Mar del Plata
Summertime in Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the Buenos Aires Province, 400 km south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is one of the major fishing ports and the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina. With a population of 541,733 as per the 2001 census, it's the 7th largest town in Argentina.
Mar del Plata is the most popular destination for conventions in Argentina after Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata has a wide range of services in this sector. The summer season hosts over fifty theatrical plays.
These are the most important shows and festivals:
- The Fiesta Nacional del Mar ("National Sea Festival") with the election and coronation of the Sea Queen and her princesses, which takes place in December as the official inauguration of the summer season.
- The Premios Estrella de Mar ("Sea Star Awards") which honor the best stage plays and shows of the season.
- The Valencian Falles week, a local reenactment of the Valencian event.
- The Mar del Plata Fashion Show, along with a number of fashion parades that gathers the best haute couture designers.
- The Fiesta Nacional de los Pescadores (National Fishermen's Festival), a colourful display of sea tradition and cuisine.
- The Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the only Class-A film's festival in the Americas.
- Mar del Plata has also hosted the 1995 Pan American Games and co-hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup and 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.
- Since 1987 Mar del Plata annually hosts the Mar del Plata Marathon, in early December.
The local Government sponsors a stable Symphonic Orchestra, as well as a Conservatorium and a School of Classical and Modern Dance.
The main museums are the following:
- The Museum of Modern Art Juan Carlos Castagnino.
- The Museum of the port of Mar del Plata Cleto Ciocchini.
- The Museum of Natural Science Lorenzo Scaglia, specialized in Paleontology of the Quaternary species around the region.
- The Museum of the Sea, which includes one of the most complete collections of sea snails of the World.
- Villa Victoria, a vintage wooden house, the former residence of the late writer Victoria Ocampo, now a place for art expositions and classical music.
Climate
The weather pattern for the region is that of an oceanic climate, with humid and moderate summers and relative cool winters, although polar air masses from Antarctica are frequent. The average temperatures for January reach 20ºC (68 Fahrenheit) and 8ºC for July (46 Fahrenheit). The West-Southwest winds bring down the temperature below 0ºC (32 Fahrenheit), while the Southeast ones (the so called Sudestada) are stronger, producing coastal showers and rough seas, as well as strong squalls, but the cold is much less intense.
There are about 20 days of frost each year, and almost 60 in the west hills area (some 300 mts above the sea level). Snowfall is not so uncommon, but snow accumulation on the ground is rare, a phenomenon that takes place every 6 years or so, according to the last 40 year's data.
