BA -- Las Ferias (San Telmo y Mataderos)

On the weekend many of the BA neighborhoods have delightful street fairs where artisans sell their wares.


San Telmo, which is a picturesque barrio even without the street fair in full swing, is best known as the tango center of the city.

Many of the nightly tango shows can be found in this area, and during the street fair there were musicians and dancers performing in the street.

Here's some fun clips we recorded....

Tango dancing video
Tango Band video
Puppet artist video

After the morning in San Telmo, we took a cab waaaaay out to the barrio Mataderos.  It was over 30 minutes in the taxi, but worth every bit of it.  It's a far less "ritzy" street fair--most of the booths were selling food and fresh produce, and it was clearly a fair that was attended by locals more than tourists.  The two main attractions at this fair are the weekly "Corrida de Sortija" and the folk dancing.

The corrida de sortija is a competition on horseback that takes place in the city street.  A ring is hung from an apparatus....

.... and the rider charges down the street with a small implement about the size of a ball-point pen.  The rider tries to slip the "pen" through the ring and pull it out of the sheath.

Between the slow service at our lunch restaurant and not knowing where to find the race, we mostly missed the action.   Just as we heard the commotion and ran over to see the backside of a horse charging down the street, we learned that the event was over.  So we didn't get to experience it fully, or even get a decent picture.  However, if you want to see what it's all about, here's a link.

We hung around with the crowd afterward, admiring the horses and the caballeros.

Everyone was taken with this little pony pulling a cart, and especially the tiny dog that was riding on the pony's back.

A bit later the girls were able to mount a different pony for a photo opp.

The other highlight of the Feria at Mataderos is the folk dancing.  On a large stage in the central square live bands are booked back to back during the entire duration of the fair each week, with DJs filling in the few minutes of setup between groups.  The locals show up to dance the traditional dances in the street and everyone has enormous fun!

This still picture is ok, but really, just watch the video.

Folk dancing video