Millennium Dragon: No Parade in Areco? Dance with the Stars instead...

There are no parades with 1500 horses being led through Areco by a slightly smaller number of gauchos, which would have hailed from near and far estancias. Everything 'equino' related has been called off, officially due to forecasted rain, however, not a single drop fell on the little town during the entire duration of the festival. One wonders...

Local restaurants had stocked up on food supplies, expecting not only the hundreds of participants, but also hordes of weekend visitors to watch the festivities and indulge in parillas and more parillas. How much of that is going 'to the dogs' is an open question.

Nevertheless, the inherent 'fiesta' disposition of every Argentine displayed itself despite any short comings of planned performances.

Dozens of smoke columns above the rooftops gave away the location of numerous parillas, where the fires were stoked early morning, the wood allowed to 'mature' into hot glowing blocks, and every kind of meat was mounted on roasting poles to slowly evolve into tender 'vacios', chewy 'asado', and gigantic slabs of steak. Three hours beside the hot ashes, not over top of them, makes for thoroughly and tastily cooked meat.

By early afternoon, it's invitingly edible...every available chair in every available parrilla restaurant, outside al fresco or inside on rickety chairs and equally rickety tables, is occupied by Argentineans, who just LOVE THEIR MEAT.

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Here as well, a couple of guitarists (very good) and a drummer (equally good) used one end of the grassy restaurant yard as a stage and played beloved dances. In between courses and meat replenishment, the local populace worked off the calories with dancing on the grass by dancing of the locals stars.

Young and old, tall and short, big and small all took their turns with different partners chosen from their dinner partners or the lunchers at large. Dress code definitely casual, with the old and young gauchos wearing their boinas at rakish angles, and stomping their alpargatas or boot clad legs on the dry grassy ground. Eye contact is de rigueur, and for the duration of the dance, the partners seem to be lost in each other and the music.

Tables on the grass with sufficient space for a 'dance floor'

Tippy tables, tippy chairs...it tastes marvellous nevertheless

Swinging your booty

Age and size are no obstacle to the general enjoyment

The youngest are practicing their 'adentro', the start up to a Chacarera dance

Chamame with the typical hand position at the man's hip

Gaucho tradition - bombachas (pleated pants) and tirador (leather belt with decorative buckle)

Eye contact....Argentineans dance TOGETHER

Crocheted boina

Each dance stanza is started with rhythmic hand clapping

Dogs in restaurants amongst the guests? Of course, street dogs find their meaty treats right there amongst the diners legs

Definitely a descendant of Spanish conquistadores

La Bomba, which is played both on the stretched skin as well as the hard wooden edges

They all can sing, they all can play guitar - and well

Singing from El Corazon, the heart

Dogs are part of the restaurant an dancing scene, as they wind their way amongst the tables hoping for a bone - or a piece of meat. No one seems to bother chasing them away, even if they are dripping wet and dragging mud after just emerging from a cooling dip into the brown sediment filled Areco River. Dancers just dance around them - and the party goes on, until the parilla is empty and stomachs are full.

Echos of the Wild West?

Of course, 'the right to bear arms' seems to have a different meaning here than the USA, gauchos (even the underage ankle biter version) wear their facons proudly. And not a single one walks, dances or rides without that impressive knife being stuck into his belt at back. Security 'up north' would have a fit, here it is just part of the daily scene, and one does not hear about gauchos gouging each other full of holes.