Explore Buenos Aires Province
Delightful SAN ANTONIO DE ARECO is considered the home of gaucho traditions and hosts the annual Fiesta de la Tradición, the country’s most important festival celebrating pampas culture. Despite its modest promotion as a tourist destination, San Antonio has retained a surprisingly genuine feel, augmented by its setting on the banks of a tranquil river, the Río Areco. You may not find the town full of galloping gauchos outside festival week, but you still have a good chance of spotting estancia workers on horseback, sporting traditional berets and rakishly knotted scarves, or of coming across paisanos propping up the bar of a traditional boliche establishment. San Antonio has a prestigious literary connection: the town was the setting for Ricardo Güiraldes’ Argentine classic Don Segundo Sombra (1926), a novel that was influential in changing the image of the gaucho from that of an undesirable outlaw to a symbol of national values.
The town’s only real sights are a couple of museums, the most important of which is the Museo Gauchesco Ricardo Güiraldes. But what really makes San Antonio memorable is the harmonious architectural character of the town’s centre: all cobbled streets and faded Italianate and colonial facades punctuated by elaborate wrought-iron grilles and delicately arching lamps. There are also some excellent artisans working in the town in talleres (workshops). Weaving and leatherwork are well represented, but the silversmiths are the highlight.
The town’s traditional gaucho atmosphere also extends to the surrounding area, where you will find some of Argentina’s most famous estancias, offering a luxurious accommodation alternative to staying in Areco itself.
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The Fiesta de la Tradición
The Fiesta de la Tradición
One of Argentina’s most original and enjoyable festivals, San Antonio de Areco’s Fiesta de la Tradición began in 1939 on an initiative of then-mayor José Antonio Güiraldes. The actual Día de la Tradición is November 10 – the birthday of José Hernández, author of Argentina’s gaucho text par excellence, Martín Fierro – but the celebrations last for a week and are organized to run from weekend to weekend, either the first or second week in November, depending on the weather forecast. Activities, including exhibitions, dances, music recitals and shows of gaucho skills, go throughout the week, although the highpoint is the final Sunday, which begins with dancing and a procession of gauchos dressed in their traditional loose trousers (bombachas), ornamented belts and wide-brimmed hats or berets. An asado con cuero, at which meat – primarily beef – is cooked around a fire with its skin on, takes place at midday in the Parque Criollo ($25 for gauchos, $35 for everyone else) and is followed by an extensive display of gaucho skills, including jineteadas, or Argentine bronco riding.
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Estancias in and around San Antonio de Areco
Estancias in and around San Antonio de Areco
The countryside around San Antonio is home to a couple of the province’s most traditional estancias. Arguably the most luxurious is El Ombú, at Ruta 31 (02326/492080, www.estanciaelombu.com; $601 and over, or US$70 as a day visit). Its rooms are sumptuously decorated and a lovely tiled and ivy-covered verandah runs round the exterior of the building. As well as offering horseriding, the estancia has a small but well-maintained swimming pool and a games room. Other activities include helping out with – or at least observing – farm tasks and, of course, eating delicious asados, sometimes served under the shade of the large ombú tree that gives the estancia its name. Directions are on the website; the estancia will arrange a transfer from Buenos Aires for around US$105.
Around 12km from town, La Bamba (011/1553161200, www.la-bamba.com.ar; $601 and over, or day-trips at US$121) was used in Maria Luisa Bemberg’s film Camila – the story of the ill-fated romance between Camila O’Gorman and a priest – and is one of Argentina’s most distinctive estancias. The Río Areco runs through the grounds, so guests can fish as well as ride, although the “shows” in the recently built pulpería and immaculate living rooms make the place seem a bit like a Disney version of an estancia experience at times.
La Sofía Polo (011/6091-9266, www.lasofiapolo.com.ar; $601 and over), run by a German and Argentine couple, is for those wanting to improve their polo game. Husband Marcos Antin has taught polo around Argentina and Europe and is also a qualified referee. Lessons cater to all levels. It costs US$140 per person per night to stay at the estancia, located 14km from San Antonio de Areco, and the price includes food, drink and one horseride a day. There are additional costs for polo lessons and playing matches.
La Cinacina estancia in Areco itself (02326/452773, www.lacinacina.com.ar; $601 and over) has more affordable “days in the country”; follow Bartolomé Mitre five blocks west of the main plaza to the end of the street. It offers a full day of asado, horseriding and a display of gaucho skills for $114, or $180 with transport from the centre of town included (Tues, Fri & Sun). Staying the night ($151-200) is also possible, in pretty, light, country-style rooms.
