Our Sunday's entertainment was to venture out into the suburbs of BA for the Feria de Mataderos. After a more moderate breakfast that the previous Sunday's seven-course feast, we took a taxi out to Mataderos, which was about a 45 minute drive from San Telmo. We had grappled with BA's complex bus system, but eventually we gave up and took the considerably more expensive option of cabbing it.
Feria sign in front of the gaucho statue in the middle of the square
We arrived to find a large number of market stalls stretching out from the main square. The stalls that we walked past first were mostly selling touristy tat, and we feared (or at least I did) that this was not a great idea. As is customary, we sought consolation in food, and quickly perked up. We tried a few local dishes from one of the stalls: a humita, which is a kind of corn-mash steamed in leaves; meat empanadas; a traditional style lamb stew; and some sweet red wine. Very tasty indeed. The empanadas were being prepared in front of us, which left Clem eagerly planning to try her hand at the recipe.
Next to us was an impressively large open-air parilla, which was regularly topped up with fuel. We planned to try the meat but somehow never got around to doing so.
Some traditional local snacks
BBQ Argentina-style
By this time some music was playing from a stage in the middle of the square, but there was no sign of the folk-dancing we had been promised. We decided to wait it out, so passed by another line of stalls. These were much more interesting, because they were selling food and drink. We tried a couple of sips of wine (of which the sweet varieties were much better than the dry) and bought a variety of seeds that promised extravagant health benefits. We also purchased some beeswax straight from the hive, from which we were told to suck out the honey before spitting out the wax leftover. Very wholesome, although biting too much into the wax was not particularly pleasant. Finally, giving in to the midday heat, we stopped off for some ice-cream. This time I persuaded Clem to share...
After satisfying our tastebuds it was time for some dancing. Not by us, thankfully, but by some locals dressed in traditional garb, sauntering around to slightly-too-loud music blaring from speakers on the stage. More amusingly, they were then joined by locals from the crowd, not dressed up at all, who just seemed to fancy a dance. This went on for a while. At the end of each song some dancers would melt back into the crowd, and others would join. Partner swapping was standard. Just a neighbourhood dance on a Sunday afternoon (with a few dozens tourists taking photos, of course).
Dancing in the street (and video below)
This amateur folk-dancing was followed by a session from a more professional outfit, a troupe visiting from Salta. Their dances revolved around a girl dressed up as the devil, whom they seemed to be dancing with and then smothering, while the MC (in gaucho dress) whooped and hollered on the microphone.
Dancing with the Devil
After a hour or so of dancing, the early afternoon heat was starting to get the better of us, so we decided to head back into the centre. After an amusing game of find-the-right-bus, which obviously entertained the bus drivers who sent us off in the wrong direction, we found a bus headed back to the centre of BA, which took us about an hour. There I found a sports bar showing the second half of the NFL game, which Clem very gamely sat through (especially because the American kids next to us were unsurprisingly loud).
After the Falcons' glorious victory we walked back south to San Telmo and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying another culinary masterpiece from Clem.
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