Argentina Chamame National Feast

January 10, 2010

Argentina begins early in January a wide program of celebrations to commemorate the country’s Bicentennial of Independence.  Within this program, the northern province of Corrientes will be the stage for a traditional musical event, which will celebrate its 20th edition: the National Feast of Chamamé, an artistic expression which is considered a cultural heritage of Argentina. The one week long series of celebrations will provide  the occasion to attract hundreds of tourists into the area.

Thus, the popular music of northern Argentina will be highlighted  by the presence of over 500 artists who practice the traditional “Chamamé” music together with other musical rhythms of the region. The main venue for the musical event will be the impressive Mario del Tránsito Cocomarola Theater which has a capacity for 15.000 persons. Some of the most renowned icons of this ancestral music will participate of the festival, which will include a variety of activities to complement the musical event and provide local residents and foreign visitors with a host of alternatives to enjoy some of the best local traditions and a festive kick-off to the year-long Bicentennial celebrations.

The festival also pretends to position the Corrientes area at the center of the stage, national and internationally, as a center of culture and colorful feasts, together with fine gastronomy, great wines and many natural attractions.  Visitors will have the opportunity to attend, in the picturesque Puerto Pexoa, the frantic dancing of the “bailanta chamamecera”, the most traditional version of this musical genera.  The fiesta will include typical dishes of the region; antique carriages parades, camping options and a much expected participation of the National Folklore Ballet directed by Margarita Fernandez.

The Chamame Feast will coincide with the sixth reunion of the MERCOSUR (the Commercial Market Alliance of Nations of the South) where the Ministers of Culture of the region will meet and look for upgraded brotherhood among the region’s countries, utilizing the magic influx of music.

This time the Chamame Feast will be followed by television by more than 10 million Argentines and, via satellite, broadcasted to the neighboring countries.  The popular feasts and traditions are unquestionably an increasing motivation for tourism and travel, to provide voyagers with the exciting experience of being part of the most authentic expressions of the nations’ cultures.