EL MATE ARGENTINO PART 1 3

Hello, here we have Virginia that will tell us about the yerba mate.

La yerba mate. How are you, Luis?

How are you?

Very well, thanks.

Tell me, tell me.

Here we have the yerba that it's called mate and the container from where you drink with the yerba and the bombilla.

that you use it to absorb the infusion. We use with the hot water termo.

Very well, generally we use this to put all the mate items.

We drink mate in Argentina, Chile, southern Brazil, and Paraguay.

It comes from the subtropical forest.

So in South America, we generally drink in that part of the continent.

When do you drink it?

The mate it's a ritual. It is part of family life.

We drink it with the family or with a group of friends.

There is a cebador, that is the person that prepares the mate. There are some people that drink the mate.

We all drink from the same bombilla.

It's a way of sharing. The mate means "friendship".

So it's something very social.

Very social, very social.

But, ¿it's something that you can drink on your own?

Yes, also, for example, the students before a test

drink a lot of mate because it helps maitain your mind very agile

It has some other properties.

Can you ask for a mate in a bar?

Generalmente it's not sold in the bars.

So it's more like in the family, with friends.

You need time and peace to drink mate.

Listen, so what is the origin of the mate?

Yes, it's very interesting what you are asking me.

Because, when the Spanish conquistadors came

you guys, when they came to America,

the Guarani indians already drank mate.

They drank it in a mud container with a straw.

And that's how they drank this infusion.

When the Spanish came and saw this, they inmediately acquired it.

After, the jesuits that when they founded the missions, the mate became part of their costumes.

The production of yerba mate became also the main source of income.

Very interesting.

We also have text of 1800 of writers

for example, Charles Darwin,

that they already drank mate.

Very interesting, no?