A new museum dedicated to accordions opened in Chacarita, a district of Buenos Aires, in November. It is based on the extensive collection of accordions, photos and documents belonging to the Anconetani family, who have been selling the instruments for over a century. They arrived in Buenos Aires in 1909, representing a manufacturer from their native Italy. But as imports dried up due to the second world war, the family began to make the accordions themselves and became the foremost local manufacturer.

Several leading folk musicians, including "Chango Spasiuk”, a rising star on the world music circuit, use the family's instruments. But the Anconetani have resisted making bandoneons, a close relative of the accordion that is used frequently in Argentine tango music. Bandoneon players fail to appreciate new innovations, insists the family patriarch, 84-year-old Nazareno Anconetani.
The accordion developed, he says, but bandoneons stood still.

Guevara 492, Chacarita. Tel: +54 (0)11 4553-9440. Open: Mon-Fri, 3pm-7pm. Call before visiting.

economist.com Diciembre 2005