On February 25th, Mendoza, Argentina, held its annual “Blessing of the Fruits” festival, thanking God for a bountiful harvest. The cultural event, which has been going on since the 1930s, included religious leaders from different traditions who each contributed to the program. Baladeva Das, ISKCON’s Regional Director of Communications in Latin America, beautifully chanted the Panca-tattva and Hare Krsna mantras and blew a conch shell for the estimated 15,000 people who were gathered at the festival. 

“This is a historically Christian festival, but recently organizers have been inviting all the religious traditions that make up Mendoza society,” said Baladeva Das, “ISKCON is present there like all other religions and had a small additional role in the part where auspiciousness is invoked.”  In addition to the thousands who participated in person, the celebration was broadcast live on public television to 45 million viewers.

The annual religious ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Mendoza and attended by the Province’s governor, other provincial and municipal authorities, and ambassadors.

To watch some of the festivities and Baladeva Das’s participation specifically, click here. To follow the ongoing service of devotees in Argentina, please visit their website. 

Baladeva Das chanting the Maha Mantra before a crowd of 14,000 with millions more watching on television.