Vendimia (officially Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia) is an annual festival of the grape harvest. It's held in Mendoza, which seems appropriate as we've heard that 80% of Argentine wine is produced in this region. It's been held since 1936.
Wednesday evening we have a little preview of Vendimia as we are walking along Arístides Villanueva. A bus pulls up outside one of the restaurant spewing beauty queens. It turns out that there are 18 queens, one from each department in the region. Two stopped to pose for us before joining in their dinner party.
Friday after our siesta we walk down Avenida Civit at about 8pm to Plaza Indepencia, following the parade route the tourism office provided for us. It is not obvious there will be a parade until we are within 2-3 blocks of the plaza where we see more police. According to the official brochure the parade is to start at 8pm and we are in the area two-thirds through the route. Hmmm. We meet a local Mendocino woman with her cooler and younger adult children in tow. She guesses that the parade will arrive around 9pm and recommends we get a table at one of the local restaurants, have a bite to eat and enjoy the parade from there. Sounds like a plan!
We choose La Lucia and settle into a table for two next to the street. We proceed to have a full meal with a bottle of wine, which in Argentina is not a fast experience. The only evidence of a parade is that the street has been closed to traffic and there are more people moving toward the park. William pays our bill and we also walk to the park. Just as we arrive we hear announcers and the first float arrives - but the queens are leaving the floats before we can see them! After that the floats proceed up Avenida Civit, but who cares. We laugh and begin our walk back to the apartment arriving around midnight.
Friday after our siesta we walk down Avenida Civit at about 8pm to Plaza Indepencia, following the parade route the tourism office provided for us. It is not obvious there will be a parade until we are within 2-3 blocks of the plaza where we see more police. According to the official brochure the parade is to start at 8pm and we are in the area two-thirds through the route. Hmmm. We meet a local Mendocino woman with her cooler and younger adult children in tow. She guesses that the parade will arrive around 9pm and recommends we get a table at one of the local restaurants, have a bite to eat and enjoy the parade from there. Sounds like a plan!
We choose La Lucia and settle into a table for two next to the street. We proceed to have a full meal with a bottle of wine, which in Argentina is not a fast experience. The only evidence of a parade is that the street has been closed to traffic and there are more people moving toward the park. William pays our bill and we also walk to the park. Just as we arrive we hear announcers and the first float arrives - but the queens are leaving the floats before we can see them! After that the floats proceed up Avenida Civit, but who cares. We laugh and begin our walk back to the apartment arriving around midnight.
Saturday is the big parade at 10am and we have been promised that it will pass along Arístides Villanueva, just two blocks from our apartment. It starts eight blocks away, so at ten minutes to ten we walk to Arístides and choose a sidewalk cafe for our viewing. Amazingly before 10:20am the first group on horses passes by. They are the equivalent of the fire trucks which lead parades in midwestern US cities.
We have some coffee and pastries and watch the parade for a couple of hours. But as the parade progresses the number of times and length of time it stops increases. At 1pm we decide to walk up the parade route for five or six blocks and then return to our apartment for lunch. During our siesta at 3pm we can still hear noise from the parade.
Saturday evening it is very quiet in the downtown area. Everyone is at the Teatro for the big festivities. We have a nice dinner and then go for a walk. In one of the parks some couples are dancing the tango. Delightful.! At 3am we can still hear local Vendimia parties in the neighborhood. Closer to 4am while I am fast asleep William hears the fireworks at a Parque San Martín following the crowning of the Vendimia queen. These people can party!
Saturday evening it is very quiet in the downtown area. Everyone is at the Teatro for the big festivities. We have a nice dinner and then go for a walk. In one of the parks some couples are dancing the tango. Delightful.! At 3am we can still hear local Vendimia parties in the neighborhood. Closer to 4am while I am fast asleep William hears the fireworks at a Parque San Martín following the crowning of the Vendimia queen. These people can party!
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