At the end of January the most famous and biggest Argentine folklore festival takes place in Cosquín near Cordoba.
Holy Week is celebrated fervently, as everywhere else in South America. And in March, the five-day Harvest Festival in Mendoza features fireworks, folklore and a royal coronation.
In August, the world's best tango dancer is chosen in Buenos Aires during the two-week Festival y Mundial de Balle.
And in December, Buenos Aires hosts the International Jazz Festival.
Route ARS 1: Northern Argentina - San Miguel de Tucumán, Valle de Tafi, Amaicha de Valle, Quilmes, Calafate, Salta, Tilcara, Uquía, Humahuaca, La Quiaca
Let's start with San Miguel de Tucumán, which is almost 800 kilometers by air or 1,100 kilometers by car from Asunción. The city can be reached by car in about 14 hours via the RN11 and RN89. As everywhere in South America, there are also frequent buses. Flights are hardly shorter due to a stopover of about nine hours plus arrival and departure to the airport and waiting time at the airport. We stay directly at the Plaza Independencia with the cathedral, the Casa de Gobierno and other colonial buildings, which look fantastic when illuminated at night In the center of the square is a large park.
The tourist information office provides us with a good map and tips. The Casa de Gobierno offers a guided tour on request In front of the main entrance, heavily armed police or militia have been deployed, because once again demonstrators have gathered in front of the building with demands for more work and financial support. This is a typical theme in Argentina, which can only be explained by a mentality that has been learned over generations. There is little work, as companies do not make sufficient profits despite numerous tax and social security avoidance measures. It does not seem worthwhile to set up a company. And if one has nevertheless created a smaller or mediumsize company, then this one counts already on the bankruptcy in approximately five years, since at the latest then it becomes clear that the taxes and the social security contributions for the employees were not paid correctly. A follow-up company under a similar name is then already in the starting blocks and if you yourself are banned from working for a while because of the bankruptcy, the new company will belong to a family member. It is also not helpful for a company foundation that the wages are high. But without high wages, employees would rather be pampered by the state in the social security system. We hear the same stories over and over again: Of families who have been a burden on the social security system for several generations, and who have been unable to make a fresh start even under the current economic reforms. Companies whose production is often not in line with the global market due to a lack of employee training and bureaucratic organization, and is therefore poor in terms of quality or too expensive due to a lack of machinery and excessively high wages. The sluggishness that has set in under the socially romantic regime and has already led to state bankruptcy cannot be stopped.
Nor can the level of education be raised quickly. If teachers in schools have been told for years that they are bad, if there are high failure and dropout rates, then it should not come as a surprise that half illiterate students have also received a certificate of completion. Performance was simply not required anywhere. The state then tried to protect the domestic economy with high import duties and capital controls. Likewise, high export duties, for example on agricultural products, led to Argentine cattle dying in the Pampa, no longer being slaughtered, their meat being too expensive on the world market. State failure all along the line. But of course there are big and small profiteers from this longstanding social experiment.
The Kirchner clan is rich. Its followers may not live very well, but they live comfortably enough at the expense of the state. The percentage of high-income citizens is also relatively high. And so the country is divided between socialist supporters of Kirchner and economically oriented conservatives. In the process, cracks run through families. One does not understand the other, cannot and will not understand him. A middle class, as represented by a social market economy, is unlikely to emerge in Argentina in the next few years. Yet the country is so beautiful, so rich in raw materials and was one of the most prosperous in the world in the 1920s. This is stored in the collective memory of the Argentineans and can be seen everywhere.
The cathedral of Tucumán is impressive, bright and relatively simple. The more typical Franciscan church, on the other hand, leaves a somber impression compared to this German-Hamburg elegance.
Next to this church stands an old university building. We a
