National Sea Festival
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[edit] History
On February of 1910, in Mar del Plata, Argentina, a city that already began to gain a name for herself as a touristic center, arose the idea to choose and to crown a National Queen of the Sea. On February 23, the election is made in the luxurious and aristocratic main hall of the Bristol hotel; twelve beautiful young girls, daughters of lifeguards and fishermen participated in the contest. The election winner was a 17 year-old teacher: Emilia Bonacci, which was not from Mar del Plata but worked in a local school and resided in the house of a family with strong roots in town, the La Cavas. Her princesses were Vicenta Carboni, Aida Garcia, Antonia Martinez, Basilia Martinez, Pilar Bordoni and Dolinda Carboni. The jury members were: Zelmira Gainza Paz, Otilia Alcorta de Rodriguez and Maria Demarchi Roca. The coronation and celebration took place in the Odeón theater and the pioneering Queen and princesses were carried in a Roman ship, an allegorical chariot with a length of 40 feet and profusely illuminated; the courtship walked across different streets of the city and was flanked by young sailors carrying torches. Many years later, a new election was made in 1932 and the 19 years old Dora Lombardo won the crown among nine finalists. But there would be a parenthesis of these contests of beauty for several years, because the national and international political events discouraged this kind of social events. The city awaited until 1952, when the Municipal Direction of Tourism began to support the election of Miss Mar del Plata. This period saw the consecrations of: Marta Elsa Laffite (1952/53); Elsa Haydee Landaburu (1953/54) and Olga Maria Kesic (1954/55). Once again, the political events in the country caused a new lapse which lasted until 1967. That year the title of Provincial Queen of the Sea, replaced that of Miss Mar del Plata. The coronation and its previous show was made almost uninterruptedly in the Auditorium theater, and the chosen Queen enacted the rite of opening the season. From this years we can read the names of Maria Cristian Serra, Marta Lopez, Beatriz Alley Alicia Leoni and Mabel Carrique in the Roll of Honor.
[edit] National Festival status since 1972
The Federal Government grants the status of National Festival to the celebration since 1972 . The National Festival is organized by the former Department of Tourism -today's Municipal Agency of Tourism. The glamourous spectacle is seen by TV with great interest from diverse parts of the country. The stages and places were the Festival was mounted changed through the decades: in 1972 the chosen site was the Club Naútico, an exclusive tennis and rowing sports institution from where one of the brightest stars of the Argentinian tennis came out to fame: Guillermo Vilas. Later, from 1973 and up to 1980 it took place in the Auditorium theater, the exception being 1979 when it was carried out in the Provincial hotel. Between 1981 and 1983, the chosen stage was the José María Minella Stadium, whereas as, of 1984 to date, the show is represented at Las Toscas beach, a place where year after year, thousand of tourists and residents gather to enjoy this spectacle that finalizes with the election and coronation of National Queen of the Sea and her princesses. Like in 1910, the new sovereign is elected among twelve local resident young girls, whose ages oscillate between 16 and 25 years. Nowadays, the task of National Queen of the Sea is more complex and varied than that of 1910, since during her period she acts as the main representative of Mar del Plata in different regional and national events.
