Cosquín Festival
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The Cosquín Folk Festival is one of the most important
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
festivals of
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, and most important in Latin America. It lasts nine days and takes place in the second half of January in the city of Cosquín, a scenic,
Punilla Valley The Punilla Valley () is a broad fluvial valley in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. It is located in the center-northwest of the province, bordered by the Sierras Chicas in the east and the Sierras Grandes and the Pampa Achala in the west, or ...
location in Córdoba Province. The tradition used to refer to ''nine moons of Cosquín.''


History

The first festival was held in Cosquín between 21 and 29 January 1961. The initiative came from a group of city residents, led by Dr. Reinaldo Wisner and Dr. Alejandro Guinder, who decided to organize a folklore music and culture show during the summer holidays, in order to attract tourism. The presence of artists from around the country exceeded all expectations, and the festival became the largest annual folk event in the country, as well as one of the most important in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. The Cosquín Festival unfolded into a ''boom of folklore music'' in the 1960s and 1970s, becoming the nation's best-known venue for the characteristic music of the Argentine hinterland (i.e. the country with the exception of the city of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, whose music has traditionally been the
tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...
). Cosquín prompted a renewal of the powerful local
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
among younger listeners in particular, and has persisted in the Argentine musical scene since. Its organizers then had the good sense to organize Cosquín Festival, not only as a musical competition, but as an integral folk experience, centered on the famous ''"peñas"'' outside the official event in which musicians from all backgrounds sing all night, ''until the candles do not burn"''. In 1997 the attendees to the festival were estimated in 600,000. Since the second edition of the festival in 1962, the important Radio Belgrano of Buenos Aires and a network of stations nationwide, began broadcasting ''Nine Cosquín Moons'' live, familiarizing millions of listeners in the far-flung country to the festival. After the success of the third edition, President
José María Guido José María Guido Cibeira (29 August 1910 – 13 June 1975) was President of Argentina from 29 March 1962 to 12 October 1963, serving as the head of a provisional civilian government after the Argentine military overthrew President Arturo Fr ...
, by Decree 1547/63, designated the last week of January as National Folklore Week, and established its headquarters at Cosquín. Since then the festival has grown in Cosquín national and international repercussions. The
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...
(OAS) decided to become a sponsor in recognition of the festival's importance to the culture of the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. The
Museum of Mankind Ethnography at the British Museum describes how ethnography has developed at the British Museum. Within the Department of Natural History and Curiosities The ethnographical collection was originally linked to the Department of Natural History an ...
in
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has filmed and recorded the festival's multifaceted popular expressions. In
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the city of
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has given the name ''"Cosquín"'' to one of its stages, and in 1981, the
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese city of Kawamata began organizing a festival called ''"
Cosquín en Japón is a three-day South American folk festival held annually in Kawamata, Fukushima, Japan. The name "Cosquín en Japón" is derived from the Cosquín Festival held in Cosquín, Argentina. In 1955, , a resident of Kawamata and Argentinian folk en ...
"'', held annually in October. Julio Mahárbiz, the festival's master of ceremonies since 1963, became known for his call at each of the opening nights of the festival's seasons: ''aquiii Cosquíííínnnn'' (''"Here, Cosquín!"''), the inspiration for which Mahárbiz attributed to a style used by a popular
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sportscaster at the time, Fioravanti. In 1967, guitarist
Atahualpa Yupanqui Atahualpa Yupanqui (; born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine- Spanish singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered one of the most important Argentine folk musicians of the 20th cen ...
won the first prize at the festival and in 1972, a newly completed stage was named in his honor. A feature
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
on the festival, '' Mire que lindo es mi país'' (''My Country's Beautiful'') was produced in 1981. From 1984, on the occasion of the 24th Festival of Cosquín, the public television station
Argentina Televisora Color Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
(ATC, now Channel 7), began broadcasting live throughout the country the first two hours of each''moon'', thus helping popularize the event among television viewers. Throughout its history Cosquín has been the definitive place to leverage the success of the most important artists of the folk music of Argentina, including
Mercedes Sosa Haydée Mercedes "La Negra" Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com
– 4 October 2009) was an
,
León Gieco Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentine rock, and lyrics with social and ...
,
Víctor Heredia Víctor Heredia (born 24 January 1947, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine singer-songwriter. Biography He was born in the neighborhood of Monserrat, in the city of Buenos Aires, though he grew up in Paso del Rey, a city in the Moreno area of G ...
, Eduardo Falú, Los Chalchaleros, Los Fronterizos, Los Cantores del Alba, Los Cuatro de Córdoba, Los Tucu Tucu, Los de Salta, Julia Elena Dávalos, Ramona Galarza, María Ofelia,
Soledad Pastorutti Soledad "La Sole" Pastorutti (born October 12, 1980) is an Argentine folk singer, who brought the genre to the younger generations at the end of the 20th century, and the beginning of the 21st. She is also a film and TV actress. Soledad is the ...
, Argentino Luna, Gustavo Leguizamón, Antonio Tormo, and, among many others, comic narrator Luis Landriscina and Los Indios Tacunau, a duo who became known for their rousing rendition of the patriotic ''
San Lorenzo march The San Lorenzo march is an Argentine military march first composed instrumentally in 1901 by Cayetano Alberto Silva, whose lyrics by Carlos Javier Benielli were later added in 1907. The unsung work was initially dedicated to Pablo Riccheri, pr ...
''. In 2001, a new arena was completed, with a 50-meter-long stage totaling and 830 m2 in surface area. The stage can rotate 180 degrees to expedite the schedule of performances. With this infrastructure, Cosquín currently has one of the largest stages in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. In total, the amphitheater has a capacity of nearly 10,000 spectators, of whom 7,800 sitting in the seats of the central field, and 2,000 people are located on both side galleries. The Atahualpa Yupanqui Stage is located on Prospero Molina Square. This site was named after one of the founders of Cosquín, who lived between 1827 and 1889.


Cosquín Nine Moons

The ''Cosquín Nine Moons'' are organized as an experience that has its center at the festival, but goes beyond it to become a truly integral folk experience. Some of the activities taking place during the nine days are: * Cosquín Festival of Song * Performances by professional folklorists. * Performances of folk dance ballets. * The famous "boulders": tents where artists interact with the public, as well as tents and bonfires by the river, where revelers sing and dance nonstop. * The Congress of Man in Argentina and Our Culture: There are courses and workshops for children and adults. Expose and teach artisans, artists, scholars, scientists. It offers courses in native languages such as
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...
and
Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...
. * The Augusto Raúl Cortázar National Exhibition of Crafts and Folk Art, named after one of the most important scholars of Argentine folklore. That spirit that characterizes folk Cosquín in nine days and nights the festival that lasts has been dubbed the ''duende coscoíno'' ("Cosquín elf").


Ode to Cosquín

The Cosquín Festival was honored with a hymn composed by Zulema Alcayaga and Waldo Belloso. The final stanza of the hymn reads:Ode to Cosquín
::''The bells soar to the sky'' ::''Repeating the name that unites us:'' ::''Cosquín, Cosquín, Cosquín, Cosquín,'' ::''Cosquín, Cosquín.'' ::''Come see the miracle'' ::''Cosquín starts singing.''


See also

*
Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
*
Argentine culture The culture of Argentina is as varied as the country geography and is composed of a mix of ethnic groups. Modern Argentine culture has been influenced largely by the Spanish colonial period and the 19th/20th century European immigration (main ...
*
Tourism in Argentina Argentina has a vast territory and a variety of climates and microclimates ranging from tundra and polar in the south to the tropical climate in the north, through a vast expanse of temperate climate. Natural wonders include the Aconcagua, the ...
*
Cosquín en Japón is a three-day South American folk festival held annually in Kawamata, Fukushima, Japan. The name "Cosquín en Japón" is derived from the Cosquín Festival held in Cosquín, Argentina. In 1955, , a resident of Kawamata and Argentinian folk en ...
* Cosquín Rock *
History of folkloric music in Argentina The folkloric music of Argentina traces its roots to the multiplicity of Indigenous peoples in Argentina, native indigenous cultures. It was shaped by four major historical-cultural events: Colonial Argentina, Spanish colonization and Afro-Argent ...


References


External links


Official Site of Folklore Festival Cosquín

Cosquín unofficial site

Ode to Cosquín


* ttp://www.grinfeld.com/festival-de-cosquin/en/programming/live-transmission-online-grilla.html#live GRINFELD - Cosquin Festival 2020 Live Transmission {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosquin Festival Music festivals in Argentina Tourist attractions in Córdoba Province, Argentina 1961 establishments in Argentina Folk festivals in Argentina Music festivals established in 1961 Summer in Argentina