New Year’s Eve is a celebration that is usually filled with friends, family and plenty of bubbles. If this is your first time spending NYE in Mendoza, here are some tips to guide you along your way:
Welcome in the New Year with family
This might be a bit tricky to do if you are away from family, but New Year’s is often quite a family affair here. The evening before is usually a long dinner and a countdown to midnight together with family then a cheers at midnight, a few more drinks afterwards, and then the party with your friends starts.
Celebrate through the morning with amigos
Most New Years parties don’t really get going till at least 2am, once everyone has packed up from their family gathering and made it to the local nightclub. The party goes on all morning and well into the afternoon in some cases, so pace yourself and take some Red Bull with you!
Grapes at midnight
Some families stand by the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes at the countdown to midnight. Even though none of the wine grapes will be ready to harvest yet, pick up some eating grapes the day before and start popping them one by one 12 seconds before 00.00.
Fireworks galore
When the strike of midnight comes, make sure you swallowed your last grape well, because midnight goes off with a startling bang. Fireworks explode all around the skyline and floor line with sparkles in the air and bangers on the street. The snap, crackle and pop keeps going for at least an hour.
Bubbles of a different kind
While there is great sparkling wine to bring in the New Year with, the traditional drink in Argentina is cider for New Year’s celebrations. Sweet, fizzy and lower in alcohol – it is the typical party tipple.
Asado restoration
The day after is reserved for a slightly zombified BBQ with family and friends. There’s no better way to start the year than with a traditional Argentine asado!
Feliz Ano Nuevo!
Amanda Barnes is a British journalist living in Mendoza and learning one by one the different steps to becoming a local. A few steps, like the local lingo and dancing moves, prove harder than others, but the steps to a good night out are irresistibly easy.