On the last night, Belen bought us tickets with the best seats to the nighttime performance to celebrate Vendimia. Every year, hundreds of performers spend four months rehearsing for just three nights of shows and each year there is a different theme. This year it was women in Argentina.
The show started out on a rather ominous note, with the announcer telling the audience not to panic if there is an earthquake or tremor at the outdoor theater, a structure that can hold 25,000 people. He assured us that we would be safe and that if there was widespread panic, people would be separated with families. Thankfully there weren't any tremors.
The performance started off with a mini-concert by Bajofondo, an incredibly talented band that is known for its electronic tango. Following the concert, the organizers were thanked and the Queen was introduced before the big show.
Wow. I was blown away. I have never seen such an elaborate and ornate production in my life. More than 400 dancers and musicians shared the stage for an incredible and moving performance that focused on women in Argentina over the years. It incorporated gaucho dancing, tango, and modern dance. There was a funny moment when the announcer gave thanks for the fact that a woman was elected President of Argentina (going back to the theme of the event - women). Seventy-five percent of the audience booed after his comment.
The pictures simply don't do this performance justice (but you will get a better idea of you click on them to see them larger) so I also included a few must-see video clips (one here and 2 more in a separate post) to give my readers a better perspective on the scale of the show and the amount of time that had to have been invested into it. The show went off without a flaw and some of the scenes even gave me goosebumps as the audience gave a standing ovation for General San Martin (Argentina's national hero) after an actor portraying him marched up the mountainside.
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