Sweet Home Nueva Chicago

The morning after our belated holiday feast, Emily and I went with our German housemate Alexandra to the Feria de Mataderos, an event that occurs every weekend in a barrio on the southwest side of the city. Alexandra seemed tentative about riding an hour by bus for the sole purpose of visiting a feria––after all, there are dozens of them scattered around Buenos Aires––but we assured her that this one came highly recommended by our guidebooks and classmates.

After stepping off the bus, we were greeted by the site of a few dozen stalls selling kid’s underwear and Spanish translations of Dan Brown novels. We were frightened that we’d been led horribly astray, but when we turned the corner a lively scene greeted us. In addition to the vendors selling woven scarves, wooden animal figures, and homemade dulce de leche candies, the town square was bustling with traditional dancers, steak cooking on open-air asados, and men corralling children into two-peso llama rides.

Mataderos served an important historical purpose as the site of Buenos Aires’ stockyards. Most of the livestock that was fattened up on the Pampas were eventually transported to this district to be slaughtered and shipped internationally. For this reason, the barrio was affectionately referred to as “Nueva Chicago”. Naturally, we felt right at home.

After purchasing some trinkets and pondering whether we were all too big for a sulky ride, Emily and I suggested visiting the Museo de Mataderos, a collection commemorating the gaucho legacy. Alexandra definitely wanted to skip this part of the trip, but I convinced her that the nominal entrance fee would be worth it. I should have specified that if, like me, you’re a sucker for cowboy iconography and intricately rendered diagrams of beeves, the museum would be worth it. I don’t think Germans really go in for that stuff. Emily and I, on the other hand, were enraptured by the masks made from cow’s faces, the amateurish oil paintings of romantic gaucho scenes, and the classy portraits of Argentine cattle barons (apparently ostentatious facial hair is a prerequisite). Fortunately, Alexandra seemed happy with the llamas-wool scarf she bought, so I think the trip was a success. -NSH