Día del Amigo in Argentina: Friendship Day
Every year on July 20th, Argentines of all ages pack a lifetime’s worth of friendships into a 24-hour period of nonstop celebrations. El Día del Amigo, though not officially a public holiday, is a cultural commandment that causes bars, restaurants, cafés and street corners to fill to the brim with groups of friends gathering to reconnect – if only for a couple of hours.
Even as Mendoza’s populations has swollen in the past decades, it has managed to preserve its charming small town feel. Not only does the city attract international travelers looking to stop by for a weekend wine tour, it also manages to compel people to put down roots and to settle their families in Mendoza for many generations. Because so many people choose Mendoza as home base for life, 6 degrees of separation shrink to 3, everyone knows everyone else’s last name, and friendships survive for decades.
Getting together or going out for a drink are not activities that are restricted to the weekends in Argentina. On the contrary, any spare moment is free game. For that reason perhaps a “Friendship Day” really isn’t all that necessary, but try to rob an Argentine of a holiday and you’ll never hear the end of it. Particularly when that holiday involves all that is held sacred: mate, asado, and friendship.
Celebrating El Día del Amigo in authentic Argentine style involves coordinating an impossible schedule of hangouts. Elementary school friends, high school friends, church friends, work friends, neighborhood friends, and friends from the soccer team – all deserve a piece of the 24-hour pie. Even parking attendants gather together on street corners to share a mate in the afternoon sunshine. Restaurants, bars, and weekend getaways book up far in advance and hundreds of cars form a caravan on outbound highways heading west towards the Andes Mountains as friends escape to the foothills for a day spent on the riverbanks. Even cellphone networks tend to buckle under the pressure of hundreds of thousands of friendly phone calls all placed at the same time.
For travelers that find themselves in Mendoza on July 20th, make plans with friends, book reservations at a favorite hangout spot and join in on one of Mendoza, Argentina’s most beloved traditions.
Our team of highly passionate, skilled trip planners wants to get to know you so we can construct the perfect getaway. We pull from our large network of local winemakers, adventurers, chefs, artists and more to introduce you to a side of Mendoza, Argentina that you won’t see with any other tour agency.
Ready to get started? Tell us who you are and what you love – and we’ll use that to build your perfect trip! Click here to get started!