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I settled in the busy "microcentro" while my friends Jean and Louise
from Montreal rented an apartment in the fashionable Palermo district. We enjoyed
a few outings together, of which a visit to the Mataderos fair on a Saturday
evening.
It was my friend Jorge that suggested we visit the Mataderos Fair that is mostly attended by local people and not by tourists.
"Mataderos" means slaughterhouse or in more elegant terms abattoir. The gauchos used to drive their cattle on horseback from the pampas to this district of the city to be slaughtered and processed by the "frigoriferos" (meat packing plants) for export and delivery to the capital.
These big wheeled carts that used to accompany the cattle drives are no longer needed for the cattle now travel comfortably by truck. They arrive rested with their meat still tender...
The local museum has several interesting exhibits like this replica of a farm kitchen with a traditional wood burning oven.
Naturally, fairs provide an occasion for artisans to offer their handiwork in numerous stalls.
I should have tried this lady's cheese to see if it had a stronger taste than the supermarket cheeses that I found rather bland.
Parades are always a great attraction.
Candombe was originally a religious ritual dance of African origin that attracted large numbers of slaves and their descendants in Uruguay. The rituals were forbidden and severely punished by the white catholic population at the end of the Nineteenth Century on grounds of immorality; but the black inhabitants of Montevideo's slums retained their dances and the beat of their drums.
Uruguayan candombe might be immoral by 19th century standards but it is lively and interesting to watch.
Values change in countries that evolve with the times. Here, this golden girl is just lovely to look at and nobody is scandalized.
I was in the middle-east last year and can imagine the violent reaction of Islamic fundamentalists to this parade in Muscat, Qatar or Kuwait.
Further up the street, these entertainers were dancing to a different but equally lively music.
They were very good and drew a huge crowd.
Including many children who were absolutely mesmerized by their antics.
I was impressed by this group as you can see by the number of photos I chose to show.
And then, yet another group gave us a great stage show.
Finally we got down to the serious business of enjoying famous Argentine beef,
with of course several bottles of fine Mendoza wine.
That night in Mataderos our team solved all the word's social, economic, political and metaphysical problems.
As you can see, Jorge, his charming wife Nelida, myself, Louise and Jean were quite proud of our evening's achievements.
