Gauchos. The first gauchos. Modern gauchos

Out on the Argentine frontier, where the prairies of the Pampa stretch out as far as the eye can see, large herds of cattle graze peacefully under the bright afternoon sun. Suddenly, the sound of hooves breaks the silence, and a lone figure on horseback appears in the distance.

Sitting high in the saddle, the rider wears the colorful woolen poncho that has become his trademark, and he carries a bola—a long cord with stone balls tied at the end. Holding the horse's reins with one hand, he twirls the bola over his head with the other. The twirling bola makes a whooshing sound as he rides deep into the herd. The gaucho throws the bola so that it winds around and entangles the animal at which it is aimed.

Performing in a rodeo, a gaucho, above, displays the horsemanship tor which the gauchos have been famous since the 1800's. In the past, gauchos lived off the land and spent most of their money on silver spurs, silver belts, and dazzling ornaments for their horses

He is a freedom-loving, rough-and-tumble gaucho—one of the South American cowboys made famous through story, song, and literature. Today, the gauchos work mainly as extra hands on Argentina's estancias (cattle ranches), but in the 1800's, the gauchos roamed the Pampa, living a wild and independent life that has come to symbolize the essence of freedom.

For 200 years, the gaucho way of life has captured the Argentine imagination. The spirit of the gaucho lives on, not only in folk tales, but also in the works of Argentina's greatest writers. The poet Jose Hernandez wrote about the gauchos in his epic Martin Fierro: "Dead, the gaucho still survives—in the literature he inspired . . . and in the blood of every Argentine."

The gaucho also influenced other Argentine arts. The country's first important painter, Prilidiano Pueyrredon, created popular gaucho scenes during the 1800's. During the early 1900's, the classical composer Alberto Ginastera drew upon gaucho songs and dances in his works.

The first gauchos. While Hernandez' poem Martin Fierro portrays the gauchos as heroes, describing their lonely life on the plains and their battles with Indians and with a government that did not understand them, history tells a somewhat different story. The forerunners of the gauchos—mestizos who roamed the plains during the 1600's—were thought of as troublemakers and horse thieves. Often desperately poor, they wandered the frontier on horseback, spending most of their time in the saddle and sleeping under the stars.

In those days, thousands of semi wild cattle that had escaped the Spanish settlements grazed on the Pampa. These cattle provided fresh meat for the gauchos, and water from the rivers was readily available. The abundance of food and drink allowed the gauchos to live freely on the wild frontier, following no law but their own. Because they were skilled horsemen and familiar with the countryside, they were very successful in avoiding the authorities.

The gauchos caught wild cattle and sold their hides in illegal trade on the Brazilian frontier. At night, they gathered around roaring fires for asados (barbecues of fresh beef). While drinking mate (tea) from a gourd, they swapped stories of their adventures and sang haunting melodies to the strum of a guitar.

A spirit of rugged independence is seen on this gaucho's face. The origins of the word gaucho are
unknown, but some people trixe it to the Arawakan Indian word cachu, meaning comrade

Modern gauchos. The gaucho way of life came to an end in the late 1800's with the development of refrigerator ships. The ability to export meat made cattle-raising a big business, and a growing number of cattle ranches began to appear on the frontier. Finally, what was once a vast wilderness became the fenced off property of wealthy estancieros (farmers). Today, the descendants of the original gauchos display their legendary ropethrowing skills and horsemanship at rodeos.

With each performance, they celebrate the proud, independent tradition born long ago on the Argentine frontier, and the gaucho spirit remains alive.