La Feria De Mataderos is a weekly fair in the Argentine capital with traditional folk dancing, handicrafts and food, as well as popular gaucho (cowboy) demonstrations.

More than 300 stalls offer handcrafted gaucho tools like the facón (a large fighting knife), the rebenque (leather whip) and boleadoras (a throwing weapon used to catch cattle), as well as traditional leather products, silverware and blankets. Gourds for drinking mate (traditional Argentina tea) make excellent souvenirs or gifts, and traditional Argentine foods like empanadas (filled pastries) and locro (stew) are for sale.

The gaucho shows here are well known throughout Buenos Aires, where cowboys demonstrate their horseback-riding skills and showmanship to the crowds through various feats – such as by galloping at full speed, upright on the stirrups, to try to spear a tiny ring hanging from a metal frame.

While tango is the most well-known dance in Argentina, folklórica is a close second, and these traditional folk dances, synonymous with gaucho culture, are performed at the fair by live musicians and dancers.

Located in the meatpacking district of Mataderos (which translates as ‘slaughterhouses’) on the outskirts of the city, the fair is held every Sunday between March and December, from 11am until 8pm.

Cuban Salsa will be taking over the E4 Udderbelly Festival at the Southbank Centre this summer with a show that promises “an intoxicating cocktail of rumba, salsa, rum and reggaeton.” Havana Rumba! will be running from Wednesday 30th May until Sunday 8th July and will feature performances from some of Cuba’s finest dancers, as well as the expertise of Buena Vista Social Club’s Eric Turro Martinez.

The show will take on the form of a musical journey through Cuban salsa, starting in the 1950s with mambo and cha cha cha, before moving through classic salsa and rumba, and onto reggaeton and contemporary styles. Legendary Cuban salsa band Sonora La Calle will be provided the rhythms, as well as the aforementioned Eric Turro Martinez, a man who has performed as the lead dancer for Buena Vista Social Club for many years and who is highly regarded for his performance of the traditional Son Cubano dance. Other performers include Juventino “El Chico Divino”, singer and dancer from Charanga Habanera, and Osvadys “the DON of Reggaeton” Ganza from the Streets of Havana, star dancer of Los Van Van and Afro Cuban All Stars.

The show has been produced by Toby Gough, writer and director of Lady Salsa, a hit Cuban dance show on London’s West End. He has also produced Hemingways Havana, and Miami Libre, two other Cuban shows, as well as Brazil! Brazil!, which you may remember from the E4 Udderbelly Festival of 2010. If you’ve never been to the Udderbelly before, you’re in for a treat. The show will take place in an intimate theatre space inside a giant upside down purple cow, surrounded by bars and restaurants perfect for enjoying the sunshine before heading in for the show.

For further information please visit: www.udderbelly.co.uk

ArteBA – one of South America’s most important contemporary art fairs – is bringing the biggest names in Latin American art to the Argentine capital.

Now in its 22nd year, the event will run from 19 to 22 May 2012 in La Rural, a large convention centre in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. Last year, the four-day fair attracted more than 120,000 visitors.

This year, 81 galleries from across the globe will participate, representing works from 850 contemporary artists. The fair also serves as an important rite of passage for emerging artists, with special exhibitions to specifically highlight up-and-coming talent.

While the fair serves as a springboard for local and international artists to sell their work, most visitors simply go to enjoy the large collection of art.

Tickets cost 50 Argentinean pesos for a one-day general admission pass (25 Argentinean pesos for students). It is recommended visiting the fair on either the Monday (21 May) or Tuesday (22 May), to avoid the long weekend queues.

The next Four Gates Diploma course is a 5-day Shamanic Healing course in the UK which begins on May 19 and may be your only opportunity to work with them in England and gain a qualification this year. Satisfactorily completing the course also means that you can add your name to their shamanic healers list to receive client referrals from them. They have a few places left if you can act quickly. Email Ross Heaven at ross@thefourgates.org immediately if interested for an information pack.

The shamanic healing diploma in May is the fullest shamanic healing course available. Participants are introduced to spirit extraction work, energy balancing and soul retrieval, giving them all the tools they need to conduct complete healings for themselves and others.

We also bring news of the cactus of vision medicine trip to Peru from the 1-14 October 2012. This incredible journey is booking now. The two-week course features San Pedro ceremonies, a visit to Machu Picchu, the sacred city of the Incas, healings, coca leaf divinations and meetings with the Q’ero, the first people of Peru and the wisdom-keepers for humankind. The most frequent description given of this course is “life changing.” If interested email Ross (as above) for a detailed information pack.

Visitors to Venezuela in May might want to check out the Latin American Music Festival in the capital.

It takes place throughout the month and features performers and artists from across the continent, as well as the Caribbean and Spain.

Among the genres that will be celebrated are electro-acoustic, symphony and chamber music.

Those who want to delve deeper into this aspect of Latin American culture might consider taking part in the series of master classes laid on throughout the month.

The Centre of Social Action for Music will host some of the performances, but other locations throughout Caracas will also feature bands and artists.

The feisty stamping of feet and swishing of skirts resound through Mendoza at the annual Mendoza Flamenca Festival. International flamenco dancers wow the audience in the Independencia Theatre and specific flamenco music and dance classes take place in venues citywide.

Look out for free street flamenco in Plaza Independencia, in the city centre.

Travellers in Argentina may be interested in attending a film festival set to start later this month.

The International Human Rights Film Festival will begin on 23 May and continue until 30 May in Buenos Aires.

Featuring a mixture of short films, full-length features and documentaries, all the festival’s displays will focus on themes relating to human rights.

This may particularly appeal to travellers volunteering in the country, who will be able to see works by local artists, as well as international talent.

Covered in the event’s featured productions are issues such as tolerance and respect for minority groups, in addition to cultural identity and development.

Other topics include social rights, such as the importance of good living conditions and employment.

The festival will take place at Recoleta Cultural Centre, which is used to display various artworks and exhibitions, in addition to live shows such as theatrical performances.

The Summer might be over in Argentina but British acts keep descending on Buenos Aires. Enjoy the music as the concert season once again gets into gear. The Ting Tings are in town for the Sound Fest and will perform tomorrow night at Groove on Avenida Santa Fe 4389 in Palermo.

The Ting Tings – a scrappy, dance-oriented indie pop duo consisting of singer and guitarist Katie White and drummer Jules De Martino – formed in the Salford district of Manchester, England, in 2006. Quickly signed to the local indie label Switchflicker Records, the Ting Tings released their debut single, “That’s Not My Name,” in the spring of 2007. Following the limited-edition, tour-only single “Fruit Machine,” the Ting Tings signed to major label Columbia Records later that year. The flipside of the Switchflicker single, “Great DJ,” was released as the duo’s debut major-label single in March 2008, followed by the reissue of “That’s Not My Name” with a new exclusive B-side remix. “That’s Not My Name” rose to the top of the U.K. charts in May 2008, the same month that the duo’s debut album, We Started Nothing, appeared.

¡VAMOS! Festival is returning for its seventh edition this summer and it’s a bigger and longer festival than ever before. Once a festival based in just Newcastle and Gateshead, it’s now truly representing England’s North East with additional events in Middlesbrough, North Tyneside and Durham. The festival will last for 45 days, celebrating all aspects of Latin culture from 1st June until 15th July 2012.

There is no doubt that !VAMOS! has taken the idea of a Latin Cultural Festival to a whole new level. Tyneside has a booming Latin American community and for five years the !VAMOS! Festival has worked tirelessly in their bid to celebrate Spanish and Portuguese cultures across Newcastle and Gateshead.

Please visit the ¡VAMOS! website to view the full festival programme: www.vamosfestival.com

This annual free festival returns, celebrating its 20th birthday, on the 9th-10th June in Regent’s Park. The event features two live music stages with cutting edge contemporary festival music, a high profile debating arena, plus an 80-piece symphonic orchestra from Holland, a great children’s area, theatre and dance, The Electric BikeFest, the permaculture zone, and hundreds of boutique market stalls, campaigning groups and organic food and drink. Powered entirely by renewable energy, with education and entertainment at its core, it’s a stunning day out in a beautiful central London park, and recently won Best Event at the National Climate Week Awards. Best of all it’s free.

For more details please visit the London Green Fair website: www.londongreenfair.org