Argentine capital hosts Russian culture festival

BUENOS AIRES, December 6. /TASS/. The festival of Russian culture Feel Russia opened on Saturday in Argentina’s capital. Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky who arrived in Buenos Aires addressed the participants and guests of the festival. "Argentina’s culture is well known and loved in Russia. Everyone in Russia knows Argentinian literature, theater and, of course, dances. We would like you to learn more about the Russian culture with the help of this festival," Medinsky said. For her part, head of the Department for Cultural Policy and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Culture of Argentina Monica Guarilio thanked the Russian side for holding the festival, which would "allow Argentinians to get acquainted with the diversity and beauty of Russia’s culture." The highlight of the festival was the performance of Igor Butman’s jazz quartet. Residents of Buenos Aires were impressed by the band’s virtuoso performance, which played the compositions from his Russian repertoire, including music from Soviet animated cartoons. "There should be more such festivals, and sometimes they should be even bigger," Butman told TASS. "We need to promote our culture, our way of life, our understanding of life. We have a lot to show the world." The Russian Style orchestra, which surprised the viewers with its unusual approach, received a warm welcome too. The musicians playing Russian traditional musical instruments performed not only a popular Russian folk song Kalinka but also several world’s top pop hits. Argentina was the sixth stopover in the global tour of the Feel Russia festival. The Russian culture festival held with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture was earlier held in Italy, Germany, China, Vietnam and France. This year Russia and Argentina mark the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. October 22, 1885, is considered to be the official date of their establishment. On that day, the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Empire appointed Alexander Ionin, traveler and writer who travelled about almost the entire South America, Russia’s Ambassador to Argentina. Read more