National Mate Day in Argentina

National Mate Day is a celebration held on November 30 in Argentina. It was held for the first time in 2015 to pay tribute to the national mate and thus recognize its importance for the country.

This day was established by the Senate and Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, through Law 27,117, sanctioned on December 17, 2014, actually enacted on January 20, 2015, and published in the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic,6 on January 28, 2015.

November 30 was instituted as the National Mate Day, in commemoration of the birth of the Guaraní commander Andresito Guasurarí (1778-1821). He was governor of the great province of Misiones from 1815 to 1819. He promoted the production and gave great impetus to the commercialization of yerba mate. Adopted son of José Gervasio Artigas, Andresito wrote his name "Andrés Guaçurarí y Artigas", and in this way he signed the official documents of his administration as governor. The surname "Guacurarí" is pronounced "Guazurarí". He was simply called Andresito.

Mate is an infusion made from the leaves of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis), a plant native to the Paraguay and Paraná river basins in South America. These previously dried, cut and ground plants form yerba mate, which has a bitter taste due to the tannins in its leaves. For this reason, some people like to sweeten their mate with sugar, stevia or non-caloric sweetener, but it is usually drunk bitter. The foam that is generated when "cebar" is due to the glycosides that yerba mate contains. It has been consumed in America since pre-Hispanic times by some ethnic groups of Tupi-Guarani origin, such as the Avá, the Mbyá and the Kaiowa, and also, to a lesser extent, by other ethnic groups that traded with them, such as the ñandevá, the Taluhets (ancient Pampas) and the Qom (Toba).