The Mate Man-Purse

"Why are all of the men carrying man-purses?" my friend Emily asked me when she was visiting for a week.

"Ha, ha, ha, man-purses?" I laughed, "they aren't man-purses, they're materas (or mate bags). That is the container they use to carry their mate cup, straw, thermos, and yerba mate. Silly Emily. They are unisex carrying devices, not man-purses."


Ahhh, yes, but time would prove me wrong. We happened to befriend a few waiters at the Mercado Del Puerto who we met up with after they got off of work, and lo-and-behold eventually the conversation turned to Uruguay's favorite drink and pastime--mate." Our new friend said, "Oh well, I would let you try mate, but here in my mate bag I don't have mate."

"Oh really, you don't have mate in your mate bag? So what do you have in there?"


"Well, let me show you," he says as he opens up his leather bag strung over his shoulder. Gasp. Inside he had a gigantic bottle of hair gel, deodorant, cologne (ironically pronounced "perfume" in Spanish), and other beauty supplies.

One word: deception.

Now I know Uruguayan men, now I know what you carry in your mate bag man purse!

Yerba Mate

I would be remiss if I did not tell you about yerba mate (pronounced like mah-tay) while in Uruguay. Yerba mate is the favorite drink of all of Uruguay. You can't walk down the street without seeing tons of people clutching their mate gear and sipping this warm drink all day long.


Yerba is a kind of plant with caffeine like properties that is ground up and scooped into a gourd. Then hot water is poured into the gourd, and the mixture produces a bitter tea-like drink. (You best like your mate "amargo" or bitter, because adding sugar is cheating, and you will be made fun of by any real Uruguayan). This potent beverage is then drunk using a metal straw that has little holes in the bottom (called a bombilla) to filter the yerba.

Mate is often passed around in social circles to be shared with the whole group. It is the central bonding element between friends and family. It connects people together. Drinking mate is as much about loving the taste as it is about loving the tradition.

Mate is more than a drink; it's an obsession. It is a beautiful cultural symbol of the Uruguayan people.