The Gaucho: A Living Tradition
A few nights ago I found myself at a family-owned estancia (ranch) folded into the foothills of the Andes. As tiny flickers of starlight poked through the cloudy night, a man in a navy blue beret reached for his guitar. Three hours later we realized that the lone candle stick had disappeared into a puddle of wax, the wine had run out, and the dusky sun had long since slipped beneath the horizon. When the music stopped, the trance that had settled over us lifted and things were just as we had left them: two American girls, four living gauchos and one guitar.
In simplest terms, the gaucho is a South American horseman and cowhand who has been a legendary figure of Argentine folklore for over 3 centuries. As nomadic cattle herders, gauchos roamed the flat barren plains of the pampas (grasslands), a region that reaches from Patagonia to Uruguay.
It´s tempting to make the comparison between the gaucho of Argentina and the cowboys of Wild West cinema, but mention such a thing to a Mendoza local and they´ll quickly set you straight. Like the John Wayne´s of North America, the gaucho and his horse are practically inseparable – after all, life on the open range is one of solitude. And like the cowboy, the gaucho lived his life exposed to all of nature´s elements: the fierce heat of the summer sun, the relentless whipping winds, and the unequivocal silence.
Living as he did, the gaucho had to know how to adapt – his life depended on it. He had to adapt to the climate, the landscape, and most of all, the progress of time. As Argentina modernized in the mid-19th century, the gaucho´s lifestyle changed dramatically. Rich ranch owners contracted gauchos to manage their massive estates on the outskirts of large cities. While the gaucho still lived in the open air, his solitude and autonomy were slipping away. But even in the current of progress, there is space for tradition.
Across the pampas and into the foothills of the Andes Mountains, men who still preserve the gaucho tradition gallop on the backs of the beasts that are, and always were, man´s original best friend. National Geographic estimates that Argentina is virtually the last refuge of the gaucho, and that somewhere around 150,000 gauchos.
Still, in a country of 40 million, gauchos are startlingly outnumbered. Thankfully, the threads of their tradition are intricately woven into innumerable aspects of Argentine life. They are visible in the music, dance, fashion, and even the diet of people across the country.
Though unintentional as it was, the humble gaucho is responsible for nothing short of a fashion revolution. What he once wore for utility and protection, is now considered stylish on Argentine city streets and in the glossy pages of magazines. The gaucho´s influence on the Argentine wardrobe of both men and women is a kind of rustic elegance. It is evident in bombachas (large baggy pants that are cinched that the ankles), jewelry bearing the symbol of the pampas, berets, and even – the handlebar mustache.
But the gaucho´s presence doesn’t stop there. It lives on in the musical tradition – the folklore dances that fill the plazas on national holidays and the ever present acoustic guitar.
Finally, he is present in the argentine diet of meat, meat, maté, and meat. Because the gaucho was almost always on the move, everything he killed he had to eat promptly, a fact that gave way to the birth of the asado. Slow roasting cuts of meat over an open flame was a daily ritual for the gaucho, and is the heart of argentine cuisine today.
The figure of the gaucho is a figure that revered solitude, bravery, self-reliance and adaptation. It is a spirit that still pulses through the culture, still endears in the unwavering loyalty of the men who keep the tradition alive – the men who make appearances every now and then on candlelit nights for impromptu guitar serenades.
