San Antonio de Areco's Gauchos
Gauchos are the real men of Argentina, the men who work the fields and herd cattle over the vast expanses of South America's fertile, humid pampa. San Antonio de Areco is a delightful town just a short bus ride from Buenos Aires, and there's nowhere you'll find them revelling in their gaucho identity more than here.
So dust off your cowboy hat, pull on your long leather dancing boots, and get ready to join with the locals in an orgy of red meat, prancing horses and night-long bonfires – not only during their yearly festival of the Dia de la Tradición but at pretty much any of time of the year.
Argentina Food and Drink
One of the central social events of a gaucho's life is the asado, a sort of Argentine family barbecue on steroids. You must take part, even if your stomach churns at the thought of a constant diet of empanadas (delicious meat pastries), chorizo (huge sausages, nothing like the Spanish version), vacío (beef-in-a-roll), and red wine.
It’s less a question of what you eat and drink, as how you eat and drink, and who you’re eating and drinking with. Argentine people take commensality to a new level, and these feasts are attended by locals, family, friends, visitors and all who happen to drop by as the meat's on the roasting spit.
Traditional Argentina Dancing
Don’t worry about calorie counting, because after each feast the musicians clear their throats and strike up on guitars, drums and sometimes accordions, and the whole group gets up to dance the night away, quite literally.
El gato (meaning ‘cat’) is a traditional hands-in-the-air, round-in-a-circle dance in which many gauchos compete for the ladies by taking their foot-tapping and leg-kicking to extremes not even found in your local aerobics class.
Again, even if your dancing ability is limited to a red-faced conga at the office Christmas party, you must join in with the dancing – this time it’s not so much a question of how you’re dancing and who you’re dancing with, but what you’re dancing. The gato and other traditional dances, all involving some combination of hands-in-the-air, round-in-a-circle, foot-tapping-leg-kicking and handkerchief-waving, are yet another fundamental demonstration of Argentine national identity in which, paradoxically, even foreigners will easily be made to feel a part of.
Argentina's Horse Shows
If all the pomp, ceremony and feasting gets too much and you want to see some real gauchos in real horsey action, head out over the Puente Viejo, the town’s celebrated rosy-pink bridge, towards the Parque Criollo.
During the yearly Día de la Tradición festival as well as at other times of the year, this is the location of the jineteada – the spectacular, and spectacularly dangerous, bucking-bronco style contest of breaking in untamed horses, in which you’re cheered if you can hold your seat for longer than a few seconds. Put your camera on the fastest shutter speed and try to catch a shot of the poor rider being tossed through the air as the horse leaps wildly six feet up and several to the side.
In another corner is the Corrida de la Sortija, a game whose principal aim is to thread a knitting needle through a small ring hanging loosely from between two posts, at full gallop and still keeping your hat and your cool. If you’re after some real man-on-man, horse-on-horse violence, look out for a game called Pato, in which a trussed-up duck is thrown about in a game akin to rugby but played on horseback (and now, thankfully, with a trussed-up-duck-shaped ball). You can see a lot of these games also being played at the Feria de Mataderos in Buenos Aires.
City-Based Gauchos in Argentina
Many supposed gauchos come simply to dress up and watch, revelling in their shared ancestry and culture. The Argentine custom of partible inheritance and the advent of machinery and vehicles have taken their toll on the traditional way of life.
So although many of the gauchos sitting round the fires during the festival are now lawyers, journalists, mechanics, artisans – a few whose protruding stomachs illustrate the perils of continuing with the gaucho diet whilst giving up the gaucho work – the tradition and identity that goes with the label is still very much alive in the current generation of Argentines.
And more than anywhere in San Antonio de Areco. That’s why you don’t have to come during the festival to feel the vibe, get to grips with the culture, and see the gauchos and artisans at work and play.
Feasts and Festivals in San Antonio de Areco
The town hall runs events and festivals throughout the year, and even if there is nothing special going on it’s a great place to take a break from Buenos Aires bustle. The town’s friendly, fun-loving people are only just starting to wake up to tourism, so whilst you can find all the banks, internet cafes, good food and nightlife you need, it still doesn’t feel in any way tacky or touristy.
So, whether it’s the Day of Tradition or any other day of the year, jump on the bus and get ready to indulge in the feast of red meat, horsey antics and cowboy fantasy that the people of San Antonio de Areco are simply jumping out of their saddles to offer.
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