Ecos Costa Verde
Ecos Costa Verde is a magazine born from a deep love for Argentina’s Atlantic coast and the desire to tell its stories, portray its identity, and celebrate its people and landscapes. Directed by journalist Romina Magnani, it was published in tabloid format between 1993 and 2006, reaching a total of forty issues that documented the cultural and touristic life of cities such as Pinamar, Villa Gesell, Cariló, Ostende, Valeria del Mar, Mar Azul, Las Gaviotas, Mar de las Pampas, and even Mar del Plata.
The early issues were printed in black ink on newsprint, but over time the magazine began to incorporate color, improved its design, and eventually switched to a higher-quality white paper, aiming to gradually resemble a true magazine format. This evolution reflected the editorial and aesthetic growth of the project, always driven by a pursuit of renewal, beauty, and visual care.
Most editions featured on their covers a prominent figure from national culture or regional history, who was then interviewed in the inner pages — most often by Romina Magnani herself, although at times these pieces were also contributed by guest journalists. For Romina, interviewing has always been her favorite aspect of journalism, and she used this platform to showcase those conversations as a priority in every edition. In fact, she received her journalism diploma from Luis Gruss — her Interview Techniques professor at TEA (Taller Escuela Agencia) — who stated that he recognized in her a sensitive and profound eye for uncovering stories and encouraging others to share them. Many of the interviews published in the magazine would later be included in her 2012 book Contame de Gesell.
Throughout the years, Ecos Costa Verde was supported by a team of journalists — colleagues of Romina from both the local area and Buenos Aires — as well as designers, layout artists, ad salespeople, and local workers who helped in the production and distribution of each issue.
Each edition offered a carefully curated selection of articles, interviews, photographs, and a calendar of regional tourist events. The magazine also featured humor sections with contributions from well-known Argentine cartoonists such as Rep, Caloi, and Oscar Blotta.
Romina oversaw every aspect of the magazine with dedication, from content to graphic evolution, always striving to keep its voice alive, relevant, and uniquely its own.
The magazine was born as Ecos in Villa Gesell in January 1993 and was published under that name until 1999. During the summer of 1998, two special issues were also released under the name Ecos en Pinamar, created exclusively for the neighboring city. Thus, that year, both publications coexisted.
Starting in 2000, the magazine was consolidated under the name Ecos Costa Verde and began to be published as a single edition aimed at the entire region.
After a brief attempt to return in digital format that did not continue, today it returns with renewed art, in digital format and on social media.
The magazine was always distributed free of charge, and its continued existence was made possible thanks to the support of local and regional sponsors who believed in the project from the start, as well as major national brands like Frigor, Dr. Selby, and Brahma. Romina has always been — and remains — deeply grateful to all of them for their trust and contribution to this endeavor.
Ecos always had a strong focus on tourism, with special emphasis on entertainment and culture, offering as much information as possible to those visiting the Costa Verde—at a time when social media didn’t function the way it does today. The issues were published during the summer, with monthly print runs of 10,000 copies. Additional editions were sometimes released in December and in March or April, depending on when Easter fell. In 1996, special editions were also published in July—for the winter holidays—and in October, for the long weekend around the 12th, when Villa Gesell held its traditional celebration of Día de la Raza. Both editions were a success in terms of sponsors, who enthusiastically joined the winter proposal.
The term Costa Verde, although not yet officially recognized on maps, began to be used by Juan Alberto Badía through his radio station FM Estudio Playa 98.1, and by Romina Magnani through her magazine Ecos Costa Verde. As part of this vision, the book La Costa Verde was published in 2001 (Ediciones Caleuche, by journalist Raúl Izaguirre), a work that captures the essence of this unique region along the Buenos Aires Atlantic coast. The Costa Verde includes: Villa Gesell, Pinamar, Valeria del Mar, Ostende, Cariló, Mar de las Pampas, Las Gaviotas, and Mar Azul—a stretch of sea and forest that has resonated—and still resonates—with shared stories over time.
In the very first issue of Ecos in Villa Gesell, published in January 1993, Romina interviewed Sebastián Gesell, one of the grandsons of Don Carlos Gesell, founder of the city. Sebastián, a childhood friend of Romina’s, is the son of Roberto, who ran the Villa Gesell Aquarium — located on the same block as Hotel Romina. Their parents’ proximity in business allowed a friendship to blossom between them in early childhood, one that continues to this day.
The final issue of Ecos Costa Verde, published in 2006, featured actor Gastón Pauls on the cover, following his role in the film Iluminados por el Fuego, in which he portrayed journalist and Malvinas war veteran Edgardo Esteban, the author of the book on which the film was based. Esteban had taught Romina the craft of radio field reporting and later asked her to choose that very film as inspiration for a painted beach umbrella she created for the Pantalla Pinamar Film Festival exhibit Sombrillas de Película. In that final edition, Edgardo appears alongside Gastón and the umbrella, as well as a series of paintings Romina created under the title Iluminados por el fuego 1, 2, and 3, among other works. As if by a cosmic wink, fate brought journalism and art together — connecting those who were part of the beginning of her career in radio to the final chapter of the magazine’s print era.
The archives of both the first and final editions are available in full on this website.
Today, Ecos Costa Verde is reborn in digital format, launching this website alongside the inauguration of the exhibition Prensa en Collage. Periodismo y arte, a series of visual works created using historical editions of the magazine. The show opened in May 2025 at the Municipal Exhibition Hall of the Teatro de la Torre Cultural Complex in Pinamar.
We also celebrate the launch of the magazine’s social media channels, with the goal of continuing to tell the stories of the coast and its people, preserving the original spirit of Ecos while embracing the current rhythm of this beloved seaside region that lives on in the hearts of those who love it.
Here, you’ll find the complete collection of all forty issues published between 1993 and 2006 — ready to be explored, rediscovered, and shared.
We invite you to dive in, join this community of memory and love for the coast, and follow us on social media to keep building new stories together.
