© Telam
This year the festivities will take place in a dozen venues, divided into fortnights.
come back february and Carnival returns to the streets of Buenos Aires. After a year in which the traditional celebration had to be transferred to the digital format, the Corsicans of Buenos Aires will give the present once more. Of course, through a pandemic, his physiognomy will be different from the usual. In addition to less venues -a dozen, once morest the more than 30 of previous years-, they will be with capacity, since they will be in amphitheaters and squares of the city. In addition, once morest the tumult that Momo proposes, this year it is requested respect social distance, wear a chinstrap and for those over 13 years of age, access to the spaces where the murgas will perform will be presenting proof of vaccination, whether digital or on paper (although it may be convenient not to expose the cards to the foam).
This year the holidays Carnival -reinstituted by Kirchnerism during the presidency of Cristina Fernández- are the Monday, February 28 and Tuesday, March 1. For those days there are still no official activities announced, although Page 12 might know that they are not discarded. There is also no news regarding the “headquarters” of Avenida de Mayo, one of the cards that the management of Enrique Avogadro used to put on the table when talking regarding the enhancement of the Buenos Aires carnivals.
For now it is known that the activity will be the weekends of February (Saturdays from 8pm to 2am and Sundays from 8pm to midnight). From the Ministry they did not inform if there will also be any special celebration for the Carnival holidays. What’s more, the venues will operate fortnightly. The first two weekends the activity will be at the Barracas Sports Center, in the Parque Chacabuco amphitheater, in the National Unity Square in Villa Lugano, in Ricchieri Square, in the Colegiales Sports Center and in the Latin American Unity Square, in Palermo.
The second fortnight, meanwhile, will move the celebration to the Parque Lezama amphitheater, Parque España, Playón de San Lorenzo, Plaza Ireland, the streets of Saavedra (Av. Balbín between Arias and Correa) and the Mataderos Amphitheater. As reported, this schedule involves only some street cuts. In addition to the one in Saavedra, the streets surrounding the Playón de San Lorenzo and the Colegiales Sports Center will see restricted their circulation, the same as the surroundings of Parque España, Plaza Ireland, and Parque Lezama. The smaller amount of spaces means that many murgas cannot appear this year either, or the corsicans of Buenos Aires must alternate with the scenarios of the Buenos Aires suburbs, where they weave alliances with friendly groups and are well received.
In addition to the return, on the web you can find online the 2021 schedule, which includes not only the performances of the murgas, but also interviews with some of its directors and references. On the website of the Ministry of Culture you can also see the photos of the group show itinerant Don’t let go Carnival, what will be in Caballito, Boedo and Mataderos from March 5 to 7.
In Buenos Aires, the celebration of carnivals can be traced back to the century XVIII, even before the May Revolution. It was -and is- a celebration essentially popular, one of the occasions in which the different social classes mixed openly and with fewer restrictions. Over the years, corsicans and murgas appeared, which used to have picaresque lyrics and critics of power. Many historians consider the Carnival dances one of the spaces for the dissemination of tango in its origins. Some poets like Angel Villoldo they composed tangos or milongas and at the same time acted as lyricists for the city’s murgas. Even today referents of both disciplines cross paths on stages and cobblestones, and the best murgas of today keep alive the critical spirit of their predecessors.
From the communication of the Ministry, the role of social containment that the murgas had in the neighborhoods. The change of discourse had already manifested itself in 2021 and continues now. “Beyond the central celebration that takes place every February, the murguera community fulfills a very important social function in the neighborhoods throughout the year, forging community ties of support and accompaniment in different territories of the City,” they expressed from the Ministry. The activity of workshops, rehearsals and performances outside the month dedicated to God Momo, according to the offices of Av. de Mayo at 500, “encourage the participation and the inclusion in spaces of each neighborhood such as cultural centers, theaters and squares”.
