The barrio of Mataderos, former home to Buenos Aires' slaughterhouses, has always been tightly linked to gaucho culture and the meat industry. In fact, the neighborhood is also known as "Nueva Chicago": a nickname the local football team still plays under.
"What do you know about Buenos Aires?" That's the question posed to Barcelonan detective Pepe Carvalho at the beginning of Manuel Vázquez Montalbán's excellent crime novel Quinteto de Buenos Aires. Carvahlo's response mirrors what mine would have been: "Tango, desaparecidos, Maradona". I suppose I might have added Evita. Not much else.