This Saturday, the town of María became the provincial capital of one of the most deeply-rooted food and agriculture traditions in the province: the Matanza (Slaughter). With the support of the Provincial Council, through ‘Sabores Almería’, the Town Hall organised the II Feria de la Matanza Tradicional de María which, defying the weather forecast, was a great success.
This year this great event has counted, as a great novelty, with the addition to its program of the I edition of the National Contest of Ham Cutters ‘Sierra de María’ to great talents in this skill coming from Almería, Seville, Murcia, Jaén and Ciudad Real.
The Mayor of María – and Vice-President of the Provincial Council – José Antonio García, and the Deputy for Agri-Food Promotion, Carlos Sánchez, took part in this great event which filled the town with the traditional flavour of the Matanza and good ham, as well as other ‘Sabores Almería’ products.
This initiative, which is consolidated in the gastronomic calendar of the province, has, once again, the support of ‘Sabores Almería’: «We have once again enjoyed an event that puts in value a deeply rooted tradition in which during the whole day has been experienced from the quartering to the preparation of sausages. We have also prepared activities for everyone», explained José Antonio García.
In fact, this is the key to this festival, which is complemented with recreational activities, live music and folklore to become a great festival and meeting point for the people of Almeria.
For his part, the Provincial Council of Almeria and ‘Sabores Almería’ is a «pleasure to participate once again» in this second edition. «It is a fair that comes to promote our typical products and a typical tradition such as the slaughter and that can not be lost. This tradition helps the activity of our agri-food production model in the interior of the province of Almería».
Finally, Sánchez congratulated the Town Hall for managing to attract so many people from Almeria to this event and assured that from ‘Sabores Almeria’ «we will continue to support them because the Traditional Slaughter Fair of María because it values our traditions and enhances our gastronomy».
The ham cutter from Almeria, Antonio Ortuño, will go down in history as the first winner of the ‘Sierra de María’ National Ham Cutters Competition. José Rentero, from Jaén, and David García from Alhama de Murcia came second and third.