Semana Santa

[JillinBA]

Hola expats,

I was hoping someone here could give me an idea of what to expect in BA for the next 4 days (thurs-sun). I had no idea it was such a big holiday/travel weekend. Will grocery stores be open? Does the whole city shut down like on Christmas and New Years? If so when!? I just want to make sure I plan ahead with getting the necessities...And will there be anything around the city to do, or will most things be closed as well (restaurants, touristy places, bars, etc)?

Thanks!

 

[billsfan]

OK, there are only 3 days in the whole year when company owners, stores, etc are forced to close down. By argentinian labor laws, these days are Jan 1st, May 1st and Dec 25th. These are called "Feriados Nacionales". Basically, EVEN shopping malls close those days.
There is another group of "feriados" which are a little less important and that it's up to the onwer (or the union) in particular to decide what to do.
Good Friday is "feriado" for most people (offices, factories, etc) but not so much for marketplaces or tourism-related places.
You can expect a regular day of work for restaurants and shopping malls for example.
Much like a Sunday.

 

[billsfan]

A clarification: There are other "Feriados Nacionales", like May 25th, June 20th, July 9th, August 17th, October 12th, December 8th, but they are not like the other 3 i mentioned.
They can be moved around, to a monday for example, and working is optional for some unions.

 

[aptsbuear]

Many people will be out of town this weekend so it will probably be more quiet in the city.

 

[billsfan]

Many people will be out of town this weekend so it will probably be more quiet in the city.

Certaintly. 50% of porteños flee out of Buenos Aires these days

 

[nikad]

Thursday will be half holiday half working day ( no banks or schools though ). Friday will be like a regular Sunday. Saturday is not a holiday, so it will be like any other Saturday. Finally Sunday will be a slow Sunday.