigarettes and such. We even bought my daughter a small watch in one! Thus, I’d say they really don’t fit the definition of any partiucualr type of place that I know of in the US, though perhaps they do exist.  They are usually heavily used for all of these services and are generally quite busy.

Locutorios fill and important communication need here in BA and if you ever make your way out here and need any of these services, look or ask for a locutorio and I’m sure someone will be able to tell you 2 or 3 in whatever area your’e in.

Prof Rabner