Colonia hosted the 2022 edition of the knife makers’ festival, where the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, a confessed admirer of Uruguayan artisans, arrived in the early afternoon this Saturday the 12th. The meeting, developed during a day, this year brought together 25 exhibitors. Subsequently, the president participated in the award ceremony of the 18th National Cheese Contest, held in Rosario.
As soon as he arrived in Colonia del Sacramento, Lacalle Pou was received by the departmental mayor, Carlos Moreira; the director of Tourism, Martín de Freitas, and the representative of the Association of Knife Makers, Fernando Ricca.
Upon receiving a gift from an organizer, he declared himself an admirer of Uruguayan artisans, especially those who forge knives. “Each one has a story behind it, and when making a knife, the craftsman seeks perfection, whether it is a hard blade or a flexible blade, depending on what you want,” he added.
He reported that he generally opts for a knife when making a gift, either when traveling abroad or within the country.
After the speech, the president and the organizers proceeded to the formal ribbon-cutting and toured the exhibition, which this year was made up of 25 exhibitors. Its duration is one day and this is the first time it has been installed in Colonia, since the three previous editions were held in Florida.
The National Knife Festival brings together those who create the aforementioned utensil in an artisanal way, it began to be held in 2017. This is the fourth meeting of knife makers and the second, nationwide, of cutlery. Creators from all over the country, from Argentina and Brazil participate.
Award ceremony of the 18th National Cheese Contest
More than 30 artisan cheese factories participated with 120 samples in the contest held in Rosario, whose award ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic, who presented the Oro Queso Colonia Artesanal prize.
The contest was organized by the East Colonia Economic Development Agency (ADE Este) with the support and collaboration of the Technical Council, made up of different cheese maker organizations from all over the country. Between November 10 and 11, two technical instances were developed and a jury of more than 30 members chose the best cheeses in the categories: hard, semi-hard, high-moisture, very-high-moisture, fine milk, processed cheeses. , ricotta, promotional and innovative.
In addition to Lacalle Pou and the community chief of Colonia, the mayors of Soriano and San José, Guillermo Besozzi and Ana María Bentaberri, respectively, were present, among other national and departmental authorities.
The president toured the exhibition, where shows, tastings, pairings, presentations of live cooks’ work, sales of meals with cheeses, sales of cheeses, breweries, wineries and cheese competitions were held. Subsequently, he presented the main prize: Oro Queso Colonia Artesanal.
The objectives of the contest are to stimulate the sector, disseminate the cheese culture and promote continuous improvement, both of the products and of the production processes of cheese making. ADE Este is a non-profit civil association, made up of the private sector of the eastern micro-region of Colonia. It has the support of the municipal and departmental governments, allows to favor, stimulate and promote the economic development of the area and to articulate between the needs of the private and public sectors, in favor of regional development.
