The World’s First Scentgrapher Meetup Identified the Top 8 Valuable but Climate-Endangered Scents of Buenos Aires
In a world where memories can fade, a revolutionary project in Buenos Aires is ensuring that the city’s most iconic scents will never be forgotten. On March 13th, at the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero (UNTREF), residents and experts gathered for the world’s first Scentgrapher meetup — a pioneering initiative to document and preserve eight culturally significant smells of Buenos Aires threatened by climate change.
Scentgraphy is the art of capturing, storing, and releasing scents (molecules)to create and share new mono- or multisensory experiences. More than just a scientific endeavor, scentgraphy is an innovative approach to cultural preservation that goes beyond traditional documentation. This innovative approach goes beyond traditional archival methods, seeking to capture, store, and potentially recreate the molecular essence of cultural memories. The methodology developed for this landmark meetup represents a meticulously designed process of collective exploration and documentation.
The Methodology for Identifying Endangered, Culturally Valuable Scents
The workshop followed a carefully designed six-stage process that turned scent preservation into a deeply collaborative experience:
- Personal Connection: Participants began by reflecting on their most cherished scent memories of Buenos Aires, creating an immediate emotional anchor to the project.
- Diverse Collaboration: Carefully curated groups were formed, intentionally mixing participants who were less familiar with each other, ensuring diverse perspectives and cross-pollination of ideas.
- Collective Scent Mapping: Participants expanded an initial AI-generated list, adding nine additional scents that capture the city’s rich cultural tapestry — from historical landmarks to social experiences.
- Evaluation and Ranking: Each scent underwent a comprehensive assessment, graded on criteria including historical significance, distinctiveness, and potential to enhance sensory understanding.
- Climate Vulnerability Assessment: The selected scents were then evaluated for their risk levels, considering how climate change might alter or potentially erase these olfactory experiences.
- Detailed Documentation: Finally, each scent was meticulously documented, capturing its sensory characteristics, historical context, and cultural significance.
The 8 Endangered Scents of Buenos Aires
Each of these scents faces unique challenges. Droughts threaten yerba mate cultivation, rising temperatures could alter jacarandá flowering patterns, and changing ecological conditions might transform the city’s sensory landscape.
1. Petrichor Río de la Plata
The earthy, fresh scent that emerges after rain near the river is more than just a smell — it’s a living memory of Buenos Aires’ geographical identity. This petrichor carries the essence of maritime history, capturing the moment when humid air meets dry earth, evoking memories of sailing and cross-river travels. It speaks to the city’s connection with water, immigration, and the delicate balance between urban landscape and natural environment.
2. Riachuelo
A complex, provocative scent that embodies industrial history and urban transformation. The Riachuelo’s smell — a mix of stagnant water, industrial pollution, and urban decay — tells a story of Buenos Aires’ economic evolution. This olfactory narrative traces the journey from a bustling industrial hub to a site of environmental reclamation, carrying the memories of immigrant workers, factory life, and the ongoing struggle for urban renewal.
3. Yerba Mate
More than just a drink, yerba mate’s herbal and slightly bitter aroma represents the soul of Argentine social interaction. Rooted in indigenous Guaraní traditions and adopted by Spanish colonizers, this scent symbolizes communal bonding, national pride, and a cultural practice that transcends social boundaries. From gauchos to intellectuals, the smell of mate represents a shared national experience.
4. Jacarandá
The sweet, delicate fragrance of purple-blossomed jacarandá trees captures the very essence of Buenos Aires’ spring. Introduced by French-Argentine landscape architects, these trees represent the city’s cosmopolitan spirit — a blend of European elegance and Latin American vibrancy. Their floral scent marks renewal, urban beauty, and the delicate transformation of seasons.
5. Asado
The robust, smoky aroma of Argentine barbecue is far more than a culinary experience — it’s a cultural ritual. Rooted in gaucho heritage and cattle-ranching traditions, the smell of asado represents family gatherings, weekend celebrations, and a deep connection to Argentina’s agricultural identity. Each whiff tells a story of community, belonging, and the country’s rich culinary culture.
6. Choripán y Paty
Street food scents that pulse with the city’s energy — the smell of grilled chorizo and iconic Paty burgers carries the spirit of Buenos Aires’ urban life. These aromas are intimately linked to football matches, political rallies, and spontaneous gatherings. From stadium celebrations to political demonstrations, the smell of choripán represents the city’s passionate, communal nature.
7. Marcha de Protesta
Not a traditional scent, but a complex olfactory experience of political expression. The smell of protests — a mixture of sweat, determination, tear gas, and occasional street food — represents Buenos Aires’ rich tradition of social activism. From the return to democracy to ongoing social movements, this “scent of resistance” embodies the city’s enduring spirit of collective action.
8. Buenos Aires Zoo
A nostalgic blend of animal musk, hay, and childhood memories, the zoo’s scent represents a vanishing urban experience. Once a symbol of scientific advancement and leisure, the old zoo’s smell now exists as a memory — capturing generations of school trips, family outings, and the complex relationship between urban life and wildlife.
The Scent Camera: A Technological Revolution
While images and sounds have long been documented, smells have remained frustratingly ephemeral — until now. The Scentgrapher meetup introduced to Buenos Aires scentgraphers a groundbreaking technology: the Scent Camera. This hand-held multisensory recorder represents a quantum leap in cultural documentation, allowing users to capture, store, and re-experience scents linked to audio-visual information. The Scent Camera emerges as a pioneering tool with a profound mission: to record and preserve the world’s most valuable scents. This technology creates a new field of artistic expression, where scentgraphers can record and share multisensory experiences of world around them.
