Feria de Mataderos Celebrates Argentine Cowboy Culture

I love festivals for their sheer exuberance, for their street food, and for the opportunity they offer to mingle with locals. Festivals also provide a glimpse into a people’s psyche, history and culture, whether it’s the spring rice-planting rituals in Japan or the jostling chaos of the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival in Mumbai. But because festivals usually take place only once a year, you have to make a concerted effort to see one. That’s why I’m especially partial to Feria de Mataderos, a jubilant celebration of all things gaucho (cowboy).

Held on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, it has all the festivities you could hope for, including music, dance, costumes, crafts and food. But this isn’t just a once-a-year thing. Oh, no. Astonishingly, Feria de Mataderos takes place every Sunday and national holiday from March through December, attracting up to 15,000 people each day. That alone tells me mucho about Agentinian nostalgia for gaucho culture.

Mataderos (which means “slaughterhouses” in English) is a working-class neighborhood, named after the livestock market and slaughterhouses that for more than a century butchered cattle to satisfy the cravings of this beef-loving nation. Feria de Mataderos, however, has been held only since 1986, in an effort to preserve gaucho tradition. It’s packed with families, couples, people walking their dogs, the young and the old. Over the years, I’ve noticed that in addition to Argentinians, the fair attracts an increasing number of international visitors.

What to expect at Feria de Mataderos

Central to the festivities is an outdoor stage, where musicians serenade dancers dressed in costume performing folk dances, including zamba, a traditional Argentinian dance performed by couples flirtatiously waving handkerchiefs. But dancing is not confined to the stage, as many locals join in on the street.

If you’re lucky, your visit will also coincide with displays of gaucho horsemanship, though that’s rare these days and is confined mostly to public holidays. Otherwise, your best bet for learning about gaucho culture is at the Museo Criollo de Los Corrales, housed in a former police station (1898-1933) and located on the same square as the outdoor stage. Its dusty displays include an assortment of gaucho clothing, horseshoes, branding irons, an ox cart, carriages, firearms, and other items related to gaucho history.

Feria de Mataderos is also famous for its artisan stalls, with up to 700 of them selling mate cups, ponchos, blankets, gaucho knives, shoes, bags, leather goods, ceramics, jewelry, honey, olives, olive oil, salami, cheese, bread and even home-brewed beer.

Adjacent to the fair, in Park Alberdi, locals lay out used clothing, shoes, gadgets, housewares, and odds and ends in what can only be called a flea market.

“There are two markets,” our taxi driver remarked as we pulled up to Feria de Mataderos. “One for the rich, and one for the poor.”

Food is the main draw

But it’s the food that’s the main draw. Stalls sell a variety of inexpensive street fare, including choripan (chorizo sandwich), pancho (hotdogs), locro (corn and meat stew), empanadas, pastries and other snacks. But the smell of asado (grilled meats) smoking over a charcoal fire ultimately leads the hungry to one of the restaurants ensconced under the arches of the main square, where you have your choice of beef, chicken, sausage and even armadillo.

For many Porteños, spending Sundays in Mataderos is a weekly ritual, offering the chance to relax, eat, and meet up with friends and family. In other words, Feria de Mataderos is not a one-time special occasion. Rather, it’s ingrained in the fabric of communal life, a place to celebrate life most weekends of the year.

For more articles on Argentina, see Buenos Aires Loves its Dogs, Buenos Aires–Europe with a Latin Beat, Falling for Iguazu Falls, When Argentina Killed its Young, and Mendoza is Argentina’s Premier Wine Region.