Markets in Buenos Aires, both Capital Federal and the surrounding suburbs, are varied and full of life. From antiques and artisanal produce, to gaucho shows and fruit and veg, Buenos Aires is certainly a city that holds the idea of the market in high esteem. An interested eye can plan a number of weekend trips to take in the various different atmospheres of each market in turn without ever seeming to run out of places to visit.
Having said that, there is much more to know and love about BA markets than the average guide book or popular website tends to focus on. San Telmo’s Sunday Market (Defensa and Humberto Primo, Sundays 10am-7pm) in Plaza Dorrego for example, is advertised as the market full of and devoted to antiques. Though a nostalgic browse amongst the brooches and eclectic array of telephones, stamps and lace gloves on offer is more than worthwhile, there are other factors that fill the streets of San Telmo with hundreds of faces, old and new, on a weekly basis.
Many people, both Argentines and foreigners, go to Plaza Dorrego every Sunday to take advantage of the free market status and make a little cash. Anything from home-baked food or artisanal clothing and jewellery to freshly produced Colombian coffee is sold by creative entrepreneurs from around the globe.
It is amazing to hear about the positive effects that a few extra pesos in the empty wallet of a struggling BA dweller can have. The hoards of determined sellers who flock to this market every Sunday turn Plaza Dorrego and the never-ending cobbled street of Defensa into an even more bustling, vibrant place of interest than the intrigue of the antique wares would be able to do standing alone.
Indeed, the number of tourists selling home-made cookies, for example, who have decided to extend their time in BA a little further, is quite astonishing. Saturday night is baking time and Sunday afternoon from about 3pm onwards is time to make some beer money for the following week. When a gap in the market is found, someone is bound to fill it, and this branch of activity has generated a huge surge in variety and has brought great energy to this already well-established city spot.
On a similar note, La Feria de Mataderos (Av. Lisando de la Torre and Av. Directorio, Sundays 11am-6pm) on many websites and in all the best-selling guide books, is famous for its spectacular gaucho shows on Sundays from about 4pm and traditional folklore dance presentations throughout the day. However, above and beyond the spectacles from which it has built its popular reputation, Mataderos is also home to some of the most spectacular artisanal food stalls in the city.
Sweet empanadas, alcoholic concoctions using dulce de leche and white chocolate, toffee apples covered in popcorn, huge servings of choripan, creamy home-made ice-cream and fresh fruit licuados are just some of the tasty delights that can be found at this market. One small cafe along the route even sells a cup of red wine for $2 to wash down those huge cuts of red meat in style.
Indeed, it is possible to leave the market on a full stomach without having paid even one centavo for the pleasure. Almost every stall offers ‘tastings’ of their produce to lure the wandering market-goer into buying some of what’s on offer. After a few free bites of dulce de leche, pastelitos, empanadas, chocolate, alcoholic drinks and strips of meat and cheese, needing to stop off somewhere for lunch is not really necessary.
Furthermore, La Feria de Mataderos, like Plaza Dorrego, also operates under a free market system and a number of stalls are kept unreserved for new-comers and those who want to work at the feria every now and then. The process is incredibly simple and very popular. Turn up extremely early, pay $45 to the market administration (found in one of the buildings on the corner of the main square) and sell that creative concoction that the market would otherwise be missing.
Clearly the gaucho shows and the folklore dancing in the streets are important and add to the ambience of the average visit to Mataderos, but being able to work in the market for the odd day is a great opportunity and another way in which creativity and life is nurtured within the Buenos Aires market scene.
The story continues in the same vain for many other markets in BA. Guide books tend to promote the obvious features and fail to reveal the smaller details. For instance, La Feria Cultural Parque Rivadavia (Av. Rivadavia and Av. Doblas, weekends 11am-8pm) is normally recommended for the mountains of books and magazines on offer. Without a doubt, the range and quantity of literature at this market is impressive. It is most certainly a delight to wander through the stalls and hunt down the many gems buried beneath the surface. However, the market is also a great place to go for a game of chess or for a game of truco, followed by a long, lazy mate with friends in the beautiful green park immediately next to it.
As another example, Tigre’s Mercado de Frutos (Puerto de Frutos, Tigre – take the train from Retiro – daily from 10am) is, as suggested by its title, recommended generally for its fresh fruit and vegetables. However, the quality of the artisanal carpentry, the array of plants and the scenic train route that can be taken back at the end of the day when returning to Capital Federal are all equally as impressive.
Though not strictly speaking what normally constitutes a market perhaps, el barrio chino certainly gives off the feeling of being a market in Buenos Aires. China Town (Av. Arribeños and Juramento, daily 9am-8pm) in Belgrano is as expected generally advertised as the place to go to for all things oriental. However, the reality is that shopping for nuts, spices and herbs, as well as produce such as harina de maíz (cornflour) from which an excellent Venezuelan arepa can be made, for example, draws crowds of people every day. In fact, these elements are just as much as a draw as the desire to stock up on vegetable spring rolls.
Everything considered, Buenos Aires has a well-known reputation for being home to a number of wonderful markets, more than is mentioned in this short article, but many of these famous markets offer much more than what is regularly noted. A lot of the material produced about BA markets reiterates the same ideas and perhaps sells short what is available as a result; what the people living in BA actually get out of their markets from one week to the next.
Therefore, bake some cookies, head down to San Telmo on a Sunday afternoon with a basket of freshly made sweet treats and try out a little of the Buenos Aires market scene from a different perspective. Enjoy an alternative experience.