What are the odds that I would have the chance to attend a music festival in Patagonia?? OK, so it might not be unexpected that I would uncover a local, underground music scene here in Argentina. But it is fortuitous that I found myself in El Calafate for this curious monthly showcase! I'd like to think it is karmic balance, as my “first love” in terms of Argentinian bands - Orquestra Imperial - was on vacation while I was just in Buenos Aires.
El Calafate is the jumping off point to visit the amazing Glacier National Park (where you might have spotted me trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier last week!) It has become a hugely popular tourist destination since the routes to/from El Chalten and the nearby glaciers were paved and a new airport was built... thanks in no small part to the fact that Argentina's ex-president Nestor Kischner and new president, his wife Christina Fernandez de Kischner, own a home here. Nepotism + corruption? Surprisingly, we are NOT talking Chicago politics. El Calafate is a city bursting with overtly tourist-friendly shops selling tasty pastries, chocolates, local handicrafts, and lots and lots of Patagonian gear (not the brand, but clothing and accessories for trekking and camping in this region). And its growth is monstrous: ten years ago it had a population of 2,000, now it exceeds 20,000! Some say it struggles to maintain its own identity among the tourist trappings that inevitably befall a small town experiencing such exponential growth. This was precisely the inspiration for the creation of Centro Cultural del Calafate.
Started by two visionary young men named Federico, the Cultural Center of Calafate is trying hard to create culture in this small town that has became a city and international travellers´destination seemingly overnight. Federico 1 opened a cultural center in Mendoza over five years ago. Upon moving to El Calafate, he saw a similar need for cultural stimulation, particularly for children. He was introduced to Federico 2, who was disgusted by the lack of cultural activities in El Calafate. Fede 2 says there were no entertainment options in town, nowhere to go to learn something, see differently, BREATHE. He said the local talent is plentiful, and people young and old are interested in the arts. Fede 1's success in Mendoza allowed him to get some funding from the 'cultural heads' in Buenos Aires, which supported the CCC's activities for children at the annual Lago de Argentino festival in February, 2008, and the ability to re-purpose the old, abandoned airport as a the new Cultural Center of Calafate. The Fedes put everything – including their own time, money, and hearts – into transforming a filthy old airport into a completely functioning creative, performance and education space. The grand opening in the Spring of 2008 drew more than 600 people. An undeniable success, they immediately started teaching theatre classes there and inspiring art in the youth of El Calafate. The classes were essentially free, each student only paying what they could afford. As its popularity grew, so did the government's attention towards it. They took back half of the building, which was promptly converted into a profitable kindergarten. And it did not take long before more and more of the creative space that CCC had revitalized and marketed was commandeered by the local government for more profitable endeavors. I cannot help but see the same greed and bureaucracy that we complain about in our city, state and federal governments squashing the well-meaning efforts of the Fedes here in El Calafate! However, the Fedes pressed on, and the generous bar owner of La Loika offered up half his space to be used for CCC classes as needed. This has kept their efforts afloat, but the CCC is in dire need of an appropriate space for the Cultural Center. Something must change, or it appears that the CCC will dissolve, and El Calafate will continue to “prosper” into nothing more than a different version of a ski town in any country of the world. And its inspiring landscape will be developed by multi-national corporations just as the rest of the world has and will be.
BUT – STAY POSITIVE! THERE IS STILL HOPE.
I will see their efforts in action at tomorrow night's cultural event, and report back on its entertainment value and success.