Last July when I was in hospital, I had several conversations with visiting friends about the protocols around death and dying here in Argentina. Would we know what to do if a friend died here? Had we all told our friends what we wanted?

Turned out none of us had a clue!

So I approached the President of Buenos Aires International Newcomers (BAIN), an expat organization I’m active in, to see if they would run an event to educate us on these important matters. It was going to be an actual event held in my apartment (with wine to offset the tristeza of the subject matter!), but by the time we got our act together the lockdown had kicked in, and we decided to do it virtually. I trust everyone supplied their own wine!

Last Friday was the night, and I am so glad we did it. We asked members to help us find an expert who could address us, and my friend Vivi suggested her cousin Laura, a family lawyer well versed in Argentine succession law. Laura brought her colleague Alejandro, and they did a very informative presentation. Cliff, one of our members who runs an import/export company, explained the ins and outs (and costs) of transporting human remains. There were lots of questions, which speaks for the level of interest in the subject.

Wondering about the title of this post? Well tramites is a word that describes bureaucratic processes here in Argentina, particularly with the government. The word implies long waits and complicated paperwork. We surmised (rightly) that this process would certainly involve tramites, and I can say now that that is certainly true. I believe it was Oscar Wilde who said that Paris is an expensive place to die. I think Buenos Aires is a complicated one!

But now we have no excuse for not being prepared. Of course, like everyone else, I hope it won’t be needed for a long time, but I am working on it.