Feria de Mataderos y Fútbol

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After our usual buffet-style breakfast at the Marriott, we were forced to make a big decision: There were several places and events in Buenos Aires that are best to visit on Sundays but it would had been impossible for us to cover them all in one day. On this particular day, there was a major football match (or soccer, as this worldwide sport is known in the U.S.) between the prestigious BA team “Boca Juniors” and the team Olimpo from Bahía Blanca for the 2006 national championship. Going to a football match in Buenos Aires was another item in our list of things to see and do so going to this particular match was certainly a golden opportunity for witnessing first-class South American football. The other possibilities included going to “Feria de Mataderos”, a folk festival that takes place every Sunday, and visiting areas such as Palermo and its various attractions (the Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Japanese Gardens, etc.).

While trying to secure tickets for the match through our hotel’s concierge (our first choice in our list), we discovered that because of the high profile of this particular match, it was going to be very difficult to secure good tickets. For one thing, we needed to go through “secondary” sources and pay “prime pesos” for the seats. In addition, it was going to take almost our entire day (e.g. Leave the hotel early and arrive at the “Bombonera” Stadium several hours in advance) to make sure that we could get to the seats in time for the match.

With some disappointment, we decided that we should not do the match and try to see instead some of the other places in our list. We promptly departed for the Mataderos Barrio, one of the furthest barrios from downtown but still part of Buenos Aires’ metropolitan area. All of the guide sources that we had read, recommended a visit to this area during Sundays, where many local craft vendors set temporary shop on the streets and both recorded and live music entice the locals to showcase their dancing skills, some of them in full local costumes.

The trip by taxi from our hotel took about 50 minutes and as usual we took advantage of the opportunity to get into a very informative conversation with our taxi driver. When I first told him where to take us, I had confused the name “Matadores” (in Spanish, the main performers at bullfights in countries such as Spain and Mexico) with “Mataderos” (the places where animals are slaughtered for their meat). He laughed and promptly informed us that Argentina does not have any bullfights and that the proper name of the place was “Barrio Mataderos”, named after the main activity there: processing the tons of meat that each day are consumed by the very carnivorous citizens of Buenos Aires.

Relating to the taxi driver our disappointment about not being able to go the the Boca Juniors - Olimpo match that afternoon, he offered another possibility: He mentioned that many local people avoid going to the stadium for good games and go instead to some very special sport bars and restaurants in Recoleta where they have lots and lots of giant plasma displays where you can watch the match, enjoy a good meal, beer or wine, and not miss the stadium atmosphere as most people behave as if they were there. In addition, you did not need to be there several hours in advance to go in. He recommended a place named “Locos por el Fútbol” (or “Crazy about Football”). We decided to seriously consider his recommendation.

Our taxi driver left us at the edge of the fair grounds. The place was certainly everything that we had read about it… We could feel the very festive atmosphere as we walked between the stalls set by vendors of all kinds of goods. At times, it was difficult to walk very fast due to the large crowd. In the intersection of the two main roads taken by the fair ground, there was an area where large groups of people of all ages were dancing to music coming from a center stage. Some of them displayed great skill and yet others were just enjoying the music and doing their best with their footwork.

Sergio, Joaquín and I spent some time going around all the stalls looking for items to bring back. The prices were certainly very attractive and there was plenty of merchandise variety there. My search was focused on finding an interesting plate or teapot for my wife Elizabeth (her standing request to me on every one of my trips). Though she already possesses a large collection of these items and other art from around the world, there is always one more item that can enrich her collection. I did not really find any of these two items, but came across a ceramic artist that was selling very interesting pottery in his stall. His creations included re-creations of Nazca-culture ceramics adorned with petrogliph motifs found among pre-Columbian cultures in Argentina. I was certain that Elizabeth would have bought his entire display if she had been there, so I selected a very unique double-spout black water vessel and asked the artist permission to take his photo.

Sergio and Joaquín made their own purchases and the three of us spent some more time taking pictures and enjoying the music and dancers. By the middle of the afternoon, we knew that we needed to start heading back, if we still wanted to see the football match.

Finding transportation in Mataderos was a bit more difficult than just walking to a taxi stand in downtown Buenos Aires. Our only reliable choice was to take a “colectivo” (city bus) if we were able to find the spot where they stop in the area. We were in the process to finding the place when a taxi dropped some customers very close to where we were walking, so we grabbed the opportunity and started our ride towards Recoleta.

Our taxi driver on the way back was also very informative and friendly. Not only did he corroborate the information about “Locos por el Fútbol” but he also gave us a tutorial on the Argentinean custom of drinking “mate”, including information about the various kinds of mate and the best way to experience it.

When we arrived at the restaurant, the first order of business was to plead to get a table in spite of not having any reservations. We must have said the right things because the lady at the reception desk, after checking her table assignment map and reminding us about their policy for minimal consumption, promptly seated us at a table in the main row in front of the largest screen in the place. In reality, no matter where you seat in this restaurant, you have more than a dozen alternatives where to watch the game, but seating where we ended up was a guarantee of not missing anything.

In the half an hour or so prior to the start of the match, all of the tables around us started filling up. There was a group of four die-hard “aficionados” wearing the colors of Boca Junior right behind us. Two tables across, there was an entire family (small kids and all) that also had all the typical things that you take to stadiums to celebrate victory (confetti throwers and the like). In front of us, there was a gentleman apparently waiting for his date and thus going through the food menu in a more cautious way than we were.

When the time came, all of the TV monitors were tuned to the Fox Sports coverage of the game. Everyone in the restaurant concentrated on their favorite screen and a great match started.

It was clear from the beginning why Boca Juniors is so famous even outside Argentina. Their control over this game and the other team became evident as more and more plays were executed in a very calm but very skillful manner. The Olimpo team from Bahía Blanca was not bad either, but they were outmatched by the discipline and great plays of their opponents. When the first Boca Juniors goal was scored, the entire restaurant erupted in celebration: the die-hard bunch behind us jumped out from their seats and performed a Boca-Juniors war chant. It was also great to see the family two tables over scream in unison the famous Latin American “GOL!! GOL!! GOL!!”.

The match ended at 2-0 in favor of Boca Juniors and as soon as the referee signaled the end of the game, our restaurant became a mad house with people embracing each other and confetti throwers and noisemakers going off everywhere. We had successfully achieved our objective of witnessing a football match in Argentina, though not as we originally had envisioned it.

Upon leaving “Locos por el Fútbol”, we did not know exactly where we were (since the taxi from Mataderos had dropped us right in front of the restaurant, after approaching the area from a direction that we had not followed before). We walked south to the end of the block following the street in front of the restaurant and discovered that we were just behind Recoleta’s Cemetery that we had visited during our first hours in Buenos Aires. The green area in front of the Cemetery was now filled with people and local craft vendor stalls (similar to the ones in Mataderos). The cafes and outdoor restaurants in the area were also very busy with people coming in and out.

We walked casually through this area, crossed “9 de Julio” into “Retiro” and spent the rest of the evening at our hotel watching a movie on TV.

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Photos

Vendor Stall at Mataderos
Colorful displays compete for potential customers' interest

Matadero Dancers
Having fun is their main pursuit, but great skill appears to come naturally...

Ceramic Artist
Clever combinations of Nazca shapes with Argentinean pre-columbian designs

Jewelry Vendor
Argentina produces some very unique jewelry from their substantial semi-precious stone production

Mataderos Main Stage
Live musicians entertain the large crowds at Feria de Mataderos