Feria de los Mataderos

This weekend I went to the Feria de los Mataderos with my friend Sarah and we enjoyed a beautiful day outside of our normal routine. Although still inside the city, I was shocked out how much I felt outside of the city. Sarah and I discussed how we felt like we were in a different country. I particularly loved the spirit of this fair. There were so many people, families, and friends just enjoying the day. We watched people dance, listened to music, went to the museum, and had delicious choripan and tamales! All the people were extremely friendly and there were as many foreigners as locals. It was the first time I had the sensation I was back in Peru. Many of the people carried the distinguishable Latin American traits, but we were met with such warmth.

One thing I found particularly interesting was that before we reached the main fair, there was a park busy with commotion. From families picnicking, to vendors selling anything from socks to soccer jerseys, the hustle and bustle of this barrio was astonishing. I found this feria before the main, traditional feria to be fascinating. Literally anything was being sold from used shoes, to burned DVD’s, to fishing rods. Although these goods were not of the highest caliber, I was amazed at what pride people had in what they were selling. Just as the picture shows the lines were straight and a lack of tables did not deter them from displaying what they had to sell in an organized manner. I began to think about the U.S. and how so many would look at what was being sold as junk and not even take an interest, but I was content to walk around and converse with those who had their displays carefully positioned on the ground.