The future is artisanal, and so is ice cream.
AFADHYA ice cream makers visited Clarín's newsroom during the 41st Artisanal Ice Cream Week to recognize the newspaper's editorial quality and regional importance. Both organizations share commitment to direct consumer connection, authentic craftsmanship, and promoting Argentine cultural values without intermediaries.
- AFADHYA visited Clarín's newsroom during the 41st Artisanal Ice Cream Week to mark the newspaper's 80th anniversary
- More than 500 ice cream shops across Argentina will participate in the Night of Ice Cream Shops on November 13, offering 2x1 promotions
- The special seasonal flavor for the week is Fruta D'Oro: a mango-banana sorbet with lime and white chocolate granita
Argentina's artisanal ice cream association honored newspaper Clarín's 80th anniversary with a ceremonial visit, ice cream tasting, and commemorative plaque, celebrating shared values of quality craftsmanship and authentic journalism.
On a November afternoon at Clarín's newsroom, something small and sweet arrived to mark something large and consequential. The Asociación de Fabricantes Artesanales de Helados y Afines—AFADHYA, the guild of Argentina's artisanal ice cream makers—came bearing a commemorative plaque, two mobile ice cream carts, and a message about shared values. They were there to celebrate the newspaper's eightieth anniversary, and in doing so, to say something about what they believed both institutions stood for.
Maximiliano Maccarrone, who leads the association, arrived with members of the board and staff: Gabriel Famá, Héctor Emede, Darío Travaglini, Silvia de la Fuente, Laura Castillo, and Laia Farré. They presented the plaque to Martín Etchevers, Clarín's manager of institutional relations and communications, and Guido Lagares, the newspaper's manager of optional products and retail. The gesture was deliberate. AFADHYA wanted to honor what it saw as Clarín's commitment to quality journalism, its trajectory as one of the region's most significant media outlets, and its consistent coverage of artisanal ice cream culture.
Maccarrone spoke about why the moment mattered. "This anniversary calls to us," he said, "and from our association we wanted to celebrate it alongside those who have always accompanied us in spreading word of our work, in promoting the values of authenticity and craft—values we believe are essential to our continued growth." He drew a parallel between the newspaper and the ice cream shops it covered. Both, he suggested, believed in direct connection with their audiences, without middlemen. An artisanal ice cream, he explained, is noble ingredients and natural products from Argentine soil, united by the hands and recipes of master craftspeople, delivered straight to customers. Quality, made fresh daily, with professionalism and passion—the same way, he implied, that Clarín approached its reporting.
Etchevers, receiving the recognition, spoke with genuine enthusiasm. He described himself as someone who walks Buenos Aires neighborhoods conducting ice cream tastings, visiting shops to discover the iconic flavors that define each one, experiencing the particular essence and mystique of every heladería. "It's a pleasure to receive this recognition and visit from the artisanal ice cream makers," he said. "It's an association that fascinates me." He went further, framing ice cream itself as national culture. "I firmly believe we have in Argentina an ice cream of unmatched quality, and that each ice cream shop brings happiness to many people. We're enthusiastic about sharing in the newspaper all the stories of these shops—their anniversaries, the effort of each family running their location across generations—and accompanying this growth through our reporting."
The visit took place during the forty-first edition of Artisanal Ice Cream Week, a broader celebration that had formally launched the previous Monday at the Planetario with an event called "Ice Cream Under the Stars." There, organizers announced a special seasonal flavor: Fruta D'Oro, a water-based sorbet of mango and banana with a citrus note of lime and white chocolate granita. The week's centerpiece is the traditional Night of Ice Cream Shops, scheduled for Thursday, November 13, when more than five hundred locations across the country will offer two-for-one promotions on quarter-kilo servings and live music performances. A map of participating shops is available at lanochedelasheladerias.com.ar.
Beyond the celebration, AFADHYA has woven charitable action into the week's programming. The association made donations and organized solidarity initiatives benefiting foundations including Natalí Flexer, Casa Garrahan, the Comedor "Los Piletones," and Casa del Teatro—reaffirming its commitment to social responsibility. This year's theme emphasizes creativity, authenticity, and human connection in an increasingly digital world. The message is simple: the future is artisanal, and so is ice cream. The invitation is to celebrate Argentine artisanal ice cream—yesterday, today, and always.
Citações Notáveis
We believe in direct connection with our audiences without intermediaries. An artisanal ice cream is noble ingredients and natural products united by the hands and recipes of master craftspeople, delivered straight to customers.— Maximiliano Maccarrone, president of AFADHYA
Ice cream is national culture. We have in Argentina an ice cream of unmatched quality, and each shop brings happiness to many people. We're enthusiastic about sharing all their stories through our reporting.— Martín Etchevers, Clarín's manager of institutional relations and communications
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did an ice cream association feel compelled to honor a newspaper's anniversary?
Because Clarín had consistently covered their world—the shops, the makers, the culture. But more than that, they saw a philosophical alignment. Both operate on craft, on direct relationships, on the idea that quality matters and that people notice.
Is this just marketing for ice cream week?
It's partly that, yes. But the plaque and the visit suggest something deeper. Maccarrone's speech wasn't about selling ice cream. It was about defending a way of doing things—handmade, local, unmediated—against a world that's increasingly neither.
What does Etchevers get out of it?
He gets to be honest about something he actually cares about. He walks neighborhoods tasting ice cream. That's not a corporate talking point. He's saying: this matters to me, and it matters to Argentina.
So they're both defending something?
Exactly. A newspaper defending the idea that reporting on small, real things—ice cream shops run by families for generations—is important. An ice cream association defending the idea that craft and quality and direct human connection still have a place.
Does that defense work?
That depends on whether people show up on November 13th, whether they visit the shops, whether they keep reading Clarín. The plaque is a symbol. The real test is what happens next.