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 Caturthi Festival in Mumbai. But because festivals are usually held only once a year, you have to make a concerted effort to see one, including booking a hotel way in advance. That’s why I’m especially taken by the Feria de Mataderos, a jubilant celebration of all things gaucho (cowboy).

Feria de Mataderos
Photos by Beth Reiber
Cheese at Feria de Mataderos

Held on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, it has everything you could hope for, including music, dance, costumes, crafts and food. What I find especially astonishing is that it isn’t just a once-a-year thing. Rather, Feria de Mataderos takes place every Sunday and national holiday from March through December, attracting up to 15,000 people. That alone tells me mucho about the Argentine nostalgic love of gaucho culture.

Mataderos (which means “slaughterhouses” in English) is a working-class neighborhood, where for more than a century slaughterhouses have been butchering 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.

What to expect

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 (held mostly on public holidays). Otherwise, you can learn about gaucho culture at the Museo Criollo de Los Corrales, located on the same square as the outdoor stage and with an assortment of gaucho costumes, horseshoes, branding irons, carriages, firearms, and other items related to gaucho history.

Feria de Mataderos

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, honey, olives, salami, cheese and even home-brewed beer. On a nearby field, locals lay out used clothing, shoes, and odds and ends in a weekly flea market.

But it’s the food that’s a hug draw. Stalls sell a variety of inexpensive street fare, including choripan (chorizo sandwich), pancho (hotdogs), locro (corn and meat stew), pastries and other snacks. But the smell of 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.

Meat grilling at Feria de Mataderos

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 but rather is ingrained in the fabric of communal life.

Street dancing at Feria de Mataderos


A restaurant in Mataderos

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.

2 thoughts on “Feria de Mataderos Celebrates Argentine Cowboy Culture

  1. Love this! I’m such a social media challenged oldie that I am just now seeing that you can post work related stuff here. Great stuff and sounds so fun. Let’s drink margaritas on my deck and talk more?

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