Festivals are an organisation nightmare, but a fan’s annual dream and across the globe there are more festivals than you can shake a stick at. So for the avid traveller - or plain old festival addict - I have come up with what you should be checking out during the final week of February
Festival De Tango
Festivals 2009
When: Early March
Where: Venues around Buenos Aires, Argentina
What: Buenos Aires and Tango dance are about as inseparable as a pair of, well, Tango dancers, and as Argentina will use anything as an excuse to party, March sees a celebration of this delightfully sultry dance.
Some of the worlds finest dancers and musicians show off their talents at various intimates places around the city. What’s more, once you’ve been inspired there are plenty of opportunity to get your feet swishing around the dance floor in one of the many free classes.
South By Southwest Music And Media Conference
When: Austin, USA.
Where: Early - Mid March
What: Although I hate to admit it, this super duper music festival has earned Austin the title of ‘live music capital of the world.’ Now, if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to see actual proof of this, but for the sake of the article, we’ll just agree.
This event brings the music industry and it’s performers together in harmony for 10 days as bands come to be discovered and music executives come to discover. It really is something any music fan needs to get involved in though, as at night over 1200 acts perform all over the city.
What’s more, because of the super amazing-ness of the festival, it’s even transformed into a film festival and a festival for interactive media too. So now you have absolutely no excuse not to go. Unless you’ve been made redundant obviously… then I’ll let you off.
What Else?
Noche De Brujas (Night Of The Witches)
When: First Friday in March.
Where: Cerro Mono Blanco, Catemaco, Mexico
What: I know Halloween is a long way off, but if witches and wizards were to have a spiritual home it would have to be in Mexico, namely in Catemaco.
This event is sort of a ‘witchcraft convention’ and every year hundreds of shamans, witches and healers flock to the city to perform a mass cleansing ceremony which is suppose to rid them of the past years negative energies.
Although the ceremony has turned into a tourist attraction rather than ritual now, at the actual ceremony there is song and dance and various stalls where you can buy that lucky rabbit’s foot you’ve always needed.
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison