A party that's not for salami

 This festival is celebrated in August  and is expected by all the sweet tooth.  For lovers of good food,  sausages and chacinados, it is paradise. This is the  National Festival of Homemade Salame,  which is celebrated in  the city of Oncativo.This town belongs to the department of Río Segundo and is located in the center of the province of Cordoba .  Just 76 km from the provincial capital, this city bears a name  from the language of its original ancestors.  

 The term Oncative  comes from the Quichua. The words that make up the current name were “unqu”, which means sick, and “t'iw”, arena .  Its translation into Spanish would be  “arenales enfermizos”.This toponymy arises due to irritations that occurred in the respiratory and visual airways of those who lived or traveled through the place .  Today, this land  is no longer the land of the sickly sands , although it retained the name. Today, it is  the land of homemade salami and good food. This city was founded in 1869 .  During the 19th century it was a town that was located on the road between Córdoba and Buenos Aires. So it consolidated as a  secure stop in the middle of the trip. Oncativo was a  must-see spot for travelers  . This region was, from its origins, a source of agricultural and livestock work. Although it also stands out for its metallurgical productions . 

 Salamera identity 

Like many other localities in the humid pampa, Oncativo became the  home of many transatlantic immigrants,  on tod  or Italian Piedmontese and Spanish.The tradition of Salame Homemade comes from the other side of the puddle, to stay .  And  become one of the traditions  par excellence of this area of Cordoba.   The production of  chacinados, that is, dehydrated meats in homemade procedures, is  nationally recognized. They come from foreign traditions that came to stay and   be part of our identity. So the  Homemade Salame National Festival comes up. This national meeting takes place every yearand is organized by different local commissions .  The main person responsible for  managing and organizing this popular tradition is the Club Deportivo y Cultural Union. They are responsible for bringing together the artists and producers who will be part of the festival.

The area's gastronomic area is revolutionized as the long-awaited date approaches. All the producers join together to work around the event,  preparing the best sausages.Selecting his best productions to be exhibited at the National Festival of Salame Homemade .  In addition, it generates a sort  of highly prestigious local competition . Since each of the producers who are presented compete for the posts of  King del Salame homemade and King of Salame commercial. To wear these badges, in these lands, is to wear the trademark of an  original and unmissable taste. 

This event brings together  much of the community. All the population of Oncativo and surroundings are looking forward to this time of year to celebrate with family .  In addition  , producers, neighbors and also students  from agrotechnical schools, who  collaborate with the organization , participate.

 The birth of a special celebration 

The idea of such a celebration arose among friends. It was 1975 and, in a gathering of residents of Oncativo, they set out to taste different types of salami. This became a kind of contest. And the protagonists were the juries, who decided which one was the richest. As time passed, the idea arose to expand the concept. That's how it came out. In 1976 it was declared of provincial interest and, in 2001, it achieved  national recognition of the Salame Casero Festival .

 Today is one of the great celebrations of the province.Whose interest is    driven by people from all regions.  

 The aim of this festival is to value the task of the dozens of families working in the farm industry. Rescuing the tradition of Piedmontese immigrants who arrived in the region, this event contributes to the encouragement of the sausage industry, and has given national fame to the homemade salami of Oncativo. 

 Between tastings and shows , the National Festival is a  hit. Shall we go ?