Cultural Diversity Week in Villa Gesell

The so-called Colombus' Day at the Seaside Festival (in which the giant paellas that made this celebration known all round the country were prepared) today has come to be called Cultural Diversity Festival. Villa Gesell continues to be mentioned as the October 12 public holiday gets near.

As it is already a classic, other instances of the festival include the election of the National Ethnicity Queen at the Seaside and the float parade in which the various communities take place. Also, typical dishes, dancing and shows delight all visitors.

This festival started as a result of the initiative presented by a group of Spanish immigrants who were searching for a way to bond with the Spain that used to shelter them and which they were forced to leave due to various circumstances. In 1967, the Hispanic Day began to be celebrated at Villa Gesell with a large paella served for all attendants.

The festival became so prominent that visitors from all over the country commenced to come along to taste the paella. Later on, other communities (the Italian in particular) joined this celebration and contributed their own elements, to such an extent that in 1981, this event was declared of Municipal Interest by the authorities of Villa Gesell.

As time went by, historical revisionism caused the famous and popular Colombas' Day to be re-questioned considering the massacre on the native American peoples during the Spanish conquest.

As a result, with a certain civic maturity that emerged gradually but is still becoming natural, the Argentinian people have come to celebrate Cultural Diversity Day and Villa Gesell continues to be the scene for such a significant event.

A popular festival that introduces more and more activities and summons more and more visitors year after year.