La Feria Mataderos

Fresh off being sick with the stomach flu, I spent the day with Lito and Juanita at the Mataderos fair. The fair is in the southwest part of Buenos Aires. It takes about an hour to get there but it is totally worth it. It is a more authentic and traditional fair than say San Telmo or Recoleta. The first thing that hits you as enter the fair is the faint smell of cow poop. Reminded me of Champaign. Mataderos is the part of the city where cows are slaughtered and then distributed (Mataderos comes from “matar” which means “to kill”). Anyways, the smell quickly gives way to that of grilled meats and asado. This fair is a great place to eat. First, we sampled some tamales and humita from northern Argentina. Later we had some parrilla – bife de chorizo and mollejas. For dessert we had a pastry that was fried and had some dulce de batata in the middle. We walked a bit, saw the same ol’ things like mates, belts, knives, jewelry. But the area has a distinct vibe. First, there was a band and couples were dancing in the town center – old and young. Many of them were dressed up. There were several gauchos. I also saw ponies and a llama. Later in the afternoon, there was a horse/guacho demonstration. They blocked off a road, put some dirt on it, and the guachos rode and hit this lever as they passed under this special stand. Kinda difficult to explain. This event was cut short by rain. We hopped back on the bus and it began to hail. Oh, the name of Matadero's football team is Nueva Chicago!

Crazy to think that this place is in Buenos Aires because it has a totally different feel. Because BA isn’t just Palermo, Calle Florida, Puerto Madero, or other parts that most people see. This was original. Mataderos isn’t that great of an area and during the week its people work hard. But once a week, they come together to relax and rejoice.

That’s it for now. I might be leaving for Mendoza tomorrow…for the next two weeks. Not sure though because the swine flu outbreak has changed a lot of things. Tons of things are closed…like my school. So tomorrow I learn what I do about my final exam.