Vendimia

I had just booked our long-term AirBnB rental in Mendoza, and was exchanging messages with our host, Lucas. We would be there from shortly after New Years until the end of March. “Great!” he wrote, “You’ll be here for Vendimia!!”

For what???

VENDIMIA!

Vendimia is a two week celebration like no other – part harvest festival, mixed with a touch of Mardi Gras, concerts in the park, big street parties, several parades, a beauty pageant, a celebration of Argentine history and culture,  and some Las Vegas Show glitz.

Oh, and wine. Vendimia is the world’s largest wine festival. There’s lots to do and see that doesn’t involve drinking, but Mendoza’s proud viticultural heritage is front and center.  Even the city’s fountains get dyed the ruby red of Mendoza’s signature wine – Malbec. (I found it interesting, as an abstainer, that there was very, very little public drunkenness, despite this focus on wine.)

The festival’s origins go back to the 1600’s when the first european settlers, devout by nature, would offer the first fruits of the harvest to the Virgin of Carrodilla, the patron saint of Mendoza’s vineyards. The modern celebration, with all its pageantry and glitz, began in 1936, but the Blessing of the Fruit is still marks the official beginning of Vendimia, in the middle of February, each year.

Mendoza is the center of Argentina’s wine industry. Some smaller communities in the area have their own celebrations, but the main event is in Mendoza. It’s a bit like winter carnivals back home, several towns have them, but there is only one Carnaval in Quebec City.

Several of the events were within easy walking distance of our house – a DJ party in a nearby park. A giant street party on Arístedes, home of many of Mendoza’s trendiest clubs and restaurants. A 3 day celebration of Italian food and music in Plaza Italia (62% of Argentinians are of Italian descent).

And of course a Vend-exposition with free food and wine samples. (One Canadian visitor to Mendoza found this part especially interesting).

One of the feature events is the crowning of the Queen of Vendimia. All the towns and grape growing regions in Mendoza Province send their representatives. It’s more than a beauty pageant (there are no bathing suits), with the contestants evaluated on several factors aside from their looks. You may have your own feelings on the merits and faults such pageants, but it is immensely popular here, and the loudest cheers were coming from young women. It’s their country and their culture. Who am I to judge?

The Via Blanca parade takes place on the festival’s final Friday night. Hundreds of thousands of people line the streets to witness the spectacle. There are bands, horses and even dancing police officers!

But the main focus is the regional Queens, each on their own elaborately decorated float, with their ‘Princesses’ – the runners up. The Queens and Princesses toss candies, grapes and even wine-in-a-box to the crowd. Eager spectators hold up improvised baskets on long poles to receive this largess. It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever experience again – being pelted with grapes by a beauty queen!

And yes, there was a float sponsored by and featuring the city’s trans and drag community. As I said it’s very popular and everyone gets in on the fun.

Saturday morning they do it all again. The Queens and Princesses are there again, but this time the focus is on culture and history. Folk dancers and riders young and old, celebrate the gaucho heritage of Argentina. Both the horses and the costumes were very impressive. Argentinos love their horses, and there were hundreds of them. (The street cleaners had a bit of work to do when all was said and done).

Finally, on Saturday night, there is the Acto Central, a 2 1/2 hour extravaganza of music, dance, costumes, fireworks and ultimately the crowning of the Queen of Vendimia. It takes place in the 25,000 seat Frank Romero-Day Theater, an amphitheater carved into the rocky hillside of San Martin Park. Thousands more watch the show from the surrounding hillsides. The stage is over a hundred meters across, with water features and fountains, video projection and light panels. Vegas, eat your heart out!

The show sold out almost immediately when tickets went on sale, but we were fortunate enough to get a pair through a travel agency. Simply put, it was spectacular. Hundreds of performers (300?) celebrated Argentina’s environment, flora and fauna, Indigenous, Spanish and immigrant history, and of course, the grapes – all through song, dance and some very creative and elaborate costumes.

 

In the end it was the Queen of La Paz (a city in Mendoza Province, not the capital of Bolivia) that was crowned as La Reina de Vendimia, with Tupungato coming a close second.

The event is broadcast nation wide, and the performance itself is repeated live on the next two nights, (without the crowning of the Queen) for those who couldn’t get tickets for opening night. With the amount of work that goes into producing something like this, I’m surprised there aren’t more performances. But the show changes every year and work on next year’s production begins as soon as the old one closes.

DJ beat music and beauty pageants aren’t really our thing. However, Liz and I are glad that we were here to witness, and take part in Vendimia 2023. It was thrilling simply to see the city come alive with sheer joy. The energy was palpable and infectious. It was really a once in lifetime experience.

Here’s the link to these and few more pictures of Vendimia.