Our first days on tour have been jam-packed with some amazing opportunities. We’ve been in Argentina for only 4 days, and we’ve already seen 4 different towns!
We arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning, after a 10 hour overnight flight from Houston. That night, our first show at the San Martin Theater was a big success – there were lots of people hootin’ and hollerin’ and having a great time. Mine and Mark’s hope to meet a gaucho (an Argentine cowboy) was realized within the first few hours of our tour…and we quickly discovered that gaucho culture is a very present aspect in Argentine society.
The Argentine countryside on our drive through Las Pampas.
We drove due West to Las Pampas the next day, where ranches and farmland blanket the extremely flat landscape. I was reminded of my home in Northwest Ohio! The only thing that seems out of place here is the season. When we boarded our plane, crops were just being planted. Now that we’re here, the soy is already yellow, the corn is already tall and brown, and farmers are in full force harvesting everything. Did we hibernate through the summer? No, we’re just very, very south.
The Teatro Español in Santa Rosa
Our first stop was an overnight in Santa Rosa, where we played at the beautiful Teatro Español. Dried and canned food was donated at the door of our show, to help benefit those in need from the recent floods they’ve experienced here.
Santa Rosa at sunrise
JFK Monument outside of Quemu Quemu
The next day (yesterday) we got an early start and proceeded to the 4,000 person town of Quemu Quemu.
The U.S. Embassy's Cultural Affairs Officer, John Finn, with Quemu Quemu's mayor at the JFK Monument
The mayor invited us to visit their JFK monument, which was incredibly impressive and beautiful – more a piece of modern artwork than a simple statue. We were there to accompany the U.S. Embassy on official business, complete with a press conference,
plenty of photo ops, and a visit to city hall and the local cement factory. Everyone was wonderful – the mayor was happy to have us, and everyone in town seemed very proud of their small but independent community.
Getting an explanation of the cement mixing process
We were shown how Argentines value many of the same things Americans do – democracy, civil rights, history, culture and community.
After our stop in Quemu Quemu, our busy day continued when we arrived in Lincoln (yes, Lincoln…as in Abraham Lincoln). We had a really fun workshop in the afternoon with local music teachers, musicians and children from the newly founded youth orchestra. And that night we played a concert for an incredible audience who can “yeehaw” like no other!
Tomorrow, we’re in the famous gaucho city of San Antonio de Areca, then back to Buenos Aires. Only a few more days here in Argentina before moving on to Paraguay! Tune in again soon for another update.
Oh and by the way. The steak and wine here…aaaaamazing.
Liz
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