New president, outdoor bash in Buenos Aires

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The inauguration of Cristina Fernandez as Argentina’s new president moved Monday afternoon from the stately confines of the congressional palace to a raucous outdoor concert at the Plaza de Mayo in downtown Buenos Aires.

There Fernandez and her husband, now ex-President Nestor Kirchner, joined on stage with assorted Argentine musical luminaries, including Mercedes Sosa, the legendary chanteuse, and a riffing Gustavo Santaolalla, two-time Oscar winner for his film scores.

Clarin reports that the presidential couple, a bit out of place in their formal get-ups amid the mostly jeans-clad musicos, nonetheless did a few steps and even sang along. President Fernandez flashed lots of smiles and delivered a bevy of hugs and kisses after her mostly somber and humorless inaugural address. Some 10,000 people showed up in the central plaza, and business came mostly to a halt downtown.

— Patrick J. McDonnell and Andres D’Alessandro in Buenos Aires