From the jungles of Iguazu National Park to the glaciers of Patagonia, from the Pope to the Tango, Argentina is a country rich in diversity. The food, the music and the culture are full of flavor, and opportunities to experience something new are around every corner.
Argentina features many incredible performance venues including Teatro Colón, which is acoustically unrivaled in the whole of South America and is commonly discussed as one of the top five concert venues in the world. Add in the tradition of dance, miles and miles of glorious beaches, and wonderfully eclectic architecture, and you’ll understand why a trip to Argentina is truly a life-changing opportunity for any musician.
1. EVERYONE sings in Argentina. There are choirs for every neighborhood, trade union, age group, school, and church. The culture of music, especially choral music, is second only to soccer (fútbol) in popularity and participation.
2. It feels undeniably European (62.5% of Argentinians have at least one Italian immigrant ancestor). You might eat the best pizza of your life at a shop in Buenos Aires with a French name–and earn brownie points for ordering in Spanish. Be prepared to answer whether you’d like agua con gas (sparkling) or agua sin gas (still). How’s that for an Italian-French-Spanish mashup?
3. It will challenge all your assumptions. Let’s be honest: many Americans’ only encounters with points south of the border are limited to all-inclusive Mexican resorts and maybe an AirBnB treehouse in Costa Rica. Argentina is literally as far south as you can go before hopping a boat to Antarctica. The accents are different than the ones you heard in your high school Spanish class, the history is rich (and complicated), and it’s definitely not a jungle (if you visit in the spring, pack your fall sweater!).
4. Making music alongside Argentinian kids will make you feel like a superhero. You might find yourself in a town of 7,000 that has pulled out all the stops to welcome you. The school kids attending your concert will ask to stay out late so they can watch the entire program. And they’ll cheer and pump their fists for you from the balcony seats. You might as well be Lionel Messi.
5. The steaks will be the end of all but the most die-hard vegetarian diets. Grass-fed, estancia-dwelling cows make for a delicious dinner you simply can’t get at Outback Steakhouse. This is farm-fresh beef, and you’ll taste the difference. Also, the cheese. DO NOT PASS UP THE CHEESE.