Buenos Aires Events

The Contemporary Art Fair opens the cultural season in the Argentine capital with an exhibition designed to bring high-quality art closer to the widest possible range of people. Around 85,000 visitors attend the exhibition each year. A Selection Committee chooses from galleries at home and abroad to give visitors a unique opportunity to compare and buy art pieces from a range of regional and local sources. The event provides a forum where artists, collectors and buyers can meet, discuss and exchange views, and disseminate their thoughts throughout the region.

This annual agriculture show brings farmers from across the country to show off their livestock and celebrate one of the nation’s most traditional industries. It takes place in the heart of Palermo, at the Belle Epoque stadium, and is a fantastic opportunity to spy real gauchos (South American cowboys), get face to face with cattle the size of cars, and consume as many choripans (chorizo sausage in a roll) as you can muster. In celebration of the event, traditional peñas (folk music nights) are held across Buenos Aires.

Tango is the emblematic dance of Buenos Aires and the annual Buenos Aires Tango Festival is a great place to see it at its best. The finest practitioners in the world join the peerless local artistes in a programme of tango concerts, dancing displays, exhibitions, classes and a one-minute film festival. Together they fill the city with endless possibilities to watch, listen, learn and to take part in a range of events all dedicated to this passionate dance form. This officially organised tango-fest recognises the cultural importance of this home-grown dance form, and aims to both celebrate and promote this rich component of the city's social scene.

Visitors to this, the most revered international polo tournament at club level, can enjoy many a great polo game, as well as scores of high-end socialising and first-rate people watching. Expect to see some of the very best players in the game today, as teams from all over the polo-playing world compete in Buenos Aires. The popular polo championship has taken place in Palermo since 1893, and is a major social event as well as a sporting highlight on the Argentine calendar.

The annual gay pride parade in Buenos Aires is as vibrant and exuberant as you might expect. This dazzling outdoor celebration takes over the city’s central streets in November, with flamboyant processions, and much dancing and music.

The gaucho town of San Antonio de Areco, an hour or so from Buenos Aires, is the place to be on 10 November to celebrate Argentina’s Día de la Tradición. The small, charming town comes alive with a full-on gaucho festival featuring horse parades, music and, of course, lots and lots of meat.

Argentina has produced excellent movies for many years. The fact that they are only recently coming to the attention of wider European audiences owes much to the work of festivals such as this one. The Buenos Aires Independent International Film Festival is a young, exciting event that has attracted international recognition for its positive programming, concentrating on quality productions with an emphasis on director-driven films.

This three-week international book fair is one of the five largest book fairs in the world. The event has been going since 1975 and has grown substantially over recent years. More than 50 countries now participate, and notable literary guests have included Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho and Argentina’s much-celebrated author, the late Jorge Luis Borges.