What is a Asado?

Recently, during a family meeting, the following discussion arose. When I asked what we had for lunch, I replied "asado". My opponent, for his part, considered that what we had eaten had not been roasted because, although it was grilled meat, it only consisted of one cut of meat, no fat, chorizo, or anything else. Then the battle began. Although the composition of the roast may vary, it is true that a proper roast has at least two different cuts of meat, in addition to pork, blood sausage, sausage, provolette. For me, however, the specific composition of the roast is an unimportant anecdote: the most important thing is that there is something on the grill and, above all, the ritual that is set up around it. The barbecue starts with an excuse: because there's a birthday party, because we haven't seen each other in a long time, because there's coal left over from the last time, because the heat has started, because the summer is over, because the day is beautiful, because it's raining. Or just because. Then the logistics begin. There is always the one who gets the meat at prices five years ago, the one who has a blood pact with the local butcher and the one who buys everything at the last minute at the supermarket: one of these characters is in charge of getting the meat. Someone else is in charge of the wine and, at the last minute, someone comes by the bakery and the greengrocer's, because salad can't be missing, even if almost nobody will taste it. But what's really important about this whole ritual is the final moment, where lifelong friends or budding friends strengthen their ties as the tables cross from one side of the table to the other, between glasses of wine and bowls of mixed salad. For me, a barbecue is all that and much more. It doesn't matter if we eat bondiola, roast beef or entrails. But, as on so many other issues, we can hardly agree on this one.