Gauchos: History and Culture
Argentina's Rural Life: Cattle, Leather, Feasts & Dancing
The gaucho (paisano) is the rough, tough dandy of South America. Women love him and men want to be him. But who exactly is he, where can you see him and what is he doing?
What is a Gaucho?
The term gaucho comes from the mapuche word ‘huacho’ meaning ‘orphan’ or ‘vagabond’. It was coined in the 18th century to refer to the errant horsemen of the pampa – the Argentine plain – who were often (but not always) wandering vagrants and petty thieves.
During the Argentine wars of Independence these men were enlisted to fight the Spanish, and gaucho came to mean the militia horsemen who fought and died for their land.
These days it has come to refer generally to men who work with cattle (ganadería) throughout Argentina. Its negative connotations are being forgotten, and the term now applies to anyone who is skilled in cattle herding and the often rough, tough, life working in the fields. Groups of gauchos are often called paisanos.
The Gaucho Myth?
It’s more myth than history, really, because all this is contained in Martín Fierro, the epic poem in two parts composed by Jose Rafael Hernández in 1872. This payada – traditional gaucho song – has transformed over the years from a tale of the travels, trials and travails of a true gaucho, to being one of the foundation texts of Argentine national identity.
The text is written in the peculiar old-style gaucho dialect, the rough equivalent of Shakespeare for the non-English speaker, so may seem a little impenetrable if your Spanish is still at intermediate level 2. But it’s worth getting hold of a copy, if only to brandish as a conversation starter while travelling in the area.
Spotting a Gaucho in San Antonio de Areco
But whilst no-one would write ‘Occupation: Gaucho’ on an application form, he’s not hard to recognise when you see him. In Buenos Aires you'll see him at the Feria de Mataderos but for a truly authentic version you'll have to go to the prime gaucho territory around San Antonio de Areco, a small town just a two-hour bus ride south of Buenos Aires. It's worth visiting just for the experience, if not for the fantastically lively meat-feast of a festival on November 10, to celebrate Argentina's Día de la Tradición (Day of Tradition).
He wears either a beret or a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, a handkerchief tied dashingly round his neck, a shirt, waistcoat and short jacket, baggy trousers held up by a huge ornate silver-studded leather belt and with a large engraved knife sticking down the back, and either large leather boots or plimsolls. In winter he covers all this finery up with a huge woollen poncho, generally knitted by his fond grandmother in a dazzling array of colours and patterns.
Eating, Drinking and Dancing in Argentina
Unless you happen to find yourself out in the remote fields amongst the cattle, you’ll probably see the gaucho primarily indulging in his favourite occupation of cooking and eating asados round a fogón. These terms refer not only to the dismembered cow sizzling and dripping over a huge wood fire but more importantly to the singing, dancing and socialising that goes with these feasts.
Buying Traditional Argentina Leather
If there’s a cowboy inside you somewhere (or perhaps one waiting back home), you can indulge those secret fantasies and kit yourself out with all the authentic gear, made lovingly in front of your eyes by the local skilled artisans, leather-workers and silversmiths in their workshops scattered all San Antonio de Areco. You’ll kick yourself harder than the cow it’s made from if you buy a leather belt in Buenos Aires before seeing what’s on offer here.
