Cafayate

The Calchaquí Valleys were the land of Diaguita peoples, among them the Cafayates, who with the related Tolombón lived in the valley before the Spanish arrived. They had recently come under Inca influence after a long resistance. The town's name probably comes from Cacán, a language now almost unknown, and one reading of it is "grave of sorrows". They then fought the Spanish fiercely in the Calchaquí Wars, which lasted more than a century and ended with the deportation of whole peoples, such as the Quilmes, far to the south-east.

Under Spanish rule a mission stood on the site of the present town. Cafayate itself was founded in 1840 by Manuel Fernando de Aramburu, a colonel of the royal army, on the site of a mission, fulfilling his mother's wish to build a sanctuary there to the Virgin of the Rosary. It grew in importance and separated from San Carlos when the Cafayate Department was created in 1863, with the town as its capital.

By the end of the 19th century the town had about 5,000 people and the present cathedral was being built. Through the 20th century vineyards and wineries spread across the valley floor, and the paved road from Salta through the Quebrada de las Conchas and the rise of wine tourism turned Cafayate into the main visitor centre of the Calchaquí Valleys.

Cafayate's culture is that of the Andean valleys, mixing Diaguita roots with Spanish and criollo traditions. Folk music is everywhere: in February the Serenata a Cafayate, considered the most important folk festival in Salta Province and one of the leading festivals in Argentina, brings folk singers and musicians to a stage in an old winery in the town centre for several nights.

The Catholic calendar remains central. The cathedral of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, seat of the territorial prelature of Cafayate, faces the plaza, and is dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, to whom the town's founder offered a sanctuary. As elsewhere in the north-west, Pachamama, Mother Earth, is honoured in August with offerings of food and drink.

Wine is the town's modern identity. Most wineries welcome visitors, and wine even makes its way into ice cream. At the Paseo de los Artesanos facing the plaza, artisans make and sell their work, and the ruins of Quilmes to the south are a reminder of the valley's long pre-Hispanic past.

Cafayate had about 13,000 people in its urban centre at the 2010 census, with another 1,600 or so in the rural surroundings, and it has grown quickly since 2001. About nine in ten people of the department live in the town, the rest in small rural settlements such as Las Conchas and Yacochuya.

Wine and tourism are the backbone of the economy. Vineyards cover the valley floor, and the wineries, guesthouses, restaurants and tour operators employ many local families, alongside smaller-scale farming and crafts. The town is an important base for visitors exploring the valleys.

The day follows the sun and the siesta: work starts early, shops close through the hottest hours and reopen in the evening, when people gather in the plaza. The valley receives little rain, and the vineyards depend on irrigation. Cafayate is the head town of its department and lies on National Route 40, the long road through the valleys, which crosses the town. Several local radio stations serve the town, among them a Catholic station belonging to the cathedral parish.

Cafayate eats the food of the Andean north-west. Empanadas are a staple; humitas, fresh maize paste with onion and cheese cooked in maize husks, and tamales, maize dough filled with meat, are found in every simple restaurant. Locro, a thick stew of maize, beans, squash and meat, is a regional staple.

Torrontés is the town's signature wine. The white grape is grown widely in Salta, often in high, sandy vineyards above 1,600 metres, and gives fresh, aromatic wines with peach and apricot aromas. The valley also makes reds, above all Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Most wineries offer tastings, and the wine museum in town is devoted to them.

Local cheeses such as quesillo, a soft fresh cheese, are eaten with honey or cayote, a squash preserve, as dessert. The town's ice-cream shops are known for flavours made from local wines — a favourite with visitors after a day among the vineyards.