by Alan Pauls
The question of getting your hands on dollars in Argentina inevitably brings you face-to-face with the parallel—or black market—economy. The government sets an official exchange rate, but also keeps strict controls on the amount of dollars officially in circulation, sending most buyers into the black market. The rate offered at unofficial exchange outlets known as cuevas, or caves, is wildly more pricy than the government’s official rate. And “unofficial” isn’t quite the right description, either: the parallel economy is so huge and so influential in Argentina that it has its own set of rules; there’s an “official” dollar exchange rate within this unofficial sector. The novel’s arbolitos occupy a black market within the black market, offering yet another exchange rate, this one even more extortionate.
Acknowledgments
A History of Money was completed in July 2012 at the artists’ retreat at Castello di Fosdinovo, beneath the protective wing of Pietro Malaspina and Maddalena Fossombroni, who make hospitality an art, and the benevolent influence of the ghost of Bianca Maria Aloisia.
