Ginestera, Argentina, and some things

on
Fifty years plus back while doing graduate work at Michigan State, a fellow and his wife came to study from Argentina.  He was a very good conductor and had formed  an orchestra in Buenos Aires.  His wife was a concert pianist of huge skill.  We often dined with them, pooling our meager stipends with several other musical friends.  Dinner at their home was a great treat due to the, for us, unusual flavors and style.  He used to tell us stories of Argentina, the politics, turmoil, and the vast country that seemed to go on forever.

We have a curious understanding of such places as we do about anything that is that far south.  We are an east west people - Europe or the Asia - and hard pressed to describe Canada or South America in any great detail ( OK? right now. who is prime minister of Canada).   In one's mind, we can picture places; the NY skyline, San Francisco, Red Square in Moscow, Big Ben in London but what do we picture about Buenos Aires or Argentina? To me there is no ready image and I'm always surprised when I see travelogues.  Buenos Aires is huge and sprawling and has 10 million people - New York City size. It is as long (N to S) as the US is wide. It is a big place.

One of the reasons we have any understanding at all is through the arts and music in particular. Isn't that always the case? Alberto Ginestera, a 20th century "Argentinian", who went to Europe to live and do most of his work, captured a feeling for the land in his music.  If it is accurate or a romanticized view is unknown but I'm not sure that it matters.  

His work has a certain vibrancy and timbre that is his and, by all accounts, the color of the country.  I like this following piece from "Estancia" (1941):

https://youtu.be/8JqLOHzg1DQ?si=cFV8eFYliFtG7M4Q