Horacio “Chango” Spasiuk was born in September 1968 in Apostoles, a small village in Misiones, a rural north-eastern province of Argentina. Set in the frontier region bordering southern Brazil and Paraguay, this exceptional melting-pot area offers a sub-tropical climate with its fertile dark red ground where mate grows.

 

Until the 17th century, this region was inhabited by indigenous Guarani communities. Misiones was discovered in 1541 by Spanish people and Jesuit monks’ landing in 1609 disrupted the indigenous cultural environment.

 

They were thrown out of the country following the king’s order. This event ended the provincial golden age: after lootings, the Portuguese and Brazilian invasions and the armed conflict with Paraguay. Although the area finally gained a form of autonomy in 1881, it was barely inhabited as a consequence of a century of nearly continuous conflicts. Argentina opened its borders and Misiones welcomed European settlers mainly Germans,

Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Scandinavians and Central Europeans who built up villages, mixing with the remaining natives. Those settlers brought with them accordions and polka.

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