Mysticism and culture at the End of the World
Every June 21 st, the traditional Festival of the Longest Night in the city of Ushuaia bids welcome to winter activities in Tierra del Fuego through a series of performances and exhibitions. Throughout the year, legends, works of art, and museums never cease to delight and surprise visitors to this province. Stories about pioneers in Tierra del Fuego are alternated with those about indigenous cultures at the various picturesque museums, such as the End of the World Museum, the Maritime Museum, and the Yamaná World Museum in Ushuaia, the Acatushún Museum inside Harberton Estancia or the Monseñor Fagnano Regional Museum in the city of Río Grande, a seductive invitation to enjoy “grandly”.
Tradition and architecture in Río Negro
Its valuable architectural heritage as well as events linked to music, literature and art glow with a light of their own in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche, Province of Río Negro, one of the best known tourist destinations in Patagonia. At El Bolsón, the Bosque Tallado or “Carved Forest” stands out as a very original proposal. The monument dedicated to Ceferino Namuncurá forms a tribute to the most ancient beliefs and religious forefathers in the small town of Chimpay.
La Pampa, a mosaic of races
Significant migration processes have helped shape the culture of La Pampa. Peoples speaking different languages have preserved their most ancient customs. This is the case of the Mennonites, originally from the Netherlands, who have kept their culture, language and traditional means of production intact to this day. Their colony, located 40 kilometers from Guatraché, can only be visited in the company of a guide authorized by the community.
Popular festivals, most remarkably the Fiesta Nacional de la Doma y el Folclore or National Breaking-in and Folklore Festival, and the Fiesta Provincial de la Sal or Provincial Salt Festival are characteristic of La Pampa 's identity. The capital city of Santa Rosa also offers a variety of visits and tours including the Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Provincial History Archive, the City's Cultural Center, the Spanish Theater, the Cathedral and the Arts and Crafts Market.
A trip to the Atelier Ortiz Echagüe Museum, at Estancia (ranch) La Holanda, near the colorful site of Carro Quemado, or to the Pulpería de Chacha-rramendi (a traditional inn and general store) complete a varied cultural proposal.
The Castillo en la Reserva Parque Luro Museum; the Casa de la Cultura Olga Orozco - in honor of the renowned Argentine writer, in the site of Toay; and the religious tour offered by the “Cristo de la Salud” complex are a constant source of wonder for visitors. The town of Victorica boasts historic squares and parks, as well as the Jacinto Arauz Museum, a tribute to Dr. René Favaloro, the brilliant heart surgeon who started his career there.
Historic Ports and Museums in Santa Cruz
Ports offer distinct insight into a people's culture. Those in the province of Santa Cruz have been declared sites of historic value and as such, offer visitors a different view of Patagonian culture and of the first seamen who arrived at these remote lands. Puerto Santa Cruz; Puerto Deseado, the latter discovered in 1520 by Magellan; Pavón Island, home to the first white woman in Patagonia and Puerto San Julián, where Francis Drake, the famous English pirate, once sighted land are a few of the attractive destinations for history lovers. The city of Río Gallegos in Santa Cruz offers five alternatives for those who are interested in visiting museums: the Padre Manuel Jesús Molina Provincial Regional Museum, the Pioneers' Museum, the Malvinas Argentinas Museum, the Eduardo Miniccelli Art Museum and the Maritime and Naval Museum of the Patagonia Austral. The Padre José María Beauvoir Salesian Museum at Puerto Deseado is well worth a visit, as are the Marine Art Regional Museum at Puerto San Julián and the Carlos Borgialli Regional Museum at Puerto Santa Cruz; sites where art, history and culture fuse in an itinerary no visitor should miss.
Millenary Culture in Neuquén
Mapuche communities and popular festivals where music and dancing are always present, features that give Neuquén and its inhabitants a strong stamp of cultural identity.
Wood and silver crafts – manufactured according to techniques passed on from generation to generation by men and women who are proud of their land.
Known as the City of Arts, San Martín de los Andes offers an authentic cultural proposal ranging from its renowned sculptural tradition to all other art forms. In Junín de los Andes, the Via Christi on the mount Cerro de la Cruz, the old cemetery and burial place of the famous Cacique [Chief] Namuncurá, features life size sculpted figures which summon processions from the four corners of the province and attract the eyes of thousands of visitors yearly.
Among Neuquén's museums, the recently opened National Museum of Fine Arts in the City of Neuquén deserves a special mention. It is the only seat of the National Museum of Fine Arts outside the capital city of Buenos Aires and it displays a prominent permanent exhibit, while its annual program presents a variety of exhibitions by renowned contemporary artists as well as from universal art history.
Chubut's picturesque museums portrait Patagonia
The unique cultural history of the province of Chubut and of Patagonia as a whole can be reconstructed by taking a tour of its amazing range of museums. A few of the most remarkable are the Regional History Museum in Gaimán, the Historic Rescue Museum in Rawson, the Dolavon Flour Museum, the Oil Museum in Comodoro Rivadavia, the Sarmiento Regional Museum, the Leleque Museum, the Museum of the Mill in Trevelin, the Maiten Rail Museum, the Oceanography and Natural Sciences Museum and the Ecocenter in Puerto Madryn, the Pueblo de Luis Regional Museum and the MEF in Trelew, among others. Trevelin and Gaiman, the two communities populated by Welsh settlers in Patagonia, invite visitors to enjoy old Welsh traditions such as the Welsh tea rite, delicious confectionery and customs preserved intact by a people who made history in this region.
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