The Heart of the Community: Life, Belonging and Safety in La Estancia de Cafayate
The Golf Shop at La Estancia de Cafayate is much more than a pro shop — it is one of the daily meeting points for our community.
In this interview, Terri Casey, www.caseyargentina.com, speaks with a woman who is the solver of problems for many, the face with the eternal smile and with heart and arms wide open for everyone. She has traveled the world on her own terms, built an independent career, and chosen to return to her roots here in Cafayate. She shares her perspective on the special magic of this valley, what most surprises newcomers about building a life here, and why Cafayate is such a welcoming and safe place for an independent lifestyle. Meet Yesica Yapura.
You’ve traveled to so many places around the world, yet you chose to return to your roots here in Cafayate. What would you say is that special 'magic' this valley possesses—something you didn't find anywhere else?
Cafayate is a very welcoming place, because people have the essence of a small town. Even though it is a city that is constantly growing, it keeps that small-town essence with all the charisma a village has: kindness, tranquility, peace, honesty, safety, and local traditions. People here are very, very kind and generous. At the end of the day, we are all just people watching the moon rise, all equal. It’s an environment where you can meet people you would perhaps never meet in a big city.
At the Golf Shop, you chat every day with owners from different parts of Argentina and the world.
The Golf Shop is a natural meeting point. How do you feel that such a welcoming atmosphere helps newcomers—both foreigners and Argentines—integrate and feel like they belong from day one?
In the wine and golf shop I have met people from different places around the world, from different provinces of Argentina, and what I value most from talking with them is that they always come back. There are people who came 20 years ago, returned and it often happened that they fell so in love with this place that they decided to build a life here. In many cases very far from their places of origin, learning other languages, another culture, and integrating completely with the environment and the community.
Being a wine region, it attracts people from different parts of the world. The golf course here in La Estancia is one of the most beautiful in the country. Wine and golf go hand in hand and it’s a divine place to make friends. People have created very strong bonds sharing those golf and wine experiences. People never stop praising the beauty of the place and the kindness of the people who welcome them.
You arrive in Cafayate and you find a group of friends. Sometimes there is a stranger to play with in a tee time, you sign up for the same tee time and you spend five hours playing with that person. It really generates a feeling of surprise, freedom, and openness to what is happening, which makes it unique. And it is the perfect setting for genuine friendships. This place is to be enjoyed with friends.
What do people most often tell you surprised them in a positive way about building a life here?
Life in Cafayate is lived differently, at a different pace. Everyone arrives with a sense of a fast-paced life, until they enter the local rhythm, which is a quite tranquil environment, peaceful and harmonious, then automatically your mindset shifts and you adapt to the environment you are in, more connected with nature, with what you feel in that moment. So life here is very, very peaceful, magical, beautiful. And being in such a safe environment, people can have a life like any normal person in a place where they will not be recognized, where they can be themselves without anyone noticing, for example, that they are a famous person. A famous actor can have a quiet and peaceful life here.
I think that is what makes it so special and why people choose to live here, in a safe community, in a very safe space with a very high quality of life. Mainly because today luxury is not, I don't know, living in Dubai for example. Today luxury is being able to have peace, to be able to enjoy time with the people you love most. And it seems to me that this place provides the conditions for that to happen.
What makes Cafayate such a welcoming and safe community for an independent lifestyle?
Traveling as a single woman, I have felt very free, very connected with myself, with my decisions, with my choices, and bringing all my creativity, putting all my creative energy into each project, action and experience that I have had the opportunity to live. In such a traditional world, well, in a traditional culture like Salta, being a woman who travels alone is not common, and it is also not common to return home and be the daughter who is single! But I really believe that love is perceived in another way: in the things that one does, that one gives, that one feels, and the experience of this life keeps getting better every day, with the years, with the awareness of one's own life, of a much more conscious life. Life offers many opportunities. I am blessed, I have had many opportunities and I have taken them. So it is really a very, very wonderful moment for me and for my life.
Imagine a friend you met during your travels is arriving in Cafayate tomorrow to look at properties.
What is the first local experience you would take them to so they fall completely in love with the place?
I think the first local experience I would offer would be a round of golf. I love golf and it is such a stunning setting, surrounded by the mountains, and is a wonderful opportunity to share quality time with someone I know. It would also be a walk through the Quebrada de las Conchas. The Quebrada is a dramatic environment for its intense beauty. People who have had the opportunity to go and enjoy it by walking have experienced something truly unique. This magical place is a place to return, to live, to enjoy and to care for.
If you would like more information on options to participate in living life in such a special place as Cafayate, please contact me. With confidentiality and confidence, we can assist you in finding the right fit to enjoy this wonderful place and invest in the bright future there.
Email: caseyteresita1@gmail.com • Tel: +54 9 11 4145 6640
WhatsApp: +54 9 11 4145 6640 • Skype: tcaseyskype or +1 650 206 - 2550
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