Argentina boasts a variety of nature like no other country on Earth. It stretches from the tip of Antarctica in the south to the border with Brazil in the north and is home to many different natural attractions, from the glaciers of Patagonia to the salt flats of Salta and the waterfalls in Iguazu. As a result it is one of the most unique and incredible countries in the world to travel to.
However it is important that we don’t take these places for granted. Sadly, the Argentine region of Misiones, which is home to the famous Iguazu Falls, is under serious threat from mass deforestation and has already lost as much as 40% of its original rainforest. At the same time, more than 30% of the land in Patagonia (in the south of Argentina) has been heavily degraded from its natural condition. As tourists we have a responsibility to ensure that by visiting a country we don’t have a negative impact on its environment. Of course this is not all the fault of tourists. Many of the natural challenges facing Argentina have arisen for reasons completely beyond our control, but it is also the case that tourism can make the situation worse. One of the ways we can try to avoid this is by choosing carefully which companies we use. The Responsible Tourism Network (RTR) is one of the organisations in Argentina which aims to make this easier. The network accepts members from the tourism sector who have a real commitment to sustainability and is a great resource for those wanting to travel sustainably. In their words, “the world requires our active participation to achieve the urgent transformation necessary to enjoy tourism and a world for each and everyone.”
For those wanting to do even more, volunteering is a great option. Sustainable tourism isn't just about conserving our natural environment but also integrating with the culture of the place we are visiting and creating a relationship with the local people. In this sense there is no better way of travelling sustainably than volunteering with the local community in a worthwhile project. It allows you to experience a new culture and country, while also having a positive impact on your environment – whether it is by helping out in a local orphanage, soup kitchen or even community radio station. So for an unforgettable, and entirely sustainable experience, why not consider volunteering?
When you think of Argentinian music, normally you think of tango. Of course this is still extremely popular, but there is also a thriving new music scene in Argentina.
Right now is festival season and this year Buenos Aires is playing host to the international electronic festivals Ultra and Creamfields, as well as alternative rock fest Lollapalooza.
This means names like Tiësto, Steve Aoki, Arcade Fire and The Red Hot Chili Peppers – all playing in the space of a couple of months in Buenos Aires.
Aside from festivals, DJs like Nicolas Jaar, Marco Carola and David August have all played in clubs around Buenos Aires in the last couple of weeks.
This really is one of the perks of the city for tourists and volunteers alike. It should be no surprise that the Argentine capital attracts such big international names.
Buenos Aires is the 15th largest city in the world and one renowned for its passionate people; here you shouldn’t find any shortage of enthusiastic fans.
It is said that the Rolling Stones like to end their tours in Buenos Aires as it is one of their favourite cities worldwide to play. Alongside this is also a healthy and growing local scene; something which is a must-see for visitors wanting to see a different side of the city.
Buenos Aires is home to a variety of new and exciting music and, if you are willing to put in a bit of research, it can be seen for a fraction of the price in the US or Europe.
Festipulenta, a small-scale festival showcasing underground and rising bands, just celebrated its 5th anniversary. The two-day event (entry ~€5/day) featured great music as well as poetry, comics and books and was well worth a visit. La Ola Que Quería Ser Chau, who you can listen to below, were one of the highlights.
Another band worth catching if you are in Buenos Aires is Las Kellies. The post-punk all-female 3-piece are a staple in bars and venues around the city, while they have also managed three albums and two European tours. "Perro Rompebolas", which roughly translates to "Pain in the ass dog", can be heard below:
If drum and bass is more your thing, Bad Boy Orange is one of Argentina's best-known producers. Listen below:
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And of course, there is still the Buenos Aires Tango Festival to come in August! Interested in coming to Argentina as a volunteer?
Argentine Women - International Women’s Day 2014
With International Women’s Day this Saturday (March 8th), thinking about women who changed the attitude and view towards their gender through art is almost impossible to avoid.
Every year since the early 1900’s thousands of events are held throughout the world to celebrate this day: not only to remind everyone of the long term relationship women have with the fight for their equality but also to inspire women and celebrate what has been achieved. To underline the importance of this day more than 26 countries, including China and Russia, have declared it a national holiday on which celebrations and events are held to honour women and their achievements.
Some of the most influential and inspirational women who fought for equality and change did so through art. The songs, poems and paintings produced by these women can give us a great insight into the past.
Argentina has a long tradition of women that have gained the respect of their contemporaries. They faced the rejection of being the speakers of a gender supposed to be weak and passive and acted during moments in history where nobody was allowed to think differently without facing the consequences.
Alfonsina Storni (1892 - 1938) was one of the most important Argentine and Latin-American poets of the modernist period. Her most notable works were “La inquietud del rosal” ("The Restlessness of the Rose") and “El dulce daño” ("Sweet injury") among others in which she focuses on what sees as the repression of women by men. Starting in 1930, her style of writing changed into a more feminist style which is clearly noticeable in her piece “Mundo de siete pozos” (1934). In October 1938, Alfonsina Storni sent her last poem “Voy a dormir” (“I’m going to sleep”) before committed suicide. She apparently headed towards the sea at La Perla beach in Mar del Plata, 400km south of Buenos Aires haunted by solitude and breast cancer. Although it is believed that she jumped from a breakwater, popular legends say that she slowly walked out to sea until she drowned. Her death inspired Ariel Ramírez and Félix Luna to compose the song “Alfonsina y el Mar” ("Alfonsina and the sea"), which has been performed by many famous singers.
One of these singers was Mercedes Sosa (1935- 2009), known as La Negra. She was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout Latin America and many countries outside the continent for her roots in Argentine folk music and political protest songs. She was best known as the "voice of the voiceless ones" during the time that politically opinionated artists were banned during the 60´and 70´. Her career spanned four decades in which several Grammy awards were given to her, including a posthumous Latin Grammy award for Best Folk Album. As well as other singers, she performed the song “Alfonsina y el Mar” to honor Storni’s life and work as well as the feminist attitude which was important in her time.
To cover all artistic fields, painting cannot be forgotten. For a more modern and actual view on inspiring women these days, Marta Minujin should be mentioned as a great example for how the female picture changed throughout the years and what a modern lifestyle they can follow nowadays. Marta Minujín was born in Buenos Aires in 1943. She studied at the National Institute of the Arts and now lives and works in Buenos Aires. She was an important member in the avant- gard Di Tella Institute where she started the pop and psychedelic art movement. In 1983, after seven years of dictatorship in Argentina, she created a monument to raise awareness for the lack of freedom of expression which existed at the time. Assembling 30,000 banned books, she designed the "Parthenon of Books," which was mounted in the centre of the famous street 9 de Julio. Within three weeks all 30,000 books had been taken home by the people of Buenos Aires.
Amongst many others, these three Argentine artists made it possible for women today to live in a society that respects them without any limitations on how to dress, act or speak. International Women’s Day is a great reminder for everyone how far we have come in this world.
SU Lavandería is a student-run, co-operative company founded by Voluntario Global five years ago. The launderette, originally being a project set up by Voluntario Global, has established itself as an independent service provider to local hotels and hostels that are part of the Responsible Tourism Network. It is important for Voluntario Global that this project gives more to young people than just financial help.
Currently, there are nine young people working at SU Lavandería - six boys and three girls. Coming from different parts of South America, including Bolivia and Paraguay, the nine members of the SU Lavandería team bring a diversity of cultural backgrounds to the workplace. They all come from one of the villas (shanty towns) around the city of Buenos Aires. Their lives are marked by poor living standards in a disadvantaged society where the majority of their peers do not have the opportunity to get a decent education or career. Many young people are so busy supporting their families that focusing on their own education often becomes second priority. For a lot of people with financial stability and support from home, situations like these are hard to imagine. It is normal to pursue a university education or spend time abroad to make experiences and grow as a person. For the nine youngsters, SU Lavandería is a chance to at least achieve a university degree or to pursue their dreams for a better education while ensuring some financial support for themselves and their families. It is also a chance to learn skills beyond their immediate tasks that will benefit their future life, no matter if they work or study.
The people working at the SU Lavandería are in different stages of their life. David, who has been working with the launderette since the very beginning, has just finished his studies as a personal trainer. Since he finished, he took on another job in the field of maintenance and gardening that he needs to coordinate with his work at the laundry. "My work at SU Lavandería did not stop for me after finishing my degree. This project became a part of my life and I want to continue engaging in it", he said. This is possible because of the flexible organisation of the launderette; a new schedule is set up every 3 months to accommodate the changing needs of the nine employees. This allows each of them to develop their ambitions on pursuing another occupation such as studying or working in another job. Gabi, a young girl studying to become a nurse, explains how she intends to manage both working and studying. "Often, I'm using the bus ride to work and back home to study. Sometimes I also find myself staying at the laundry before or after work for a little while to study."
No matter if they are still studying or have already finished their studies, for all of them the work at the SU Lavandería is a great chance to gain important life skills. "With the responsibility of working in the laundry project, we all are confronted with daily challenges that we need to manage and that make us learn beyond our obvious tasks. We all need to coordinate the work that has to be done. We have to constantly communicate with each other about the things we do and most of all work together as a team.”, describes David who is in charge of the laundry project. What David says matches the goal of Voluntario Global as an organization. It is important to support people in order for them to be able to have a stable future - financially as well as personally. “When someone new is joining the team we are doing our best to integrate this person into our routines as quickly as possible. We are asked to provide proper instructions to handling the machines and try our very best to make them a true team member as quickly as possible.”
Working at SU Lavandería - for the nine youngsters it especially means working in a team. For them it’s not like any job but a part of their lives. Besides the work, they acquire a lot of other valuable skills and qualities. Integration, team-work, communication and openness are the key characteristics for SU Lavandería, Voluntario Global and all their projects. Ultimately, SU Lavandería is Voluntario Global’s first own project that reflects what we stand for and what we want to achieve.
The “Armin’s Dream Scholarship” was created in 2013 after the passing of one of the founders of Voluntario Global with the goal to honor his life and his actions in an active and solidary way. Giving teenagers from the neighborhoods in Buenos Aires the opportunity to travel and get to know another world with the intention of experiencing community and society. The campaign of fundraising which funds these scholarships ended February 14, 2014 with a total of 8,672 $US. Gratitude to all people who donated: ex volunteers, friends and Argentinian organizations. This amount will allow between 3 to 5 applicants to receive a scholarship, depending on their travel and accommodation expenses. On Saturday, February 15 2014, we came together with social organizations as well as teenagers from the neighborhoods for a presentation of the different projects, a reflection and debate of which one should be supported. This allowed us to vote among the 10 young people who had submitted their plans for travel abroad and volunteer activities, exchange and training. THE ASSEMBLY The meeting took place for several hours in the form of an open assembly. The different organizations were presented through their delegates. After hearing about all the projects and the teenagers making the promise to return to the community they were able to use their vote about which project will receive a scholarship. As in every assembly, you could feel the seriousness and companionship between the applicants: each of them were able to share his or her view, thanks to the given frame of the assessment criteria that guided the debate. The same applied for the election afterwards. THE PROJECTS The teenagers proposed a wide variety of projects which will support their studies and also help their neighborhoods when they return. From working in an Indian school in Paraguay, helping with daily tasks in educational social organizations in Mexico or learning about energy sustainability and sustainable development in Colombia to exchanging and developing guidelines or supporting responsibility development of tourism in England. EVALUATION CRITERIA The impact on the local community, the correlation between the project and what the applicant could give back to the community and the accompanying organizations represented the key criteria that were evaluated before taking the vote.
THE RESULT 1st and 2nd place - CRISTIAN – COLUMBIA and IDALINA – PARAGUAY (tie) 3rd place – SAMANTHA – UNITED KINGDOM 4th place – XIMENA – UNITED KINGDOM 5th place – MABEL – MEXICO FINAL REFLECTION The VG team believes that the whole process of participation of young people and organizations has been the best way to remember our friend and help to continue his dream of equality, access to education for everyone and exchange as forms of peace and understanding between people. Personally, as the co-founder of Voluntario Global with Armin, I am convinced that his life has marked a path to continue to walk on. Valeria Gracia
La beca fue creada a mediados de 2013, luego del fallecimiento de uno de los fundadores de VG, con el objetivo de honrar su vida y sus acciones de una forma activa y solidaria, brindando la oportunidad a jóvenes de los barrios populares de poder viajar y conocer otras realidades a partir de propósitos tanto personales, como comunitarios y sociales.
La recaudación que permitió otorgar estas becas cerró el día 14 de febrero, con un total de US$ 8672, gracias a las donaciones de ex voluntarios y de compañeros y organizaciones argentinas. Este monto permitirá otorgar entre 3 y 5 becas dependiendo de los valores de pasajes y alojamiento.
El sábado 15 de febrero compartimos junto a organizaciones sociales y jóvenes de diferentes barrios una jornada de debate y reflexión que nos permitió al final de la tarde votar entre los 10 jóvenes que habían presentado sus proyectos para viajar al exterior y realizar actividades de voluntariado, intercambio y formación profesional.
LA ASAMBLEA DE ELECCIÓN
Reunidos durante varias horas en asamblea abierta, las organizaciones presentes, por medio de sus delegados, hicieron uso de su voto luego de escuchar el proyecto de cada joven y su propuesta de devolución a la comunidad.
Como ocurre en cada asamblea, la seriedad y el compañerismo no se hizo a un lado, cada uno de los presentes compartió su postura, gracias a la cual se completó un cuadro con los criterios de valoración que guiaba el debate. El mismo finalizó luego de contabilizar los votos.
PROPUESTAS
Los jóvenes presentaron una gran variedad de proyectos de acuerdo a sus estudios y a la ayuda que pueden brindar en sus barrios a su regreso. Desde colaborar en una escuela indígena en Paraguay, compartir tareas diarias con organizaciones sociales educativas en México, hasta aprender sobre sustentabilidad energética y desarrollo sustentable en Colombia o intercambiar y desarrollar pautas de turismo y desarrollo responsable en Inglaterra.
CRITERIOS DE VALORACIÓN DE LAS PROPUESTAS
El impacto en la comunidad local, la concordancia entre el proyecto y la propuesta de devolución a la comunidad y el acompañamiento de las organizaciones fueron los criterios fundamentales que todos los presentes evaluaron antes de emitir su voto.
¡LA VOTACIÓN!
1ra beca y 2da beca- CRISTIAN – COLOMBIA e IDALINA – PARAGUAY (Empate) 3ra beca – SAMANTHA – INGLATERRA4ta beca – XIMENA – INGLATERRA5ta beca – MABEL – MÉXICOUNA REFLEXIÓN FINAL
El equipo de VG considera que el proceso entero de participación de jóvenes y organizaciones ha sido la mejor forma de recordar a nuestro compañero y de ayudar a que continúen sus sueños de igualdad de oportunidades y de acceso a la educación y al intercambio como formas de paz y conocimiento entre los pueblos. Personalmente, como cofundadora junto a Armin de Voluntario Global, estoy convencida de que su vida nos ha marcado un camino que seguiremos transitando.
Valeria Gracia
Co fundadora. Coordinadora de desarrollo institucional
If you are considering going to Argentina as a volunteer, we hope the following article will dispel your doubts and help you to have an unforgettable time.
People & Language
The Argentinean people are known for their charm and their wit, however most of all for their national pride. Politics is a staple topic in local cafés and bars and Argentineans don’t shy away from public expression. For them, protest and demonstration are tools to achieve democracy and change that have had to be gained through struggle. Because of this demonstrations and strikes seem almost to be part of the Argentine daily routine.
If you have a sweet tooth, you are sure to love Argentina. Dulce de leche is the most famous sweet – the sweet caramel sauce is the Argentinean answer to Nutella. It can be found in many sweet dishes and ice creams and it is almost impossible to avoid at some point during your stay. Argentinean summers can get very hot. For this reason, it is essential to drink a lot. The perfect refreshment here is Yerba Mate (or just Mate). It is a tea made from the leaves of the mate bush and people love it for its stimulating effects. It has a strong, slightly bitter taste which was originally appreciated by Argentina's indigenous population.
Tips for Volunteers
- Try to be open-minded when it comes to food. Remember, you are not at home and it is not your mum cooking here!
- Be ready to work with your hands when you volunteer in a soup kitchen. If no one cuts the onions the soup would not taste good.
- Don’t stick to food you can eat at home. Being interested in a culture also means being interested in a country's cuisine.
Article by Markus Stiefelbauer
Voluntourism (the combination of volunteering and tourism) is an amazing experience. Having all the advantages of being a tourist combined with doing something good, makes it without a doubt a very fulfilling and valuable experience for the volunteers. Still, the question remains: How can volunteers really make an impact?
Most of us want to change the world at least a little tiny bit. Even more so when working as a volunteer, offering time, knowledge and dedication. But what does “making an impact” mean? Is it about changing the world? Is it about seeing a progression? Something the project coordinators would tell future volunteers about even 2 years later? Or is it the complete opposite? Due to the limited time of most voluntourists is it impossible to make an impact, so are they one piece of a puzzle helping to have impact in the long run, when they have already gone?
Tooka is working in the medical center for 2 months. She helps the doctor to check up on babies and toddlers. If Tooka is not there, the doctor does everything on his own. Hence she can help, but does that mean that she is making an impact? Laura is working in the Soup Kitchen. She cooks lunch for the local community. If she is there, food can be served earlier than when she is not. Is she creating an impact? What about Markus? He works in the communications team, maintaining all social media channels, writing blog articles and making videos. Does that kind of work really make a difference?
Let`s tell the stories again: Tooka is working in the medical center for 2 months. She does the check-ups, so the doctor can concentrate on his/her expert skills and treat every single patient better, especially due to the huge amount of patients needing help every single day. It is a very valuable work, but exhausting as well - for Tooka and the doctor. Since they get along really well with one another, the doctor enjoys his time at work more than being alone. This, in turn, provides him with the necessary integrity and tactfulness he needs to deal with difficult patients, which is quite common since many patients come from difficult backgrounds.
Laura is working in the Soup Kitchen. But Laura is not alone, she came here with her friends Grace and Laura. The 3 girls have known each other for years, which is easy to see. They have fun and laugh while getting on with their work. Grace speaks only a little bit of Spanish, so Laura usually translates, what Estella, the coordinator, is saying. On the other hand Estella always feels proud when she is able to express something in English, and so she has lots of conversations with Laura, enriching her cultural knowledge and experience. Of course, all the community people recognize the great vibes and that the meals are prepared with love.
Markus is working in the communications department. He is going out to the projects, doing interviews and making videos following the motto “Do good and talk about it”. Local people are always curious about the videos. On one hand, many of them are a little bit camera-shy. On the other hand, they are delighted to talk about their projects, about all their difficulties and achievements. They are delighted that people are interested in them and that people care about them. And delighted that hopefully many people will take notice of their respective projects. Because they face many obstacles, and the more people help, whether as a volunteer or with financial aid, the stronger their belief in a better future - especially for the babies, the toddlers, the kids - the future!
It is this perspective that makes the difference. The perception of the volunteer makes the difference. The impact is not a crater in the landscape, it`s a tiny little change in peoples’ lives. The crater might have vanished tomorrow, but the memory in people`s hearts persist. Isn`t that changing the world a little tiny bit?
Bringing love into a volunteering experience
Cafés and restaurants promote special offers. Stores and shops start decorating in colours like red and pink. Heart cut-outs appear in windows, heart-shaped cookies and cakes fill the shelves in your local panaderías, and even the supermarket around the corner puts up a display with cards. You can see and feel it everywhere: love is in the air in Buenos Aires and Valentines Day cannot be far.
El Día de los Enamorados (Valentine's Day) is celebrated in Argentina like it is in the rest of the world: couples exchange cute little gifts such as chocolate and flowers, they go out for a nice dinner and celebrate their love, their relationship and their affection to one another. However, when Valentine's Day is over many couples go back to their daily routine and stop working on their relationship. Daily life often lacks original and creative ways to spend your time together as a couple and show your affection beyond the occasional gift or flowers.
Still, over the years at Voluntario Global we have seen that there are other ways to celebrate your bond as a couple and develop your relationship. Volunteering and travelling as a couple will be a life-changing experience that you will remember fondly for many years to come. Volunteering itself is a rewarding experience but doing it with a loved one makes it even more special. You share a joint purpose and dedicate your time and skills to a cause that both of you believe in. You will also have the chance to combine your interests and knowledge and to get to know each other in a new way. You don't only share your love with each other but open your heart to a community and let them be part of it.
Just last month Voluntario Global welcomed newlyweds Ronan and Claire O´Sullivan to the community. The two volunteers helped out in a soup kitchen with a connected kindergarten in Barracas, a neighbourhood just a 20 minutes bus ride from the centre of Buenos Aires and situated close to the well-known ‘La Boca’ neighbourhood. Claire volunteered in the kitchen and Ronan helped building a play area for the children outside. Their decision to volunteer as a couple is a great example of taking your love to another culture and sharing it with the local people. Instead of spending their honeymoon in a beach resort, Ronan and Claire dedicated their holidays to getting to know a new culture, giving back to local communities and share their love with the people in need.
Another inspiring story came to us through Isabel and Henry, who brought their toddler Nina to Buenos Aires to volunteer in a kindergarten. Dedicating themselves for a good cause as a whole family showed us a special way of sharing love, which was not only reflected by them giving love to the people in need but by them also receiving sympathy and love from the locals, especially towards their daughter Nina. Altruism and charity begin at home – Isabel and Henry live this out. True role models from again another generation were Dianne and Paul Cross, an elderly British couple (both in their fifties) that went abroad to celebrate their wedding anniversary in a unique way. Dianne and Paul volunteered in a soup kitchen in the neighborhood La Boca where they dedicated their time and energy to providing food to those in need.
For them this was not only an opportunity to give back but also allowed them to deepen their relationship by sharing an experience that let them appreciate how lucky they are even more. Three generations of love, three relationships, one purpose. Volunteering as a couple is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will not only benefit the project and the local community but also provide the opportunity to develop your relationship. For the people in need they are inspiring role models that combine their shared values, interests and skills to truly make a difference.
An event of cultural diversity Vibrating hips dressed in colorful stunning costumes, moving to capturing Latin rhythms, bienvenidos a carnival in South America. Being one of the most traditional popular festivals in the history of mankind, many people forget about the deep religious roots of the carnival celebrations. Historians state that the first carnival festivities date back over five thousand years ago, originating in ancient Sumer, an ancient civilization that equals modern day southern Iraq and Kuwait, and spreading from the Roman Empire into all Europe. Similarly, all over America different forms of appreciation for mother earth and the gifts of life emerged. Over the past centuries, indigenous American traditions started to mix up with influences that were carried over by Spanish and Portuguese sailors in the 15th century. At present, we can find endless amounts of expressions of the carnival festivities – not only worldwide but also in a country such as Argentina.
From Salta to Buenos Aires and all the way down to Ushuaia different styles of celebrations have evolved that mix various immigrant traditions with local cultural elements resulting into a high variety of local costumes, music and dance expressions. When it comes to celebrating carnival, initially every one thinks of Río de Janeiro. And with good reason too - the parade in Río's Sambadrome is the biggest carnival party on earth. More than 90,000 spectators pack themselves along the 700m stretch in downtown Río to see the parade of local samba schools. However, for those who want to step off the beaten track, it is highly recommended to visit one of the countless more local celebrations of carnival that the South American continent has to offer. For those wanting to experience an authentic carnival parade, the ‘Carnaval del País’ in Argentina’s Gualeguaychu offers a great alternative to Río. With extravagantly dressed performers accompanying incredible unique floats, carnival in Gualeguaychu is a real slice of Latin culture. A three-hour bus ride from Buenos Aires heading north along the Rio Uruguay, Gualeguaychu is a popular weekend destination for Porteños (the people of Buenos Aires) to escape the city's heat and chaos during the summer months. Almost half a million tourists annually visit this town of about 100,000 people to watch the events, swim in the nearby Nandubaysal river and enjoy the numerous bars and clubs.
Every Saturday in January and February, the parade in Gualeguaychu's Corsodromo starts at about 10 pm and lasts all night until 4 in the morning. Hundreds of performers along twelve stunning floats entertain some 40,000 spectators on the stands of the Corsodromo. This is the place where Brazilian samba rhythms and Uruguayan street music meet the talent and passion of local social and sports clubs. Much like the carnival in Rio, the parades in Gualeguaychu have a highly competitive nature. Every weekend, a different set of judges assesses the parades based on three categories. Finally, on the first weekend of March, two months of carnival celebration come to an end with the Noche de Carnaval as well as the Megafiesta Carnavalera. That's when 9 months of hard work may be rewarded with millions of pesos and the admiration of the crowds. Gualeguaychu is a place for true carnival connoisseurs - people that like to sit back and appreciate the detail and hard work that was put into the 16.000 feathers that decorate a single costume or the harmony of dance and music expressed by the various talented performers. Even though there may be countless parties that celebrate this event happening before and after the show, the actual parades do not necessarily encourage much interaction with the crowd and draw a clear line between performers and spectators. Out-going and party-seeking people may miss the enthusiasm of the crowd and may find themselves shaking their hips alone in a mostly calm grandstand.
Needless to say - carnival is not just about sitting back and watching some nice parades running by. It's about moving your own hips as well, becoming part of the happening and interacting with the local culture. This same spirit finds its way onto the streets of some of Buenos Aires' largest neighbourhoods. Countless street celebrations praising the event of carnival are happening every Saturday and Sunday evening in February, as well as the first weekend in March. Entire streets are shut down and decorated with colorful banners. Local people put up food stands and sell accessories that liven up the atmosphere. Kids play with each other on the street and attack everybody in reach with some kind of foam-spray. For 3-4 hours local dance groups, consisting of 30 or more people, show off their home-made costumes and perform their choreographed dances to the rhythm of the drummers - of course not in such a professional manner as to be witnessed in Gualeguaychu, but with at least the same amount of talent and passion. Occasionally, spectators join their performances and get caught in the crowd. Before and after the performances of each group everyone is free to come, chat and take funny pictures. The crowd is vibrant and alive and it feels like every single person on the street that night is an essential part of this big celebration.
One occasion. Two places. Two different ways of celebrating. Whoever wants to experience what carnival is like off the beaten track of Río's Sambadrome should not hesitate to come and witness what Argentina's best spots for celebrating carnival have to offer. Offering two absolutely different perspectives of celebrating this event, in Argentina you have the opportunity to live the true carnival experience.
VOLUNTARIO GLOBAL
Voluntario Global helps local communities by being available to discuss anything that local organizations need, and offering ideas for further change and development.
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CONTACT
Location: General Pacheco. Buenos Aires. Argentina
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