The Matanza

The Matanza is a traditional norteño harvest meal celebrated throughout NM. At the ARC, students prepare a harvest feast from the bounty of the season to share with our neighbors in Montezuma, Los Vigiles and Las Vegas.

First, students learn how to slaughter and butcher a goat, and how to traditionally cook the meat overnight in a wood-fired underground pit oven. While the goat is cooking, students use our farm grown produce - pinto beans, corn, squash, cauliflower, shishito peppers, tomatoes, carrots, salad greens, apples, pears, and much more - to prepare a feast. Calabacitas, green chile, roasted vegetables, pintos, and apples/pear/pumpkin pies are prepared and cider is pressed fresh for the event. We invite dozens of friends and neighbors from the surrounding community each year and share a meal in gratitude for the land, water and soil that sustains us all.