Lollapainglooza Argentina
Lollapalooza is a music festival that originates from the United States, it was created in 1991 and has undergone various revivals since then. It first expanded into South America in 2010 when the festival was staged in Santiago, Chile. The following year there was a festival in Brazil and in 2014 Buenos Aires hosted the festival for the first time. There is no camping at Lollapalooza but festival goers commute to and from the city to the festival each of the two days. It is the perfect opportunity to go see some of your favourite artists for those of you that love music but are not such big fans of the camping atmosphere.
Lollapalooza Artists
Lollapalooza gets a variety of international artists coming over, with music in popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, hip hop, and EDM bands and artists. This year they have acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, LCD Soundsystem, Chance The Rapper, Wiz Khalifa, Lana Del Rey, DJ Snake, Mac Demarco, Kygo, Hardwell, Liam Gallagher, The National, David Byrne, Perry Farrell, Las Pelotas, Damas Gratis, Bajo Fondo, Emmanuel Horvilleur, Miranda, Marilina Bertoldi, Indios, Octafonic, Leo García & Benito Cerati and Los Espíritus.
The music begins at 12.30pm and the last set finishes at 1am. The two main stages will be playing music alternatively with each set lasting 2 hours. The alternative stage will have acts throughout the day for one hour and finally, Perry’s stage will have acts playing all day, as well, but for an hour and a half.
Food at Lollapalooza
Whilst the music is obviously the focus of this festival the organisers have done a seriously good job at making the food scene nearly as tempting as the acts. Anyone going should be ready for a feast and the possibility to try out some of Buenos Aires most recognized chef’s food. At the high end of the scale we have the ‘Campamento de Food trucks’ with chefs from restaurants such as La Mar and Carne de Mauro Colagreco. Then, we have Lollapalooza ‘Food Town,’ where there will be various stands dedicated to burgers, choripans and hot dogs. These staple foods will not be like what you’ve seen before but have been given unique twists, think mouth watering sauces, toppings, specialised breads etc. Now, for those of you looking for something more exotic, there is a ‘Food Cities’ section which will bring you food from Tokyo to London. There really is something for everyone, including the vegans and vegetarians, who would have previously suffered to find grub in this city. The festival has a section, ‘Espiritu Verde,’ which not only brings you vegan friendly food but will promote public messages surrounding sustainability.
Tickets and where to buy them
Tickets are a little pricey and the cost varies depending on how early you bought your tickets and what type of ticket you bought. For those of you that want to splash out and don’t fancy slumming it there are VIP tickets that start at $3000 ARS going up too $4990 ARS. For the rest of us single day tickets begin at $990 ARS and the last release of double day tickets are priced at $2750 ARS. Tickets can be bought online or from ticketek stores.
What to do before
So, Lollapalooza have introduced a cashless system. You can top up your ticket wristbands with money before you go. This means that once you are in you simply use your ticket as a token for food and drink. Thus, making everything much quicker and hassle free. Whilst there are places to top up your bands at the festival you may as well do it before you go because otherwise you face long queues or being pickpocketed of your cash. So, get on it and sort out your money before. Also, don’t worry, no one is going to steal the leftover cash. You have 10 days to refund yourself after the festival!
How to get to Lollapalooza
The hippodrome stadium is outside of the city centre towards Tigre at the Hipódrome de San Isidro. I would highly recommend sorting out your transport before to make sure that you have a smooth journey too and from the festival. The train from retiro station is the cheapest option but, be warned, sort out some form of transport back because trains stop running late at night. Taxi’s, for those of you that have more money to spare, will take you there and back but are likely to be much more expensive. It may also be a bit more of a challenge trying to find one to take you home. Bus is definitely the easiest option as you can book a seat there and back and they run throughout the night. Its also worth having a look to see if you can find any pre organised party buses, for example Chicken bros Party Bus to Lollapalooza, organises the bus to take you there and back all for $500 pesos. Or, if there is a big group of you, it is possible to organise your own transport to take you and your friends there and back.
Words of warning / what to expect
Most festivals, as i’m sure you know, end up in the majority of people running around drunkardly dancing after a whole day of continuous drinking. Well, not Lollapalooza. This may come as a shock to many of you who are more accustomed to a different style of festival, but unless you’re in VIP you will be having a t-total experience at this festival. Due to the law here in Argentina, that makes it illegal for you to drink in arenas, alcohol sales are prohibited inside. The old filling up your water bottle with vodka trick won’t work either as no food or drinks, alcoholic or not, are allowed to be brought in with you. So, have a few bevvies before and don’t waste any of your pesos trying to bring in any drinks or food, they will just be taken off you!
So, this Friday I’m off to see what this festival has to offer and how it compares to others ones I’ve previously been too. Next week I will update you with my experience… wish me luck!
For more information contact our Spanish School in Buenos Aires or Visit Vamos Spanish Academy at Viamonte 1516, Buenos Aires, Argentina Carreras Universitarias
