We walked down the large, open pedestrian sidewalks and JD was sport enough to let me be a typical tourist and take photos everywhere we went - regardless of the funny looks sent my way by the locals. We browsed around to see what goods were sold and eventually stopped at Havana Cafe to have a rest and treat. I had a delectable cappuccino - complete with foam, cream, chocolate, and cinnamon - the first since we've arrived! (Which if you know me, is a very long time indeed.)
After relaxing and enjoying the warmth and smell of coffee and sweets, we continued on to a small fair where a friend of ours, Maria Elena, was selling everything from alfajores, bon bones, and bunches of other little morsels. She was doing quite well when we found her. The other vendors were natives from all over Argentina who come once a year for a week to sell their special wares. One woman in particular sold the most beautifully woven wool blankets. I had never seen such quality before, so naturally, I was in love at first touch and wanted to cuddle up with one myself.
Other things sold were utensils carefully carved from the yerba tree, wooden figurines, and lovely, crocheted tops in a creamy linen. The craftsmanship displayed was wonderful to see and I look forward to visiting more often to see what other types of artifacts are pure "Argentinian." It is amazing to me to discover what treasures identify a culture. You can tell a lot about a people by what is sold at events like these, namely discerning from what resources are used, what resources are most cherished, what are people proud to sell, etc. It was like getting a more revealing peak at the culture we're in. I'm aware that these things alone don't make up a people, but it has definitely added to the cultural picture I've been sketching for myself.
Once we were finished chatting with Maria Elena, we wished her luck and headed back home to enjoy the rest of our afternoon cleaning the kitchen and relaxing.
Thank you, Lord, for treats like these!
rambla (n.): avenue, or large, open pedestrian sidewalk
alfajor (n.): a traditional confection found in Latin America consisting of two round sweet cookies with dulce de leche or jam in the middle, rolled in powdered sugar or coconut
charlar (v.): to chat
p.s. to get a glimpse of what the center of Cordoba looked like on our afternoon, scroll through the November pictures on the side
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