'Grand spectacle' marks 150 years since Welsh move to Patagonia

Events to mark the 150th anniversary of the creation of a Welsh settlement in Patagonia got off to an explosive start with a "grand spectacle" concert in the city of Puerto Madryn.

Set to music specially commissioned to mark the anniversary, singers, dancers and acrobats took to the stage at the Deportivo Madryn centre.

Wearing traditional dress, they re-enacted the arrival of the Welsh settlers in 1865, with performances of Welsh hymns and songs including Calon Lan and Ar Lan y Mor.

There were indoor fireworks and streams of white, red and green paper fell from the ceiling on to a cheering crowd of several hundred spectators.

Wales' First Minister Carwyn Jones, who was a guest of honour at the event, said the performance was "spectacular".

"It goes to show how much they value their Welsh roots in this part of the world," he said.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had been due to attend the concert but she was ill with laryngitis.

The concert was held on the eve of the arrival of the first wave of settlers to the Argentine region on 28 July 1865, following a two-month journey.

They sailed on the converted tea clipper Mimosa from Liverpool to Puerto Madryn with the aim of creating a new colony where they could preserve their culture, language, and Protestant nonconformist religion, free from English influence.