AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR MENDOZAMENDOZA GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION Distance from Mendoza to other cities (flying Mendoza is well-connected to the rest of Argentina and hours): Buenos Aires: 1:20 hrs, Santiago de Chile: the world by 139 flights per week, and by land routes 30 mins, Miami: 8 hrs, New York: 10 hrs, São Paulo: stretching across the country to connect the city to the 3 hrs, London: 16 hrs, Madrid: 16 hrs, Cape Town: rest of the Argentine provinces. 10 hrs, Los Angeles: 12 hrs, Tokyo: 21 hrs. PRODUCING IN MENDOZA ADVANTAGES From the perspective of a producer or a film or photography director, the province of Mendoza offers countless suitable locations for all types of audiovisual productions. It is a privileged place as far as natural beauty and infrastructure are concerned. Mendoza offers a number of comparative advantages for audiovisual production in relation to other parts of the world. The scenery changes dramatically from season to season. With over 300 annual days of sunshine and very little rainfall, it is possible to have film and photography shootings at any time of year. In regard to production costs, Mendoza is competitive with respect to other locations, especially when it comes to aspects such as food and accommodation, rentals, transport, specialized local talent, extras, or equipment rental. UNEXPLORED LOCATIONS The province of Mendoza offers a wide variety of scenic Mountain Scenery locations that have not been used for large or medium-sized The Andes mountain range, located between 11° north audiovisual productions yet. latitude and 55° south latitude, stretches along Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and part of Rivers, high mountain landscapes, hills, lakes, lagoons, Venezuela. Its height averages around 4000 m and its deserts, crop fields, groves, parks, roads and highways, highest point is Mount Aconcagua, which is located in urban and country sites which make ideal settings for both Mendoza and is, with its 6960 m, the highest mountain in film and photographic productions. Some places to note down the world out of the Himalayan range. Some areas in are the Andes Mountains, Cordón del Plata, Villavicencio, Mendoza have snow all year round, even in summer. Payunia, Cañón del Atuel, Laguna de Llancanelo, Laguna del Diamante, Puente del Inca, Valle de las Leñas, Caverna de The Towns las Brujas, Potrerillos, Uspallata, Valle de Uco, mountain Town squares and churches, large colonial houses, street roads, vineyards and croplands, the Lavalle desert, the San markets and cobbled streets. Mendoza can offer the hotel Rafael sand dunes, among many beautiful places. facilities as well as the communication services and the infrastructure necessary to host large film, photography, Cultivated Areas television and commercial production teams. Mendoza also presents different types of cultivated soils, including vineyards, fruit orchards and vegetable fields, which make a varied display of landscapes at different times of the year. The City of Mendoza Located a 30-minute drive from the International Airport, the The tree-lined avenues are one of the most distinctive city of Mendoza constitutes an important cultural, industrial and characteristics of the General San Martín Park, with superb business center featuring tall buildings, museums, art galleries, plane-trees and sycamores, palm trees and pepper trees. squares, markets, both traditional and modern neighborhoods, and big parks, among other locations. The majestic General Vast lawn yards called prados stretch alongside the park San Martín Park is worth describing in detail for its unique streets. They are much used for playing soccer and meeting identity and beauty. family and friends over a picnic. These beautiful spaces host more than 300 vegetative species from around the world and General San Martín Park make up a spectacular habitat. The oldest and most important park in Mendoza, comprising 307 cultivated hectares (760 acres) and 86 hectares (213 Sculptures and Monuments acres) in expansion, San Martín Park is located within the city. There are dozens of artistic works all over the park, but the finest are the Marly Horses (a replica of those found in the The lake, bordered at one side by the rosedal (rose garden) Champs-Élysées in Paris) and La Fontaine de and framed by a background view of the mountains, is the L'Observatoire or Fountain of the Continents (wrongly known heart of the park. as Fountain of the Americas), a piece by the renowned sculptress Lola Mora. The rosedal is a walking area ornamented with rose bushes and pergolas and furnished with pathways and benches from where to enjoy beautiful views of the lake. Its pergolas are attractive any time of year. Rivers, Lakes and Dams Los Reyunos Dam: Located in the proximity of the city of 25 Among Mendoza's most important rivers are the Desaguadero, de mayo, San Rafael, it has given origin to a lake under the Mendoza, Tunuyán, Diamante and Atuel. All of them, except same name. the Desaguadero river, have their origin in the Andes and run El Nihuil Dam: Located at 35º04'S, 68º45'W, 1325 masl, and downhill across the province from west to east. They are used south of Agua del Toro Dam, near the city of San Rafael. for irrigation and for the generation of hydroelectric power by Valle Grande Dam: Located on Provincial Route No. 173, in means of dams. Additionally, they are among Mendoza's most the vicinity of the city of San Rafael. important tourist sites as they constitute attractive destinations Potrerillos Dam: Located on the Mendoza river, in the for eco-tourism and fishing. province of Mendoza, it is 69 km (43 miles) from the city and right on the Bioceanic Corridor. The reservoir presently has Among Mendoza's bodies of water, the most outstanding are an area of around 1500 hectares (3707 acres) with 14 km (9 the Diamante and Llancanelo lakes, which are surrounded by miles) of length and almost 3 km (2 miles) of maximum width. majestic natural scenery and have been declared protected El Carrizal Dam: Located in the upper middle course of the areas to safeguard their native plant and animal species. Tunuyán river, in the central north of the province of Mendoza, at 33º180’0’’S and 68º43’15’’W upstream from the The dams found in the province are: Presently, its surface is city of Rivadavia. around Agua del Toro Dam: Located at 34º35'S, 69º05'W, 1240 masl, Flora and Fauna of Mendoza and 200 km south of the city of Mendoza. Mendoza's climate is characterized by an extreme aridity due to the scarcity of rains, and by wide daily and seasonal temperature ranges. The oases of the Cuyo region developed by virtue of the irrigation of the rivers flowing from the Andes LOCATIONS glaciers and host human activity in the area. Native xeric plants and the absence of trees are typical traits This area is characterized by shrubby vegetation, including of the Mendocinian landscape. different jarilla varieties, piquillín, espinillos, garabatos and milk thistles or pencas. Toward the east, there are pepper On the other hand, the oases boast profuse artificially-planted trees (molles), ravennas and chañares or Chilean palos vegetation, mainly fruit trees, poplars, mulberries, ashes, verdes, and toward the northeast, carob trees and caldenes. plane-trees, sycamores, maples and vines. Trees and crops In the ravines along which the rivers flow, the vegetation is in Mendoza are watered by means of irrigation canals and much more varied and richer than in the scrubland region. ditches with meltwater from the mountains. In the south of Mendoza, encompassing the whole Payunia The Flora: Different kinds of vegetation exist depending on area, the shrubsteppe is predominant and reeds and the region. In the Andean region, extending parallel to the gramineous plants are observed, as well as chilcas and Andes, there are gramineous plants and shrubs such as jumes, among others. Further south, the typical grasses and ortiga de la sierra, a kind of stinging rock nettle, maihuenias shrubs of steppe areas are found, as well as espinales (areas or yerbas del guanaco and tree tobacco or palán. of low thorny deciduous shrubland forests). The Sub-Andean or scrubland region, east of the Andean Further east toward the plateau, trees up to 20 m tall are region, is very vast and comprises the foothills, the plains and found, with scrub as the predominant type of vegetation. the huayquerías area (low elevations cut through by dry riverbeds). ARCHITECTURE Mendoza has for a long time boasted a rich architectural heritage, as reflected in works of national and international Gómez Building significance erected by prominent architects. Location: 7 Garibaldi Street, Mendoza City. Hipotecario Bank Killka Espacio Salentein Location: España and Gutiérrez Streets - Mendoza City. Location: Tupungato Valley. Playas Serranas Building Malvinas Argentinas World Cup Stadium Location: Prado Español and Las Tipas Avenue, Mendoza City. Location: General San Martín Park. General San Martín Park. Emilio Civit Avenue Pasaje San Martín (San Martín Arcade) Location: It constitutes the extension of Sarmiento Avenue, Location: San Martín Avenue and Paseo Sarmiento (the city's stretching from Belgrano Street to the gates of General San pedestrian area). Martín Park. This traditional and prestigious thoroughfare concentrates some of the city's most imposing houses, many Agustín Álvarez National High School of which date from the beginning of the past century and have Location: 1050 Chile Street, Mendoza City. been declared part of the city's Cultural Heritage by the local National Historical Site. government. School of Architecture of the University of Mendoza Location: 750 Paseo Dr. Emilio Descotte, Mendoza. CLIMATE AND SEASONS Mendoza has a semiarid climate. There are broad Autumn: the autumn, from March 21 to June 21, is relatively temperature variations across the year and rains are scarce.