Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I'm hoping to get two up before the week is out to compensate. Today I'll be talking about La Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia!
La Vendimia is important here in Mendoza because it celebrates la cosecha de las uvas -- the grape harvest. It begins with the election of a queen in each district; from these 17 reinas a committee will later select La Reina de La Vendimia who will represent Mendoza on both a national and international level for the rest of the year.
The festival gets started in earnest here in the capital with La Benidición de Las Frutas. The Sunday before El Acto Central (more on that later), the archbishop blesses the harvest and thanks is given to la Virgen de la Carrodilla, the patroness of the Mendocinian vineyards.
The religious ceremony is also accompanied by music and dancing, and there is much rejoicing.
The following Friday, a parade called La Vía Blanca makes its way through the streets of Mendoza. Each departamento has a float that carries each reina and her entourage, and is designed to represent a characteristic part of the culture. In between the floats there are also groups dressed as gauchos riding on horseback.
Oh, and instead of throwing candy like lame parades in the US they hand out fresh fruits and veggies, ice cream, alfajores, and bottles of water or wine. Of course, by hand out I really mean chuck at unsuspecting tourists. Watch out for the melons!
The next morning is El Carrusel, which is similar to La Vía Blanca. However, the floats are not lit up and there are more gauchos and traditional dancers. Also, as this takes place during the morning, and mornings are not my friends, I don't have any pictures from this part of the festival, so instead here are some gauchos from the night before.
El Acto Central is, as its name suggests, the main event of La Vendimia. It is an incredible show with music, lights, and hundreds of dancers, plus a finale of fireworks. Each dance represents a different aspect of life on the vineyard, and the Virgen de la Carrodilla once again plays an important role.
It's held in a Greek-style theater reserved specifically for La Vendimia. Its location in the hills add to the already wonderful acoustics as well as provide extra seating for crowds of people who don't mind roughing it a little to see the show.
Each year comes with a new Acto Central, although they all contain similar elements. This year there everything was tied together by the framing narrative of the MC remembering his childhood.
On Saturday night they also elect the new Reina Nacional, who then presides over the repetitions of the show in Sunday and Monday. This year's queen is from Malargüe, and she is only the second queen to be elected from that departamento in the entire history of La Vendimia.
And that, my friends, is a belated overview of La Vendimia. I loved being able to experience what National Geographic ranks as #2 in their Top Ten World's Harvest Festivals -- the energy here in the city was indescribable. Keep your eyes peeled for my next post where I'll talk about my weekend spent in San Rafael.
Ciao,
Nancy
