La Fiesta de la Tradición

San Antonio de Areco is a small town about 100 km from BA in the region of Las Pampas (the plains). Every November they hold a gaucho festival called "La Fiesta de la Tradición." We had read about this event in guide books and didn't want to miss it, but we couldn't figure out transportation to get there. Luckily, on Friday night I met a nice Argentine that offered to take my friends and me to the festival even though it's a little touristy. He picked us up at 9am yesterday and we headed out to the countryside. We stopped at an enormous church on the way called "La Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Luján." We were told to beware of pickpockets inside the church. Inside, Juan Pablo pointed out the security guards stationed at the altar to guard the altarpieces that were made of precious metals. It blew my mind that thievery inside a church was such so common! Another interesting fact that Juan Pablo told us was that everyone who buys a car in BA comes to Luján to get their keys blessed in a special ceremony. After about 45 more minutes of driving through grasslands of cows, horses, and sheep, we arrived in San Antonio. The cobblestoned streets were filled with gaucho men & women on horseback. The men wore berets, white shirts, and red scarves tied around their necks, while the women wore traditional style dresses. I couldn't help thinking how miserably hot they all must be. The horses were speckled white and brown and were much smaller than any other horses I've seen. This particular breed exists only in this region of Argentina and in Chile. Wind pipe music made the scene feel even more authentic, until we listened closely and realized the musicians in feather headdresses were playing "Sound of Silence." We had an amazing lunch in a "Pulpería" (traditional bar) that had walls adorned with old signs, cerveza ads, and thousands of old bottles. Although the decor was authentic and much more tasteful, it reminded me of a fancy cracker barrel.