Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and other

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n countries, a ''matinée'' (also spelled matiné) is a

discothèque A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a ...

open to

teenagers Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

(usually between 14 and 18) before midnight. It was introduced in the 1990s because laws prohibited young people from going to dance in bars and

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

s that served

alcoholic drink Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

s. Throughout the 20th century up to the 1980s, the word ''matinée'' was used in Argentina for the first

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

exhibition of the day, usually around 2 p.m. and often intended for children. A ''matinée'' would usually feature a

double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

of two films, with a live performance in between (usually a singer or comedy act) in the early decades of the century. A

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

to Spanish from French word ''matinée'' (in turn from the French ''matin'': 'morning'), the word was used in France (although not in its literal sense) to contrast from ''soirée'' (from ''soir'': 'evening') and from ''nuit'' ('night').

Features

The usual age range is 14 to 18, although some clubs admit 13-year-olds. The official schedule established by the

Government of Argentina The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential system, presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic. The president of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. ...

is from 8 p.m. to midnight; in some provinces, the clubs must close by 11:30. The law prohibits smoking and alcoholic drinks. In practice, smoking is widespread. To circumvent the prohibition of alcohol, many young people drink at a friend's house or in a nearby park before heading to the matinee. Youngsters in Argentina call this the ''previa'' ("before") going to the club.{{citation needed, date=November 2018

References

Culture of Argentina Dance culture *