2026 World’s Largest Matanza

BELEN — It was a good day for a matanza.

Fans and organizers of the annual event held their breath last week, watching the weather to see if the predicted snow storm would materialize on Saturday.

The day didn’t so much “dawn” as simply begin, with low-hanging clouds and fog blocking the New Mexico sun, but the 26th annual Hispano Chamber of Valencia County’s World’s Largest Matanza drew a crowd of nearly 8,100 this year, with some repeat attendees and some brand new faces.

Megan Wang and Temes Czimege saw a social media post about the annual matanza.

“Reddit, maybe?” Wang said.

That was four years ago, and the Albuquerque couple has made the trip each year since then.

“I’m originally from New York, so this is very different,” she said. “It’s fun. The food, the people, it’s so great. We’ve been coming every year since we heard about it, weather be damned.”

A couple of hours after the 7 a.m. opening of the gates, a few random drops of rain could be felt as attendees lined up for plates of food at the 10 team booths.

White flecks drifted through the air, leading to the speculation of “snow or ash?”

Wood burning fires going since the wee hours of the morning had settled down to beds of fierce coals, heating cauldrons of chicharrones to perfection and keeping the carne adovada bubbling.

The inclement weather kept Ezequiel Tena home from work, so when he saw a Facebook post about the matanza on Saturday morning, he and wife, Cindy, decided to bundle up with their two young children and head to Belen.

“This is our first time coming,” said Ezequiel, who lives in Los Lunas. “We’ve only gone to one booth so far.”

Only 30 minutes into the event, the Los Lunas foursome were eagerly standing in their second line, on their way to a truly local experience.

Attending for their second year, Gemma, Patricia and Jake, 4, were big fans of the food. For Gemma, it was a welcome surprise to find a steaming bowl of fresh posole during the chilly morning.

Patricia was excited about everything she’d had — so far.

“The pork is so tender. The chile. Everything is so good,” she raved.

As for Jake, the tortillas were where it’s at that day.