Gastronomic Festivals In Villa General Belgrano

Location:
Argentina

food festivals argentina

Newcomers to the small mountain village of Villa General Belgrano would likely suspect that they had wandered onto the wrong continent. Constructed by Northern European immigrants who were originally attracted to the area’s alpine-like surroundings, it is quite unlike any other town in South America. This would make it a worth-while tourist destination in and of itself, but Villa General Belgrano also happens to be host to several of the most delightful and mouth-watering festivals in all of Argentina.

As a proud tribute to its European gastronomical heritage, Villa General Belgrano holds annual celebrations honoring alpine chocolate, Viennese pastries, and, naturally, German beer. Its version of Oktoberfest runs for five raucous days every October. All festivities take place in an enormous beer garden, where you can sample not only a wide variety of European and Argentine brews but also delicacies such as Frankfurt sausages. The afternoon parades through town get particularly wild, when huge, gushing kegs of beer rove through the streets on floats as laughing spectators try to catch the streams in mugs.

Perhaps the only thing more delicious than German beer is German chocolate, a treat the Argentines of Villa General Belgrano also honor with the Alpine Chocolate Festival, held during the winter holidays in July. Celebrations take place in the town hall, where master chocolatiers display hand-crafted candies, pastries and drinks from various stands. One of the best parts of the event is watching the confectioners make their craft – that and, of course, the wealth of free samples.

If you miss out on the chocolate, you still have a chance to catch the Viennese Pastry Festival, also known as the Fiesta Nacional de la Masa Vienesa, which takes place during Holy Week every spring. Visitors wander through the town hall sampling desserts from kiosks decorated to look like opulent Viennese houses, munching on their cream puffs to the strains of Strauss’s waltzes. One of the major events is the egg hunt on Easter Sunday, when hundreds of small children scurry through town unearthing sweet-stuffed eggs. If you ever find yourself in Argentina during this or any other of Villa General Belgrano’s delectable festivals, be sure to make the trip to this unique village; your taste buds will be sure to thank you.