What is the “montañita” when preparing mate?

Preparing mate has its own liturgy, and la montañita — “the little mountain” — is its first commandment: shake and tilt the gourd so the dry yerba banks up one side, leaving a hollow for the water. Every Río de la Plata tutorial calls it la famosa montañita, and pouring water without one instantly marks you as a beginner.

The clip runs the full ritual in thirty seconds of pure voseo — calentás, ponés, agarrás, sacudís — shake out the polvillo (yerba dust), pour warm water into the pozo (the hollow), then use the bombilla as a lever to set the slope. It closes with the traditional warning every first-timer needs: “El primer mate puede ser amargo.”