Meaning of matanza | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A place where animals are slaughtered, for their hides, meat, tallow, etc, particularly in a Latin American context; a slaughterhouse.
   US
2. A slaughter, as of cattle or pigs (for their hides, meat, etc), of tuna, or of people; the act of butchering or slaughtering.
   US

Equivalents

Examples

“Captain Hall has given a very excellent description of a matanza, the slaughtering place⟳ of a large hacienda, where cattle are killed in numbers with the view⟳ of making charqui : the fleshy parts alone are used, all the soft fat being carefully cut⟳ off […]”

“[…] a "tramp bitch," whose puppies had been captured in the neighborhood of the matanza. The beef-packery is guarded at night by a dozen ugly-looking mastiffs, and the tramp dogs generally give⟳ the establishment an extensive berth; but […] They used to sit⟳ in groups on the slope of a little hill near the matanza, appealing to the charity of the proprietor by yelping in chorus every now and then. There was so much waste⟳ stuff around the place⟳ that the captain concluded to grant their petition, and, by way of encouragement, sent them a car-load of beef-bones and "rippings," instructing the driver to scatter⟳ the scraps between the hill and the bone-pit.”

“There is a great variety of products of the matanza. Here I describe⟳ three of the most widely appreciated ones: the dried ham, whose fat is choice tocino, the sausage called chorizo and the preserved loin and ribs of pork.”

“Before the matanza could open⟳ for business (and stay⟳ in business), nine different regulating authorities had to sign⟳ off, including organic certification, transportation, the state Environment Department, weights and measures licensing, the Livestock Board⟳, the USDA, and even Homeland Security.”

“The slaughtering period (matanza) lasts usually a month, and is a holiday for the shepherds, […] and fatten themselves and their families for a long time with sheep's heads and livers. The cooked meat, from which the fat has been extracted (carne de chito), lies there in complete⟳ mountains after a matanza : it is bought up by the dealers and conveyed to the villages, where the Indians buy⟳ it at the market for a mere trifle […]”

“A matanza was another busy time for the Spaniards. This was the butchering or killing of the cattle for their hides.”

“[…] the Genoese established a colony at Tabarka on the coast of Tunisia between 1540 and 1742 specializing in coral-fishing, and where Tunisian fishermen have⟳ now joined Sicilian fleets in the matanza, the great seasonal slaughter of tuna.”

“[…] but this wasn't a matanza with family and vecinos helping, this was Sonny lying in the dark forest […]”

“Tomorrow he would help⟳ his grandpa and the neighbors in the matanza. It was early in the morning; Diego was already awake⟳, anticipating the job that his grandpa had given him. Today is the matanza; Grandpa was having his usual […]”

CEFR level