Feria de Mataderos: Buenos Aires’ Authentic Sunday Market

Feria de Mataderos gives you a truly authentic experience of going to a traditional Argentine market.

The Mataderos Market is on Sundays and public holidays during the Argentine Spring (April to December) and offers a wide variety of traditional Argentine crafts and performances of folkloric dances.

If you are up for an off-the-beaten-track experience while visiting Buenos Aires, Feria de Mataderos should definitely be on your list.

Keep on reading to learn more about what to expect from Feria de Mataderos.

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Experience Traditional Argentine Gaucho Culture

The Argentine gaucho culture is an ingrained part of the history behind Feria de Mataderos.

Gauchos are Argentine cowboys or horsemen, which today is a strong folk symbol in Argentine culture. The gauchos are known to live in the Argentine lowlands called the Pampas. Here they rose cattle and horses on the fertile lowlands.

The name Mataderos translates into slaughterhouses. Back in time, this neighborhood was the gauchos’ first stop within the borders of the City of Buenos Aires.

The gauchos would stop to trade their cattle at the Livestock Market located in Mataderos. The old Livestock Market is actually located just opposite the current Feria de Mataderos.

Craft and Food Market

The Feria de Mataderos as you see it today was established in 1986. The idea was to promote different regional Argentine traditions and cuisines.

On the market, you can find different stands with handcrafts and local cuisine. Whether you want to buy some olive oil from Mendoza or a handmade bag from La Pampa, you can find it here.

Around the market, you also have different food stands that sell regional classics such as empanadas, asado, tamales, and locro.

Compared to the local Sunday Market in San Telmo, the Mataderos Market has a less touristic feeling to it. And it also seems to attract a lot of locals.

After having been closed down during the strict Argentine lockdown, the Mataderos Market is now open again.

Folkloric Dance at Feria de Mataderos

Right in the center of the Mataderos Market, there is a huge stage with a small square in front. People gather here to dance traditional folkloric dances.

Some just come in their normal street clothes, while others take it a step further and come in traditional costumes. This definitely makes a good base for some amazing photos!

I visited Feria de Mataderos back in December 2019, before COVID and the lockdown hit. After the show, we ended up chatting with one of the “gauchos”. He told us that he and his wife had been coming to the market for years just to dance. They were both completely dressed up in traditional costumes. However, in their daily life, he told us, they were actually lawyers.

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Looking for tips about Argentine Spanish? Check out these 10 phrases you should know before visiting Argentina!

When to visit Feria de Mataderos

The Mataderos Market is open Sundays and public holidays from 11 am to the evening. BUT it’s exclusively from April to December.

On rainy days, the market might get canceled.

You can check out the Feria de Mataderos’ Facebook page (in Spanish) for updates or cancelations.

How to get to Feria de Mataderos

The neighborhood of Mataderos is located on the western edge between the City of Buenos Aires and the Province of Buenos Aires.

Depending on the form of transportation that you use, it might take a bit of time to get there.

The official location of the Mataderos Market is Avenida Lisandro de la Torre and Avenida De los Corrales. The corner of these two streets corresponds to the big stage in the middle of the market. However, the market stretches along both these streets which are closed off for cars.

With a taxi or an Uber, it shouldn’t take more than 30-45 minutes from the city center or the Palermo neighborhood. However, with public transportation, it can easily take an hour or more.

If you take public transportation to Mataderos, the bus will stop just a couple of blocks away from the market. Put in the coordinates of the streets above and follow the instructions on your phone, and you will get to the right place.

Would you add Feria de Mataderos to your bucket list for Buenos Aires? Or have you maybe already visited? Share your thoughts and knowledge below!

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