Last night we went to the "Central Act" of Vendimia - a repetition of the televised extravaganza from Saturday night. The Acto Central is held in the Frank Romero Day ampitheatre in the big park at the edge of town. We met up with Hugo and family at their house then took 2 cars as far as we could get towards the theatre, parking along the road. The ampitheatre is surrounded by steep hills and is basically made up of tiers of stone and cement benches. The Sunday night show is general admission, so we got there an hour early to find decent seats. Fortunately they had pre-show entertainment with musicians and jugglers. One of the sponsors also threw out gigantic beach balls that were bounced around by the audience as they slid inevitably downhill towards the shallow water in front of the stage. Paper airplanes zoomed around made from ads handed out at the entrance. The stage was about the size of a football field with many levels. Shaped translucent panels hid lights of many colors or featured reverse screen projections. Off to one side a simulated vineyard featured in the story of the central act.
The general story of this year's production was about an old man named Angel whose crop has been destroyed by hail. He loses all hope, but in a dream remembers the wonderful years of the past and how the community comes together to help in hard times. When he wakes he is surrounded by friends and family and renews his faith in the future. He "lights" a cross on the ground, dancers simulate the waving of the Argentine flag and the stage goes dark with hundreds of dancers coming out with lit candles.
Each scene is elaborated with live and recorded music and 400 dancers in bright costumes. The entire cast featured 800 people. Most of the dances were based on traditional rhythms with lyrics developed especially for the show. At the end a resounding chorus of Mendoza's anthem was taken up by the audience and the fireworks show started. Fireworks went off from the hills surrounding the stadium accompanied by loud music and cheers. Because of the height of the hills, the fireworks seem to fill the sky over the ampitheatre.
In general the reviews from the people on the street of this year's show have been average. The music was praised but people didn't like the coreography. Jake and I were blown away by the scale of the production more than anything else. I didn't take my camera because of the crowds, so I don't have any photos nor could I find any on YouTube or Flickr yet! Here's a link to a few photos from the local paper, http://www.losandes.com.ar/notas/2009/3/8/sociedad-411996.asp, click on "ver mas fotografias" under the photo.
Joe sat a few rows down with Hugo's kids and stayed for the post-performance concert. He got back to the apartment around 4am. Jake and I got up long enough to say goodbye as he packed up for his 5:30 am departure to the airport! He is off to El Calafate in southern Patagonia and to Torres del Paine on the Chilean side of Patagonia. "La semana de Joe" comes to an end.
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